This is for adding a Search Category to the thread.
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Chris's comment earns a raised brow from the Ventrue, but the smell of coffee certainly does linger in the air. He gives the Reeve a nod. "Sounds lovely." he says under his breath, staying close to him in case of trouble.
Gerald will attempt to explore deeper into the building accompanying with Chris.
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Gerald's senses sharpen as he waits for the others. The coffee is slightly burned and irritates his nostrils. Ambient sounds come into greater focus: the creak of the old wooden building and distinct scuffling sounds emanating from below.
Chris arrives next. He pauses to peruse the yellowed pamphlets while the Haunts catch up. Most of them refer to community events spanning decades. A few are much more recent: one for a blog entitled “California the Strange”, another for a seminar about Theosophism, another for a get together of an ancient history appreciation group, and a newsletter from the Society of Penelope.
Once the Haunts catch up, Shadow and Lord probe deeper. They follow the powerful scent of coffee to an overly large kitchen with an overly small sink. Someone has made an effort to clean it but left it half done in favour of tackling the shop proper: cleaning agents and dirty rags spill across the work surface; a mop stands sentinel in an almost industrial size bucket. A large coffee machine - gleaming, almost barista grade - stands idle. A calendar hangs on the wall; curiously it hasn’t been updated since February.
Martel keeps an eye out for trouble, but none comes looking. No one appears to follow them; and the street beyond is quiet and calm under the deep, rich, night sky.
A voice echoes up from below, the owner perhaps alerted by the scuffle of feet and creak of floorboards.
“Dennis? Is that you? Come and have a look at this shit!”
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Oh you've got to be freaking kidding me, of course the Society. Who else would be looking for possible occult artifacts.
The moment Chris realizes he should still urgently speak with his Priscus. But that's for another night. It could also be a coincidence, seeing all the other pamphlets. Any case, the Mekhet is even more cautious now. He puts some pamphlets inside his jacket, then he zips it close again.
Further inside the shop, everything gets a bit weird. Someone seems to be building a big business, but only one step at a time. And alone?
That moment someone calls for Dennis. This moment I also realize why more advanced studies of Obfuscation can be very useful. Chris gives Gerald a shrug. He nods in the direction of the voice without saying a word. It's too late for the Cloak of Night, and there doesn't seem to be a threat right now.
Going further, unless someone has any objections in game, Chris will be aware and slow down.
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The place looks like it could use some work. All of the tidying is done haphazardly, almost as if priority was given to some more important project at the last minute. All of this dust... and a calendar from February? Business isn't booming, I take it. With the shuffling sounds coming from below, he might not have time to investigate more thoroughly. The calendar sticks out in his head, however. With luck, their quarry might have been stupid enough to leave something telling in plain view. As Sergei and Martel approach from the rear, Gerald gestures for them to enter and points towards the calendar. Maybe one of them can pick something up on it.
At the sound of the voice, Gerald's eyes snap to the Reeve. The man seems willing to confront the voice's owner, so the Ventrue straightens and prepares himself for what he might have to say. Of course, they would need to actually locate the stairs first, unless Dennis' associate comes upstairs to greet them. Gerald heads back to the first room again and looks for a doorway that leads downstairs.
Martel wheeled about at the sound of the voice, his right hand instinctively going for the knob of his cane, his feet assuming the ready posture of a trained fencer.
Easy now, Martel. No call for arms just yet.
He straightened his flexed knees and let his hands fall to his sides. He tried to meet the Reeve's eyes for some signal that it was alright. It seemed this voice belonged to someone these people knew at least passingly well.
Or so Martel assumed. He sniffed the air for the smell of unfamiliar Kindred.
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With a nod Sergei slips back outside to watch the approaches, an action that leaves Martel free to explore the shop with Chris and Gerald.
The Mekhet and the Ventrue exit the kitchen and return to the shop floor in search of the voice from below. There is another door leading from the shop. It too stands open from behind the counter; but where the first door led into the oversize kitchen, this door leads into an oversize store room. Part of that is function: the storage also serves as a small work space and one wall is filled with the accoutrements of leather working; two other walls are filled with shelves, cabinets and the like. There is a large trapdoor in the room and it stands open with wooden steps leading down.
The owner of the voice remains in the space below. The scent of dust, concrete, oil and metal gently rise from the depths.
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Gerald frowns as he eyes the storage room. With a passing glance back to Chris, Gerald walks within a few feet of the open trapdoor and calls down to the owner of the voice below. Maybe I can buy some time.
"Hello? I'm sorry, I couldn't find a sales attendant. Is this a bad time?" Gerald tenses in anticipation, fearing the worst. If this man is involved in the killings, he likely won't appreciate the intrusion. Still, there might be room to talk to the man before it gets to that. As Gerald waits for a response, he starts wondering what the man's blood might taste like. It would be so easy...
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Gerald decides it IS a bad time, and leaves.
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And BDeHaven ?
If there's only one man down there, it is not so bad that Gerald suddenly has something else to do. Chris could handle it, maybe, hopefully. Because the Mekhet hates stunning surprises, he stops using his enhanced senses.
Before going down, Chris whispers to his fellow Acolyte. 'Let's go down, please keep on looking behind us. We don't want this Dennis figure sneaking up on us.'
Then down they go.
Confidently, the Hieropant walks down the stairs. He's planning on a direct approach. Since they lost their Lord and there's no Daeva nearby, it's no time for social games. Once downstairs he quickly tries to take in the whole room, weapons, lost artifacts, other notable things. And of course, the owner of the voice.
'Limey Joe?'
Martel nodded at the Reeve's instructions. He allowed Chris to get several steps ahead of him before he began descending himself. If this got ugly, he didn't want them tripping over each other trying to fight, or escape.
As they descended, Martel kept a close lookout on their rear, peeking over his shoulder at regular intervals. So far, this "Dennis" had not made himself known.
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