(Thorned Ten) Men on a Path

[Matamune]

Vassagon , Forn Clakes

Something shifts. Where there was emptiness and a vague endless nightmare full of fear, violence, betrayal and shame, a shred of consciousness now returns, glowing brighter with every second.

The taste of metal. Blood. No. Vitae. The Kindred slowly open their eyes.

The room has no windows: the walls are brick, the floor is naked concrete. Naked as they are, covered in wounds, tied to two chairs and fortified with several powers of handcuffs, chaining their wrists and ankles. The only source of light is a lone lightbulb, hanging from the ceiling. There is also a third chair where another man sits. Young, lean, in his twenties, with black hair. As Edwin and Konrad wake up, the hair begins to turn to ash and crumble.

In front of the Kindred stand Armond and his help, considerably refreshed since their fight. The cult leader gestures to the already-dead vampire:

"I hope you'll be more helpful".

The black bracelet glistens on his arm in the cold light.

You have each healed 3L and have 2 Vitae. WP didn't refresh after the previous scene.

Let's begin: you can roll Perception and start posting.

[Konrad Roth]

Konrad stirs and then tenses, the sudden awareness is like a shock to his system. When he finds he cannot move due to his bonds he goes limp again. What happened? he wonders along with a dozen other questions. He tries to remember through the fog around his brain. But the familiar figure of Armond fills him in. The apartment complex. The Kine descending on Konrad, and him not quick enough to hightail it outta there. Almost made it too. But his weak blow against Armond's bodyguard and Karl's last minute decision to take sides was more than enough to take him down.

Konrad licks his lips reflexively, searching out more of that Vitae flavor but finding none. His eyes swivel around, taking in surroundings. He sees Edwin in the chair next to him, apparently still alive.

"Eddie, are you okay?" he asks his fellow Kindred. They're in a tight spot right now but seeing as they haven't clocked out of their Requiems just yet they must've had a bit of luck still left between them. Though judging by the other dead Kindred in the room it might've been too early to say for sure.

  Perception | 3suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-03 00:56:04		Konrad Roth rolls 6 to perceive his surroundings [WIT+COM] (10 Again)		3, 10, 5, 7, 10, 3, 8, 5		3 successes

[Edwin Bridges]

As Edwin came to, all he could think of was the murky dream. It clung to the mind like failure. His head hung low for a moment as he tried to recall what had happened. An apartment. A fight. Being seriously outgunned.

Fuck.

The voice brought his head up and Edwin sighed as he tried to stretch out his arms but was unable to do so. Konrad's voice at least gave him some hope. "Yeah, just fucking dandy," he replied to the Gangrel before looking towards Armond and the cunt that pretty much gutted Edwin. "What do you want?"

  1 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-03 12:53:00		Edwin Bridges rolls 4 to Perception (10 Again)		4, 10, 1, 7, 1		1 success

[Matamune]

For Konrad

Armond's aide appears to move with ease, his wounds must have cauterized, at the very least.

Behind Armond there is a small table with a bag on it. A multitude of tongs, knifes and sharp pokers stick out. Also, it seems like the coils on Armond's arm have rearranged themselves: the bracelet only lightly pricks the cultist's skin instead of sinking deep into it, like during the fight.

Multiple tubes stick out of the degenerating Vampire body, connected to what appears to be a suction pump.

For Edwin

Armond's aide appears to move with ease, his wounds must have cauterized, at the very least.

Behind Armond there is a small table with a bag on it. A multitude of tongs, knifes and sharp pokers stick out. Also, it seems like the coils on Armond's arm have rearranged themselves: the bracelet only lightly pricks the cultist's skin instead of sinking deep into it like during the fight.

Armond smiles an arrogant smile, all the while keeping his eyes on their chests and not meeting the Vampires' gazes:

"Right to the point, eh? Well, many things for sure. But luckily, we have so much time to get to know each other better".

He walks up to Konrad and Edwin and kicks each one of them on the shin. It hurts, adding even more pain to wounds they have kept from the fight.

"I need information and I also need only one of you here. So how about this: whoever tells me most of what I want to know, gets to deliver a message to your bosses. The other one - stays here to keep me and my friends company for a while. What do you say?"

The nasty grin grows so wide you can easily see his gums now.

