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Worming Your Way Back

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  1. #11
    Kenneth Gilroy's Avatar
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    (Disgusting Vermin)
    Status (Lancea)
    Status (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Kenneth Gilroy
    Nosferatu Lancea Sanctum

    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Status/Social

    Presence 2
    Mask of Tranquility
    Status 1 (Covenant - Lancea Sanctum)
    Status 2 (Academia - Research Fellow)
    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment 1

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    Gilroy seemed to wither and shrivel under the heat of the Burned Man’s gaze. In many ways he was relieved. There was a comfort in being titleless worm again. However, as Cross said, that didn’t divorce him from responsibility. Alice ought to be directing the clan. This Longstreet should be directing the faith. And yet… Cross still looked to him for leadership. Needed him. The vermin haunt squirmed. Unsure whether he felt resigned or empowered by Robert’s trust.

    “Alright,” he said finally “I’ll need to be acknowledged first.” With Hart staked that wouldn’t be happening in the Deep Kingdom but that couldn’t be helped. Kenneth slowly scuttled towards one of the benches “However, unless you’ve taken over as Priscus that might have to wait for another night.”

    Kenneth folded in on himself as he sat and turned to look at Robert. The way water reflected firelight made the eyes looks eerily inviting and repulsive. A spider’s eyes, wordlessly inviting you to sit in its web. While friendly not even the Caldarium could erase the Nosferatu’s curse.

    “Is there anything more you can tell me?” The Burned Man had explained the internal political threats. There were still external to go over. “When I… left the Domain there were hunters wielding advanced science threatening and the Circle had just been attacked. Is that still accurate?”
    Mask of Tranquility
    Curse - Looking at Kenneth you feel disgust, as if you saw a lowly yet dangerous vermin.

  2. #12
    Robert Cross's Avatar

    Robert Cross
    Presence
    (Stoic)
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Allies
    (Emergency Services)
    Contacts
    (Emergency Services, Criminals)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Robert Cross

    Nosferatu | Lancea Sanctum


    Nosferatu Curse: Cross has obviously been badly burned in the past with visible scars to prove it, and is that a faint smell of burnt hair and skin?

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    "Yes," Cross answers. And that might be a problem. With Alice, their Priscus and Seneschal, currently on ice. This procedural issue is annoying, but the thought of Alice herself in such a position once again stirs his restive Beast.

    "I remain Whip. The issue's been too confused to rearrange titles. No real communications from the Reeve of the Prince on the matter other than: she's staked and at the Nox. It's hard to make such decisions when you're working with so little information." The Burned Man is clearly Not Happy about the state of affairs, scarred jaw clenched.

    Cross follows Gilroy's lead, sitting beside him. Those eyes, while repulsive, are familiar. Even his feeling of revulsion at the presence of the Worm is somehow comforting.

    "Hunters have come and gone. That bunch seem to have fallen silent. More recently, a pair came through looking for a certain book. Some sort of hunting manual. But I managed to tangle them up with the Law. And now I'm looking to take the book off the market myself." Such a thing has no place in the hands of Breathers.

    "The Brood was behind the Circle attack. Seemingly led by a former member of that covenant and of the domain: Dirge. She's a member of our Family as well. And..." Wait, does Gilroy know about Alice's recent change? "And of Alice's bloodline, the Baddacelli." How would the Worm take that? Cross has little doubt he'll know what that name implies.

    "There have been a couple of recent battles with the bastards. The first was before I returned. A captive was taken along with...Josephine Sterling. They seemed to be worshipping her, or what was left of her." Cross isn't sure of the extent of Gilroy's relationship with the former Reeve, but he pauses to give the Worm a chance to absorb this information.

    "Myself, Reeve Antinori, Alice, and Brother Longstreet took our guests to a warehouse for a little chat. Both the Heretic and Sterling were destroyed." Sterling by the Burned Man's own hand. "But the Brood found us. Seven of them against four of us. We came out the winners. But at a high cost. Longstreet was driven into torpor. And Alice fell to frenzy during the fight, leading to her current...situation."

