(To Hunt) At the Nox

[Yumyumcrow]

Another day.

Another night.

Another hunt.

The Nox Populi nightclub stands tall and aloof from the city, as if the very building itself lays claim to a very different mantle than the other buildings that surround it. Its one of the last top notch night clubs left in town and offers something different to the other clubs on the strip: this place has a pedigree all of its own and evokes a time of night's past when clubs were king and the world was perhaps a little simpler.

Tonight, its shut. At least, thats what the front doors say. Rumour mill has it that the club has been booked out for a VIP christmas party or a fashion show or something, and the staff are busy at work, preparing for the big night...

None of the rumours speak of the side door. Not the back door, where the tradesmen come, but the side door - that odd and battered door a little further down a side alley; the one freshly painted in a graffiti artist's scrawl. Now that scrawl is code for Vampires.

The Nox's public face might be closed but the real Danse Macabre never ends.

Elysium is quiet. Thumping and movement echoes down from above, but its muted; another world for another class of people.

The lights are down low.

Someone has wheeled sculptures and excess furniture from above down to the Kindred's gilded cage; rather than simply dumping the object's, the nameless staff have placed the objects with some care: now the Court Common's is a kind of gallery openly inviting any night-time visitors to sit and enjoy the art works, normally not seen, in a kind of impromptu salon missing the guest's necessary for a soiree.

But lo! Here come the night people!

Psychangel Acheron Jesse Rilebre

Carson Forde, fledgeling vampire and "honourable guest" of Jesse can only breath, wow!

Hulking Eli and Beret waring Hennink are veterans enough to nod, impressed by the cunning use of time and space.

Marvin Stax has regained a measure of self composure, preening like a fool. An foreign Unconquered is still a foreigner, even if he does stand in Unconquered territory. One might have thought he'd have been around long enough to figure that out.

Thought I'd better be put to some use before I potentially vanish

[Hugh Everwood]

Jesse looked around with only partial interest to how the sculptures had been arranged within the common area of where the court usually was held. Was an interesting way of using the space while no one was really using it, definitely made it look better than leaving it bare or doing nothing with it.

But there were other things that took up his attention.

His 'honored guest' was wowed by this all, Jesse couldn't recall being this easily impressed after his siring. Might just have been a different time. Also, he got different things to feel wowed by.

Now that they all were here, Jesse could only roll his eyes at previously going to escape Carson's pursuers.

"Would be a shame if you go and let your mouth run wild and undo us getting you here," Jesse offered in way of agreeing with William, looking at the pursuers that were gathering here with them now that they weren't trying to flee them.

Amusement curled his lips, watching them but not saying anything.

His Beast glowered from the darkness of its cave within the part of his mind it claimed, aware of the pack. Aware, watching and waiting just like Jesse was.

[Emma French]

Emma arrived at the Nox with Eli, Hennink, and Stax. "Ok guys. It goes without saying I am sure but please behave in here. I believe you may find the man you are looking for here." She quietly led the men into the building.

She saw that indeed the others had made it here. She felt fairly safe here. "We will wait over here and take things slow and easy. I would really like to have a future alliance with you folks and my folks. So hopefully all will go well." Emma was ready to totally flip her shit if needed to protect the domain. But she really hoped things would continue to go smoothly.

[Yumyumcrow]

Giant Eli took a position leaning against the wall. He could have been bored or taking his ease but his narrowed eyes were absorbing everything. "Don't see anything wrong with that. Be great if we could get some face time with the Movement here. Word on the street is all over the place."

Hennink finds a couch. Stax talks a slow walk through the sculptures. Both could be enjoying a moment of quiet contemplation, on the fledgeling, Carson, remains locked in their field of vision.

"Oh I am sure I can put in a word with the Primogen Council," Stax mentions as he takes a turn near Emma.

For his part, Carson Forde hung back by the opposite wall. He was interested in the sculptures, but Stax quickly claimed the territory. Pinned in space, he could only walk the fringes of the Court Commons. And Stax knew it.

A silence descended.

[Hugh Everwood]

Silence wasn't going to last none with Jesse around.

"Well, well, ain't this cozy?" He drawled out lazily, looking between the strangers with a smile. "Being here all civilized now. Reckon Miss French got you to try proper channels instead of coming to the city and stealing the fledgling back in the dark of night."

Jesse did wonder just how this mess got going. He'd only been partially listening to the fledgling's whimpering while looking through the house, but he did got it so far that Stax was somehow responsible to his turning. At least, from the way Carson told it to them it seemed plausible.

"So how come he's fresher than a newly born calf without no idea what happened to him?" He directed the question at Stax, though then looked at the other two — who seemed to be from the Carthians, if he caught that right — before turning to look at Emma. "Did they go and tell you anything useful about this mess?"

