Night Terrors

[Yumyumcrow]

The sun sank. The pastel hued sky darkened. Shadows grew, stretched, consumed. In this part of the city, gas light and torch still ruled. The boarding house was located in the warren of streets beyond the docks. The clamour of humanity had lulled you to sleep; it has not abated when you wake.

There is no fog of uncertainty, no fugue as your slumbering mind reaches into consciousness. That is the way of mortality and you are not mortal. There is only the feeling of awareness: of the longed for, loathed, sun slipping away; the sound of shadows stretching to cradle you, and the feeling of your Hearts blood, pumping but once like a tolling bell in your chest.

You have survived another day sleep.

Your room is narrow. The shuttered window barred by your own hand and covered by a blanket for extra security. The walls are thin; the door moreso, but at least it has a lock. No one bothers you here. In this pulsating slum, you are faceless. The kine fight and struggle amongst themselves. It is pleasant, listening to the sounds of humanity: of families and loners bedding down for the night, singing to one another over little stoves, huddled in their tiny cribs.

And then the sounds change...

There is are thudding - the sounds of booted feet. Raised voices! Crashes, bangs! A woman shrieks! Your walls vibrate for this is happening in the adjoining room. A shot sounds out! A pause before the voice of man, woman and child all blend into one hideous keening - the sound of blood lust and terror. There is only the thud and crash and hopeless wassail of victims now.

The hum of humanity has stilled. The prey cower in their cribs.

What do you do?

[Yumyumcrow]

Luna gets a sudden burst of pride as silence falls. Unbelievably, the sound carried through the slaughter. In the quiet, there is the whimpering of the victims and the muffled voices of the killers. In the silence, there is only the scrapping of feet on creaky wooden boards and the faint, cleansing, scent of incense now spreading from the other room. Under it, Luna scents the tang of spilled blood.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-11 04:37:43		Highbender Leader rolls 1 to Resolve 2 + Composure 2 - 3 (Situation Modifier) (10 Again)		9		1 success

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-11 04:51:56		Highbender Gang rolls 2 to Dexterity 2 + Stealth 2 - 2 (Situation Modifier) (10 Again)		9, 7		1 success

[Yumyumcrow]

Luna waits. Silent as a shadow!

She listens to the hum of the building, with its rickety wooden shell and planking for walls. The ambient noise tells her much: that there are most likely five killers (attempting) to move quietly in the next room; whether or not their victims live is moot, but they are not moving.

Of the five one appears to be sliding up to the door, most likely to cover the landing and hallway beyond. Another has been chided onto the hallway, where they advance slowly upon her now open room (she can see him just creeping into view - a rangy fellow with beautiful almond eyes, panting, cleaver raised, clothes stained. Fear is on him. He cannot see her.). A third has so conveniently placed himself directly in front of Luna's position, with only the light timber of the wall and the narrow space of Luna's room, between them. The remaining two are harder to locate by sound, leading Luna to conclude they are either lighter on their feet or are on the far side of the room - quite possibly both.

It is clear to a person skilled in firearms, as Luna is, that the one in the hall is bait. The one at the door is most likely covering them in the hope they can get a shot if Luna makes a move

[Princess]

The brief, illusory glimmer that this city would be better for quiet contemplation leaves Minnie Chang's mind with a bang, or at least a "chuck chuck." Rising silently, carefully, and with the patience born of always waiting for something or other to happen, she focuses her senses beyond those of 'normal folk' with a focus on the sounds and smells around her, and throughout this building. The familiar sweetness of metal in blood is of no surprise, but if she might hear and smell who was where and when they moved, she should rather know this before stepping out into any open spaces.

Action

She is moving just enough to better hear or smell additional information about the scene, using Auspex, particularly the locations of the apparent assailants of this building. She would not ignore any signs of casualties, or other relevant information which might influence her next move. She is not trying to actively look and will avoid line of sight with any unknown persons.

  Perception 1 Success if needed

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-11 13:08:14		Minnie Chang rolls 7 to Perception if Applicable (10 Again)		9, 2, 6, 5, 5, 1, 4		1 success

[Yumyumcrow]

Minnie Chang

Poised like the crane; still, like the spider. This is Minnie Chang. Standing still, secure in the heart of her temporary lodging, reaching out with her rarified senses, she can feel as much as hear the altercation brewing in the room to her right. Who would have thought that this grim tenement, where humans were packed in like cattle, that such violence could occur?

Minnie can feel the buildings superstructure sing and groan with every movement. She hears the terrified murmuring of the residents as much as she feels the faint scufflings of their feet. The prey are nervous...

More specifically, she can sense that next door, where there is a profusion of blood, freshly spilled. The intervening wall cuts off most of the scent but the Mekhet can imagine the floor drawing the rich wine into itself (for the wood is dry, poorly treated and hungry). The victims are not all dead, not yet - she senses the vibrations of their feeble scraping and kicking. She hears their whimpering. More importantly, she feels their attackers move: uncertain, summoned to silence by the ominous racking of a gun. Two of them stand, dull and idle, against the wall (and she fancies if she were to press her face to the wooden partition that separates them, she could taste their sweat, such is her discipline fuelled acuity). Two are moving out onto the landing.

And beyond that, a Beast lurks.

The sound of gunfire is sudden and shocking, like an unexpected clap of the thunder, too close for comfort. A man, squealing like a pig, adds to the cacophony. And there is the smell...

Luna

Luna fires. The wall shakes, pierced by spray and shell. Incredibly the thin partition between the rooms holds! The man beyond (for only a man could shriek so!) hollers and howls. Luna cannot tell how effective her shot has been, but there is a satisfying thud, as though a heavy object has crashed to the floor.

And there is a sudden, foul, stench, seeping from the next room...

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-12 05:11:35		Over damage applied to Killer Leader rolls 1 to 2 Dam - 1 Durability (blast through wall) (10 Again)		10, 7		1 success

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-12 05:15:27		Killer 5 rolls 1 die for initiative		10
2013-08-12 05:15:07		Killer 4 rolls 1 die for initiative		9
2013-08-12 05:14:32		Killer 3 (Killer Leader) rolls 1 die for initiative		8
2013-08-12 05:14:04		Killer 2 rolls 1 die for initiative		10
2013-08-12 05:13:50		Killer 1 rolls 1 die for initiative		2

For want of a better term, Luna's gunshot signals the start of combat. If Minnie Chang wishes to join, she may do so. Currently, she is safety hidden away in her own room, which is to the left of the victim's and one over from Luna's, like this:

|Chang|Victims|Luna|Chinese Family|European Immigrants|Stairwell|

For reference: the location is a cheaply built tenement building made of wood. The walls and doors are the same: Durability 1 | Structure 6

Killers: Defence 2 | Armor 0

Luna - Killer2 - Killer5 - Killer4 - Killer3 (1L) - Killer 1

Killer Leader (Killer 3) is currently prone, after flinging himself to the floor when he took some pieces in the back.

[Princess]

  Minnie's Initiative 16.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-12 10:45:35		Minnie Chang rolls 1 die for initiative		10

Minnie Chang, after instant deliberation, deems her best course of action to be stepping out into the next room entirely unseen, to better assess whether she should do more. It would be entirely unacceptable for her to be noticed, and spoil the surprise coming to anyone before it was time for their gifts, of course.

  4 Successes to Invisible

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-08-12 10:52:22		Minnie Chang rolls 10 to Cloak of Night (10 Again)		4, 6, 2, 3, 9, 4, 1, 10, 9, 4, 10, 1		4 successes

After she is confident in her unseeable state, she steps out of the room she is presently in.