[Konrad Roth]

"Riiiight, cause you're such a nice guy to let one of us go," Konrad says, teeth gritting from the pain in his shin. "So what is it you do want to know? I've got some dental hygiene tips that'll clear up that gingivitis," mocks Konrad with a half-hearted smirk.

Konrad has an idea of what's going to happen. There's only so many angles, so many options available. Every move is a gamble now, one move away from checkmate.

Konrad looks to Edwin with an airy chuckle. "Guy can't even look us in the eye. There something on my face, Eddie? Maybe my ugly mug is making him squeamish." Konrad's pretty sure the dis-figuration caused by the aerosol flame is still etched in his flesh.

[Edwin Bridges]

The kick simply angered Edwin more and he grimaced. They were in a dire situation now, truly. There was no sign of Cordoba, which meant he either got away or has already met Hel. However, it was obvious to all that Edwin wasn't in a jokey mood. Not anymore.

"What do you need to know?" he asked, ignoring the Gangrel for now.

[Matamune]

Armond mostly ignores Konrad, showing Edwin a patronizing, smug smile:

"Well, here's the deal. You fuckers found me and my boys which means someone might do it again. I'd like to let the people in charge of your crowd that I'm not to be fucked with", - he holds up his hand and starts counting fingers, - "So what I need from you is simple: tell me who's in charge and give me something to hang over their head. Like, locations of Sacramento's Elysia".

Armond gestures to his bracelet and the other man who has so far remained silent:

"Now, will you co-operate or will we have some fun. I mean, I'm kinda satisfied after that useless pile of trash".

The third Kindred continues to crumble quickly throughout the conversation. Bones are starting to become visible on knuckles and cheekbones as skin falls away in ash flakes.

[Konrad Roth]

Interesting, thinks Konrad, wondering at Armond. The guy sounds to Konrad like a gang leader now. And he isn't easily agitated either like some two-bit thug. He is gathering information on a known competitor as one would deal with a rival gang.

It is clear that Armond has already sapped their crumbling predecessor for some information to know terms like Elysia and the vague impressions of the Vampire Covenants. But he doesn't know about the Prince or where to find the Kindred. Maybe the dead Kindred didn't know. They could've caught him or her on the road before they had a chance to be Acknowledged.

"So, not only do you want all our secrets, but you want our Blood too? What, you drain him dry before you killed him? All cause you found some fancy toy so you could pretend to be like us? Thing seems to move like it was alive," says Konrad observantly.

[Edwin Bridges]

"No deal," Edwin said plainly, offering a small smirk. Between this fucker and the Prince, he had absolutely no compulsions to betraying the Domain, not after what he had settled into. There were too many folk on the line for that.

"However, I have a counter offer. You let us go and, you know, we call it quits."

Defiance. It was built in somedays.

[Matamune]

Armond sighs and moves in closer to Konrad, leaning toward the Gangrel:

"I don't think you quite get your position. Let me show you my power".

  Torturing Konrad, failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-07 15:53:00		Armond rolls 8 to Torture Konrad (Pre4 + Intimidate3 +1 bracelet) (10 Again)		6, 5, 2, 7, 5, 4, 1, 1		failure

With a single thorn on his bracelet the cult leader pierces the burns mess of Konrad's face. It doesn't hurt that much but it's not the pain that is frightening, it is what accompanies it. Images come: thugs, women, men - everyone the Gangrel has ever fed on. How he watched people being destroyed in Court and did nothing. How he schemed in the Danse, trying to profit from the destruction. Every sin is right here in front of him. And Konrad doesn't give a shit.

  Torturing Edwin, 3xx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-03-07 15:55:31		Other guy rolls 6 to Torture Edwin (Pre2 + Intimidate3 + Spec) (10 Again)		5, 9, 10, 6, 9, 6, 7		3 successes

In the meantime, Edwin is in very literal agony. With a half-bored expression Armond's helper has approached the Lord with a scalpel and started to slowly slice patterns into his skin. The cuts are shallow and there is no blood but the pain is excruciating, following every move of the blood, subsiding a bit as the man makes sure not to overwhelm Edwin and then starting again.

Both of you please roll Res + Comp. Vass, on an eSuxx you especially don't give a crap. Edwin, you need 3xx or more to not blurt out something Masquerade sensitive.