(Alien Call) Predators Taint

[Yumyumcrow]

Sep 2016

(Alien Call) Predators Taint

Apr 2017

Spring Cleaning

Apr 2017

(Alien Call) The Seneschal's Briefing

May 2017

(Alien Call) Preparations

Jun 2017

(Alien Call) The Alchemist's Return

Jul 2017

(Alien Call) A Little Talk...

One can trace the boundary between Florin and Sacramento through the line of warehouses and light industrial lots that string out across the plain, on a north-south axis. To the east lie Florin and Rosemont-Mather; to the West is Sacramento proper, then South Sacramento. Its a crude line to be sure: several blocks deep of warehouses, light industrial lots, garages, warehouse outlets, scrap yards. And its not uniform either: new light factory complexes vie with grim warehouses proudly displaying their scars of rust and tags.

One does not expect to catch much of a meal here... Except it is late summer and the balmy days linger beyond the point when the sun goes down. It is a challenge, sure, to find prey but they are lazy as the late summer is lazy, worn down by the heat of the season and sated from their vacations. The commercial nature of the area means that an enterprising kindred might wait at one of the retail outlets like a lion waiting for prey at a waterhole. Sometimes, if one knows the right signals, one might track down an underground club hiding in the cracks between the industrial lots.

But tonight its different.

Its hard to hunt; hard to be patient when the Beast is discomfited. And tonight the Beast is all but clawing its way out of your skull and scampering off down the road.

Inglorious!

There! There is the pulse of the Taint. An Elder Thing stalks the night, powerful and confident.

Do you see it? No? There? No. There...?

Its... Everywhere. Not a person; for there is no person to see. An aura this strong is too powerful to be cloaked and would be screaming from the body that houses it. You sense... prey. But the pulse of the Taint is there again. A rush of power, caressing the spine with fear, setting fangs on edge. Blunt trauma fired from a howitzer.

This is a monster that is so powerful you feel it from blocks away!

South.

South of you.

And over to you. Orianna Alessandra unlimited sink Robert Cross Saber Sloth Alice Hart Yog-Sothoth @Victoria Stanford

Do you stay or do you go? Do you investigate or do you get out of the way from this power, this unique Taint?

[Robert Cross]

Lately and more often than not, Cross and Alice have been hunting together. At first, this involved a lot of direct supervision on his part, but as the Doll adjusted to her sightless condition, he'd been able to step back, let her take the lead. Soon enough, he knows she'll no longer require his presence at all, which inspires a strange mix of emotions: pride, anxiety, happiness, and a touch of something bittersweet.

Tonight, they're in Florin. It's easier for her here, even if the pickings are a bit slim. A stray tourist, some club kid leaving a late-night rave, the assortment of human rabble that floats through the area, all provide Alice the opportunity to slake her thirst with minimal danger. Despite this fact, he's still armed, his knife and gun wrapped in shadow, holstered and sheathed under his black suit jacket.

When he first feels it, Cross dismisses the stirring of his Beast as a sign of his own hunger. Who knows why the Monster Inside suddenly rouses itself, really. But then, that feeling grows and grows, like some unknown hand is feeding the flames. A spark, a flicker, and soon the fire is raging inside. What is going on? he wonders, eyes scanning the street for signs of another predator. Finding nothing.

In the meantime, he's lost sight of Alice. Which is not unusual at this point. But suddenly he feels a great desire to lay eyes on her, make sure she's alright. Pulling out his phone, he sends her a quick text, keeping it vague since she'll have to use her text-to-speech app: Where are you? Something isn't right. I'm at [intersection]. Come back ASAP. Stationing himself on the corner under a flickering street lamp, Cross keeps up his wary surveillance of the immediate area. And waits. Hoping she turns up in the next few minutes. If not, he'll have to start looking...

Equipment: Knife (ToS), Gun (ToS), Cell Phone

ToS Rolls

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-09-02 14:56:44		Robert Cross rolls 7 to Touch of Shadow (Knife): Wits3 + Larceny1 + Obfuscate3 (10 Again)		4, 2, 1, 3, 5, 10, 2, 3		1 success

  5 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-09-02 14:57:01		Robert Cross rolls 7 to Touch of Shadow (Gun): Wits3 + Larceny1 + Obfuscate3 (10 Again)		7, 10, 9, 10, 8, 5, 5, 9, 7		5 successes

[Alessandra]

One doesn’t get the position of Deputy and not cruise around the Domain from time to time. It was more of a chance and excuse for her to familiarize herself with the different areas.

But tonight was different. As she walked, her Beast became more and more uncomfortable. That discomfort quickly gave way to fear, clawing at her mind and screaming, demanding they turn around and flee. But which way? This more powerful Beast seemed to be everywhere, no matter which way she turned.

That didn’t sit right for her, and she struggled to regain control over her own Beast, determined to find out what the hell was going on.

It was then that she came across a familiar Kindred, Cross, a fellow Deputy. Maybe he has an idea what’s going on.

Thankfully her Beast feels no threat from him, though it does little to put it at ease. It stalked in its cage, uneasy and afraid, plus a little miffed at her.

