Called to the Caldarium

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Having made his announcement, the worm waited in the dim light of the Necropolis' center. His body twitched from time to time and his neck snapped when it jerked to one side. Even in the peace of the Caldarium, Gilroy still felt nervous for the approaching meeting and the Curse made it show with quick insectoid movements.

In his hand he held one of his many binders with plans, designs, maps, and agendas. There were more on the bench for when his Family arrived. His family of predators. A pack of monsters he was expected to rule over, despite insubordination, possible passive-aggressive power plays, ignorance due to Sires' mistakes, and the ever present unnatural presence they all inflicted on him and each other. Somehow Gilroy with his Curse of vermin-like disgust had ended up at the center of it. Volunteered for a position he felt wholly unprepared for to preserve the Clan and to strengthen it because there was no one better. However, the worm was determined to see it done, even it meant summoning the anger and suppressing the fear because so often persuasion and logic failed.

He cracked his neck again and waited for his Clan to arrive. A spider sitting in its web. A rat cornered in its burrow.

[Robert Cross]

In recent nights, Cross hasn't gone far from the Necropolis, only occasionally leaving to hunt, to keep up his contacts on both sides of the law, to sleep the day away in his own haven (which more and more seemed obsolete), and to run whatever other errands required his attention. It was on one of these jaunts that he'd come across Gilroy's announcement for the clan meeting.

As Cross arrives, descending into the Necropolis and then making his way to the Caldarium, he feels a mixture of anticipation and a touch of nervousness. He's pleased that the clan will be meeting, coming together as a group, a collective, but he's also aware that his Priscus will not be happy to see him. He can't shake the idea that tonight will prove important for his requiem in this city, perhaps for his unlife full stop. Still, the comfort and ease that the Necropolis provides him, a sense of belonging in this dark and underground place, helps to settle his thoughts. He moves through the dark with all the assurance of a man at home.

He halts at the entrance of the Caldarium, seeing Gilroy sitting there alone, feelings of disgust and bizarre loyalty at war inside him. Their's is a complicated relationship already. Well, get on with it, Cross. After a long moment, he announces himself: "Good evening, Priscus."

[Alice Hart]

This was the very first time Alice was going to face the whole Clan at large. Which since her arrival, had grown from the sparse two plus her, to something that could make a real difference to how the Domain at large view them.
For this occasion Alice thought to dress up, while still remaining practical. Dark black jeans, with sturdy boots, and a petal pink blouse.

With growing familiarity, and ease Alice made her way to the Necropolis on foot, made her way through the decaying house, ignoring the orange tomcat with the notch in his ear, and down to the growing depths of their Kingdom.
At every step downward, Alice felt her meticulous control over her body fade away, leaving only her natural reactions. This is the one place she should have to hide who and what she is.

Smooth movements, gave way to jerks, and twitches, as if someone was mishandling invisible strings. A too wide, too fake, slasher smile appeared upon her face the instant she walked into the Caldarium, the marionette surveyed her hard work and effort, on display for the Family meeting. She was quite proud. She's silent and still a moment as she takes in the sight of two known Haunts, and one she'd only seen at a distance before this.

She's always found it funny that the most monstrous of the Kindred could hide who they were inside as easily as their shadowy cousins. It's probably one of the only reasons the Clan has survived.

"Priscus Gilroy." she greats with a naturally fake smile and a seemingly, mocking, yet deferential nod, before she walks farther into the Caldarium.

"Hello Robert!" she called. Even known that he's on the outs with Gilroy due his own stupidity.

"Hey," she turns to introduce herself to the new haunt, "I'm Alice. Alice Hart."

[Garrick Marlon]

Leaving weapons behind, Garrick leaves his dusty space within the Necropolis and wanders to the bath house...room. No wait, it's got an important sounding name. Something Italian? No wait, Rome was before Italy, so Roman?

Uhhhh o right, The Caldarium. Sounds like some guy should be announcing that name with a megaphone. THE CALD-ARI-UM.

Tense, Garrick walks in and the monster inside seethes quietly in hunger. Thank God. A smile breaks through the beard. "Good evening Priscus, Alice, and the rest of you." It only takes a few moments though and the monster is watching...waiting for someone to give it excuse.

[Kenneth Gilroy]

The first to arrive was Cross. The burned man Kenneth had needed to prove himself to and likely would need to continue to do so. Gilroy wasn’t one to make threats and he resented Robert for forcing him to make them, but expectation had to be met and some people had to be watched.

Then there was Carrigan, entering from the sewers or so it seemed. He at least seemed willing to give his loyalty more freely but the friendly demeanor still hid a man who planned to add a torture chamber to Kenneth’s Necropolis. Then there was the way Jack stared at the pale flesh of Gilroy’s neck that was hard to ignore.

