11:34 banana The night is organised in three broad themes. 11:34 ...

new phone. Let's see, here's Cian, here's Sarah, here'sthrough Anatoli's system, a brief warmth, too brief. He11:34 banana The night is organised in three broad themes.11:34 banana Can't all Kindred society be divided into Parties,Upheavals and Acquisitions? No?11:34 banana Well, this one is. Tonight.11:35 banana It might not be immediately apparent how.11:35 banana Savik thinks that he and new friend/liability Danielare in his warehouse; he's wrong, but only becauseDaniel's shopping. He'll be back.11:36 banana Dietrich believes he's becoming a mechanic. That one*might* be accurate, or laughable.11:37 banana Khas doesn't know what to think, but on his way back tothe Academy he does at least have a plan for how tobetter plan. To learn how and what to think.11:37 banana Anatoli Grigorivich is used to having other people dohis thinking for him...11:38 banana "My Hound," the Prince fondly mutters as he withdrawshis wrist. If there's a bit of a shudder at the givingup of his life essence, rather than the delight youyourself take, Anatoli's probably not going to noticeit.11:38 banana (As he usually does, Anton's doing whatever he wants.)11:39 Nicolae You won't be laughing after he manages to install aceiling fan or two.11:39 Nicolae :dietrichsmug:11:39 banana No I would be pleasantly surprised, it is boiling hothere. UNLIKE IN SØRØYA11:39 Nicolae If you were a real vampire you wouldn't care, can weget a real vampire to ST this?11:41 Ferrinus Adrian Khas is sitting on one of Soroya's public buses.He's tucked himself into one of the back seats as itmakes its trip from "China"town to the Academy'sneighborhood, and soft beeps emanate from him as hegets around to actually programming numbers into hisAnton, here's Dietrich, here's Max...11:42 Nicolae Dietrich has big ideas right now. Big plans. Firstthings first though. It is time to learn aboutcarburettors.11:42 Vermain Another refreshing bite of Carrell gradually floodsgradually, reluctantly withdraws, wiping off someexcess with his sleeve. "A, eh... thank you, myPrince." He remains bowed, silent for a few moments.11:42 Ferrinus A sublevel of Adrian's mind, though, is currentlymonologuing: six six five nine three three four foursix... shit, was it one? Three? So close...11:42 Vermain "You, eh... had something you wished to talk to meabout? Comrade Luca informed me during the..." Trial?

Court? Carnival? "...meeting."two six five three five eight nine seven... (the Savagedevour and retain something as dry as the digits of pi,bit as the cold platinum of the brand-new Rolex brushesoverstuffed chairs. As Anatoli now knows, his own partsa bit of a lick at his lips and her skin, he pushes herShe'll be alright in the lounge restroom for an hour orsetting aside his ledger and flipping open the cellular11:44 Ferrinus Adrian starts again. Three point one four one five ninefigures that if he can persuade his Beast to greedilyhe can get it to store anything.)11:44 Nicolae Is this still the night from last session?11:44 banana You'd spent a day at Savik's, so it's early in the nextnight.11:45 mattbaby Anton is already out of his haven. He manages to reachan arm around - he's in something of a tight spot, tocheck the time. The top-heavy blonde shifts a littleher skin, but it seems to be barely registering givenher shallow breathing.11:45 ill_repute Tonight, Savik's finally getting around to indexingsome of the more esoteric equipment in the warehouse.At the moment, he's just finished indexing a cratepackedcentrifuge and its attendent fuel canisters.Perfect.11:46 brennon Daniel is off on a merry adventure to activate hiscellphone with it's prepaid shit or whatever, add inthe two numbers he knows, and to look at what remainsof his life.11:47 banana Alexis nods, stepping back to sit in one of Luca'sof the court/haven tend more toward bleak postmodernaesthetics, computer screens and bare plasticeverywhere.11:47 mattbaby Oh, he's running a little late. Time to finish up. Withthighs past his shoulders as he rises to his feet.two, or until the staff kick another drunk out. It'snot really... important... to Anton. He's got what hewants.11:48 banana Prince Carrell: "Our reach is recovering, within thecity. It's almost what it once was. The problem iswhat's been going on outside, while we were alldistracted..."11:49 banana Savik's phone ring ring. Telephone bzzt.11:51 ill_repute He takes a moment to jot down a final few notes beforephone. "Hello."11:51 mattbaby He slips out of the restroom, then out the back door ofthe lounge. He's meeting Tex tonight, for the firsttime since the... well it wasn't exactly a murder, andit wasn't him, but... well...

Anton has allocated for his dead ass. The sheets aren'tlike his love life. Mostly ruined parts, the occasionalfrowning. "Uh," he says, on general principles. "What's11:52 Nicolae Dietrich is sitting cross-legged on the spartan bedgreat but it's not like he really needs them. There isa book of beginner's electronics propped against apillow. There are a pair of pliers and a screwdriver.There is a blender. The blender is no longer whole.11:52 banana It's a bit jarring, given his last interaction withSociety - and how recent it was - but Khas is actuallythe first of our heroes tonight to receive theinvitation. Max is in the lounge areas when he arriveshome and is surprisingly.. excited at the news. He'salmost bouncing around, nerd-aura vibrating the localaether. The front rooms of the Academy's halls seem abit less stuffy than usual, Emily and Highwall theretoo - all of them discussing the bits of paper withshared bewilderment.11:52 banana This is going great - Dietrich's been able to makethings go whirr just by touching wires together. Butwhere are all the screws?11:53 Nicolae It appears that Dietrich's mechanical life is goingspark, but not a screw in sight.11:53 Ferrinus Five five seven four eight this is great this isworking five seven two four two ha ha I think I've-Khas pauses as he walks into the Academy's foyer,going on?"11:54 banana Highwall turns, but is interrupted by Max. "One ofthem's addressed to me - to me PERSONALLY!"11:54 banana Highwall wordlessly holds out a little white card.11:54 banana It's addressed to you - to you personally.11:55 Ferrinus Khas takes the little white card - personally - andreads:11:55 banana Savik's phone scribbles a tale of frustration in hisear - things cropping up - so hard to make the journey- time to establish safe shelter back in the city -trouble out in the test zone - they'll have to put offthe meeting. TOMORROW night. SO sorry."11:56 banana [you are cordially envied]11:56 banana ["Last Night"]11:56 banana [the closure and reinauguration of Elysium East]11:56 mattbaby Anton takes the Kine Business blackberry from his leftpants pocket and dials a familiar number.11:57 Nicolae Ah. There they are. The downside to working on a bed isthat the screws sometimes roll down in the depressionof your body and end up under your nuts. Dietrich isglad his fingers have grown back, and idly wonders ifthere's cosmetic surgery for vampires. He's still only

11:57 banana Emily's frowning. "I don't think this is my kind ofthing..."11:57 ill_repute "Trouble?" He frowns. "What kind of trouble?"11:57 Nicolae !wodroll 5 Just for fun, let's see if Deet can figureout how to put the blender back together. Int + Crafts.11:57 Ferrinus Nicolae rolls 5 dice (Rerolling 10s) to Just for fun,back together. Int + Crafts. and gets 2 successes.(Rerolls: 1 Failures: 3 Ones: 0)11:58 ill_repute He's quick to accept the change of date, but it alwayspays to be a concerned neighbor.11:58 banana Anna sighs on the telephone. "Someone's gone and- Boothtalk about in person."11:58 banana "It's not all bad, anyway, just complicated."11:58 ill_repute "Very well. Tomorrow, then."11:58 Ferrinus Khas is eyeing his card skeptically. "Not mine either,us here get one?" Who'd invite Philosopher anywhere?11:58 banana Anna: "Tomorrow *night*, I hope"11:58 banana Highwall: "Hah, no. In fact, all four of the eldersseem to be mysteriously excluded."11:59 Nicolae Dietrich, who apparently does not get an invite, isnonetheless pleased to discover that he hassuccessfully put a blender back together.11:59 banana Max: "Come on, look. How often do ANY of us get invitedto- a social event? Has this ever happened before?"11:59 banana He's practically beside himself, standing up straighterthan usual.11:59 Nicolae The casing doesn't fit right and the FRAPPE button isanyway? The fact remains: Dietrich is great.11:59 banana Could Khas make a perception roll, actually - but asocial one, manipulation instead of wits.12:00 Ferrinus Khas: "Well, I just was. Went okay, if any of you arewondering."12:00 Ferrinus Ferrinus rolls 5 dice (Rerolling 10s) to socialperception..?! and gets 0 successes. (Rerolls: 0Failures: 5 Ones: 0)12:00 Nicolae For a moment Dietrich wonders if Anton's car is stillparked outside as his eyes wander to BEGINNER'S CARREPAIR AND MAINTENANCE.12:01 banana Daniel's got.. a lot of email. This is basically theworst case scenario. There's almost too much to evencontemplate reading.. it looks like three months offriends, family and relatives assuming he was alive...12:01 banana And then an *abrupt* tapering off, leaving mostly

12:01 Nicolae Hm. Probably should save the fancy cars for at leastthe Intermediate stuff.12:02 banana There's a rapping Dietrich's door. (Not the kind withYo in it)12:02 Ferrinus "Although," Khas continues, "I'm gonna need to assembleone of those fancy scrolls we do basically saying thatI was here last night at 2:30. Max, you could probablyproduce some sort of snippet of camera feed orsomething from then, right?"12:02 banana 'Tex' Connor: "Hi, who's th- oh. Anton. H-ello."12:03 Nicolae I think it's technically Anton's door. They're doingthe Odd Couple bit. Dietrich cocks an eyebrow and setsdown the blender. Half the facing falls off from thepressure of being gently laid on a mattress.12:03 Nicolae Dietrich walks to the door and stares peepholeward."Yeah?"12:04 brennon Daniel sits in front of the screen, scrolling throughthe subject list of his email, the light from themonitor making him look far more dead than he alreadyis. Maybe I'll just read this later, it's.. it's notlike I don't want to there is just so much. Thats why.I wonder if there is still any money in my bankaccount, or if that's been closed on account of beingdead.12:04 ill_repute The conversation comes to an end with a beep. Asignificantly ruffled Savik stows the cellphone in hispocket before turning and donning a welding mask.the dead could keep an appointment.12:05 mattbaby "Tex. How are things? I hope everything's well sinceBrussels." Anton leaves unspoken the reason Connoractually had to -go- to Brussels in the first place.12:05 ill_repute He takes it out on the metal frame he's been workingon.12:05 banana There was actually quite a lot of money in Daniel'sbank account last month - back pay, combat bonuses,severance, life insurance..........12:05 banana But then it was closed. Withdrawn in full to theaccount of M. Clark.12:06 banana Apparently he's, well. Dead.12:06 brennon What!? But..12:06 banana He doesn't have his dog tags - must have lost them onthe rig. That means..12:09 banana Max appears completely uninterested. "Oh, sure, sure.I think I'll do.. hmm."12:09 banana The back of the card does do that; it also gives the

