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Love the Nightlife

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  1. #1
    Yumyumcrow's Avatar
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    The darkness wanted the city. It wanted to smother it; cocoon it; love it. For countless years the darkness had ruled the night and in its tenebrous embrace the herd had cowered and quavered. Not any more: the marvel of the age had ended the hegemony of darkness forever. The electric light glowed furiously on its pedestal, lighting the street as if it were day. One of an army of sentinels spread across the city. The darkness, banished, hugged the unlit corners and pressed down on the street ineffectually. Night into day - a wonder of the modern age and a sign of the dawning century's promise.

    The prey heeded it not.

    It was early in the night: the crowd, while bustling, was noticeably thinning in this part of town. Harriet May Calhoun walked amid the herd, but was not one of them. Not anymore. She had just left her haven, well positioned between the docks, Chinatown and the darwinian battlegrounds of the Barbary Coast. The city is still fresh and new; the night is young.

    The streets merge up ahead. On the left, a knot of people huddle around a bar and restaurant, unusual with its graffiti and covered in advertisements; on the right, a buck-toothed man preaches Christ crucified backed by a small collection of adherents who hand out pamphlets. The street carries on into the hazy distance where Nob Hill looms against the night. To reach the riotous nightlife of the Coast, all Harriet need do is take the street to the left and keep walking.

    What to do?

    Can Harriet roll [Wits+Composure] please

  2. #2
    RebornSeas's Avatar

    Stephanie Lane-Huang
    Pepper

    Presence 3 (subdued)
    Silver Ladder Status 2
    Consilium Status 2
    Acanthus 2

      
    Date Action Roll Result
    2013-09-13 09:57:31 Harriet May Calhoun rolls 5 to Wits+Composure (10 Again) 10, 4, 5, 3, 10, 5, 2 2 successes

    Harriet took in the street before her and the groups of people It was always good practice to notice what the herd noticed. It made it easier to travel where you wanted once you got a hang of what attracted the mortals. Mostly, she drifted towards the Bra and restaurant, trying surreptitiously to pick out if they were knotted together so as patrons of if a particularly interesting piece of Graffiti had been put up.

    But that little information gathering was mostly just to give her time to decide: The Coast was easy pickings for a meal, and dockhands were notoriously easy to swindle with some feminine attention. On the other... she had not practiced her father's language as much as she would have liked, and Chinatown provided a chance to practice. She would dally here, unless something caught her attention.

  3. #3
    Yumyumcrow's Avatar
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    For the most part, it appears to Harriet that the people gathered on the corner are more interested in the posters and advertisements. It appears that the space has become a de facto advertising board: it is unclear who had come first - the people who had made the corner an impromptu meeting spot, or the adverts that plastered the wall. Her suspicions are confirmed when a large group of the gathering break away, laughing and joking as they do - the last of their company had arrived (portly man in a bowler; he takes a ribbing for being late).

    The more she stares, however, the more she wonders about the graffiti. There is a pattern there, repeated and redrawn over time, locked in a constant battle for subtle exposure with the ratty pamphlets and posters that festoon, decaying, the wall space. There is something else, too: three Beasts are closing on her position. Two are rapidly drawing near, heading down the street towards her and the docks; the third is ambling more slowly, coming from the street on her right - a powerful nightmare presence, stronger than the others.

    The crowd is moving aside as the motor car rumbles down the street from Nob Hill, horn honking lustily.

    If Harriet wishes to follow up on her hunch, she can roll [Wits + Streetwise]

  4. #4
    RebornSeas's Avatar

    Stephanie Lane-Huang
    Pepper

    Presence 3 (subdued)
    Silver Ladder Status 2
    Consilium Status 2
    Acanthus 2

    Harriet Stepped closer to the wall, in part to avoid the Oncoming car, and in greater part to take a closer look at the graffiti.

      1 suxx
    Date Action Roll Result
    2013-09-13 22:50:10 Harriet May Calhoun rolls 3 to Wits+Streetwise (10 Again) 6, 10, 1, 6 1 success

    Well, then there were the Beasts. The strong fear of greater beast ambling towards her... no, sure that one would see her only as the undeserving gnat she was? She could beg and humble herself to her elders with proper respect as necessary, Her Sire taught her much on that, and her father before him. Better to worry about her equals approaching faster. They were more unpredictable, and would arrive first.

    The automobile passed by, and Harriet paused to sneer at the ridiculousness. Why anyone would think those better than a good wagon and horses were beyond her. They were noisey, large, and looked impossible to control. Horses were far better then such clumsy innovation.

  5. #5
    Yumyumcrow's Avatar
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    Staring at the steadfast daubs on the wall, Harriet clicks! The graffiti is loudly proclaiming that the block, or maybe the restaurant and bar, are the possession of the Invictus - an organisation or conspiracy of kindred her Sire told her about. There are other marks, but right now their meaning is a little confusing: either some establishment near the docks is the holding of a high ranking vampire, or Elysium is a club on Nob Hill. Maybe.

    Her whole train of thought is nearly derailed by the motor car, rattling and barking as it rolls by. Two Beasts swiftly press on her and are gone just as quickly. She gets a quick study of two faces: a hard faced man in a bowler, scowling at the contraptions controls; an effeminate dandy with long curling locks and tanned gloves. Then they are gone.