    And that's how the Reeve repays those who fight alongside her. A stake in the heart without a second thought. No consideration that Alice had lost herself to the Beast in service to the Domain. In the heat of battle.

    It rankles. And for the moment, Cross falls silent.

  3. #13
    Kenneth Gilroy's Avatar
    Presence
    (Disgusting Vermin)
    Status (Lancea)
    Status (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Kenneth Gilroy
    Nosferatu Lancea Sanctum

    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Status/Social

    Presence 2
    Mask of Tranquility
    Status 1 (Covenant - Lancea Sanctum)
    Status 2 (Academia - Research Fellow)
    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment 1

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    It was a lot of information to process. And he shared Cross’ sentiment. The lack of data was concerning. Loss of any way to acknowledge Nosferatu other than going through the Prince. Were they trying to monitor and limit the Haunt’s entering Sacramento? That probably depended on how long the punishment was intended to be. Which hadn’t been conveyed to the Whip. Kenneth had never seen staking exercised as punishment for Frenzying in Sacramento. Least of all in battle. More often than not you either were sent into torpor from injuries or ‘accidentally’ ashed. More likely this looked like a show of power. A demonstration that the Clan was not invulnerable despite being prominent in numbers. A rather impromptu one at that. Unless Alice had somehow been deliberately driven to frenzy but Kenneth didn’t see how that would be possible.

    “We need to find out how long they intend to hold her,” he murmured in thought.

    The hunters were of slight concern but Cross seemed to have them well in hand. “If you need help removing them my contacts in the college circuit or town hall might be of help.” Assuming they were willing to speak with him after vanishing. “Best be careful though. Banning or associating high profile deaths with the text might be counterproductive." Any publicity was good publicity.

    The Brood, now that was something to worry about, especially as one of the family. And one of Alice’s bloodline? The Baddacelli? Kenneth’s sifted through his scattered memories. Lurking vampire bats of the pitch black tunnels was how he remembered them described. Blind. The worm remembered the jewel eyes of the doll. Perfect amethyst gems. The falseness of her gaze. He’d always attributed it to her curse.

    “How… when did she join the bloodline?” Had she been deceiving him the entire time? Was it possible this Dirge had inducted her? No, he couldn’t believe that. Yet doubt, as always wriggled in his mind.

    And then came another unexpected development. Josephine. “Worshipping?” What was left of her? “Tell me,” he hissed. There was a hint of fear in his voice. How had Sterling come to be part of the Brood. He would not have thought it possible. Her faith, twisted though it might be, had always been strong. And now she was dead. When she'd ’eft court that night he had at least thought he’d saved her requiem for a short while. He just hadn’t realized how short.

    Finally the Brood had been destroyed or at least a great many. Hopefully. Though with no mention of Dirge the threat had to remain. And the cost of Longstreet; the self-inflicted cost of staking Alice. Even not being there it hurt the worm. Made him twitch.

    “What is the next step to destroy the brood?” he asked. It sounded like they might not have one. Or at least the Reeve and Prince didn't. Otherwise they wouldn't be staking combat advantage. Frenzy or no. Bad as it was to think, she'd be worth more as a sacrificial pawn than in torpor at the Nox. Unless they considered the Nosferatu as a whole more of a threat than Dirge. In which case... what? They couldn't leave her there and hide from possible attack. They needed to first either get Hart back, or defeat Dirge to prove loyalty. Or... remove Prince and Reeve as possible threats to the family. Further weakening the domain and making it vulnerable to attack from the Brood.
    Mask of Tranquility
    Curse - Looking at Kenneth you feel disgust, as if you saw a lowly yet dangerous vermin.

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  5. #14
    Robert Cross's Avatar

    Robert Cross
    Presence
    (Stoic)
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Allies
    (Emergency Services)
    Contacts
    (Emergency Services, Criminals)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Robert Cross

    Nosferatu | Lancea Sanctum


    Nosferatu Curse: Cross has obviously been badly burned in the past with visible scars to prove it, and is that a faint smell of burnt hair and skin?