address of the Incessant, in case you're Stupid, and itwas here at two thirty last night stands between me andknock it off now, real quick, and - I dunno, I could goyears? he's never seen it before. The guy is actually..Crones?" Was this Sister's work again? Anatoli wouldn'tmentions that the "envitor" is Luca Carrell.12:09 Ferrinus "Max, how long would it take you?" Khas's tone of voicecould best be described 'tenacious' here.12:10 brennon I guess they do need the money more, although it'sprobably little consolation about having a dead son.Daniel closes the browser and rests his chin on hishands, staring at the grassy field and blue sky on thedesktop. He feels a bit... lost, right now.12:11 banana The Australian shrugs dismissively. "Not long. I'll getaround to it. Leave me a note in my pigeonhole." Hemoves to - uncharacteristically - /stride/ off.12:12 Nicolae Max must feel like he has the Giant merit tonight...12:13 Ferrinus Khas is off after him. "Hang on, hang on. Proof that Ia truckload of pissed-off Invictus. How about you justdown with you, find whoever needs to receive, and dropit off straightaway."12:13 brennon No reason just to sit there though; even if I'm unsureof the destination, I shouldn't stop on the road. Timeto pay the guy at the counter and head off to get someprepaid minutes for the phone. Then back to thewarehouse I guess. What else is there for Daniel to dobut sit around all depressed about being dead.12:13 banana Something strikes Khas - though he's known Max forwell, big and tough-looking, like an athlete, and welldressed? This is very odd. Every time your eyes try tofocus you get a feeling of antisocial, uninterestingraving Nerd, and his face is so pockmarked, but withhis head turned away the mullet isn't geeky at all.This must be the particular thing of his Nosferatucurse.12:14 banana A few taps on his keyboard and the shop clerk assuresthe dead Clark he's got Talk Minutes.12:14 Ferrinus "That way no one's- uh, no one's got anything hangingover their head for a week." Khas is slightlydisconcerted. Because what? Max? He can't be- what?12:15 Vermain Anatoli nods. "She mentioned something about, the, eh,put it past her. He remained hopeful that it wasn't,though. Frankly, Sister was someone he respected, andthe whole Shoot First idea was slowly starting tobecome... unappealing, somehow.12:15 banana Max turns around, sneering unattractively and hisaccent deepening. "Is that an order, *Scholar*?"12:16 banana Emily's behind him, and it's a bit hard to concentrate

with the look on her face; trying very hard not to busthimself. "Oh. Well, of course, I will get to it - couldonto a piece of paper and leaving it for Max to work onproves he was by), as well as aking Highwall if there'sa tiny gut in laughter.12:16 Ferrinus Khas leans back a little, more out of surprise thananything. "Well - no, I was just - I mean, it madesense." This is like being snarled at by a duck.12:17 banana Max is instantly appeased and a little surprisedyou leave the details in my pigeonhole. Please. Itwon't take that long."12:17 banana You get the feeling he was expecting a "yes".12:18 Ferrinus Khas has no idea what he was expecting, but he looksrelieved that Being Reasonable seems to have worked."Oh, great. Uh, thanks, then, I'll seeya."12:19 Ferrinus Khas's next hour is consumed with scribbling a request(essentially, he needs a short video clip or voicerecording or something on some medium that basicallya stack anywhere of those cool scroll things theAcademy's wont to use for formal messages. Adrianfigures that with Max's recording, plus signaturesfrom, say, Highwall and Gypsy, he's solid.12:20 Nicolae At least until he learns Protean 5.12:20 banana Highwall and Emily were kind of trapped in the sittinglibrary* by your argument, and sort of sidle out onceMax is out of the way. Highwall does murmur: "And whywasn't it an order?"12:20 banana * although it's got sofas and a table, there's notreally a room in the Academy which isn't a library.12:22 Ferrinus "It's not like it was critical to my Work or anything,"says Khas, by way of explanation. "I mean, I've got aweek."12:22 banana Dietrich's greeted at the door by.. some human. Hevaguely recognises an intern from SIS. "Sir? Got apackage run over from the office for the boss oryourself if he's not here. Something personal."12:22 banana He's holding an envelope.12:23 banana Carrell: "That's right. I don't want to say they'vebeen up to *no good*.. I mean, that's their raisond'etre. Up to even less good? There's something oddgoing on. Two things, in fact!"12:24 Nicolae Dietrich looks a little surprised, but he takes theenvelope and looks at it. What's it look like? "Hunh.Who's it from?" he asks.12:24 banana Carrell: "Number one: the politics. They're pushing*hard* on the Council, using every bit of theirconsiderably influence to get the results of thisreferendum disregarded.. I want to know why, and if

they don't have a very good reason I want it stopped.manipulates the object cradled in his arms- a number ofmetallic cylinders on some sort of axle, which connectsthe office." He shrugs. "Thanks for this, I'll tell himyou brought it." He pauses for a moment. Why not put inIt's a risk."12:25 banana "Number two.. this might interest you personally. Therehave been strange reports from the wilds.. Kautokeino-Guovdageaidnu. Maybe also Djikstrakollectiv. Monsters."12:26 banana "Sightings and terrorisations.. the AbominableSnowman."12:26 Vermain Anatoli's face goes white. Well... whiter. Well...metaphorically, anyways. "You do not mean..." Dramaticpause. "...the yeti?"12:27 banana The Prince smiles, a vindictive light in his eyes. "It*could* be someone else."12:27 Vermain "Well, eh, let's put it this way... is it large, white,hairy? Bits of Manion stuck in its beard?"12:28 banana "By all reports.. except, there's two of them.Apparently."12:28 brennon Daniel knocks at the warehouse door. Is it cool just togo in or what? I mean he has a shitload of guns inthere. "Hello..?"12:29 banana The SIS courier shrugs. "The boss said if anyone at theoffice opened envelopes with that seal, they'd befired, drawn and quartered."12:29 Vermain Two? Dear God. Did the mouth of Hell open up recentlyand no one informed Anatoli? "Do you think the twocould be, eh... related, somehow?"12:30 ill_repute When Daniel arrives at the warehouse, Savik's sittingin the foyer of his workroom, listening intently as heinto a rifle stock. He rotates it once, frowning at aseries of metallic clicks and taps the device makes."Oh, you're back. Moment." He attacks it with ascrewdriver.12:31 banana Carrell: "My dear locally-Gregorsson, when it comes tothe para-amorous proclivities of our esteemedmixologess' wayward patronus I make a point to neverexcept possible overreach."12:31 Nicolae Dietrich looks down at the seal. "Good thing I'm not ata good word for the kid. "What's your name?"12:31 brennon How does he break the news to Savik? "Savik, I'm sorrybut I--- I'm dead.." No, thats really not that funny Iguess. "Yeah, I have a phone now too." Daniel doesn'tsound as excited as you'd think about this!12:31 banana "Davey Nipperkin. Thanks, Mr.. uh, sorry, I'veforgotten the new name we were supposed to use."12:31 banana He winks.

12:32 Vermain That English runs over Anatoli's decaying brain like asteamroller. He merely gives a thumbs up. "Great,great! I will, eh... be sure to check up on it all,yes? With your leave?"12:33 banana "Please do. I'd suggest making formal contact with theCircle in lord Angelou's demense - neutral ground."12:34 ill_repute A shrug and a weird look. "Did you come all the wayback just to tell me this?" He lifts the cylinder ontothe workbench. "-wouldn't believe how tempermental theM32 is-"12:34 Nicolae Dietrich scowls. "Not funny, Davey." He shakes his headand digs in his pocket and gives the courier a smallthe dead. A tip, because it's beneficial to be nice tothe people who bring you confidential mail.12:35 Vermain "Good, good, yes... I do know a few, eh, contacts, yes?I will find a good emissary." Anatoli bows deeply,scuttling out of the back room.12:35 banana Tex: "It's all.. good. I've got all sortsa things onthe boil. Being away for a while, all this legislationto catch up on - and I missed the referendum! Can youbelieve these simps actually voted for accession?"12:36 banana "Gotta do some heavy lobbying, or we'll all beEuropeans come twenny ten."12:36 brennon Daniel takes a seat on a nearby box. "No, not really.You wanted to say something about the Carthians ordo at the moment."12:38 Nicolae Dietrich sends off the winky courier and shuts thedoor, locking it and throwing deadbolts as he looks atsort of seal that's very obviously from ImportantKindred.12:38 banana Anatoli narrowly avoids bashing into a wall as he pullsoff the bow-scuttle. You get a lot of experience withthat thing in Mysterious KGB-affiliated Pasts.12:39 banana Here's the seal it has on it: http://forthehor.de/soroya/Seal.png12:39 Vermain And tumbling out of cars. Well. That went rather well.Aside from the fact that he now has to meet with theCircle. And the yetis. Plural.12:39 ill_repute Savik shrugs. "Well," He wipes his grease-streakedhands on a rag. "What more do you want to know?"12:40 mattbaby "I know, I know! Well look. We've got a lot of thingsto talk about - I've been bundling and have a lot todiscuss, especially when it comes to the SIS projects.We can also talk about that fuckin' Accession fevereveryone has got these days."

or is it just your basic "white envelope, red seal,that's it" affair?12:40 banana It's addressed to "The Barony of Sørøyhav"12:41 Nicolae Dietrich taps his finger against his chin. Open it? Notopen it?12:42 brennon "Well, what do you see as the end goal of yourorganization?" Daniel fiddles with his phone as hespeaks, setting various display features up.12:43 banana Tex: "Then let's meet some time tomorrow - it's latenow, and I just got back. After a bit of catch up I'llbe more on top of it all. Aides didn't all come toBrussels."12:43 Nicolae Dietrich tosses the envelope on a coffee table andpicks up a phone. He is indeed about to call Anton.12:43 Nicolae Dial tone beep beep ring12:44 banana Max is Out, which poses a problem for Khas, because hedoesn't seem to be coming back any time soon.Highwall's sympathetic - he usually is - and sarcastic- similarly so. He believes you about meeting withDaniel and Gypsy at that time, of course - but hasn'tseen Gypsy either. "Do you want me to just fake themind."12:45 ill_repute He frowns thoughtfully. "Look at our society. The waythings operate- the 'people' who run it. Take it in asa whole. Then expand that view outward to include ourinteractions with the humans and their society."12:45 VoxPVoxD No don't12:45 mattbaby "Tomorrow's really - Tex, I have another phone callcoming in. Hold for just a second, please?"12:47 brennon Humans? Not so different, are you? "Mhmm, what of yourinteractions with people who are still alive though?What is their place in your ideal society?"12:47 banana Tex: "Hah! You bet-" he presses a button, and there'shold music playing to *you*. Kid Rock.12:47 ill_repute "Then consider how poorly, how badly managed the wholething is- I'm getting to that."12:47 Ferrinus Khas purses his lips. "I'm sure Gypsy wouldn't care,but I can just imagine the Unconquered finding out.Somehow. I mean, signed contracts are their meat anddrink. I guess you can note that you saw me here ataround two forty, though?" Khas looks around whereverhe and his mentor are. "I thought Gypsy was just goingout for a snack...I'll go ask Emily, I guess, hang on."12:47 brennon i love classy cat12:48 Ferrinus Khas wonders if Emily resents that, thus far, she haschiefly served Adrian as a means of accessing a more

powerful and important vampire. Well, that and aninvitation is stuck to a tree, with a dart. Hauptmann'sassembling and handing in all these stupid documents onkillings are the result of hunger left unsated for far,appealing, mainly because he knows so damn little aboutthem. He knows Sister, but Sister is... different? He'sincredibly demoralizing Scrabble opponent.12:48 mattbaby Anton nods a bit. Weird guy. Whatever. He puts Tex onhold and thumbs over to the Deetphone, which heanswers.12:48 banana Highwall: "Yes, point. Actually, they can sometimestell a valid contract by *looking* at it."12:48 mattbaby "Anton."12:48 banana That didn't sound like a joke.12:48 Ferrinus "Yeah. Heck, I'm pretty sure that's why Su Brescia'sconscious right now."12:50 ill_repute "The powerful in our society all live by one creedmightmakes right. In a society that is as dangerousand degenerate as our own, the results are disastrous."12:50 banana It takes a while, but Adrian finds Emily disconsolatelythrowing a ball around in the holoforest. Hernowhere to be seen.12:50 Nicolae "Some courier from SIS stopped by with a letter foryou. There's a court seal on it, addressed to theBarony of Soroyhav." He pronounces the o slashes butdoes not write them. "Seriously? You get Kindred maildelivered to work?" he asks, his tone somewhatincredulous but not really deeply concerned.12:50 Ferrinus Anyway, if Gypsy can't be found, Adrian will probablyhave no choice but to simply give up the pipe dream ofthis very night. The Master of Wild Revelations wouldsurely be the heaviest-hitting name on the sheet!12:50 banana More problematic is he'd be the *only* name on it.12:52 ill_repute "Ask yourself- why do we kill? How do we, as a group,benefit from the murder of humans? Obviously, we needto survive. But killing isn't necessary at all- mostfar too long."12:52 ill_repute "Then you have to ask yourself, why is the vampirehungry? Why can't he feed himself?"12:52 Vermain Anatoli thinks as he walks, winding up the tall stairs.Meeting with the Crones doesn't sound particularlynot sure why he's so convinced of that offhandedly.12:52 mattbaby "A court seal? Shit. All right - meet me downstairs intwo minutes, let me swing by to take a look at it. Idon't have my mail delivered to SIS, don't tell peopleto send things there. Prince Carrell, or somebody, ismaking a statement."12:53 banana Certainly the fact that she chooses to live among

