(The Dark) Burning Times

[Victoria Stamford]

book keeping willpower

[David Silver]

  3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-07-28 16:19:18		David Silver rolls 6 to Res+Comp+BP (10 Again)		8, 8, 5, 10, 4, 4, 3		3 successes

[Yumyumcrow]

David Silver, Acolyte of the Mekhet and burning thunderbolt, hurtles onward leaving a blazing trail of smoke, flesh and a substance like ash. Legs somehow still pumping beneath his scorched and withered trunk, he careens forward like a truck out of control.

Kenneth Gilroy is upon him first: a scuttling, peculiar dance with legs unnaturally bowed and arms outstretched, brandishing the blanket before him like a weapon, or shield, or talisman. Or perhaps a strangely demented travesty of a toreador bull fighter.

Heedless to the spectacle, David Silver ploughs through Gilroy. Dust erupts from the drought hardened ground as the two bodies come together in an unnatural amplexus. Gilroy, bug-like, clinging onto the Shadow's horrendous form, first with two limbs and then with four: a strange man sized skirt with a blanket flapping behind. Momentum lost, David pitches forward, rolls, scrabbles, screeches, scrabbles. Gilroy wrestles with the Beast to grind out the flames (and avoid getting hurled into the dust himself).

The struggling duo is met by Cross, who add his weight and superlative strength to his Priscus. A threesome, rolling in the dirt, to pin down a struggling, spitting Beast.

Katya wins her inner struggle and moves to join the melee, which is still moving forward - slowly - as David's frenzied form churns the earth around him.

At last Victoria grows tired of the spectacle: of writhing, blackened, Mekhet; of stoic Sheriff braced and arched; of... spindle legged cockroach thing trailing on the ground like an ugly, noisome, thing sticking out of David's arse Gilroy hanging onto David's lower limbs with all his might. She glares, summons forth her dread powers, and sends her Wasp once more to its seductive demon dance...

... This time, assailed on all sides and hemmed in by foreign bodies, the dance succeeds. The Lord feels the pure satisfaction of dominance as the Shadow's Beast, wailing piteously, retreats into the primordial depths of David's mind and soul.

With a shuddering gasp and a whine of agony, David is returned to lucidity.

David hurts!

[David Silver]

David looks at the sky, the pain and agony of fire eliminating many of the stars as his vision tunnels to Saturn, glaring balefully down upon him.
Well, that's ominous.
"Thank you all." David winces out, as he looks at the conglomeration of vampiric bodies that have wrapped him up and put out the fire, and brought his beast down. Ow. Fuck Hell Shit OW. FUCK. David wants to say, but thats not appropriate.
"Hail Satan. Pitiful last words, if at least confirming our enemy." He grumbles as he slowly rises, burned skin flensing off of his naked body, bubbling hot fat and smoked pig filling the air for those who choose to smell. He has no shame, with most of his body burned there is little to be ashamed of. He stands slowly, stiffly, and with obvious great pain. His left leg is favored, as the right is a mess of charred and blackened skin, along with his arm and back and chest. The blood from his earlier sacrifice has charred itself black under his eyes, giving him a ghastly appearance. His left hand is remarkably spared.
"I can understand if any of you do not wish to stay for the conclu-" A lance of pain forces David to stop, and he hisses out sharply in agony "conclusion of the rite, however I will be finishing." He begins limping towards the stone circle.

[Robert Cross]

Cross feels the intensity of David's struggle flag. It's almost as if the beast drains from the body he's helping to pin down. When the words leave David's lips, he knows it's over. It was the same with Konrad... Cross is becoming a regular frenzy-wrangler.

He gets up to let David rise, helping Kenneth and Katya to their feet as well, if they'll let him. His eyes never leave the charred mess of David's features. Unlike the others, the smell of flame-cooked flesh is beyond familiar to Cross. Indeed, looking at David now unleashes a chain of memories, which pass indistinct, washing over him. The days, weeks, months, after the fire and after his embrace. The endless pain. The cracking and re-healing of flesh. And finally, the realization that the scars would never leave. That, despite the assurances of his sire and the other Stiffs around him, his Curse would never let him forget. And, of course, the smell.

Always the smell.

He doesn't speak as David invites them to return to the ritual. Once the shadow starts to move away, he leans over to Gilroy and whispers in his ear: "My Regent. I believe we should be going. Let him finish his ritual, but I would advise against joining him." His tone is not commanding, though it is mildly solicitous. Gilroy can make his own decisions, but Cross still feels he has a duty: to at least express his concern for the safety of his Regent.

