PrP - Blood and Faith

[Drakken]

In the heart of downtown Sacramento there is a place of intrigue, excitement and entertainment. The modern flare of this venue is host to exclusive parties. The seduction of this establishment may take you away as you drink, dance and socialize. There are private services available upon request. The best DJ’s in town are in line to play a wide variety of music. Some of you may dine…as long as you have your VIP pass.

However the Kindred arrive they are discreetly met and led to the back of the club. The space downstairs is decorated in dark, rich woods and expensive furniture. There's a coat room that will also hold one's 'unmentionables'; namely, weapons, at the foot of the stairs. There are also private areas, dark, and furnished with soft couches, as well as meeting rooms with conference tables and chairs, and an area with several televisions. The Court area is decorated with long black and brown silken drapes cascading from floor to ceiling. Draped in elegant bunches and gathered into valances across door frames and between supporting pillars; the lighting is intentionally low, but without the pulse of the music from above, the place has the feel of a sepulchre.

The common area circles the Court proper, and it becomes apparent that this is not decorated for a single evening. Small symbols note areas for Kindred only that branch off of the Commons, which will be necessary once those Kine privileged enough to see behind the Masquerade filter in: ghouls, herd members, or even devotees. The furniture setting is familiar now: a set of elegant chairs, all dark wood and red leather, arranged in a circle. The baroque lighting leaves the corners of the Elysium commons in deep shadow.

With the permanent fixture that the chess table had become, there was yet another new item. A Steinway concert piano, its cover in an upright position, revealing stunning inner strings strings. The lid was closed on the keyboard, the bench not with it.

Another evening; another Danse. For some it will their first, for some it shall be their last. After all, this is the Prince's Elysium, and subject to the [wiki]Laws of the Domain.

However, tonight is different.

Amongst the usual faceless masses of Kindred usually found within the confines of the court proper, one man stands out. Not for his attire, nor his mannerisms, no even the strength of his beast; no, this man stands out for another reason. Sitting at a table in the furthest corner of the court from the entrance, there sits a man. He is relatively short, at least from what can be gathered from his seated position. He wears a nondescript gray suit, with no real colors to identify his clan alignment.

He isn't what is interesting though, what catches the eye about this corner are the papers spread out on this table. The contents of a manilla folder, splayed out in an organized mess, sits before the man; and he is seemingly enthralled by what he sees. He runs a hand over his short cropped hair, seemingly in an attempt to control some degree of stress, then picks up one paper and begins to examine it closely.
Milton Wei Lin Conner Wells Helen Kingsley

[Conner Wells]

Conner enters Elysium after a short time of wandering through the Sacramento night life. It helped to remind him that there was a world outside the comings and goings of the Kindred underground. That there was life and sun and things untainted by predatory curses. But he would always find himself returning to the world that called him every night: the world of the Vampire.

The usual wriggling discomfort of his Beast was lessened this night. Perhaps the notable Kindred are elsewhere. There was a mixture of relief and disappointment at the thought. He'd like to think he was getting used to some people a bit more. Then the gentleman in the far corner catches his observant eyes. Though it was more the sense of distress emanating from the Kindred. Leave him be; he's a stranger, looking for easy prey. All the more important to make sure he's alright. More flies were caught with honey than vinegar.

Conner approaches the gentleman, stopping at a respectable distance before giving him a brief nod. "Greetings. Conner Wells, Shadow of the Lancea Sanctum. Is there something I can help you with?" He gauges the man's reaction to see if maybe a Court official would have to attend this apparent newcomer.

[Wei Lin]

Tonight's trip to Elysium was more of a formality before the proper night out of dancing they planned. It was evident by their outfit - a black lacy bralette barely covered by a leather jacket and wide pants with embroidered dragons. Wei Lin could certainly go to the dance floor straight away but they promised themself they will get more involved in Domain, so checking to see if anything was up was a must.

Aand there's nobody here.

There was a little disappointed sigh before Wei Lin noticed a familiar face. Not that Wells was all that interesting, but his companion on the other hand... Wonder what he's looking at.

The Succubus had a perfect sense for secrets and stressed out people were an excellent source of getting it out of them. Their interest picked, they headed to the far flung table, stopping a short distance of it, the usual distraction of their Beast stomped out quickly to try to get a better look at the papers on the table.