When she was close enough, she slows her pace, allowing Crosses own Beast time to feel her own. Tonight was she dressed in black jeans and tank top, her long hair dyed a deep shade of red and hanging down her back. Steel toed boots finished her outfit.

“Mr Cross, evening.” She greets, before lowering her voice, “Does anything feel…off…to you?” asks the Savage, as her hands move to her pockets, feeling the brass knuckles there, and cell in the other. A slight movement of her leg reminded her of the bowing knife tucked into the top of her boot.

Brass knuckles, steel toed boots, cell(on vibrate) and bowing knife

[Alice Hart]

Hunting after her eyes fell to ash, had been a dreaded thought. Robert's presence and reassurances, quickly soothed the growing panicked terror at the thought of her stumbling lost, alone, sightless...

As with more frequency as of late The Pale Wraith herself slipped away from ever watchful flat blue eyes. Sure footed and more confidant Alice hunted on her lonesome. This night as she knew she slipped from Robert's sight, the Wraith woke. Freezing her insides, and wouldn't recede behind cold iron bars. At first the Doll thought that it was coiling in anticipation to the meal to come. It wasn't until she nearly had a kine close enough for her to Kiss, when she realized what it meant.

She froze. Mannequin left our in a trash pile. The kine slipped drunkenly away. The Wraith, uncoiled, hissing and spitting. Wasn't in reaction to her strengthening Blood as she hunted, but that of a larger predator. The Taint. Alice couldn't hear anyone. Was she even alone in this alley near the trash?

Panicked terror and confusion had the Doll willing to listen to the Wraith, her instincts and get the fuck away - but - but there was something -someone...her phone rang.

Jerking hands found it and her text to speech app relayed the message from Robert. Speaking back into her phone she let her own message fly back to him. "On my way."

Quickly using her folding cane and her mental map she managed to find her way back to Robert, and another's Beast. This equal - Ale - Alice knew Ale. Ale spoke, and Alice breathed out, "Yeah. Off." terror still chocking her words...because-because who's Taint was it? Where were they? And just why weren't they fleeing?

  Feed failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-09-02 19:35:10		Alice Hart rolls 4 to Feeding Roll (Manipulation2 + Subterfuge2 ) (1s Subtract)		1, 4, 5, 1		failure

  3 suxx ToS Knife

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-09-02 19:49:28		Alice Hart rolls 8 to Touch of Shadow (Knife) Wits3 + Larceny2 + Obfuscate2 +1size (10 Again)		6, 2, 9, 6, 2, 1, 10, 4, 10, 1		3 successes

Equipment: Folding cane, sunglasses, hunting knife(ToS)

[Victoria Stamford]

Victoria was in the area when she felt the intense wrongness. She spent some time slowly driving around the area trying to spot or get a feel for anything, her heightened senses active as she searched with the van windows down. It wasn't long before she spotted three other kindred very close by and her wasp struggled with the presence. She wondered what they were doing there.

Luckily in around this time of year the Northern California evening temperatures were in the 50's and low 60's, and so a woman wearing a leather jacket would be rather common place after the heat of the day gave way to the cool evenings. She had a dark silk blouse, leather pants, and a stylish pair of work boots that one might wear on a construction site. There was also a couple of hard hats within easy reach of the front seats. Her servant was driving and dressed as usual. She pulled up to a stop near them and exited her vehicle carrying a round document tube over her shoulder. They were all on edge and so Victoria decided to have a little fun.

"`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe..."

She began ominously and then trailed off without finishing the opening stanza. Victoria wondered if anyone would make the connection or how applicable it was to the situation as a whole.

"Evening Deputies and Keeper. I feel it too and I don't like it," she said as she looked around. "We really should investigate...famous last words, I know. Luckily I have my vorpal sword at hand."

  Clash of Wills 1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-09-03 18:09:36		Victoria rolls 6 to Clash of wills (wits+Investigate+auspex) (10 Again)		4, 5, 3, 7, 2, 8		1 success

Equipement: Van, about 4 bees in containers with small amounts of sugar water, servant, Document tube, light Kevlar vest under blouse, Khukri Sword, Khukri knife, cell phone silent, handcuffs, chains and padlocks, rope, ball gag, tin snips, random blue print in full length pouch on the document tube, Hard hats.

[Robert Cross]

Where are you? The Beast pulsing with terror has Cross on edge, his eyes searching the street. God damn it, where are you? Alice's text comes through, but it does little to calm him.

Senses heightened, he spots someone coming toward his position. Alice? No. This one causes the Monster inside to a recoil in fear. It's not the same as the other presence, but it's still a threat. He's about to pull his gun when he realizes who it is.

"Ms. Antinori?" He asks, responding without the formal titles, given their exposure on the public street. Perhaps for the first time, the Savage Priscus will find Cross looking confused. He'd clearly been expecting someone else.

"Yes, definitely off..." He starts, but then he hears Alice's voice and, for a moment, Alessandra will see another look cross the scarred features of the Burned Man: relief. He turns, welcoming the Blind Doll into their company. "Alice, you okay?"