At his back, he can feel the heat from the continuing fire, pushing him to depart. To get away.

[Alessandra]

Ale and her Beast watch this unfold around them. Both wondering just what the hell David hoped to accomplish by risking Final Death. Cause from their side, it was a big hell no.

She doesn't move much closer to the crispy Kindred, the smell and sight not pleasant. There were questions she had, but he appeared more concerned with finishing whatever him and Katya were doing earlier. Dark eyes look back towards the building, the fire reminding that she was quite happy where she stood, before looking back to those around her.

Should she stay and support her Cousin? Was there really anything to lose by staying? Well, unless David decides to be stupid and jump into a fire she didn't think so.

Shrugging, she follows...at a safe distance.

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Kenneth clung on for dear life until, David finally stilled. For a few moments the worm thought Silver had succumbed to the flames and was about to crumble. Yet then words were spoken and Gilroy relaxed his grip.

The Mehket was an unholy sight. Almost worse than Cross. Blackened flesh and skin burned so badly that he ought not be able to move, or speak for that matter. Yet David still walked like the undead corpse he was, not even coughing from smoke inhalation. It was unnerving.

Robert approached. Somehow making the scent of scorched meat even more apparent. The Bishop held his breath and leaned closer when the scarred man whispered and nodded in agreement.

"If it is a Satanic cult, I'm afraid I can't stay. I need to check the Moore House and the Dark Temple. Ensure they haven't been targeted as well." The Necropolis concerned him the most, though the church's above ground habitation was much more known. Not to mention there wasn't much more he could do here. If David was wanting to complete their ritual he was free to. Personally the Nosferatu would have called the fire department. The building was still in flames after all.

Turning to leave, he briefly passed by Katya "I'm sorry," he said softly. It was genuine but also a reminder of just how useless the worm had been in helping.

"Caretaker Hart," he said to the doll, purple eyes looking all the more like gemstones reflecting hell fire "stay safe."

If she chose to stay, that was her choice.

"And thank you Lady Stamford for you help." His tone sounded impressed, almost fearful. The power to control the Beast she'd said and it hadn't been a lie.

[Alice Hart]

The Mekhet busts from the flaming building like a comet, the smoke and flame trailing after him. The others are quick to take action, and bring the shadow to the ground, the Lady Stamford's power is brought to bare and David returns to himself.

...

And decides to continue the rite.

Alice blinks. A part of her wondering about that kind of dedication, and fervor. The unreal sheen of her eyes stare at the still blazing farmhouse...."What about....?" she trails off, biting her lip. "The...err...fire...?" her hesitant voice speaks as Robert comes to whisper into Gilroy's ear.

Alice nods when her Regent speaks, wanting to check out the Moore House and the Dark Temple, the doll already getting ready to follow her Family. When the High Worm turns to her, and offers her a choice...she doesn't know what to do.

I promised David that I'd participate. I don't like to brake my promises. Alice wanted to tell her Regent, instead she says "I will." and follows the smoking shadow, and the savages back towards the stone circle.

[Victoria Stamford]

The sense of euphoric triumph of the wasp over the lesser creature that it bested was slightly distracting as Victoria watched things return to some normalcy. Well as normal as they can be with a burning farmhouse lighting up the night.

The Ventrue was grateful, not for the first time, that she didn't need to breath and thus smell the smoke and burning flesh in the air around her. She nodded in acknowledgement of the words of thanks by Regent Gilroy, and Miss Harding.

"You are most welcome," she said to both of them. "Thank you for your assistance in restraining him Regent Gilroy."

She was unsure how wise it was for Silver to decide to continue the rite given the compromised nature of the site, but as the others began to make their way back to the circle, Victoria followed cautiously behind. Her servant wordlessly made his way to the vehicle to keep watch over it and to keep away from the likely hungry and damaged Mekhet. However, she did indulge in a personal fantasy of imagining just how much force it would take to smack Silver into torpor for making her use so much of her reserves.

"I think the house is a lost cause at this point Caretaker Hart," Victoria said in response to the question. "By the time the fire department gets out here to the country it would be mostly burned out. There would be too many questions as well, and then investigations, which I doubt the circle would appreciate at their farm."

This time the Ventrue kept her dagger with her as she turned to the ritual.