Boss." Dietrich flips shut the phone and very carefullyeven if he didn't actually see Adrian enter, Adrian wasis a little annoyed at Daniel brushing him off, but notenough to go around. But there isn't, ever. Not as longthe better of three evils, right now. Frankly, he isn't*people* sets her apart.12:53 brennon Daniel sits with arms folded, listening intently. "Youtell me."12:54 Vermain Going and seeing her would be counterproductive. Ifshe's as clever as Anatoli knows she is, he wouldn'tget a straight answer if he squeezed it out of her.Still... his other options are limited. He can try andcontact the Circle directly, which screams Bad Idea.12:54 banana There's also the option of doing it through theInvictus - and Angelou.12:54 banana *They* do respect the authority of the Court.12:55 banana For some reason...12:55 banana (Not that it seems anything but reasonable to Anatoli)12:55 Nicolae "Hell of a statement, then. Meet you downstairs in two,tries to put back the edge of the seal where he peeledit up just a little bit while talking to Anton.12:55 Ferrinus He wouldn't be the only name on the sheet! In additionto the video/audio, Max could sign off on letting Khasin through the door, and Highwall could vouchsafe thatcertainly in the building not ten minutes later. Khasso annoyed as to toss the kid's name into Carrel's maw.12:55 Ferrinus So, in the holoforest: "Seen Gypsy?"12:56 ill_repute "From the outside, the question seems silly. There's somany people, and so few of us- there should easily beas the powerful continue to maintain a stranglehold onall the feeding grounds. Take for example- what wouldhave happened, on your first night, if you hadn't beenable to go to that club in Chinatown. What if youdidn't get a meal?"12:56 Vermain Hmm. Diplomatic channels. As indirect as it is, it'sexpecting much. A group as secretive as the Cronesdoesn't exactly strike him as being open with theirmotivations, especially when Carrel is concerned.Everyone seems to turn into a snake when he's around.12:56 Nicolae Dietrich is downstairs two minutes later.12:56 banana Emily: "No."12:56 mattbaby Anton is downstairs two and three quarters minuteslater.12:56 Nicolae Dietrich wins!12:57 brennon "I.. I really don't know to be honest, would I havedied?"12:57 ill_repute "Eventually, if you didn't get a meal. First, though,you'd go berserk."

12:57 Vermain Given the urgency of the task, Anatoli does theunthinkable: he decides to borrow a car from Carrel.Not that borrowing is out of his league, but Anatolihasn't had a proper vehicle in a few years, now. Notthat it matters. Driving's just like riding a bike.12:57 Ferrinus Khas admires the 'sunlight' (just how much does itfrenzy when he first came here, or is the entire thingoddly calm?) for a moment before responding: "Well,damn. Uh - I guess drop that I'm looking for him whenyou see him next, please?"12:57 ill_repute "And that's where the killing begins."12:58 banana The Beast knows the light for what it is, which makesit all the more pleasant that it's so realistic to thehuman. Hauptmann's illusions are very skilled.13:00 brennon "So, do you extend your compassion to people who diefrom this, or merely to the vampires who end up withblood on their hands?" Daniel may seem a bit naive atfirst, but he can be a bit confrontational, as Saviklearns.13:00 Nicolae Dietrich meets Anton and hands over the envelopequickly.13:00 Vermain Through fate and good fortune, Anatoli manages toMiata is doing in Eastern Europe is one of life's manymysteries. He trundles out and begins the dark drivesouth.13:00 banana Inside is one of the same cards, except that it'saddressed to "the bearer" rather than anyone inparticular.13:00 banana "Last Night" is decorated with various squiggly bits,and the edge is of course pressed gilt. Presumablyeveryone who's anyone will be there.13:01 banana Well.. maybe. Just how popular are parties organised byLuca? Does she *really* have pull - why would she?13:01 ill_repute He thinks for a moment. "Intellectually, yes. That partof me that truly cared died a long, long time ago."13:01 VoxPVoxD Gravitational, maybe13:01 mattbaby Oh - it's organized by luca?13:01 Nicolae "Hunh. Why'd they go to the trouble of fancying it upand sending it to your Kine office and then not evenput your name on it?"13:01 brennon "Then why do you do what you do?"13:01 banana "Luca Carrell" is the signature on the back.13:02 Ferrinus Khas imagines that Emily isn't going to be forthcomingwith details of Gypsy's travels either way, and soonleaves her to her own devices. (Where is Hauptmann,anyway? Probably not important.) If he can't secure a

signature from Gypsy, then the affadavit's got no hopeof being 'finished' in the coming night - probably bestlong nose and a dot on his forehead and chin?" Dietrichdietrich into elysium. if you for some reason wanted tothen, you wanted to know something about that FIST unitbullshit, you know. Guy brags a little, gets kicked outdone tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow. Got an entire week.13:02 mattbaby "Full stop, underscore, full stop."13:02 ill_repute "Because I am interested in preserving our society. Thefact that a kindred commune would drastically reducethe number of humans killed in desperation feedings isonly a helpful side effect."13:03 ill_repute "As it is, the model followed by the unconquered isunsustainable. Ours is better."13:03 banana Ah, a pragmatic dispute.13:03 mattbaby "Luca Carrell is throwing a party for the Elysiummigration. Since I'm afraid you won't be able toattend, Deet, maybe you can keep a closer eye thanusual around here?"13:04 Nicolae Dietrich thinks about that for a moment. "A guy with ais unfamiliar with the Japanese style orientation ofsmilies, it seems.13:04 brennon Although Daniel does appreciate your pragmatism, hiscurrent expression betrays a bit of dissapointment toyou (Here is an illustration ·_·) "I see.."13:04 ill_repute "Cheer up. You'll stop caring soon enough."13:04 >mattbaby< a thing occurs to you13:05 mattbaby "Something like that. I saw it the other day on somestupid Kine website."13:05 >mattbaby< technically, this invitation could BE a pass to getdo that13:05 brennon Daniel kicks his feet up onto another box, reclining abit. "Well, I guess it's your turn to ask a questionthey gave me?"13:06 Nicolae Dietrich scowls. "Dammit. That is some kind ofof Kindred government. What the fuck, man."13:06 Nicolae "But, yeah, I'll keep an eye on things around here. Igot some stuff I've been working on."13:06 mattbaby "Actually... it says 'bearer' on the card, so I guess Icould crash and you could use the card to go, if youwanted to."13:07 Nicolae "I wonder if Prince Carrell's Blood Hunt order getsoverridden by a party invite from his girlfriend."13:07 Nicolae He looks thoughtful.13:08 Nicolae "Is there Invictus protocol for that?"13:08 Ferrinus What this means is that Khas's agenda for the comingnight is to lock down his memory and begin review ofhis experimental results. Gypsy'll surely be in

tomorrow night, right? Or after tomorrow night, at thevery least. If that falls through... well, Khas isn'tsure.13:08 ill_repute Savik smiles for the first time since the conversationbegan. "Yes, actually. I have a question in mind."13:08 mattbaby "Well, he is the Prince, it's not like he'd let someslip of paper stop him from doing something he reallywanted to, anyway."13:09 brennon "Then fire away." Daniel realizes this was probably notthe best selection of words in his current situation.13:10 Nicolae "I dunno, aren't you guys pretty nuts about paper?"13:10 mattbaby "Yea but whatever authority Luca has comes fromCarrell, she serves at his pleasure, so to speak."13:11 ill_repute Savik retrives his ledger- it seems he puts everythingin this damn thing- and unfolds a wrinkled piece ofpaper- there's a series of telephone numbers scrawledonto it. "You know how to operate the system, yes? Iknow a man who knows where it was being kept."13:11 Nicolae "And nobody else's," he mutters.13:11 ill_repute "We're going to steal a warehouse full of operationFIST units."13:12 ill_repute "I'm sorry. Operational. My english- not so good." Hewaves his hand at nothing.13:12 mattbaby "Keep shit like that to yourself or you're dead and I'mfucked."13:12 brennon Daniel is silent for a moment. "Thats rather..ambitious of you. And yes, I do know how to operateit."13:13 Nicolae "I've died twice so far, I think I'm getting the hangof it." But he shuts up nonetheless.13:13 ill_repute His smile deepens. "You're just the man I need. You'vesaid before you never really *liked* working for them,and I'm certain someone as fresh as you could use themoney."13:14 ill_repute He gently closes the ledger and begins to dial up thenumber he recieved from Doctor Booth*~extraordinaire~*; The Ordo Dracul.13:14 VoxPVoxD Boat. Doctor Boat. You Moron.13:14 banana Booth is a carthian!13:15 VoxPVoxD So is Boat.13:15 banana okay yes13:15 banana But I mean, Booth is a radical who Anatoli and Dietrichmet out in the Test Zone once.13:15 brennon It's true that he didn't appreciate the work, but hedidn't mind saving the people he did save, at least..."You'd trust someone you just met not only with yourplans but with the operation itself?"13:16 ill_repute He nestles the phone between his shoulder and neck,

speaking as it dials. "What are you going to do, turnme over to the CIA?"13:16 ill_repute He chuckles to himself.13:20 brennon "I suppose not, before I agree to anything though; I'dlike to hear what your plan is exactly-" Daniel eyesthe phone on Savik's shoulder. "-when you're done, ofcourse."13:22 ill_repute "Sell most of the systems, keep a few for personal usepossibly?"13:23 ill_repute "Or do you mean in a greater sense, what I will do withmy money?"13:23 brennon "No, how you intend to steal the FIST units."13:23 ill_repute Reggie Retcon rears his ugly head: I'm calling ANTONCHERNOVIC, noted dreadlord13:24 banana Presumably it was just a misdial earlier.13:24 Nicolae All that frost makes the keys slipperty13:25 ill_repute He glances sideways at Daniel. "I'll improvise."13:25 mattbaby Another phone rings. Kin business phone.13:25 mattbaby "Anton." he flips the card between his fingers a fewtimes.13:25 ill_repute "Mister Chernovic. Is now a good time to talkbusiness?"13:28 mattbaby "I'm always willing to talk business. What can theBaron of Sørøyhav do for you tonight?" (its soroyhavright all these foreign sounding funnynames)13:29 banana It is!13:29 banana -hav is just norwegian for -isle13:33 ill_repute "Good. I've found a man- a kindred, in fact- who hasinvaluable knowledge of Blackwater's operations inSoroya. My original offer is still available- a cut ofwho can lead me to their last known location."13:33 ill_repute "Obviously the men in charge have since moved theequipment, but it would be as good a starting locationas any."13:33 banana Anatoli behind the wheel is a safer Anatoli. He tears -joint municipality of Guovdageaidnu and Kautokeino.South-western Sørøya is a mountain man's paradise, allcrags and valleys and ridges covered in snowy pine..built for tanks, in Cold War days, and now supportcommercial trucking routes to Oslo and Stockholm.Swedish industry takes in Sørøyan raw materials andreturns the luxuries, processed goods and above all*warm clothes* that make life livable in the north.13:34 banana If you aren't alive, this isn't really relevant.

