A Haunting Discussion

[Chris Wooding]

When the city's newest Haunt further introduces himself, Chris listens attentively. He did not manage to continue smiling throughout the whole conversation. Meeting with two Nosferatu simply makes that impossible.

'Then that is something we have in common.' Just a fact, or a reminder. Chris is not The Punisher kind of Reeve such as Dillon presented himself. The Shadow actually excelled at doing research.

'The Necropolis...' He starts, trying to figure out how to respond. That is when Angel shares her opinion on the matter. Clearly they have already discussed this.

'I sincerely doubt whether Arnold Culler or Dirge have been keeping any records. And unless you can truly make it a stronghold, I doubt if any files are safe there. Nox, one of your havens, or perhaps a location in hands of the Lancea Sanctum would be better? I also have a collection of books that should not fall in mortal hands, but I keep them in a more secure location.' While speaking, the Reeve looks through a pile of paper. It appears to be a collection of short files. After reading one in particular, he speaks again.

'There are multiple reports of poachers and other troublemakers in the Necropolis from over the last years. Apparently an ally of Arnold Culler was a Kindred named Sunshine. Or at least. I think he also used the Necropolis. Before researching your Clan, I had never even heard of the man, nor have many Kindred seen him. Besides him, I think there have been one or two other Kindred interested in a Necropolis, but no one else lived there.' That makes three Kindred, in the four years Chris has been in the Domain. Maybe there's nothing wrong with Sacramento above ground.

[Kenneth Gilroy]

It takes more than he thought it would to not immediately bend to the words of his Priscus. He knew she wanted him to press the subject. On an intellectual level at least. It still took a concerted effort to make a counter argument. He had a feeling she would have to make a small show of force and 'punish' him for not heading her. Still, better to rebel in this way than obey and risk actual reprimand.

"A small chance is still a chance. And if your doubts are wrong and they did keep them, then those annals are at risk of discovery. Even without written records there's possible forensic evidence that could be useful. I still feel the Necropolis could be a great source of Clan knowledge."

Kenneth couldn't really make any points about security given what Wooding had said. Not after he had just used that same lack of security as reason to search the underground. And not in a way that would help the conversation. It wasn't like he could say they couldn't use the Nox because it might let some of the Clan's secrets slip to other Kindred in the domain since the location wasn't control by the Nosferatu. He couldn't admit to not having established a Haven yet without showing weakness. And to say the Haunts didn't want their secrets in the hands of any covenant would mark him a traitor to the church as well as possibly the Invictus and Circle as well.

So Kenneth simply conceded the point and moved on.

"And if it is a haven for poachers and hulligans then, if nothing else, finding it would allow such rabble to be driven out and denied a place of shelter within the borders of the domain. Otherwise we risk such law breakers growing in power right under our noses."

It was perhaps the first truly convincing thing he'd said. While he could write eloquent papers on hydrocarbons, Kenneth was not very persuasive when it came down to it. Fear though, that was something he could do. Something the curse didn't interfere with. Nto one for overt shouts and growls, he normally went for the subtle approach. What he had said wasn't even a threat. Simply the small reminder that even those lowly creatures that lurked underground and were despised by all could be a very real threat if left alone.

[Chris Wooding]

Chris is not entirely sure what the man is hoping to accomplish, so he shrugs. 'Well Mr Gilroy, that may be a fair point, but you have my warning. The first time I went inside the sewers, my friends had to drag me out. So that's that.' The Reeve is not going to forbid the Haunt to go down there, but he's definitely not going to help.

'And if that is so, that is my risk and my responsibility. Let me cut them off as soon the vermin shows itself above ground.' The word vermin, it just popped in his mind. 'Or you'll have to wait until I have more time and resources on my hands.'

He nods to agree with Angel. They came here for information about the Clan.

'Let me see. There have been a few. When I arrived in the Domain in the summer of 2010, there were a few important Nosferatu. I was acknowledged by Seneschal Heathcliff Staley, who may have been Bishop at the time.' A memorable event for sure. 'My own covenant leader was Dirge. But I think neither of them was Priscus, so that must have been Arnold Culler. The man currently missing, was already Regent of the Necropolis, so I did not see him often. Perhaps noticeable is that he was called Regent then, while later I think more Kindred referred to him as Master of the Necropolis. And he wasn't Priscus for long.'

But who then? 'Or was it the Seneschal? The change must have happened when I just arrived. Yes, Staley became Priscus then. It all becomes quite confusing since so many of your Clan members disappeared from time to time. After Staley, Dirge became Priscus, then a new name: Anton Flores. But after two short periods of torpor, due to injury, I also left the Domain for a while...' The good old times.

'Anton Flores was killed by officers of the Domain, going down, I think as Draugr. I remember well that an Envoy from the Domain of San Francisco arrived - he pauses again, some painful memories of his time in that City come to the surface, 'and Flores did not welcome her very kindly.'

'He was replaced by Sidor Grigoriev then, also a Bishop and Deputy. I think he may have been the longest sitting Priscus during my time in Sacramento. But then I left again, for, let's say a spiritual journey,' his personal life is not the topic of discussion, 'when I returned Jennifer Hazelton was Priscus. Not a Bishop, but a Notary of the First Estate. Then it all becomes recent history. A few months ago, she gave the position to Peter Baldwin. Not long after, Madam Hazelton left the Domain. And that's where my story concludes, Priscus Ducard.'

  Int + res right?