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    Cross waits as Gilroy sorts through the information he's provided. Nodding in agreement when the Worm expresses concern over the length of Alice's punishment. And again, in gratitude, when he offers his help concerning the hunters and their mysterious tome. In regard to the last, he adds: "We may also need your help with a couple of Breathers...Alchemists we've made contact with. They constructed a device capable of drawing us in. Though that object has been decommissioned and we posses what's left of it. They still have no idea what we are. But Alice has been leading an investigation into their efforts." He shrugs. The problem of the Alchemists is low on his list at the moment.

    As to Alice's bloodline: "The change happened right after you left. She woke one night and her eyes were gone. Just ash. We were able to discover the cause in the Bleak Annals." This was before Greenberg's departure. "She wasn't aware of her lineage until it happened. She's adapted very well to the...situation." There's a note of pride in Cross's voice. And a general warmth about him whenever he's speaking of Alice.

    Cross watches Gilroy's reaction to Josephine's fate closely, wondering just what had passed between the Worm and the former Reeve. Feeling very little about the woman herself, even though he'd ended her. "By the time I saw her, she was a husk. Staked and left to wither. She didn't...survive the interrogation. From what I heard, the Brood had her chained up, starving. They'd decorated her flesh and her...enclosure with their nonsense." A pause as he considers. "The one we held captive, she called Sterling an example of the Beast purified, stripped of the Man. An educational tool, she said."

    The next step? Flush them out. End them with fire, with sunlight. In pieces.

    "The reeve is working with the Royal Archon to summon Dirge. I'm not sure how, but it seems to be within the Archon's abilities. We also have a list of secondary locations where the Brood has set up shop. The plan is to scout each and then make our move."

  6. #15
    Kenneth Gilroy's Avatar
    Presence
    (Disgusting Vermin)
    Status (Lancea)
    Status (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Kenneth Gilroy
    Nosferatu Lancea Sanctum

    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Status/Social

    Presence 2
    Mask of Tranquility
    Status 1 (Covenant - Lancea Sanctum)
    Status 2 (Academia - Research Fellow)
    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment 1

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    A device capable of drawing vampires made by self proclaimed alchemists? Except they didn't know about vampires. Had they somehow stumbled on something else while researching the defunct science? Some chemical that enticed the beast? Subsonic vibrations produced by the machine? A vampiric ritual object capable of being replicated by mortals? He wasn't sure which sounded more ridiculous.

    "I'd have to examine the device before I could even begin to put forward a hypothesis on how it might work but I'm more than willing to take a look," he chittered like an overly curious rat.

    While disturbing to hear that her eyes had simply disintegrated, at least Alice hadn't been deceiving him. Her not being aware of her lineage was sadly to be expected given her experience with her Sire. And it was comforting to know she was adapting to what must have been a very traumatic experience. Been made Seneschal in fact. Though he didn't imagine that hadn't helped the Haunt regain her sight. Kenneth had read that humans could actually learn to echolocate. Maybe the worm find some training materials she could read... in braille. He'd have to check the university library.

    Cross' description was sadly... easy to imagine. Stripped of Man, lost to the owl. It truly wouldn't surprise him if the Brood might have found her that way. Even if they didn't, he doubted they would have had to strip back much. Was there more he could have done? Even if he had followed her from court... she very might have tried to kill him. The vermin Haunt shuddered. Didn't survive interrogation. The mad Lord waking starved and insane. He had little doubt she had frenzied. It wouldn't be the first time. He remembered her restrained and gnashing tied to a toilet. It wouldn't be the first time Final Death had met one who frenzied around other Kindred either.

    "It's... a shame," he said softly. There wasn't much more to say beyond that simple statement. She... was someone he had admired for her strong faith, even if it frightened him. What more could he have done to save Josephine? Given how that same faith had pulled her down into madness in the end, he doubted there was ever much chance.