13:36 Vermain Anatoli's Miata scrapes onwards into the forebodingcountryside. He's somewhat glad that he now appears tobe going to an entirely normal meeting. The last fewtimes he's driven anywhere, something Terrible hasalways happened. Like a yeti attack. Or a Blackwaterattack. Or a Hunter attack.13:36 mattbaby "Well, well, well. That is delightful to hear, MisterAglukkaq.I have the perfect Kin for the job. What wasthe agreed-upon percentage, again?"13:36 ill_repute He smiles shrewdly at Daniel. "There was no agreed-uponpercentage, Mister Chernovic."13:37 ill_repute "I'd be willing to settle at, oh, ninety-ten."13:37 VoxPVoxD Anton's laughter is so loud Daniel can hear it eventhough the phone's not on speaker.13:38 ill_repute Savik cracks his knuckles.13:38 mattbaby "Thirty percent, and you supply my men with a cut ofthe merchandise we recover."13:39 brennon Daniel's expression changes little with Savik's smile.Still unnervingly stoic...13:39 ill_repute "Fifteen and ten units."13:40 banana Nothing goes wrong on Anatoli's trip whatsoever. Hegets tailgated, for a while, by a minibus.13:41 mattbaby "I have no idea what a unit of these things is. Twentyseven percent, and enough for the whole force and halfagain for spare parts and replacements."13:42 banana By midnight, the roads are nearly empty - just trucks -and he's pulling into the outskirts of Guovdageaidnu.- tens of thousands of families. There aren't a lot ofshops or industry, just dirt-grubbing farms andreindeer stables. By the directions Carrell gave him,Angelou's home should be on a bluff above the trainstation - No. 1 Rue de la Roi.13:43 ill_repute "A unit. A single, operational set of gear," He hisses."I'm not going to accept anything that has a twenty infront of it, so get that out of your head."13:45 mattbaby Anton snarls wordlessly on his end of the line.13:45 banana How dare this merchant make.. commercial deals!13:46 mattbaby "Fine. Eighteen percent. Enough of the merchandise formy men plus twenty percent for spares."13:47 ill_repute He twists his cellphone's antenna slightly. "What'sthat, Mister Chernovic? I can't be certain you'rebreaking up! I know for certain you didn't say twentyanywhere, right? Chernovic? Hello?"13:47 Vermain Ah. French residence. Anatoli exits the (parked) Miata,

dusting off his hands. He should likely feel more thana little foreboding about visiting a spooky vampireinside of a manor on top of a hill, but he's tooconcerned with how he's going to manage this wholesituation.13:48 mattbaby "Fifteen and plus fifteen." Anton irritatedly adds.13:48 ill_repute "Done and done. Where would you like to meet, sir?"13:48 ill_repute He gives Daniel a thumbs up.13:49 mattbaby "Let me call my contact. I'll call you in a moment withhis location, you'll need to give him a lift."13:49 banana It's a strange thing, to focus so on your own mind.the stresses of the Chrysalis, but this is different.He feels like he should be on some psych's couch.13:50 Ferrinus Here's Adrian's plan: cause his Beast to start treatingmemories like it treats blood.13:51 ill_repute "Excellent." He hangs up.13:51 Vermain What exactly is he going to -say- to the Cronerepresentative, if he can even get one? "Hey, what'sCarrell, wants to know." Hrm. This is going to requiretreads up the bluff.13:51 brennon Daniel sits with his arms still crosses, and regardsyet Savik. What can I expect to get out of this?"13:51 Ferrinus Voraciously drink them in, store them away safely atthe core... and the thing about memories is that,unlike drops of blood, they never need to be spent.13:52 ill_repute He turns to face the gangrel, smirking at the question."You act like your consent matters to 'Baron'Chernovic."13:52 ill_repute "So I'll be nice. What do you want?"13:52 mattbaby Anton punches in the numbers for Adrian Khas. Prettylousy deal, really. Ring Ring.13:53 Ferrinus Khas's eyes slam open, and empty voids contract intopupils as Toccata and Fugue plays in little electronicbeeps.13:53 Ferrinus Adrian Khas digs through one of his pockets, looksdown, and stares at the ringing phone philosophically.This is it. The first call he's actually received in -months, it must've been, at the least.13:53 Ferrinus Here we gooooo- "Hello?"13:53 banana Lord Angelou's castle is. It's got *battlements*. Thewhole thing's made of quarried stone.. though itcertainly doesn't look like it's been here sincemedieval times. Standing in a little set of parkingbays on top of the bluff above central Kautokeino-

Guovdageaidnu, Anatoli can see the town below - thericher 'norwegian' half to the west and the 'sami' partand this isn't 1950 anymore.. but the business districtthe natives, their parks and actually quite interestingmore of not wanting to give up his only useful resourcealmost big enough to be called a lake. Strangely out ofcaldera, filled with rainwater.. though it goes so deepto the right. There's some intermingling, of course,and big factories are clearly all to the west.Angelou's castle faces the other way, looking down onthe ancient train station and the basically-hovels ofarchitecture.. there's a barbican, but it's for show;there's also a doorbell.13:54 mattbaby "Mister Khas? This is Baron Chernovic. Is this a badtime?"13:54 brennon Daniel hadn't really thought about this much, it waseasily. "I, uh. I guess a cut that befits the assumedimportant I have in this operation? Tell me though,what will this involve? Is this like hijacking someshipment or ransacking an empty warehouse or what?"13:54 Ferrinus "Not...necessarily. What d'you- what's up?" Khas'sexpression is carefully blank, although, of course, noone can actually see it at the moment.13:56 ill_repute "We won't know for sure until we get there. So go allout." He gestures over toward the rest of thewarehouse. "Take your pick. On the house."13:56 mattbaby "Remember Blackwater? Night we met? High tech weaponsand shit? I've got some pushy Kin gunrunners who canget them and move them. Issue is, they need a guidewho's been out there to the camp..."13:56 ill_repute "That's just for the mission, too. Afterwards we canwork on your cut."13:57 Ferrinus "Yyyyeah, I remember. Grenades were involved, as Irecall," says Khas. His tone is very guarded, and hecarefully doesn't say anything more.13:57 Vermain Anatoli cautiously shuffles forwards, pushing a thinindex finger into the doorbell. He's expecting thedoors to ominously open with a massive creak at anymoment.13:57 Nicolae Dietrich, meanwhile, is back up in the apartment. Whathe is currently doing to the toaster oven wouldtechnically count as a Humanity 2 sin were the toasteroven sentient.13:58 banana "Castle" Angelou is situated by a wide, deep pool -place on the top of a hill, it could be an ancientthat it might be a natural spring also. Little signsbetween the lake and the castle warn of "PrivateSecurity", but that's what Anatoli is too.

parts similar to his old standard loadout. "What aboutArmour, tertiary gear too; like an emergency medicalkit and such."13:59 mattbaby "Yea. I remember the grenades And more besides.. Well,look. If you aren't busy, I was wondering if you couldlend your eminent services to the job."14:01 Ferrinus Khas: "Iiii dunno, man. It sounds pretty risky, andthe ice is some explosives."14:01 ill_repute Savik ambles back over to the workbench and carefullyreassembles the cylinder. "Bullets aren't as much ain the back, over that- yeah. There." At the requestfor a medical kit: "What, why? Won't do us any good.Dead weight."14:01 Ferrinus After a pause: "...but I guess I owe you, right?"14:01 ill_repute He turns to face Daniel, holding the reassembledgrenade launcher in his hands.14:02 mattbaby "I figure, ghosts, and whatever tore up that halftrack,we'd be square. Well?"14:02 brennon Daniel looks dead serious as he speaks. "It might dosomeone else good."14:02 banana The Russian rings the Castle Bell at Midnight. There'sa thin hum, and within seconds it opens; a man in abutler's garb is standing there like he's been waitingfor you to ring with a dim hall behind him.14:02 banana "Good evening," says the butler in formal French, "andwelcome to the House of Angelou."14:03 Ferrinus There's another pause, then Khas's voice: "...yeah.scout through a camp. Where are we meeting?"14:03 ill_repute He pauses. "Go ahead then. I'd hate to murder anyoneyou knew."14:04 Vermain Good lord. This guy really plays it up, doesn't he? Thedisparaging thoughts quickly vanish behind thecoming to talk to good Count Angelou. It is, eh,urgent."14:04 Vermain Granted, he doesn't know if Angelou is a Count, butwith this setup, he may as well be.14:04 mattbaby "Where are you? I'm sending someone to pick you up. Amister Savik Aglukkaq. He's the gun dealer who's sointerested in the shit."14:05 brennon Daniel nods, and he helps himself to a modest SMG andlight kevlar vest in addition to the Kit. He alreadyhas a baton though, hopefully nobody dies this time

the first thing I'd do after dying would be to continuearound, especially not himself (again). "Never thoughtthis line of work.."14:05 ill_repute "14:05 ill_repute "There's a lot of things you never think you'd do- theyall end up happening pretty fast."14:05 Ferrinus Another pause, and this one almost seems a bit...resentful? But: "I'm... at the Academy. I'll get somesupplies together, tell Savik to give me a ring whenhe's out front."14:06 mattbaby "See you there. Thanks." Anton rolls his eyes as hehangs up the phone. What was this guy doing all thetime that was such a big fuckin deal?14:07 banana Not getting exploded.14:07 Nicolae Dietrich is upstairs trying to rig up the blender toturn on when you hit the TOAST button on the toasteroven.14:07 banana On the other phone, "Forever" is just finishing. DidTex go off and do something?14:07 Nicolae It is for a Project.14:07 brennon Daniel looks alot different with the gun in his handsand the vest on. Reluctantly in the element that hewishes wasn't his. "Alright, you ready?"14:07 Nicolae Specifically, a project to put the toaster oven andblender together.14:08 banana Blend.. bread?14:08 mattbaby Anton quickly calls back Savik and Dietrich to relaythe relevant details and get him back downstairs,respectively.14:08 Nicolae It's more of a proof of concept.14:08 Ferrinus Khas releases a drawn-out breath, sighing at the emptyroom around him. He closes his eyes a minute more,checking that all the machinery's stillrunning...yyyep. Allright. Time to...pack.14:08 Nicolae The concept in this case being basic electronicscompetency.14:09 mattbaby "Tex..?" Anton shrugs and calls back. Kine pass outwhile on hold?14:09 ill_repute Savik spins the rotary barrel on the grenade launchereachof the six cannisters carries a fragmentationshell- "More than ever. Let's go."14:09 Nicolae Dietrich hurries downstairs.14:09 ill_repute Savik peels out.14:09 Ferrinus A large hiking backpack's pulled out of the side ofKhas's office, and is shortly stuffed with somemiscellaneous survival tools, climbing gear, and mostimportantly of all not one but two thick tarps, whichonly fit by virtue of being folded up almost past

imagining.first thing in the "morning", and make arrangements forballs. Presumably Highwall ordered a huge bunch of them14:09 banana 9 doubles...14:09 mattbaby Looks like it. Anton shrugs, he'll drop something offsometime -soon- to resolve this shit.14:10 banana There's a scrabbling noise. "Anton!"14:10 banana "Anton, you still there? I just had to take a crap."14:10 mattbaby "Oh, Tex! You still there? Sorry. Serious shit comingup. Maybe not that serious, fuck me, who knows."14:11 Ferrinus Khas grabs a German phrasebook from one of thelibraries and, at the last minute, stops by Highwall'soffice. He says: "Hey, Highwall. That favor I promisedfor the ghost thing's getting called in. Anything youneed checked out down at [rough location of oldBlackwater camp]?"14:11 banana The butler lights up at the the word 'Count',recognising what kind of caller this is at midnight."The *Earl* is in his study, monsieur. I will announceyou if you will give me your card.."14:11 brennon Daniel glances over at Savik. "So, how long until we'rethere?"14:11 mattbaby "Look. I want you to start getting your anti-Eurostogether, I've just about got everything in place toreally start pushing you guys. From there we can talkthe SIS project."14:11 banana Highwall: "Could you leave a triangulator beacon there?Could be handy some day."14:12 Ferrinus "Shouldn't be a problem. Where do we keep 'em?"14:12 banana "Second urn on the left."14:13 ill_repute "Not long. You've been before, right?" Cut to: Savikpulling up in front of the Academy.14:13 banana It's full of little metal baubles, the size of tennisyears ago.14:14 brennon "Unfortunately, yes..." Daniel looks to the crumblingbuilding that Savik pulls up to.14:14 NOTPAUL So... he's dead? Not good.14:14 Ferrinus Khas grabs, say, two, just in case something happens tothe one. "Anything that I need to do with this thingbesides leave it there?"14:14 Vermain "I, eh... my cards are out of print. Yes. Tell him thatAnatoli Grigorovich is here, yes? It is, eh, Courtbusiness."14:14 NOTPAUL "This is probably going to get blamed on me."14:14 ill_repute He's quite a sight as he drops out of the cab andstrolls up to the entrance; a short, wirey man drapedin all manner of arctic camouflage. His face ispartially obscured by a pair of ski goggles.

