Gathering the Haunts

[Kenneth Gilroy]

Robert and Longstreet seemed to take opposing views on how to approach the problem of Armitage and Radzinsky. Gilroy was inclined to take Robert’s opinion over the Thug’s. Though Longstreet wasn’t incorrect to worry they might have some association.

“However,” he offered as counterpoint “to arrange a meeting with both in short order, could also cause them to alert each, raise suspicions, and put them both on guard before we arrived.” Increased risk of armed guards by Radzinsky by Longstreet’s read, greater chance that Armitage might flee. “Other than topic, is there evidence of association?” There was certainly increased probability but Kenneth didn’t know every biologist in his department, much less have a communicative relationship with them about his more… arcane interests.

However, further discussion was gone from his mind as Alice appeared. Pale, poised, perfect. She strode forward, her porcelain features nearly shiny in the candle light, her voice calm and collected despite the rigors she’d just been through. Yet despite (or because of) that, it seemed no more than a mask. Kenneth wasn’t entirely sure if it was his own knowledge of Alice or her curse influencing him; he knew there was turmoil behind those now hollow sockets.

“Yes, I recently was able to return” he said weakly to her question “Are you alright?” he asked with genuine concern, forgetting his own about getting acknowledged in favor of making sure Alice was okay.
Though who could care for the concern of a vermin or look on it with anything but scorn?

[Robert Cross]

"Radzinsky is a businessman. Of a certain sort. I don't think he'll blink twice when I show up with some muscle. And a consultant to authenticate the text," Cross says. Trying not to lose his patience with Longstreet. It's hard, though. "And I don't want to play it rough with Armitage. Cultivating her as a source of information, for further use in the future, is more my idea." If they take a run at her, she might withhold valuable information. Or refuse to work with them if they need to ask her more questions at a later date.

"There is some evidence of contact," he turns to Gilroy. "The Alchemists we met with brought them up in relation with each other. Apparently Armitage thinks that, without Radzinsky's help, they're lost. But if we meet with Armitage first and approach her in the right way, without mentioning the book for instance, I think we can avoid setting off any alarms with Radzinsky."

He's about to put the matter to rest when Longstreet offers it up to Alice for decision. And while it might be appropriate to defer to her judgement, Cross still wants to rip the thug's head off right then and there. When Longstreet looks to Cross, he'll see a glower on that scarred face.

"Hello Alice," Cross finally says. His voice is as flat as always, but the use of her first name carries a hint of intimacy. "Welcome home." It's all he can manage for now, in terms of greeting. To go any further might invite an emotional display that he can't afford in this context. So he moves on. "They're not actually two leads, but two related matters. We're discussing how best to recover a book, one that could prove a masquerade breach, held by a former associate of the Alchemists, the hunchback, Radzinsky. As well as how to approach a woman who may have information on the...project those Breathers want us to help them with. Brother Longstreet is for splitting up the group, sending some of us to meet with Radzinsky and the others to meet with Armitage. I, and Kenneth as well I believe, think we could use everyone's skills at both meetings..." He's not quite clear on Cynthia's position, so he leaves her out of it for now.

"How are you?" he finally adds, those cold blue eyes never wavering from the Doll's unnervingly flawless face.

[Alice Hart]

Alice lets out a hollow little hum. Her head ducking down and up in a smooth, but still awkward movement. Like her puppeteer has gained more skill in operating those invisible strings. Though without more information, Alice wouldn't give voice to one way or another.

It was really him. Alice...didn't know how to...she didn't..."I'm glad to have you back." Which is the truth, there were questions, many, many questions but here, now, was not the time to ask them. "If you haven't had a chance to reacquaint yourself with the," she wants to say Deep Kingdom, but can't. Not when it's still a shadow of it's former self. "Necropolis yet, the Dark Temple hasn't been touched. The tunnels collapsed over a time, and it felt wrong to," defile? Re-sanctify? "Touch it."

And it went without saying with the candle flames flickering around that that Alice kept them lit. Though, she will have to thank Robert - because who else would realize their significance when she was....away? - for keeping them lit.