"Pastor Wells, good night. Who's your friend here?"

[Milton]

Milton stops at the Nox on his way back to the Estate after a meeting downtown. A prospective client, but not a very promising one it turns out.

He steps into Elysium hoping for a distraction, something to take his mind off of the evening he's wasted thus far with mortals who have an abundance of ambition (read: greed), but no capital, talent, or connections to see out their grandiose plans.

Of course, he is distracted immediately. By his Beast. The viper in the hole where his heart should be, it hisses and coils, at turns terrified and enraged. He puts down its objections, straightens the dark purple tie he's paired with his black suit, and looks about the room.

Ah, the Lonely Lance. Pastor Wells. And two Kindred, one sitting behind a mess of papers and the other, a striking woman radiating a menacing potency, saying her hellos.

They are an intriguing trio. So why not join them? They have to be better company than the useless kine he's just left.

And so he does, approaching them in his discreet manner.

"Good evening, Pastor Wells." An interested glance from Conner to the other two and back again, waiting to see if the Shadow will introduce him. "I trust you are well."

[Helen Kingsley]

Helen isn't quite sure why she's pulled up at Nox tonight. She doesn't have anything better to do, well, that's a lie, if she really wanted to, she could probably find some things better to do, but point is,she didn't, so she hasn't. Eh, might as well, in a way it's better than most of the alternatives, even with all the pains it usually means going through concerning actually having to put some consideration into the manner of dress instead of the good old grab and run that's good enough for most nights. Still, its no formal event going that on she knows of and she's only passing through anyway... Grab and run it is !

Carrying nothing worth checking in, she walks through to the Elysium proper in trainers and jeans. Tonight's colour of the night is red, as the t-shirt she's wearing shows. Although the collective predatory assembly does pose the usual challeng, it doesn't seem too bad tonight. Apparently the most important holders of office are (not yet ?) present. She enters with some initially hesistant steps, but as the sensation starts to diminsih, her footing gains confidence again. A few looks around confirm the suspicion. There's no one she'd really call someon she kno-not so fast, bucko !

Somewhat away from the entrance, she catches a few glimpses of a small group. A bit of observation confirms Conner Wells, Helen thinks she might have sen that woman somewhere too and there's that bland guy whose name keeps eluding her for some reason. She dimly recalls an M... something. With a resigned sigh, she closes in on the three.

"Evening, Mister Wells." she greets him with a nod. Another goes to Milton. "Sir." The last to Wei Lin. "Ma'am."

[Connor OBrien]

posted on wrong account, removing this one from the marbles

[Drakken]

The man is visibly startled as Conner speaks to him, jumping slightly with surprise showing in his eyes. He takes a moment and clears his throat before speaking. "Ah, evening Cousin," the man starts, setting the paper he was looking at down, "Alexander Stevenson." With the paper flat on the table, Conner can see that it is a picture of a corpse, magnified where a large chunk of flesh is missing. "I do have something I could use assistance with... I was hoping to catch the Seneschal, or even Her Grace, but I supposed I can trust a cousin enough."

He quiets as the others near, then audibly breaths a sigh of relief as they all address Conner by name. "Alexander Stevenson, Clan Mekhet." He says with a nod to each of them, reintroducing himself. "If you're all available, I could use some assistance with what I believe to be a major issue within the domain." His eyes scan the crowd behind the quartet before focusing back to the task at hand. "As I told my cousin, I was hoping to speak to the Seneschal or Her Grace to make them aware of the situation, however, they are busy people. It might be best if we see if it can be handled without them first." He begins organizing the papers spread out on the table. "If you'd all be interested in offering assistance, please take a seat while I organize, I can fill you all in once I've finished."

After those who intend to help have seated themselves, he sets the now neat stack of papers on the table. "I'm not entirely sure if you follow the Kine news, but over the last week there have been a total of four separate animal attacks within the city. Normally that isn't a big deal, but I have the distinct privilege to examine the bodies; I work in the county morgue." He removes the first four pages from his stack and lays them all out on the table, allowing anyone to pick them up and read them. "Death certificates, including approximate time and cause of death. You'll note that the cause of death for all of them is 'excessive hemorrhaging' and that they were all caused by what the coroner assumed to be animal bites. However," the Shadow says, pausing to pull out the next 4 pages, laying them on top of specific death certificates, "when you bleed to death, there tends to be blood pooling slightly around the wound, showing up as bruising. The coroner missed it, but all of these bites have little to no bruising. Further more, we would normally see bruising elsewhere on the body, depending on how it was laying for an extended period of time, none of that was present either." He pauses for a moment to let everything he's said sink in.