  6. #6
    RebornSeas's Avatar

    Stephanie Lane-Huang
    Pepper

    Presence 3 (subdued)
    Silver Ladder Status 2
    Consilium Status 2
    Acanthus 2

    Harriet almost laughed at the driver's expression, but if they were the two smaller beasts, she was fine. She turned back to the Graffiti and looked around her again. To be safe, the Docks and Nob Hill would be approached with caution. Though if Elysium was indeed on Nob Hill she would need to approach and should ask if there were any common areas for feeding.

    Present herself, and such.

    Meanwhile, some further exploration was due, and she kept her eyes open for more such graffiti. It would not surprise her if the Barbary Coast was a Rack, and that presented a mighty need to confirm. If it was indeed a Private territory that would cut off quite a bit of potential meals.

    She stopped, however, as one other concern struck her: Perhaps she should present herself to the individual who claimed this block? Undoubtedly the powerful beast approaching. If she played her cards right he may be willing to sponsor her presentation to Elysium. Well, Assuming the Kindred in question was indeed a He. Either way, Apologizing for choosing a place so near their territory to settle...

    Oh yes, that idea had much potential.

  7. #7
    Yumyumcrow's Avatar
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    The strong beast draws closer... closer; a great, black shadow pressing down on her mind.

    A man appears from the scattered crowd; a man dressed in a grey suit with a matching top hat. A pince-nez with darkened lenses adorns his long face, framed by a mane of brown hair. He stands casually, watching, leaning lightly on a black cane with a silver head. Then he is striding across the street, smartly. The gentleman comes to a halt just a little before here, making a show of examining the tatty collage of posters that adorn the wall; one in particular appears to catch his eye.

  8. #8
    RebornSeas's Avatar

    Stephanie Lane-Huang
    Pepper

    Presence 3 (subdued)
    Silver Ladder Status 2
    Consilium Status 2
    Acanthus 2

    For a long moment, Harriet found herself struck by just how powerful his presence was. She folded her hands before her and straightened her back, though, refusing to be steered by his presence like cattle. More, she tries to search out the Poster that caught his eye to find out if it might hold more information for her endeavor to win him as an ally.

    "By Chance, is there a particularly Peaceful Club atop Nob Hill? I'm afraid in my youth I've gotten quite lost when I arrived..." She almost regretted the words the moment she let them into the air. But no, there were actual cattle about. Best then, to start off with a somewhat 'normal' conversation. Though the Fear wiggling like a worm on a hook in her heart was demanding that she beg to him that she had not yet dined tonight, and would not within his space.

    She bowed her head, further showing her humility in the fave of such a great beast. Heed your elders, her instinct and her Sire's teaching demanded. They are Better for their years. Proven. She was like those ridiculous horseless-wagons in comparison to an Elder's Herd of Wild Stallions.

    Weak, Limited, Noisey, Pointless. Behaving with the corresponding respect to the Power, Strength, and Reach beside her was only right and the nature of things.

  9. #9
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    The gentleman paused with one hand outstretched, tapping on the poster thoughtfully. With a lazy turn of head, he focussed on Harriet, eyes peeking over his pinc-nez. His face remained impassive, if benign, in countenance.

    "Good evening," he said, tipping his hat and bowing, slightly. His voice was rich, deep, and tinged with russian accents. "Please allow me to introduce myself - Constantin Polikarpov. At your service." He stopped for a moment, allowing Harriet to respond before continuing: "Yes. There is a peaceful club in that area. You won't find it on Nob Hill though. Close though: seek the Isaac Graham Gentleman's Club, though you might find it hard to gain admittance." The gentleman chuckled slightly. Then: "It would be much easier if you simply call on Hyde and Clay. The white house with the dome and ostentatious portico. Pay your respects there and it will go better for you."

    He stopped then as if thinking. Gloved fingers drummed on the cheap poster, calling attention to it. "I come here often. I find that the most impressive bargains and curious entertainments find their way here. This, for instance. What do you think?"

    The poster itself referred to the imminent arrival of the Mentalist Dr. Malachi. A Spiritualist group calling themselves the Society of Pennelope is organising the event to be held at their chapter house on Nob Hill.

  10. #10
    RebornSeas's Avatar

    Stephanie Lane-Huang
    Pepper

    Presence 3 (subdued)
    Silver Ladder Status 2
    Consilium Status 2
    Acanthus 2

    Something warm and pleasant unfurled within her at the sound of his voice. Something in it reminded her of the Coffee that one of the older cattle hands would roast and brew on the trail. She returned his bow with a proper and deeper curtsy, "Thank you kindly, Mister Polikarpov. I am Harriet Calhoun." She straightened again, and found that she could not help a sliver of a secretive smile from her lips at his description of the Gentlemen's club. He was right of course: It have been quite a while since she could slip into such a place like she was a boy, and no doubt the club would be less raucous than the ones she remembered her brother's visiting.

    "Thank you, Truly, for the instructions. I shall do so at the earliest convenience." As for the Poster... Hadn't she heard those names before?

      Recognizing what's on the Poster
    Date Action Roll Result
    2013-09-14 23:43:16 Harriet May Calhoun rolls 4 to Int+Academics for Dr. Malachi (10 Again) 7, 10, 9, 6, 4 2 successes
    2013-09-14 23:42:39 Harriet May Calhoun rolls 3 to Int+Politics for the Society (10 Again) 1, 7, 9 1 success

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