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-04-16 02:34:50		Chris rolls 7 to Int + Res for a trip down to memory lane (10 Again)		1, 6, 5, 1, 8, 1, 10, 6		2 successes

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Gilroy let the subject drop at Angel’s second request. He hadn’t been forbidden from searching, merely warned that if he did go down it would be as an expendable pawn. You had to start somewhere, show you weren’t expendable. He would have to trust in his ability to remain unnoticed if he was to seek the Necropolis, rather than any support from the Reeve or Clan.

He listened attentively to Wooding describe the long list of Nosferatu Prisci. So many over just five years? It was a lot of information to take in and he wasn’t quite sure how to interpret it. Was it simply Sacramento’s ‘waystation’ nature or was there manipulation behind the scene to keep the Clan in such a state of flux? He noticed it wasn’t just the Haunts that changed regularly though, or at least noticed that the Haunt Prisci came from various covenants. It could be inferred that the covenants were similarly unstable at large. Not even the First Estate was exempt from the list. He had to stop thinking too hard on the subject lest he miss something vital in what the Reeve was saying. Unfortunately it was too much to put everything to memory. He had the basics right now but he didn't trust himself to recall it all later.

“That's a great many Kindred over a short period. I'm sorry to ask but do you happen to have something to take notes on?” he inquired submissively. He hadn’t brought his briefcase with him when he had entered the club. A fact he was regretting right now.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-04-17 14:46:16		Kenneth Gilroy rolls 5 to Memorize-3 exentsive (10 Again)		1, 5, 2, 5, 6		failure

[Chris Wooding]

It took Chris a moment to realize that it was not the Nosferatu curse that had ruined Kenneth's joke, but that the man did not make a joke at all. For as long as the moment lasts, he is speechless. Was the Reeve the only one taking this serious? Because if that's the case, there are literally a thousand things he'd rather do than sit here talking with this Sanctified leech.

It is also in that long moment that he just considers saying: nah man, I'm afraid not.

But that is when Angel saves the day. The look she gives is answered with a surprised expression, shouldn't the kid be able to stand on his own feet, after a couple of years of... crawling?

'So, Culler who stepped down, Staley who got executed, Dirge who stepped down, Flores who got executed, Grigoriev who left, Hazelton who stepped down, and Baldwin who left.' There's a pattern. Ducard is either lucky or very unlucky. Chris only repeats the names, but he hopes that all other information won't be lost. A Clan has more important figures besides the Priscus.

'This amount is not so common. But positions happen to change from person to person fairly regularly, yes. Clan Mekhet is also doing well in this regard, counting at least six - myself among them. But take Clan Daeva, with just Archon Twist as Priscus for over four years. And in your case, the list gets uncomfortably long when a lot happens to a clan in the period of just a few months. The point is also, with many Kindred passing through, one can lose the respect they've built up simply because there's no one to remind new arrivals of who you are.'

[Kenneth Gilroy]

“Thank you, Ms. Ducard,” Gilroy takes the pad and writing utensil gratefully from Angel before feverishly writing down what Wooding had said before it slipped his memory. His educational background at least offers him the experience to not write everything. Instead it mostly short hand and keywords. Enough so that he has a frame of reference to reconstruct the conversation later.

Wooding’s description puzzled Kenneth a little. He was tempted to ask why these changes seemed to occur so often. At its most simplistic it was simply coincidence. Occam’s razor being what it was should have favored that answer but chords of the Requiem were complex. Conspiracy by the Prince in an effort to remain in power, to actual mystical ‘ley line’ guiding vampric behavior on a city wide scale. Both were viable options. None of that really matter to Kenneth at this time though. The forces were either too far above him, too out of his control, or too far beyond his knowledge. He moved on instead.

“Aside from what you just mentioned with the Prisci, are there any events or Kindred that you I should know about, that you feel are significant to the Nosferatu Clan here in Sacramento?” he asked, speaking quickly. Gilroy's eyes remained down-turned and didn't leave the piece of paper he was scribbling on as he asked his question. His tone pitched up at the end in a whining inquiry, like a mosquito buzzing near your ear.

[Chris Wooding]

Kenneth's next question is indeed a good one. But it is so broad that Chris cannot give a direct answer. He rubs at his chin while thinking.

Then, it is clear he decides to think out loud. 'Let's see. As I said, before Dillon Connery, Bishops were always Haunts. Heathcliff Staley, Anton Flores, and Sidor Grigoriev.'

When thinking about Sidor Grigoriev, another name comes to mind: Josephine Powell.

'Another important Noseratu was Josephine Powell. I think she never got any major positions, except for Clan Whip, but she had her own way of influencing others. She was a friend of Sidor Grigoriev - and he got all the leadership roles. However, what may be notable is that she was also a friend of the better known Martha Villiers. Powell was a doctor with her own office in Sacramento. Maybe it is significant that she was the one that gave Miss Villiers her C-leg, if I recall correctly*.'

And otherwise it's just a fun fact.

'Then I already mentioned Jennifer Hazelton as Priscus. I should emphasize that she was Notary of the Invictus for quite some time, and must have been part of several deals.' An assumption, the Hierophant has no inside knowledge of First Estate politics. 'In any case, she was always respected in the Domain.' Which is not self-evident for every Nosferatu Priscus, considering the history executions.

OOC*

I think so... I'm not even sure if this memory is Chris' or Alice's, but I'm not going to spend hours of researching exact facts and dates haha. I'm sure someone would have told Chris after he returned.