*presumably* do what you ask. A few minutes later, he'safter Savik. He pauses and frowns to say: "Dowsing rods14:14 brennon I'll wait in the car!14:15 banana There isn't much of a body - Edsger was evidently quiteold. Just crumbling bones. His computer systems mightstill function but the roof doesn't - which brings upthe imminent question of where Alain will spend thenight before continuing on to his other possibility,Valmaora. Assuming he's still doing that?14:15 Ferrinus What Savik meets is a slightly taller but also verywiry man bundled up in much less outlandish wintergear. He's recognizable because he hasn't raised hishood yet, and he's shouldering a large backpack - thekind with waist straps along with shoulder strapsthat's basically a big cylinder that bos along behindyou.14:16 NOTPAUL Fortunately, Alain knows protean. He can investigateat his leisure.14:16 banana Then the day passes in a haze of dirt. The old CornLobby building has plenty of *that*.14:16 Ferrinus "So..." Khas says, out on the Academy grounds. "The oldBlackwater site, huh? You ever forage outside of citylimits before?"14:16 banana (Spend a BP, NOTPAUL)14:16 NOTPAUL (ok)14:17 banana It's just after sunset and the scene is as it was. Nopolice cars are pulling up, or anything - this littleriver-mouth town doesn'ts eem to have much in the wayof infrastructure, just massive collective farms andstores.14:17 ill_repute He smiles. "I've been outside once or twice, if that'swhat you mean."14:18 ill_repute Savik waves the dragon over to his truck. "Get in, ifyou want. Or I could get you a dowsing rod if you feelmore comfortable."14:19 banana The butler doesn't comment but shuts the door toback: "Lord Angelou will see you, sir, at yourleisure."14:19 Ferrinus "Well, it's not really a problem so long as you'recareful," says Khas, now crunching across the snoware for navigation, not transport."14:19 Ferrinus Getting in: "Anyway, I've already got one. ...oh, hey,Daniel."14:19 banana Perhaps Savik would prefer... a dowsing.. grenade14:20 brennon Daniel turns to face Adrian, SMG slung over hisshoulder. "Hello."14:20 NOTPAUL Can you paint a picture..? I doubt Alain has to domuch investigating to understand the mess a hunter

party left.14:20 Vermain "I am, eh, always at leisure, yes?" Anatoli trods intothe Spooky Manor, following the butler.14:20 NOTPAUL A stake, a skeleton, some scorch marks..14:20 Ferrinus If Daniel's sitting in the back, there's a huge blackbackpack between him and Adrian; if he's ridingshotgun, then it's his own seat. Either way, Adrianshoves his pack sideways to give himself some room,fidgets a little, and, yes, buckles up.14:20 brennon Shotgun.14:21 Ferrinus To Daniel: "...ah, he would've dragooned you, wouldn'the. He've. You weren't actually at the site we'reheading to, were you?"14:21 brennon Dragooned? Hey I'm the professional here! "As far as Ican recall, no. I didn't take you for someone who didthis kind of thing, to be honest."14:21 ill_repute I'm assuming Savik gives Khas shotgun so he can, youknow, navigate.14:21 banana The picture is this: he's not coming back. Dead, kaput,gone; pushing up the daisies. This is one undeadagricultural scientist who won't be analysing anyblood. Two human corpses were left where they fell inthe other hunters' haste to get out of there; one isdrained of blood. Edsger is definitely no more. Thelarge crate-like thing he slept in is open to the airand has been ransacked for notes or valuables.14:22 brennon Fine, jerkwad.14:22 Ferrinus Khas gives Daniel an apologetic look as the two switchplaces. Here's a nice thing about vampirism, you don'thave to deal with the seat already being warm.14:23 Ferrinus To answer: "Uh, that depends on what you mean by 'thissort of thing'. I spend a lot of time on the icebecause part of what I do involves... geologicalsurveys, I guess I'd call it? I'm sure as hell not aweapons dealer."14:24 Ferrinus "But I owed Savik and Anton for a favor, so here I am."14:24 NOTPAUL "God damn it. Hell. Shit." His swears are frustratedand generic.14:24 NOTPAUL "Took three fucking hours."14:24 Ferrinus Khas turns to Savik: "We heading straight there fromhere?"14:24 banana Anatoli treads stone, unlit hallways to an expansiveden. The butler silently leaves him at the doorway,where flickering light - NOT a fire, just an imitation- illuminates a room filled with leather and huntingtrophies and books. Big books with pictures in them.Behind a mahogany desk and beneath a portrait ofhimself-in-life is Roderic Angelou - a hunchbacked,

twisted man in a breasted suit tailored to his warpedform. He's bald, with pointed ears, and glancing aroundnervously; for all that he has a presence. Thick blood,up a hobby or something... electronics, cars, that sortcontact with what has to be the most traditional of allthe others out on the tundra, I want to see what is thelow enough on the totem pole to get sent on missions byobviously, but this is really absurd. How could sisterevidently, and a thick wallet.14:25 mattbaby "Ah, yes. Dietrich. What have you been doing? Therewere like four or five gigantic textbooks on my coffeetable this evening."14:25 brennon "I see." Daniel withdraws a bit, focusing most of hisattention on making sure his weapons are in workingorder, and his kit had adequate materials.14:26 Nicolae "Oh, I left those out? Ah. Well, I figured I could takeof thing. Maybe I could turn it into a business, huh?"14:27 ill_repute "Does Chernovic seem like the type of man to actuallyhelp with these things?" Savik puts the truck intogear.14:27 Vermain Anatoli's smile brightens a few watts as he comes intovampires. He bows low. "Good Earl, it is, eh, pleasantto make your acquaintance. I trust you do not know mevery well?"14:27 mattbaby "Great idea. Get in, by the way. We're going to go joinbig deal with this shit."14:28 Ferrinus It's hard to find a more judgemental sounding pair ofwords than I See, and Khas's perplexed gaze lingers onDaniel briefly before he turns back to Savik. "Dunno.I've actually been out where we're going with him -dunno if he told you - but that was when he was stillCarrel."14:29 NOTPAUL Alain takes a seat--he doesn't really *care*,not know? How long has he been dead?14:29 Nicolae "Maybe I can actually get a legitimate business going.Electrician, maybe car mechanic." He pauses for amoment as he climbs into Anton's car. "Eh, who am Ikidding, I'd run a chop shop or something and we bothknow it."14:29 ill_repute "Makes sense. As soon as he can outsource it some otherpoor idiot, he does."14:29 ill_repute "Barons, feh."14:30 Ferrinus "So it goes," says Khas. "Anyway, how long do youimagine we'll be out there?"14:30 ill_repute "I was hoping you'd be able to answer that, since howlong this takes is largely depended on where we'regoing."14:31 mattbaby "Well, a legitimate business, good luck with that is

all I am going to say, as you are dead and dead mencan't run businesses. But I think in any case it's atime we go out into the boonies."14:31 ill_repute dependent, teh14:31 banana Angelou lisps. "We've never met, thir. My dithlike ofyour lord is well known, but I rethpect hith emithary.What bringth you to the hill country - ith it thethe thing that comes from beneath this cathle now."14:31 mattbaby He floors it in the Lamborghini. It's not far to theAcademy.14:32 Ferrinus "Ah. Well, the closest spot you can feasibly drive tois definitely within a night's travel, but when youtack a one or two hour's walk onto that and howevermuch time you want to actually sift through theout through the windshield as he speaks.14:32 Nicolae "Anton? Remember to get a Hummer, next time we go outhe.14:32 banana It's been three nights now... three spans of upsidedowntime since Wolfgang's eyes opened with a heartstartingjerk, waving away decade upon decade ofnightmares.. nothing recalled but that they werehorrific. He knew instantly who he was but not why. Heknows what he does but not how. To find.. thedescendants. To maintain the moral standards ofChristian people and to punish the Pagan Kin. Thesethings are who he is now. Who he was.. he remembersgreat tracts of hunting land. Politics. War. It'sdisjointed. Lifetimes after that of journeying amongstatus-obsessed undead.. which direction did he go?When and where? All of that is.. lost, and he can feelhis blood so much thinner than it used to be.. but atleast the hunger that beats at him now is manageable,like it used to be. The torpor worked, and it's beenthree nights of bringing bodies back to the cavebeneath the lake beneath the castle before his hunger*finally* subsided. For the first time in a hundredyears Wolfgang is both awake and can think.14:32 Vermain "Well, it was, eh..." Hold on. Haunting? There wasnever any mention... "...just my fortune that I waspassing through, yes? Ghosts are an... attraction tome. Haunting, you say?"14:32 ill_repute "Who said anything about walking?" He pats the truck'sfour-wheel-drive interface.14:33 Ferrinus "Like I was saying, though, lasting a few nights isn't

tough if you're prepared and careful. ...are you guysfed?" Khas half-turns to look at Daniel on the end ofthe car with the question.14:33 NOTPAUL ~~TrAvEl MoNtAgE~~14:34 banana Angelou abruptly pushes his chair back and begins tostalk the room's thick carpets. "Haunted.. thomethingis.. taking people. Bringing them back to the cathle..and it's not me or my childer. The police have foundhere and to the cathle'th edge. It'th like the Cronesare perthecuting me, or a very brave serial killerkine."14:34 mattbaby It's not particularly far through this conversationamong monsters that the ultrachic, perfectly polishedheadlights of the Murcielago appear behind the truckcarrying the other three.14:35 NOTPAUL After sprinting for *hours* back to the nearest train(cabs don't like to wait hours fo ra sleeping vampire)Alain is back on the path to his ancestry. What doeshe even do about this?>14:35 ill_repute He glances up into the rearview mirror. "Speak of thedevil."14:35 NOTPAUL Should Sister be told? Should anyone? Doesn't thatmake him look more guilty?14:35 brennon Daniel looks up from his weapon. "Yes. Also, keep inmind that anyone we meet may actually be aware of whatwe... well, that we're not exactly regular people.Perhaps their policy remains unchanged though, whoknows..."14:35 NOTPAUL How do hunters kill a vampire and keep it quiet? Thiswas an elder of something or other.14:36 banana It's a good question. As Alain boredly boards the nighttrain to Kautokeino, he can't help but question if heleft any signs behind of his presence.14:36 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang contemplates the corpses. Five of them, laidout in a row, all naked. His own clothes rotted to wetuselessness in the long sleep. What he's taken fromthem is a rag-tag assemblage of strange garb. A knitcap covering his head. Thick black sunglasses over hiseyes. A white paper... mask? on a string, covering thenose and mouth. Two shirts, one of them thick andwoolen -- the others didn't fit. One set of wearabletrousers, made of some heavy blue fabric Wolfgangdoesn't recognize. A pair of scuffed white rubberyshoes covered in swooshes. Over it all is a billowing,crinkling hooded rain poncho.14:36 NOTPAUL He's going to another elder anyway--he'll let the crone