Robert speaks, and Alice feels herself relax with every syllable spoken by that gruff, gravely voice.

"The Hunchback from our first meeting, and the Apprentice from the second - the one I had to leave from?" Alice asks, just so she can place the name to voices from her memories. "First to indicate each meeting, it should be someone different doing it...and second, the project they're working on, the Golden Dawn, or whatever it is, is to if they could do it, yes, but it's to help us. Somehow. The Elixir they're trying to make, they're going to want us to drink it. They don't know we're kindred, but they believe we're something else. We should find out what that is. Myself and a few others already scared them off by acting not like what they expected.

"Now, why are we needing to organize separate meetings with Radzinsky, and Armitage? And what happened to the third Alchemist?"

A question, from two different, but important men in her unlife stops the flow of her words, "I'm...I'm...awake." she settles on, knowing that it wasn't really answer, but to be away from the White....it was good enough for now.

[Cynthia Weiss]

Cynthia looked confounded. “You’re telling me a Reeve of the Invictus is not willing to stop a possible Masquerade breach in the domain?” Her tone was incredulous. No covenant treated the Traditions more seriously, save perhaps the Lancea et Sanctum. She could has passed this off as a job handed down to him, but Cross’s wording said otherwise. Is the domain falling apart that badly or is he screwing with her?

It was honestly starting to get more difficult to tell as the night went on.

The goth Artist sighed, sank into the bench she was seated and fell into a lull of silence. With everything happening and little coming to mind beyond frustration and a growing need to break something, it was perhaps the safer bet. She nodded absent-mindedly at Gilroy, pinching the bridge of her nose. It took her a moment, but she was able to fight off the competing Curses in the room.

She glanced at Robert, her skin starting to crawl from his words and the serial killer vibes radiating off him. “I think we should reserve the terror tactics for plan B for her Longstreet.”

The goth studied the Doll for a moment, eyes tracking every movement. Seems to be holding together, considering what happened. “Cross suggested leaving number 3 alone for now.” She told the Priscus with a shrug, trying to keep it short. “I still think with him alone he would be an easier target to interrogate though.”

[Kenneth Gilroy]

So, it wasn’t just Longstreet’s curse. The man was a thug and no verbal backpedaling was going to hide that fact. The man had obviously missed that Robert wanted Armitage as an information source. Something rather difficult to accomplish if she was a hostage. Someone seemed to have taken the Machiavelli quote out of context and forgotten that to use only fear was the last resort. And that above all else, avoid being hated. However, Gilroy left that to Cross or Alice to correct. To do otherwise right now would either undermine the Burned Man or make Gilroy look like a sniveling yes man.

He listened as Alice spoke. Her words seemed to come so easily. So different from the hollow enthusiasm he remembered. Was it simply a show for the Clan, hiding how she truly felt about his return, concealing what torpor had done, or just her curse influencing his thoughts on her motives? Kenneth wasn’t sure.

“I’m glad to be back. And that you are… awake.” He knew the feeling. “When you have time, I will need to reacknowledged,” he said with sickly reservation. It could wait till court though now that she was back.

He listened silently as the banter over the Alchemists continued, trying to pick up details and catch himself up to everyone else. Even Hart seemed to have more information and she'd been out of the game for a good month.

[Robert Cross]

  Derangement Check, 1 suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2017-08-23 07:51:51		Robert Cross rolls 6 to Derangement Check Res3 + Comp3 (10 Again)		4, 4, 10, 3, 4, 4, 4		1 success

When Longstreet sighs again, Cross shoots him a piercing glare. Why are you sighing? he wants to scream. Don't you know you're a fucking corpse?

Somehow, though, the Burned Man keeps himself under control. For now.

He turns his attentions to Alice, but when he speaks it's clear there's some tension in his voice. "Armitage is actually a third party altogether, Priscus. The two alchemists we met with brought her up after thinking we'd left." Of course, Cross hadn't. "So, Radzinsky is the hunchback from our first encounter. And Armitage is another actor entirely, someone who might be cultivated for information without direct knowledge of our...interactions with the other Alchemists, either Radzinsky or the two we met with recently." Hopefully this will clear things up for Alice. In any case, Cross finds himself wishing he could speak with the Doll alone, about this matter and...other things.