[Emma French]

Emma looked at the men in the room. "So, I thought perhaps we could all start with introducing ourselves. That way we can all have the benefit of knowing who we are dealing with. I am Dr. Emma French. I'm one of the deputies here in this domain. As such, I expect that we will all behave with honor and decorum as we figure out the situation. Please call me Dr. French or Deputy French while we are here." Emma gives a pointed look to each of the men in the room.

"These gentlemen have kindly had the situation at the abandoned house cleaned up. They are also here as my guests and I believe are more than willing to work in a reasonable manner with us. Who wants to go next?" Emma gave a warm welcoming smile to the room. She put Jesse's question on the back burner for now.

[Yumyumcrow]

The hulking Kindred's eyes narrowed some more. "You call me Eli. I work for the Movement. Anything else, ask Stax. Fledgeling or no, the Primogen Council want him. My guess is you'd best not interfere - the guy's already messed up your hunting grounds, right?" There was no malice in the big man's voice, he was simply reciting a list of facts.

"We're just tracking down a fugitive, that's all. I'm sorry he slipped away from us so we all ended up disturbing your peace." Hennink turned away from the sculptures, shifted his pose. "I am Hennink, by the way. Yes - we're assisting a member of the Invictus with their dirty work for the Primogen." A shrug and sideways glance at Stax. "Boons, of course. Always boons and prestation and... well, I'm sure you know the rest." His eyes came to rest on Carson Ford and he lapsed into silence, leaving Stax himself to fill the void.

"Quite," Stax murmured with reluctance. With a sigh, he moves away from the sculptures and strikes a pose. "Mister Stax, Librettist of the Unconquered, at your service." He shifts to a less formal stance. "I am tracking down this disappointing miscreant..."

"What the hell! You kidnapped me! You know, abducted or whatever. Drugged my drink or something!" Forde seemed to flare with righteous indignation. "That... what the fuck!? Mortal! was my girl friend!" And whatever Carson Forde was planning to say died on his lips as he ground to halt.

"This miscreant! Who has been linked to a number of disappearances in the Domain of San Francisco. The Primogen Council have requested his presence for deliberations pertinent to those disappearances. Of course, all he did was flee the city with a mortal who appeared to know a little too much about us. I called in some favours and the Carthian Movement put me in contact with these guys and we gave chase. Sadly, Mr. Forde is a slippery devil and avoided our traps until we caught up with him in this city." Stax found his voice and added a stern edge to it.

"As you see! A dangerous Kindred who can't even keep his appetites under control! A lying thief in the night! Involved in the disappearances of Kindred in my - in our - city! Justice would inform that you return him to us!" Quickly, Stax turned his attention to Emma, and then William and Jesse. Carefully, he moved back into the shadows cast by the laid out sculptures.

"You set me up you bastard." Carson Forde found his voice again, lips peeled back, fangs bared. "You had a job offer. You drugged me. Pulled some shit! Then locked me in your condo. Fuck, was it even your condo? I haven't eaten in days. I don't sleep. I'm hungry all the time. I killed my girlfriend! I... drank blood and plasma and shit like its water! I killed my girlfriend! And there's this fucking scratching in the back of my head that won't shut up!" His voice was rising, his face distorting into a horrid mask of suppressed rage.

Stax smiled and slipped further into the shadows. Forde growled and took a tortured, angry, step forward.

And some book keeping, if you really want it:

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-12-09 06:13:12		Stax to be deceptive rolls 7 to Manipulation + Subterfuge (10 Again)		5, 7, 2, 6, 4, 10, 7, 2		1 success

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-12-09 06:14:22		Stax to be credible rolls 6 to Manipulation + Persuasion - 1 Untrained (10 Again)		6, 1, 2, 6, 5, 4		failure

[Bea]

Well, this was interesting...in a mildly discomfiting way.

Here Bea was, coming to see who else had nothing better to do tonight than strut around Elysium, hunting for conversation, and instead she overheard...whatever the hell that was.

A mild frown tugged at her lips, and once more she lamented having turned over both forms of protection. Though, to be fair, only turning in one weapon would be conspicuous, given her precedent, and even if she had kept a weapon, and had cause to draw it, she would still be in jeopardy for having breached Elysium.

All in all, it really wasn't an option. No, just another lament that she hadn't spent the last decade or so becoming some sort of sombo master.

But there was still time.

Maybe...

Shelving the mental background noise, Bea finished walking down the stairs, blinking twice when she caught sight of the strange artwork, as well as other members of the Domain.

"Sounds to me like someone is lying," she declared, hoping that might distract everyone long enough to allow things to quiet towards a simmer.

"Or maybe I should say some people ​are lying,"she clarified, looking at Stax, Hennink, and Eli.

  1 success, she don't trust 'em

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-12-10 16:56:51		Bea rolls 6 to smell the liar (wits2+subter4) (10 Again)		1, 4, 4, 6, 2, 9		1 success