14:37 Ferrinus "Well - from what I heard, they were only told thatthey were meant to use flame weapons on UnusualTargets, but who knows what any stragglers might knownow? That's assuming there are any left, of course.It's been pretty long."14:37 Ferrinus This is Khas speaking to Daniel.14:37 Nicolae "So, what's the deal with Savik, anyway?"14:38 mattbaby "What do you mean?"14:38 brennon "Take it from me, it was a bit more than that. I thinkthey held off on saying Vampire directly because thatsounds, well, retarded." Daniel aims his weapon at thedarkness outside the window and, satisfied, returns itto his lap. "Also, please don't kill anyone."14:39 ill_repute "Noted." The truck goes over a bump in the road andSavik's grenade launcher jiggles slightly.14:39 Ferrinus "You're playing around with some kind of machine gun,"Khas points out.14:39 VoxPVoxD He doesn't speak. He hasn't yet. He's not sure heremembers how. Instead he clicks his tongue at slow,regular intervals, like some kind of undead metronome.but plain-looking woman. Turns the head from side toside. It's the damndest thing, but Wolfgang can't tellwhere she's from. The brow and nose suggest Frenchblood, but there's something in the eyes... almostOriental. Strange. Very Strange.14:40 Nicolae "What's got him in such a hurry that's got you in sucha hurry?"14:40 ill_repute the ST told me to ;_;14:41 brennon "Yes, because I know how to use it." Daniel pats theemergency medical kit, quite distinct from a simplefirst aid kit, on the seat next to him. "I also knowhow to use this."14:41 mattbaby "He wants the money he'll get from selling some fancyfucking devices. I want the money, yea. But there wassomething out here that first night. And if there'sgoing to be such a huge goddamn crew out looking forthings I want to see what else I can find out aboutit."14:42 Ferrinus Khas tilts his head. "What's the percentage of peoplewho get hit by an assault rifle and then pull throughthanks to a first aid kit?"14:42 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang stands. He's 5'5". In his day, that wasneck and shoulder. The layers and the poncho make himlook shapeless, and rather fat. But it's better thanwhat lies beneath.

14:43 brennon "I'm not sure, I was generally issued a submachinegun." Daniel lifts the weapon. "Like the one I'marm explode or something. Is.. is this your first timeseeing a gun or something?"14:43 Nicolae "You know he's completely nuts, right. Like there's agood chance he will detonate a grenade or shoot aflamethrower."14:43 Vermain Anatoli perks a brow. "You say, eh, they are draggingthem inside? Do you not have... Private Security?"14:44 Vermain *to the castle's edge14:44 Ferrinus "I can just about tell the difference between guns thatgo boom and guns that go rat-tat-tat, man. And I guessfour guns, total."14:44 mattbaby "Who, Savik? Good. You have to be a little crazy tomake it up here. He, I understand. I can figure himout, I know how he operates, what he wants. Some ofthose other guys, though..."14:45 VoxPVoxD The question is what to do now. All his appetites aresated. All his anxieties are tranquilized. Everyboredom is amused -- he's had a surprising amount offun rearranging the corpses on the wet, slick stone,overlapping them at hand and foot like paper dolls.positions that a living person wouldn't be able to getinto. He's broken more than a few bones.14:45 Ferrinus "Either way, are you seriously planning to shoot livehumans with one? Because it's not like them shootingyou presents the kind of instantaneously danger thatcalls for immediate, maximally-lethal self defense."14:45 Ferrinus Er, make that instantaneous danger.14:46 ill_repute Savik drives silently, although he quirks his eyebrowat Khas' last comment.14:46 Nicolae Dietrich just shakes his head in agreement."Everybody's fucking crazy up here. Do you think it'sbeing so far north? Shit, I think even I've gone alittle nuts since I moved here."14:47 Nicolae "Or maybe it was getting killed and being forced tostalk the night drinking blood."14:47 brennon "Live humans"? Laughable Gangrel Scholar Ngonsqkhas."Hopefully not. I'm not sure about you, but I'd preferwith a hail of gunfire."14:48 mattbaby "Beats me. But we have to start getting shit undercontrol, I haven't been dead too long but shit is waytoo crazy lately. That's part of the other reason I'm

coming out here personally. I want to talk to themwith a tunnel that feeds down into a lake. He makes oneover their chests. He feels like he should pray, but heflail helplessly if someone starts putting me or anyonejust two or three vampires, or even the whole Invictus.ansuz rune on one side and a message on the other, leftdetermine your origins and powers by the nature of yoursomewhere private."14:49 NOTPAUL Alain arrives a bit before the others, but he doesn'tknow that. What's he looking at?14:49 Ferrinus Khas: "Then...what's the deal, then? You don't want tokill anyone, but you've got some kind of automaticweapon, which you don't plan to use...? I mean, one ofthose isn't going to be any good against vampires."14:49 VoxPVoxD He examines his surroundings again. A featureless cave,last effort to arrange the corpses: moments laterthey're all stretched out, eyes closed, arms foldedcan't remember any prayers. He distinctly remembersthem amounting to nothing, though.14:49 mattbaby Private... No witnesses...14:50 Nicolae "What about?"14:51 brennon "When did I say I intended not to use it? Am I going toelse in serious danger? It is here as a last resort."Daniel sighs. "Is there something unclear about this?"14:51 mattbaby "There's too much instability in Sørøya. We have tostart locking it down. But that's too big a job forWe need people we trust in the other Covenants.Leverage that to our own collective betterment. Andmaybe avoid the sorts of problems we've been dealingwith otherwise lately."14:52 banana Alain has stepped off a train station in westernKautokeino, the rich part of town. Hundreds of metresbelow the castle bluff and possibly hours earlier, herecalls Sister's words: "Well, elder Edsger lives inDjikstrakollectiv, in the Grain Lobby; ThorsœrinndísValmaora heads the branch of the circle in Kautokeino,who can be contacted by way of a card marked with thein any mai14:52 banana lbox on Second Street. Either of them will be able toblood." Why do all the people with this sort ofexpertise have to live in weird country towns?14:52 ill_repute Savik, staring forward at the road: "It's funny, Khas,I didn't take you for a pacifist."14:53 banana Kautokeino is laid out on a regular, American-stylegrid; it was once the biggest Norwegian town inFinnmark but now plays very second fiddle to Sørøyacity. It's received few immigrants by comparison, andits local City Councillor spends most of his time on

14:53 NOTPAUL Well, Alain did borrow an index card from Sister'sstore... What the hell is the ansuz rune?14:53 Nicolae "You want to put double agents in the other covenants,Anton?"14:53 brennon Daniel didn't either, he takes Khas for more of acontrarian than anything at this point.14:54 Ferrinus "Well, yes," says Khas, to Daniel. "The conjunction of'don't kill anyone' and rifle-cocking confused me." Herotates a little so that he can more easily addressSavik, and then shrugs as best he can with the onewant to fight anyone. And past a certain point, theeasiest thing to do with regular humans is just notengage."14:54 banana Ansuz: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shorttwig_Oss.png14:54 banana Seems a bit archaic to use as a symbol. Siewang'scovenant had far more modern imagery.14:55 NOTPAUL Well, Alain appreciates a bit of culture. He lives ina cathedral.14:55 NOTPAUL Is someone supposed to pick this card up? How can thispossibly yield any results?14:55 NOTPAUL "This is ridiculous."14:55 VoxPVoxD And then he's gone. Not that there's anyone to see himcross the small cavern and swim awkwardly through thetunnel and the lake, or come up on the side of thecaldera and drag himself out of the water. Clothes getas he is... the shoes squelch with each step, butnobody hears it. He doesn't remember that theHe looks up at the castle; he'd been aware of itspresence, but this is the first time he's actuallycoherent. There's just wariness.14:55 brennon "Perhaps you can enlighten me to your plan then, I'mnot fully aware of my magic vampire powers yet." Therewasn't a sarcastic tone to that, but the words lendthemselves to it nonetheless.14:55 NOTPAUL Said in a french accent, everything is ridiculous.14:55 ill_repute "And you see where that attitude has left you? In abrick schoolhouse with Doctor Buechler."14:55 mattbaby "Double agents? That's not very charitable. I would saysomething more like, a group of like-mindedindividuals, interested in seeing peace and stabilitybrought back to Sørøya."

14:56 banana Angelou stops pacing and.. crouches. He can't help it,the hump is so large. Glaring up at Anatoli: "Ofcourthe. And they are well trained. The person who didthis had to be, well.. invithible. A ghotht."14:56 Ferrinus "I like my brick schoolhouse. I even kind of likeDoctor Buechler," says Khas, a touch defensively. Heturns to Daniel again. "Well, I had to actually fightblackwater soldiers armed with guns around thebeginning of the year. I just used, you know, fists."14:57 banana Wolfgang remembers one thing: this castle wasn't therewhen he went to sleep. He couldn't have forgottensomething so incongruous.. a fortress from his own erasituated above a modern - and tiny - Victorian-Norwegian town.14:58 brennon "Ah, you could say I know what that feels like to anextent. I remember being pushed to my death by avampire with fists." Daniel puts the gun down next tohim as well. "Sorry, lets forget I said that."14:58 Nicolae "Are you really planning on getting the Carthians tosit down and play nice with the Invictus?"14:58 Ferrinus "They shot at me, sure, but that's not actually aproblem for vampires," Khas continues. "You don't needto shoot a human that's coming at you with a gun forwith his bare hands."14:58 brennon Change the subject, change the subject.. Uh.. "So Iheard there were nazis in the order." Smooth14:58 Nicolae "Or getting the Dragons to stop doing whatever the hellit is they do that ends up summoning ghosts?"14:58 Ferrinus Khas: "Nowadays, though, I can just- ...oh, really?What actually happened to- uh."14:58 Vermain Anatoli nods. "Do you believe it to be supernatural,expert."14:59 mattbaby "They have to, some of them do. After all, isn't Savika Carthian?"14:59 VoxPVoxD Hnngh. It's not a bad specimen, though it doesn't lookquite right. All the pieces do individually but itseems like they shouldn't be together. Perhaps it'sjust his imagination.14:59 Ferrinus The 'uh', of course, is uttered when Daniel drops theN-bomb.14:59 Ferrinus "That's, uh. I mean, when you say 'nazi'-...I mean,look."14:59 Nicolae "He's an arms dealer. He'd buddy up with Hitler if hiscredit checked out."15:00 brennon Daniel quirks an eyebrow at Khas. "So it's true?"