Next, Alice descended the stairs, her arms and legs jerking and twitching worse than even the worm’s. She was difficult to look at and he always had to remind himself not to read too much into her expression or tone. Everything about her spoke of mockery, especially her sincerity.

The newest threat Greenberg reached the Necropolis successfully. Kenneth had worried that the dilapidated house above and the pile of corpses might deter the refined Nosferatu but that didn’t appear to be the case. The lawyer greeted Gilroy while seeming to examine every crevice of the Caldarium. Almost like he was looking for a weakness in Kenneth’s design and work.

Finally there was Garrick. The man who had placed Gilroy in the Priscuship through his inaction. Conspirator or ignorant blind man, Kenneth still wasn’t entirely certain. Marlon still contributed a place for the family to resupply, along with his skills with a gun. He couldn’t be dismissed, as much as the worm still resented him. Maybe in time Kenneth would be able to look into those sightless eyes and forgive.

“Welcome to all of you,” he said. His voice sounded small compared to all the others’. “If you’ll each take a binder, you’ll find an outline of what I plan to discuss this evening. Before we begin though, I think it would be a good idea to introduce ourselves since this is the first time some of us have met."

Since they all already knew Kenneth, he left the floor open for others to begin.

Tabs in the Binder

Maps and Designs

Current and ongoing projects
Caldarium
Trash Pit
Annals

Security
Catacombs
Above Ground Construction
Active Deterrence

Feeding and Rights
Trap Doors
Sepulchers

Additional Contributions and Concerns

[Robert Cross]

Jack's arrival draws Cross out of the entranceway and into the Caldarium proper. Having another haunt in the room suddenly gives him something to focus on other than his recent encounter with Gilroy. At Jack's greeting, Cross remains impassive. The eyes are unnerving, to say the least, and it makes him even more cautious than usual. The joke about memorizing faces seems to be lost on him. For a moment, he even entertains the notion that Jack is making light of his scarring, but drops it. No one, especially not another haunt, could be so stupid. "I'm Robert," is all he says.

Then the others start showing up. Alice, who receives a small, but genuine smile from the burnt man, her inhuman bearing once again a comfort to him. Then Joseph, whose demeanor and polite introduction almost twists Cross' mouth into a smirk. He checks the urge, especially given Greenberg's insidious vibe. Finally, there's the man with the glaucous eyes. He doesn't introduce himself and Cross doesn't ask.

As Gilroy addresses the gathered haunts, Robert remains respectfully quiet and still, head slightly bowed. Once the Priscus has yielded the floor, Robert decides to get it over with and snaps to attention, striding over to the bench to pick up a binder. He gives a nod to Gilroy as he does so, "Thank you, Priscus," his tone deferential.

With that, he turns to face his Family. He is not good at introductions, or at making friends, but he'll have to make do. Accordingly, he falls into the speech patterns and posture most familiar to him. His remarks are delivered in the manner of a law enforcement briefing:

"I'll keep this short. My name is Robert Cross and I'm recently in from Los Angeles. Some of you I've met, most of you I haven't. One way or another, I look forward to getting to know each of you. After all, we're family. This space," he looks around at the Caldarium, "represents the hard work of our Priscus and several others here tonight," he glances toward Alice, who he knows has put her own share of work in, "and I would like to thank them. I'd also like to express my belief that the harder we work here, the stronger our family will be, below and above ground. I look forward to discussing plans to that end this evening, especially in terms of security. Thank you."

He looks at each of them, one to the next, and then finally to Gilroy, offering his Priscus one more nod of respect before retreating to the back of the room, binder in hand.

[Alice Hart]

Before Alice had the chance to introduce herself to Joseph, or great Garrick, Gilroy calls their attention. Alice picks up a binder after Robert, finds a place to sit, and pages through what the worm had prepared. It looked good. A twisted mockery of approval crosses her features, as she flashes their Priscus a smile.

Robert was truly a man of few words, even when it was just a two of them, he was very sparing and concise, now here in front of the Clan at large...but it did seem that security concerns where at the top of everyone's mind.

The new face, Jack, began speaking and Alice had to forestall a mental shiver when the man cast his eyes about the room. Why did he keep looking at her neck. She was Kindred....he wouldn't, couldn't have a taste of Kindred Blood...could he?

It takes a moment for Alice paranoid thoughts to slow. Alice flashes the room a too wide, too fake smile, and offers a strings pull jerking wave. "Hi. I'm Alice Hart. Alice is fine. Recently I've been working on the Caldarium," she casts her gemstone eyes around the room they're currently in, pleased as the serene essence of the space rises up and down, like an ocean tide. "So if we haven't met yet, it's probably because I've been down here toiling away."