And then the Priscus seems to side with Longstreet concerning the composition of the groups at each meeting and Cross just stares blankly for a long moment before speaking, his voice touched by an icy courtesy: "Of course Priscus. If you think that's the way to go, then it's settled. I will need to meet with Radzinsky of course. He knows me now." His eyes cut to Longstreet as he answers his question implicitly: "And I would like to have Gilroy with me. I told the hunchback I'd be bringing someone to inspect the book. If you'd like someone else to come along, that's fine too..." As far as Cross is concerned it's decided. Even if he thinks it's the wrong approach. Though he won't be forgetting this moment.

Longstreet's boast about his credentials draws a smirk from Cross. If Alice thinks this hump can get things done with Armitage, then let him try. I should have left you chained in the dark.

Back to Cynthia: "I'm telling you that the Reeve does not want any part of the Alchemist's schemes. The book is another matter. She's apprised of that situation, but has left it in my hands for now." If they're always calling on the Reeve for help, what does that say about their abilities? Besides, Cross has had just about enough of Alessandra in the past few months. The less he needs to call on her, the better.

With that, Cross settles into a cold silence, letting Gilroy handle the matter of his acknowledgement. It seems that the Burned Man is no longer needed to lead this meeting, a fact that is somehow both frustrating and a relief.

[Alice Hart]

"That wasn't my question." Alice says, wishing desperately that she had eyes to roll. "I asked why we had to have two meetings. To my knowledge, all of them are connected, friends. It would be easier to invite them both to a single meeting. I was asking why two meetings are required." then, "Nothing's settled." Alice says first before any of her thoughts could be organized, "I was just saying, that if this is the plan we come up with, then it makes sense for a an unknown person to set up a meeting, so our aims are not immediately obvious."

Alice wants to sigh. Or pull out her hair, or any other millions of human ways to show frustration, but she's not human and very much dead. So she sits, sill as any corpse could be.

A sliver of a beacon away from this maddens! "Of course, Mister," and were she not herself she might wince calling the fanged worm that, "Gilroy. After we're finished up here, we can speak, or we could wait for another night..."

Alas she's pulled back in, that doesn't sound like Ale Alice thinks, once Cynthia's voice brakes through, Robert's words in explanation help the doll understand a little more. Ale was the sort who was always in the think of things, to know that she's not involving herself in this... "The Reeve has her hands full with other matters. Whip Cross is one of her Deputies. Leaving the Alchemists to him, makes sure she's not overburdened and misses something vital to the Domain's security." she says as firmly as her hollow voice will allow, "She trusts in her Deputy - and anyone who he might chose to aid him - to see to this issue and deal with it appropriately."

[Cynthia Weiss]

Cynthia just gave blank, mildly irritated look at Cross as he explained the Reeves action. Why didn't you just say that in the first place? It was a look that drifted to each of the other gathered Haunts as she began to note their own annoyance with how this meeting was going. The misunderstandings and confusion among them was starting strain her patience more than the combined curses of everyone, even her own acrid scent was starting to irritate her. Her sight fell on Longstreet and her mind started to focus on Armitage. Questions started to form and much to her continued annoyance there were no answers to them. Alice was not asking those questions, Gilroy had fallen silent and Longstreet... Was being Longstreet.

"Fick Mich. Can't believe I'm the one asking this." The artist muttered, her words sounding more like a low growl than anything else. She turned her full attention to the Burned Man that started the whole meeting. "OK Cross. What the hell are we doing with these Alchemists exactly?" She finally spoke up. "We've found the guy who started this shit, discovered he is doing weird occult experiments and is pretty much shunned by the rest of his peers for pulling this. We can deal with him however we want. Why the hell are we ignoring him and going after this old lady? I can understand Radinzki, but why are we risking more attention and problems down the line by dragging more people into this?" It had been bugging her since that night and her questions were now out for all to see. While Cynthia heard heard the Priscus's words advocating the whip and his judgement, it sounded as hollow and insincere as everything she says and fell to the wayside of the Goth girl.