    Summon? Like a demon? Kenneth had never heard of such a power. Well, no that wasn't true. He distinctly recalled summoning an inordinate amount of insects from his own gut. Though without knowing specifics any potential comparison was simply conjecture. He have to ask the Archon.

    "Summoning would seem the better option since it would allow dictating time and place of our choose and not Dirge's. Though given it hasn't been considered till now I suspect there are some caveats to how the summons occurs." Did it grant power to the summoned? Weaken the Archon placing them at risk? No way to know for sure. "And you mentioned multiple secondary locations? Is the plan to attack simultaneously or one at a time?" All at once ran the risk of spread domain forces too thin. One by one meant the Brood would have a chance to consolidate between attacks. "And do we have an idea of the Brood's next move?" Kenneth doubted they were sitting idle either.
    Mask of Tranquility
    Curse - Looking at Kenneth you feel disgust, as if you saw a lowly yet dangerous vermin.

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  8. #16
    Robert Cross's Avatar

    Robert Cross
    Presence
    (Stoic)
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Allies
    (Emergency Services)
    Contacts
    (Emergency Services, Criminals)
    Status
    (Criminals)
    Robert Cross

    Nosferatu | Lancea Sanctum


    Nosferatu Curse: Cross has obviously been badly burned in the past with visible scars to prove it, and is that a faint smell of burnt hair and skin?

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    "I think that would be good," Cross responds. Gilroy's offer to examine the orb is exactly what Cross had been hoping for. The Domain seems empty of those with the kinds of specializations that the Fanged Worm has to offer. It's a lucky thing, in this sense, that Gilroy has returned just now.

    Gilroy's sentiments concerning Josephine are met simply by a shrug. It is a callous gesture, but Cross hasn't been very empathetic in recent nights. For him, Sterling's fate had been sealed when she'd left the Underground Court, with the Prince's words of warning echoing behind her.

    As to this summoning, Cross is just as in the dark as his former Regent: "I'm not sure how it works. Only that Her Grace is capable of it. Either way, it lets us take the lead. And we need to be ahead of them right now." They'd been caught flat-footed once. And once is enough.

    "The plan of attack hasn't been hashed out yet. I'm supposed to meet with the Reeve, but...things have gotten in the way." The Burned Man is sure that Alessandra will be in contact when she's ready to act. "As to their plans, I'm not sure..." Though it's not hard to guess: attack, kill, destroy.

    I'm ready to wrap if you are. Going on vacation for the next week and figure you'd like to get Gilroy out of this scene before my posting becomes very slow.

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  10. #17
    Kenneth Gilroy's Avatar
    Presence
    (Disgusting Vermin)
    Status (Lancea)
    Status (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment
    Obfuscate
    (Mask of Tranquility)
    Kenneth Gilroy
    Nosferatu Lancea Sanctum

    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Status/Social

    Presence 2
    Mask of Tranquility
    Status 1 (Covenant - Lancea Sanctum)
    Status 2 (Academia - Research Fellow)
    Allies 1 (Academia)
    Allies 1 (City Hall)
    Allies 2 (Public Works)
    Contacts 1 (Academia)
    Emotional Detachment 1

    -1
    NOS
    2
    PRE

    Cross seemed to have accepted Sterling’s death as inevitable. While it was true the Danse was violent and deaths occurred with frightening regularity, the Lance still tried to reduce them when it could. A loss was still a loss, even if her human mind had died before her. The preservation of humanity was still, in theory, a goal of the Church.

    “Thank you. You’ve given me much to think on.” They sat in comfortable silence for a time. The fire cowing the lesser mind, the water lapping soothing the edges of the Curse. Despite the dangers described and the risks of nights to come, it was good to be back in their Caldarium.

    “It’s good to see you again, Robert.”

    End Scene
    Mask of Tranquility
    Curse - Looking at Kenneth you feel disgust, as if you saw a lowly yet dangerous vermin.

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