15:00 mattbaby "So some things really do transcend the politics of ourlord lives - kine or otherwise. The only other buildingdoesn't quite count, does he, but what about Barbie...?kin."15:00 ill_repute Savik: "It's funny you mention that. I had aninteresting conversation with Doctor Buechler when hewas tending to my arm."15:00 Nicolae "Money. It's a gas."15:00 banana Either way, this 'castle' is probably where the localin the town that's grand enough to be a parliament orpalace is a skyscraper to the west, a thing that's litagainst the night and surrounded by a complex ofstables and garages.15:00 Nicolae Dietrich starts humming the bassline to "Money".15:01 banana At least, presumably *some* of them are stables, orcars are a LOT more common now.15:01 Ferrinus Khas sort of circles a hand in the air a few times."The-...a number of older Dragons hail from Germanyand, uh, may have previously aligned themselves withthe Nazi party. When it was in power."15:01 VoxPVoxD He sets off along a narrow path and comes across asign. He'd never stopped to read it before. "PRIVATESECURITY". What the hell does that mean? Has heforgotten how to read too? The thought angers him, andthe anger flares up and... out.15:02 Ferrinus "I mean, I don't think anyone's properly a nazi now -"Khas pauses briefly here, and you can almost watch himask himself if that's actually correct - Philosopher"...but, uh, yeah."15:02 VoxPVoxD One by one the signs are plucked out of the earth, allof them bearing the offensive alien language. One byone he crushes them to splinters. He doesn't reallyfeel any better, but the anger fades slowly. Itprobably would have anyway. But breaking things is funtoo!15:02 mattbaby "Anyway. It's good to be on the same page as other upand-comers.Keep lines of communication open. There'sdefinitely some fucked up shit out there we have tostart putting some pressure on to stop."15:02 banana Alain stands around feeling stupid. Could he make aperception roll? (Wits+composure)15:03 brennon Daniel chuckles a little. "Is that right? How do theyfeel about being defunct relics, or are they over itnow?"15:03 banana Second Street is longish and covered in quaint stonehouses, running right up into a narrow cliff-valley.15:03 NOTPAUL !wodroll 6 Tehery15:03 Ferrinus NOTPAUL rolls 6 dice (Rerolling 10s) to Tehery and gets

same way anyone telling a scary story might. "They justthat mock his inability to remember them, he eventuallycomes upon salvation. On the actual *door* is more thanbest I can actually tell you is that the Order as it is2 successes. (Rerolls: 0 Failures: 4 Ones: 2)15:04 Nicolae "What kind of pressure? Blood Hunts all around foreveryone who brings vampire hunters here?"15:04 Ferrinus "They're over it, from what I can tell. I mean, youhave to understand, this isn't like pulp novel evilnazi-scientist-becomes-vampirestuff. Most of thempredate the nazis." Khas looks kinda animated now, thethought the particular ideology was - useful, orappealing, or convenient."15:04 banana As Wolfgang roams the side of the castle breaking wordsone language - of course! Humans speak multiplelanguages. HE knows more than one, and one of these isFrankish. Arretez.. press bell to enter.15:04 banana No bell is visible, but at least he can read it.15:05 Ferrinus Khas licks his lips. "I mean, okay, maybe a few of themactually were evil nazi scientists who became - butlike, that's not all most of them are."15:06 Ferrinus "...that doesn't really make it better, mind you. I'mjust...clarifying?"15:06 brennon "Isn't that a bit worse than being caught up in thefurious nationalism of that era? The thought of acalculated appraisal of fascism as being 'convenient'is a bit disturbing-" Daniel pauses as Khas speaks. "-and that, well. Hmm."15:06 ill_repute Savik turns on the car radio.15:06 brennon Grow up and let the adults talk, Savik.15:06 mattbaby "As a drastic measure, maybe. But if you think aboutwhat we are doing right now, we all know each other,but we never communicate. Just imagine what, if we metone night a week, the sheer number of opportunities wecould snap up! It's idealistic of course, this isn'tthe fucking Superfriends Justice Alliance or whateverbut, you get the point."15:07 banana Angelou: "I believe it! And, eventually, I will dealwith thith offender.. according to my own lawth. Butyou thith ith NOT what brought you here?"15:07 Ferrinus Khas's expression is pained. "Yeah, I, uh - I mean,it's basically just awful any way you slice it. Thenow is not about naziism."15:08 banana Many of the mad scientist vampires do *not* possessgolden busts of Hitler.15:08 VoxPVoxD He concentrates for a moment, and soon the Life makesevery muscle in his body thrum with power. Thesensation is exhilarating, and it provokes memories of

attention to himself. But that's probably for the best,From a house on the street, right in the middle betweenand the other car behind them deep into the hilly wood.wish-" and is interrupted by juddering thumps that seempast exhilarations. BANG. BANG. BANG.15:08 Ferrinus "The higher-ups are transcendently terrible people -some of them, anyway - but that's practically asintrinsic to our condition as the thirst for blood, Ithink you'll find."15:08 brennon Daniel nods. "I guess I'll have to take your word forit." He shifts in the back seat, adjusting hisbulletproof vest. "Oh, also; were you going to ask mesomething before?"15:09 VoxPVoxD The Cloak doesn't hold when he draws this muchhe thinks. Saves him the trouble of appearing out ofthin air in front of whoever answers the door.15:09 Nicolae "So, what? Once a week, you want to get together withme, and Savik, and Khas, and Cian, and Anatoli, andSarah, and whoever else shows up, and just sit around,talking?"15:09 banana Alain realises after a while that he's been watched.two blocks, someone's staring out a window withbinoculars.15:10 Ferrinus Grabbing gratefully for the liferaft of Not DiscussingNazis, Khas says: "Well, yeah. I don't think I everheard how, uh, you got transformed into a vampire.Something about being frozen?"15:10 Vermain "Well, eh... not -entirely-, no, yes? I am coming toask for a... favor. A diplomatic one. I have beeninstructed to speak with the Crones, but I figured itis probably better to get someone else to, eh, bringthem to a meeting, yes? So I come to you."15:10 mattbaby "Something like that. Maybe more than talk. And please,she's Baroness Thalmann now, don't let her hear youtalk like that." Who knows, the creepy Mekhet bitchcould be in the glove box for all he knew.15:11 ill_repute "He washed up on the shore during a meeting betweenmyself and Dietrich."15:11 banana Khas is giving off-road directions, now - leading SavikThey should be on the site of the old camp in no timeat all.15:11 ill_repute "Dietrich and myself?" He shrugs. "Still not perfectlyfluent, it seems."15:12 Ferrinus Indeed Khas is! And, interestingly enough, he hasn'treferred to a map once.15:12 banana Angelou opens his mouth to respond - "Thertainly if youto shake the very foundations. Someone is pounding onthe door like hell itself is behind them.

knocked off of it onto the ice by what I presume to bea vampire." Daniel sighs as Savik interrupts. "YesSavik, thanks. Anyways, I think that's when I actuallybecame a vampire; I guess I looked pretty pitiful, amedic bleeding out on the ice in the faint glow of aburning oil rig or something."15:13 banana The Earl of Guovdageaidnu leaps back to his feet andbegins to bound out of the room, running as fast asanyone despite the humped crouch in which he does it.15:13 NOTPAUL He doesn't act hostile or anything. He seeks binoculareye contact, making a hand motion between the two men.Me..?15:14 Nicolae "She digs me." He nods knowingly. "But do you reallythink we can manage to fix Soroya's problems, just us?We're a priest, and some Barons, and an errand boy forNazi lunatics, and a crazy arms dealer... and amysterious and scarred man, with a dark past and aheart of gold." He laughs. "But really, though. Do youreally think we can be the people who can bring changeto Soroya?"15:14 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang smooths out his wrinkled poncho and adjuststhe paper mask on his face. After all, firstimpressions matter.15:14 Nicolae "Obama tried that Change schtick and he lost to an oldwho shoots moose for a vice president."15:14 Vermain Anatoli manages to squeak out a "You could let thebutler get it..." as the Earl bounces by.15:15 Nicolae "Really, all we're going to end up doing is gettingtogether once a week to pretend to be more interestingand more powerful people than we really are. And whatkind of idiot does that more than once?"15:15 banana The man looked terrified. Obviously the prospect of aghost has been playing onh is mind.15:15 Ferrinus Khas raises an eyebrow at Daniel. "So - you were saved,so to speak? It was either undeath or death, andsomeone did you a favor?"15:16 mattbaby "Obama was a fucking idiot. I still can't believeRomney lost. Talk about a shoo-in. But whatever. Thinkthe oldest and most powerful vampires in the city. Weran Blackwater out of town. Fended off the hunters.Yea, I think we're qualified."15:16 brennon "I guess so, at the time I thought it was one of theother medics; we're taught after all to revive themost.." Daniel is almost embarrassed by saying it.

"..well, expensive soldiers; and medically trainedmercenaries are hard to come by I guess."15:17 brennon "But instead I was turned into a Vampire, jokes on mein the end right?"15:17 Vermain Anatoli shrugs and shakes his head, turning around andheading back down towards the door. He's dealt withghosts before. This can't possibly be that bad.15:18 Ferrinus Khas looks out a window briefly. "I dunno. You fell offan oil rig - you were beyond saving by other means. Ifyou weren't living a life with...disabilities...now,you wouldn't be living one at all."15:19 Ferrinus "It was the same way for me - I'm the way I am becausesomeone wanted to save my life. I've always consideredmyself lucky, actually, since so many people probablyget vampired out of spite, or because someone needs alackey, or something."15:19 NOTPAUL This is ridiculous.15:20 Nicolae Whoa, whoa, whoa. "You, me, and the Hound"? What thehell. You just drove a car into his house. I consumedEver.15:21 Ferrinus Ferrinus rolls 6 dice (No rerolls, 1s subtract) to Khasmakes an Investigation plus Intelligence roll.Unfortunately...he's a Gangrel. and gets 2 successes.(Rerolls: 0 Failures: 3 Ones: 1)15:21 Nicolae !wodroll 0 no investigation :(15:21 Ferrinus Nicolae rolls a chance die to no investigation :( andfails!15:21 brennon "I guess so, it also came without the baggage of havingmy.. progenitor(?) still being around. So, I haven'treally asked yet; but were any of you there on therig?"15:21 NOTPAUL Alain paces, sits, plays counting games, considers howmuch he actually cares about this...15:21 ill_repute !wodroll 4 heh15:21 Ferrinus ill_repute rolls 4 dice (Rerolling 10s) to heh and gets0 successes. (Rerolls: 0 Failures: 4 Ones: 1)15:22 Nicolae "When you get right down to it, it just seems like allwe do is patch up other people's problems. Slesvig-Cornelis and Rosenberg and Blackwater, that was allpolitical shit."15:23 mattbaby "Course it was. Every problem is a poltiical problem,everybody has an angle. But we need a way to make itwork for us."15:24 Ferrinus "'Sire' is the usual term," says Khas. "And I wasn't -I think I was putting a priest in a headlock at thecouple of which started moving again after a few days."

15:24 Ferrinus "Actually, I think both of the guys in the carfollowing us were there," Khas muses.15:25 Nicolae "Maybe you could just dig up a nuke from that Test Sitethe Carthians live on and hold the city hostage," hesays, mostly kidding.15:25 brennon "Really? I'll have to ask them about it then..." Danieldoesn't seem too pleased about something, is it theasking or the people..? Who knows!15:25 mattbaby "Too much work. You gotta check the margins, money'salways in the margins."15:25 Ferrinus Khas gives Savik a few parking directions beforethis?"15:26 banana All conversation trails to a halt as they *arrive*, theruined camp still.. there? This is the middle ofnowhere, after all! Piling out of cars, the motley guncrew can see the ragged tents, collapsed supply piles,wolves.. and the empty ammo crates, the disrobedSomeone got here first. Someone careless..15:26 banana On Second Street the guy known in Sørøya proper as TheBloodletter is beckoned over to the watchman's home. Aman in very thick clothing - it's freezing out here inthe sticks - comes out to mutter "you don't show up onthe camcorder, man.." in a knowing-but-alarmed way.15:26 banana At the castle door, a final enormous THUMP is met by aflinging open of the big oak portal. A terrifiedhaughtily butler is there, who quails at the insanesight of Wolfgang, then is thrown out of the way by ahunch-backed lord in opera-phantom chic backed up by agunman and his own fearful arrogance. "YOU," announcesthe for-once prescient Angelou, "MONS- what- who areyou?!"15:26 banana A signet ring gleams as he raises his hand to strike;the cherub-and-charger sigil on it are the same oneleft by frozen bootprints in the snow where the FISTgear has been removed. Khas spots them, and Antonrecognises them. Earl Angelou's men have been here.15:26 banana Said Earl in a combination of shock and rage strugglesto control himself...15:26 brennon 'Something to do so I don't just sit in a corner'."Paid, apparently. Curious about a few things aswell..."15:27 banana !wodroll 4 territorial frenzy15:27 Ferrinus banana rolls 4 dice (Rerolling 10s) to territorialfrenzy and gets 2 successes. (Rerolls: 1 Failures: 3Ones: 0)