Before he can continue, however, a car pulls up. Again, his hand itches to pull his piece, a slight shift of his body puts him between the vehicle and Alice, but then the Reeve emerges. "Lady Reeve," he responds to her use of formal titles by using her own, struggling once more to keep himself from fleeing into the darkness.

"I agree, we need to see what's going on..." He trails off. "It seems to be coming from," a nod of his head toward the south, "that direction." His eyes sweep over her ride, "Should we take your car? I have a feeling that, the closer we get, the stronger this...feeling will get."

[Alessandra]

As Alice approached, Ale offered her a smile, then remembered Alice couldn’t see. But she smiled anyways, hoping it would come through in her voice,

“Hey Alice.” She was staying away from titles cause who knew what the hell was going on and who could be listening. Masquerade and all.

A car pulls up, and an already on edge Ale shifted her weight, expecting an ambush of some sort. But instead it was Victoria, who's Beast sent fear into her already on edge Beast. It just want her to get the fuck out of this area at this point.

She wasn’t sure what the poem or haiku or whatever it was meant, so she ignored it.

Hearing the stunning Reeve use titles, she guesses it’s ok, though she’d rather not.

Bowing her head, “Lady Reeve, wonderful timing. And I agree, I don’t like it either and we should find the source.” Whatever it was, it needed to be dealt with swiftly.

When Robert mentions it coming from the South, the Savage will turn her head, looking that way. “As much as we are dreading it getting worse, we have to silence it, or deal with it however deemed necessary.” In her opinion, locate it, and permanently silence it. But she also knows that was harsh, and sometimes violence isn’t the answer. Though it was a fun one!

[Alice Hart]

The 'no' she gives Robert is in a ragged hollow whisper. Which turns into a hollow flashed smile from where she'd heard Ale's voice come from. "Hi, Alessa-Ale." she cuts off her voice, the frigid vice the Wraith set farther back at the mental and verbal familiarity she gives the new Priscus of Savages.

The Wraith's coils tighten as the vehicle stops and another Beast presses against her - half familiar, but the title given to the unknown Alice feels the cold deepen.

Ice slick Alice is paralyzed in terror. Then the Reeve speaks, and the familiar words thaw the worst of it off.

"'All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.'" Alice says completing the verse. Ducking her head in deference and greeting, "Lady Reeve."

'Yes, lets venture southward and towards the Dread Horror that awaits us.' The Wraith, Alice's terror filled mind hisses. But upon those words, the Iced coils ceases to bind her in place, instead offering a cold clarity.

A Dread Horror walks the night.

The Acolyte couldn't help but wonder within the coils of this frozen clarity, just what Dread God woke, just who, if any aided him, and....imagining the tattooed beauty, the stunning Reeve, and Robert surrounding her, just if she'll want to silence him when the time came. "Yeah." she says. "We need to deal with him appropriately."

Assuming that Robert will help her into the Reeve's van, Alice settles in, waiting for the others to do likewise, so they might meet this Dread God that stalks the night.

[Victoria Stamford]

The Reeve nodded at them in acknowledgement of their greetings. If she was going to investigate something like this at least she had several capable people with her. The ventrue was uncertain about Alice, and how well she would be able to handle herself in a pinch.

She might make for a distraction at least if worse comes to worse, Victoria thought heartlessly of the albino.

"I Think that will be a good idea," Victoria said to Cross. "I get the impression it is further on so we should get a little closer before investigating on foot. I don't want to have the vehicle too far away in case it is needed. Hop in and I will take us closer."

She made her way back to the vehicle and got in. She will wait for everyone to get in before directing the driver to take them a little closer. She didn't plan on getting right up on the thing, but maybe they could get a few blocks closer at least before hoofing it.

[Yumyumcrow]

One by one, the Kindred pile into the van. Being in such close confines with other Beast's is never a fine option for such creatures of the night; the psychic press is uncomfortable at best, bone jarring and temper stretching at worst. Compounding this was the all pervading aura that haunted the area: it was in front of them, behind them, seeping up from the tarmac and scrapping lovingly at the windows; it pursued them like a hungry beast and lay before them like an expectant lover.

The feeling only got worse as the van drove south.

The Taint was at its worst along a street almost directly two blocks south of their original position: a long street flanked on either side by rust coloured industrial lots and garages. The lots were oceans of deepening dark behind their rickety metal barricades; the garages a mix of old and new, equally stained by neglect and worn by use.

The Taint thickened markedly around one garage building with two stories* that gave it an impression of height. It was on a small, cracked lot; squeezed between a wrecking yard and the junction with another street. Yellowed and enfeebled weeds crawled through the cracked slabs of the pavement; rust ran in brown stains from an old sign proclaiming "Joe's Repairs". But by the look of things, Joe had not been around for a long while. The garage appeared empty and abandoned.

Snarl of terror as the van drove passed. The pulsating Taint for a moment became a tidal wave, glacially moving toward them.

I'll let you guys narrate when and where you park, relative to Joe's Repairs. When next you post, include a roll to resist Frenzy. 1 success will be needed to still the Beast. They really do not want to be here.

*By two stories I mean a building with a ground floor level, and one floor above that. Just so we are all clear.