(Sac Noir) Praise thy info dumps!

[Josephine Sterling]

Perhaps it was because the passage of ages had dilated the Lady's sense of time, or perhaps some event had arisen which kept her away from the Mortuary house, yet the fact remained that when Josephine finally arrived it could hardly be described as presently. Nonetheless, arrive she did, in a black pant suit that set the pale flesh of her hands, neck, and head into stark contrast. In the right light those porcelain appendages almost seemed to float disembodied and independently from each other. It was with such an appendage that she knocked upon the back door of the Cedar Fields Funeral Home. A strange place for a Kindred to work, yet for those that did not choose to use the gifts of their blood, an income had to be earned in some way. Perhaps David was one such Kindred. It would be interesting to meet one so humane. It seemed that the Domain was in short supply of them.

[Josephine Sterling]

"Josephine will suffice," the Ventrue corrected, though not unkindly, as she stepped within the house of the dead. The Kindred's lack of apparent demonic aspects didn't surprise her, as she knew that his blood could hide such well, as did most half educated licks, but she did enjoy not having to resist some embarrassing display of her own weakness, both physical and mental. Regardless, such was not an issue and so brought her mind to bear on more important matters.

"I greatly appreciate your willingness to speak with me, Priscus Regan. I'm afraid that are in very real need of your expertise," she divested to him, voice hushed though no less certain. "Khan is a fearsome adversary to have, largely because we do not know exactly what she is, never mind how to go about dealing with her. Nevertheless, I shall do what I can to inform you of what we already know. Please feel free to ask questions, though it might help if I speak my piece first," she suggested as they either walked or stood.

"Now then, what I know is that she is a being of great age, not unlike us. However, unlike us she can walk in the sun. Beyond that she hails upon the religion of Egypt, worshiping Isis and Osiris in particular. She possesses the ability to turn flesh into gold, a process I believe to be metaphysically vampiric in nature, and beyond that her flesh is remarkable similar to precious metals in the right light. She has moved to this city to set up a court, and she is constructing new buildings and developments in the city, the most notable being a bank with a mostly sunken pyramid in front of it. She also owns a security force which identifies itself as Mamluk security, and I'm sure I have no need of informing you the implications inherent in that name. That said, she also possesses the influence of several other mortal tools, the foremost among them being Mehmet Khan, a criminal with a minor organization. Oh, and there is a cripple which attends her, one she calls her sadikh.

"All that said, are there any conclusions which you are able to draw, or must I be more thorough in some area?" the sanctified scholar queried, sable brows lifting in question toward the Dragon.

[Josephine Sterling]

"What does gold look like to me?" Josephine repreated back, a long blink signifying just what she thought of the question. "I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you wondering how I might mix such a color upon a palette or are you referring to whether or not I have beheld the mineral from the earth, commonly measured in carats. If the latter, then yes, I have beheld, and held, most every alloy of gold created by God."

[Josephine Sterling]

"I did mention the pyramid, didn't I?" Josephine phrased rhetorically. "Such is also powerful sun imagery, the sides of the pyramid embodying the rays of light the pharaoh would ascend to reach the afterlife, no? If she's building a tomb, then I'm sure that's where she would lie. And such is a very troubling affair, to have such a powerful creature make Sacramento her bed upon which she dozes away different parts of the ages. She spoke of setting up her court, after all, and this would indicate that even if she is establishing a tomb to lie in, she is not intending to lie there forever. Furthermore, she has entered this city as a colonizing force. She's come, subverted the local government, begun building her infrastructure, which includes deep inroads into the economy, as she has set up a merchant bank, and into the influx of travelers with her hotel, not to mention her other projects. In short, she is claiming the city, changing the city, and giving no thought to those that already dwell here.

"In short, she is colonizing us. Trust me, I would know. The people of my living heritage made a practice of it for nigh on two centuries. Those of my cursed blood for a millennia," the Sanctified scholar explained archly.

[Josephine Sterling]

"Actually," Josephine answered, head cocking to the side, "the Society of Penelope happens to be an enemy of Khan. They've attempted to steal her artifacts of power, and have once, I believe, but they've also lost people to her. There was a storage facility she had guarded with, according to a guard, 'strange shadowy' birds that the Society had been reconnoitering before Khan's men drove them off. I do not know if they've done aught else since then, of course."