15:27 banana !wodroll 4 territorial frenzy, 3 more neededfrenzy, 3 more needed and gets 2 successes. (Rerolls: 0frenzy, 1 more needed and gets 3 successes. (Rerolls: 2could've known a few of the skeletons here. "So, I takehis untied trenchcoat rather violently. "What does whataccessories. His posture doesn't shift at all though atand possibly the Sheriff can see pentagrams cut an inchdeep into both palms, crude squat runes carved into theblank spaces. Spiral scars twine up his fingers and end15:27 Ferrinus banana rolls 4 dice (Rerolling 10s) to territorialFailures: 2 Ones: 0)15:27 banana !wodroll 4 territorial frenzy, 1 more needed15:27 Ferrinus banana rolls 4 dice (Rerolling 10s) to territorialFailures: 2 Ones: 0)15:28 banana What does Anatoli see past the not-quite-frothingcripple lord?15:28 Nicolae Dietrich does not recognize, or even notice, the seal.Instead he just shoves his hands in his pockets as hewalks up to the ruined and scavenged camp. "I hope youfound a way to weaponize empty ammo crates, Savik."15:29 Ferrinus Khas stands amidst the ruins of the Blackwater camp,his hair whipping in the wind. He's already directed afraternal nod in the direction of Dietrich and Anton.15:29 brennon Daniel isn't happy about this, for all he knows heit this isn't what you were expecting?"15:29 Ferrinus Khas looks slooowly around the campsite - and thenpoints to an impression in the snow. "That meananything to anyone?"15:29 ill_repute Savik doesn't immediately answer Khas' question.Instead, he paces around the empty camp.15:29 mattbaby "I know who beat you to them, Savik. I won't even askfor an extra five."15:30 ill_repute "Who."15:30 Vermain Presumably the slicked-back visage of Wolfgang. Hepulls out a pistol for assurance (ghosts can betricky.)15:30 brennon Daniel rests the gun on his shoulder, the wind catchingmean?"15:31 mattbaby "Earl Angelou. Controls the one part of this wildernessnot claimed by the Circle."15:31 ill_repute "How well-connected is he?"15:31 NOTPAUL "Who are you? I'm here to speak with someone."15:31 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang's face is unreadable thanks to histhe frenzied scene that happens in front of him. Aftera moment's pause he slowly draws his hands out of theponcho's pockets. He really wishes he'd been able tofind gloves. But he didn't, so the Earl and the Butlerat the tips. The gesture is placating, even respectful.

15:31 mattbaby "He's a ghost. Hasn't been seen outside his own domainin a long, long time."15:32 Nicolae "See, Anton? More politics." Dietrich shakes his head.and just do your own thing, is what I'm saying."15:32 ill_repute "Good. Let's kill him."15:32 mattbaby "I can't let you do that."15:32 banana The human shrugs himself up to fill his doorway againstAlain's presence. "I don't know your face, man..". Hisaccent is very thick. "What's a stranger doing here?"15:32 mattbaby "Not without even a pretense? We're more civilized thanthat."15:33 NOTPAUL "I have a blood problem."15:33 brennon Daniel paces over to Khas, whispering. "I take itthat's 'Mr. Chernovic' as well, the 'baron' that wasmentioned before."15:33 Ferrinus Khas has taken a few steps back from Anton and Savik'shuddle. They surely don't need him for some sort ofintra-Covenant power struggle..15:33 VoxPVoxD He fumbles for a moment in the upended library of hismind, and then the words come. The voice that speaksthem is gravelly and dry. One gets the impression thatheavily accented French. "Êtes-vous le maître duchâteau?"15:33 NOTPAUL A bloodletter *always* has blood problems.15:33 ill_repute Savik gives Anton a queer look. "Civilized? This comingfrom the man that hires out Dietrich Krieger?"15:33 Ferrinus Khas nods to Daniel. "That's him. The other guy worksfor him."15:34 banana The hunchback's jaw un-drops. "Je- je suis. I saw signslike that once in an un-expurgated version of theBrothers Grimm, the kind they later banned. Why do youcome to my haven, scarred man?"15:34 Nicolae Inter. Intra would imply they were in the samecovenant. You dumb Gangrel. Dietrich, however, haslittle to say on the subject of covenants currently,other than fuck 'em, so he joins the other Unalignedand the Dragon.15:34 banana Anatoli can't understand a word of that response, Iimagine.15:34 Nicolae "I heard that!"15:34 ill_repute "Quiet, Krieger."15:34 Vermain Nope. He's standing there, egg-like, pistol drawn,marveling at the Ghost Language.15:34 brennon "I guess my usefulness has expired if everything isgone already, doubt someone would take the FIST unitswithout even knowing what to do with them.." Daniel

frowns. "I guess it was fun while it lasted."anyway." Khas is idly wandering away from the center ofup and take our ball home? Because we got beaten to theclose proximity to Daniel but not really following him.got a job, I've got hobbies, I fixed a blender. My shit15:34 Nicolae "Yeah, yeah."15:35 Nicolae !wodroll 6 woohoo narcissist roll15:35 Ferrinus Nicolae rolls 6 dice (Rerolling 10s) to woohoonarcissist roll and gets 1 success. (Rerolls: 0Failures: 5 Ones: 1)15:35 Ferrinus "Trust me - 'usefulness' is not always a survivaltrait. And the money wouldn't have done you much good,the site now, fishing a small metal bead out of apocket as he looks for a good place to nestle it.15:36 ill_repute He crosses his arms. "So, do you want us to just givegoods by another man?"15:36 Ferrinus No-ooo, intra. Anton versus Angelou. Moron.15:36 mattbaby "So what are you trying to say, then? You get squeamishabout Blood Hunts?"15:36 Nicolae "Don't worry about useful, man. A use will find you."He says the last as if coining an aphorism for theages.15:36 brennon Daniel too paces around the camp, although he spendsmore time looking around at tattered company materialin search of name tags, dog tags, something...15:37 ill_repute "You said it yourself, he's a *ghost*, nobody will knowit was us."15:37 banana It's all familiar to Daniel. Hell, he was *here*briefly and probably only just avoided being overrunby... whatever took out the camp. Months ago, it musthave been. The bodies are all at odd angles.. and onlyone ATV is intact. The others have rents in the metalitself.15:37 VoxPVoxD Another silence, this one longer. The word 'haven'carries some pregnant double meaning that he'sstruggling to recapture. In the meantime, Wolfgangnotices that Earl Angelou is badly deformed himself."I'm lost. I think."15:38 mattbaby "There's a right and a wrong way to do some things.Ghost or not."15:38 Nicolae Dietrich paces around the outskirts, tagging along inMore like he's just keeping him in voice range. "Lookat me. I'm a criminal, I look like a monster, but I'veis totally getting together. You just gotta think toyourself, what makes me great? If a guy like me can begreat, you can be great too."15:39 banana Angelou: "I am Conte Roderic Angelou of this town ofGuovdageaidnu. You are in the Mandate of Sørøya, old

me you are not the one who has been dragging bodies tomy doorstep."15:39 mattbaby Anton's head sort of twitches sideways as thoughtotally perplexed by the "blender" comment, but heremains focused on Savik.15:39 Nicolae He will be less confused when he sees what Dietrichleft all over the kitchen table.15:40 Nicolae It's like if appliances directed "Saw".15:40 brennon Daniel wearily picks through the scraps, and mutters tohimself in a low voice. "I wonder if I'm the only onewho 'survived' this whole damn Soroya shit.."15:41 Ferrinus Khas is pacing the borders, tasting the wind - thisplace was touched by the Acolytes, wasn't it? FlorLauer might've spearheaded their attack. There's morehe can do here than simply place a beacon in a cragbetween two boulders - he can surely assay the place,see how its rhythms have changed post ritual, and evenperform the same investigations on the Circle ritualsite that's a short walk away.15:41 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang's brow furrows behind the hood. Mentally heretraces his steps. Oh... oh. He IS the one who-- "Iswear to you before all that is holy that I have donenothing to wrong you, milord."15:41 Ferrinus The other vampires will just have to shrug at the factthat Adrian's sometimes swinging what looks like asmall crystal pendulum, or crouching as he drags twofingertips across the snow before licking them.15:41 ill_repute "So what's the right way. I'm listening/"15:42 banana !wodroll 5 11 detect lies15:42 Ferrinus banana rolls 5 dice (No rerolls) to detect lies andgets 2 successes. (Rerolls: 0 Failures: 3 Ones: 0)15:43 VoxPVoxD But then he snickers.15:44 mattbaby "We go. We talk. See what he wanted with the damnof them for him."15:44 banana The hunchbacked Invictus hermit stares at the manhis face. Whose voice drips with insincerity in bad,archaic French.15:44 brennon Daniel takes a seat on the dented ATV and sighs, histrenchcoat still been throw about lazily by the wind.It's odd, he isn't physically tired at this point, butthis?15:44 banana In English: "Prince's man! You want my help? Kill thisinsolent threat to the Masquerade."

15:45 Nicolae Dietrich sees Daniel sitting on the ATV and takes aseat next to him, clapping a dead arm on the man'sshoulder. "What's wrong, man? Lay it on me."15:45 banana Scars on his neck, then.15:46 ill_repute "Then let's talk to this guy, then. Tell me what youknow about him."15:46 banana Binocularman: "You and the entire priesthood, stranger.I'm not afraid to call on them if you decide thatproblem's in my neck."15:46 brennon Daniel looks to Dietrich. "Nothing."15:47 Vermain Anatoli does a quick spin of his pistol as he stepsmove, yes? But..." He turns slightly to look at bothWolfgang and Angelou at the same time. "...perhaps wehe is the ghost?"15:47 NOTPAUL Alain sighs and wonders if he's psychologicallyprepared for casual murder yet.15:48 NOTPAUL "Where is (that crone guy)?"15:48 Nicolae "You look down, is all. You seem like an okay guy.Everybody feels crappy for the first... I dunno. Whileor so. It happens. It sucks, you know? Life's a bitch,then you die, and it's still a bitch. I get it. I justwant to make sure you don't get so down you startgetting up to see the sunrise."15:48 banana The bald.. Russian, probably.. is pointing a gun atRussian, though. This is about as inconvenient as heexpected.. now that deep memories of expectations hehad are surfacing. Presumably the world has moved onwon't all be scared.15:49 mattbaby "Eccentric guy. Lives in a castle, replica orswore he'd never return until that changed. Personallypowerful, rich, I've never met him."15:49 brennon Daniel shifts in the seat, slightly distancing himselffrom Dietrich. "I'm fine, seriously."15:50 VoxPVoxD Wolfgang regards the unfolding scene with curiosity.What are those shiny things in the bald man's hands?They look vaguely familiar, but... The anger inAngelou's voice is palpable, though. Another moment'spause.15:50 Nicolae "Okay, man. But if you need to talk, I'm here." Atabsolutely no point during this conversation is itapparent that Dietrich would make anything approachinga decent counselor, therapist, or shoulder to cry on.15:51 banana Except to Dietrich.

probably pretty approachable, is busy either sniffingthe air at the boundaries of the camp or seems to havewandered completely out of sight.15:51 mattbaby "But let me make something clear. This needs to be apolite conversation."15:52 VoxPVoxD Nobody can see it, but Wolfgang smiles. "Aufwiedersehen." And then nobody can see him at all.15:52 ill_repute "I can be polite, believe me."15:53 banana Binocularman: "Look- I take it what you put in themailbox was a card marked with the sign of Odin? Youcould have left and let me check. But okay, this isbeyond my pay grade. I'll summon a daughter of theThorsœrinndis."15:55 Ferrinus Khas comes wandering back into the camp from adifferent direction that he left it. He looks annoyed.15:55 Ferrinus Than, not that!15:56 Vermain Anatoli blinks a few times, but... nothing. "Good God,he was a ghost."15:57 banana Apparently so... next week!