"Now, if you aren't half asleep when these bodies come in, like to coroner, you happen to notice these smaller details. They all point to the same conclusion. Each and every one of these bodies were drained of blood before these bites occurred." He looks between the gathered group expectantly, assuming there will be questions.

You will all be able to see the picture that Conner sees before he picks it up to organize it. His beast is also cloaked.

[Conner Wells]

Another Mekhet? A more pleasant surprise than not. "Welcome to Sacramento, Mr. Stevenson. I'll gladly help out any way I can." Is he in danger? Or is he looking for a scapegoat, like Kowalsic?

There's a quick pang in his stomach but deeper as he feels more recognizable predators enter his vicinity. The first voice, silky and aloof, he recognizes as Wei Lin from several Courts ago. A second, this one like sandpaper, he recognizes as Milton. The third is a surprise though; a name he pulled from the vastness of his memory from an overheard conversation with the Seneschal. He addresses each new Kindred with a nod of acknowledgement and a measured smile. "Mr. Stevenson, allow me to introduce Ms. Carter of Clan Daeva, Mr. Northbridge of Clan Ventrue, and Ms. Kingsley of Clan Nosferatu." He gestures to each in return, giving them a chance to acknowledge Alexander. "Mr. Stevenson has a matter of urgency that we might be able to help him with." ​The 'we' comes as a surprise to him in the moment. But something about Alexander's panicked state suggested that more than one mind would be useful for processing his request.

Conner takes a seat closes to Alexander, both to show solidarity to his cousin and in an animalistic desire to fend off potential assaults towards him. Looking at the picture, Conner's expression turns grim. He reviews one of the offered papers from the list of death certificates, examining it. "Were there any commonalities between the victims? Occupation? Site of the kill? Social groups?" Perhaps this killer, Kindred or otherwise, had a preferred prey? Or even a prey it avoided?

He looks to Milton in particular. "I understand there was an investigation of similar predators several months ago." Quinn and Jennifer had briefly mentioned it in his memory. "Does this match anything you've heard of?" Alexander was right to be concerned though; these tactics would spell disaster for the Masquerade in this city. Or worse, it could attract the attention of vengeful forces who would want to see Kindred punished for these wrongs.

[Wei Lin]

Two new arrivals, the man who looked as interesting as an undercooked toast and a woman seemingly unremarkable before Wei Lin noticed her shadow, made her Beast seethe and snarl at the weaklings. The woman, a Haunt for certain, caused a personally vicious one, the Beast feeding of any cause of distrust and hate, and for a moment the Succubus revealed in an image of tearing said Haunt's face off with her teeth. But only for a moment, and with a shrug and a nod to each, Wei Lin is once again concentrated on something far more fascinated than petty grudges of ages past.

Alright, maybe just a little bit of petty grudges with a frown at Wells at calling her by the surname. After she specifically asked not to. If that is already too difficult a request to fulfill, I'm afraid about whatever this Stevenson will ask.

"Please, call me Wei Lin. I'm happy to do a service for a Domain." And to be the one to tell Prince they solved a problem Her Majesty didn't know she was having! Somehow there was no doubt in the Succubus' mind that the problem will get solved.

She had taken a seat right by Wells, not for sympathy but convenience. Through all the conversation she tried to take a decent look at the photos, stealing a few very intriguing glances, but there has to be more. More juicy, bloody secrets to dig out.

A quick look through the death certificates showed little of interest to her. Just some boring details that Stevenson very helpfully summarised already. The other set of papers was far more promising, Wei Lin snatching one of them to examine.

"Do you think it's Kindred or something more exotic?" there were a lot of strange things sharing the night with them. "Any pattern in the wounds you could find? Approximate size of the perpetrator based on the bite marks?"

Keeping one ear to the conversation around her, Wei Lin focused on the papers, dusting up her medical knowledge.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-09 12:38:21	Wei Lin rolls 5 to Researching medical papers (INT+Medicine) (10 Again)	9, 3, 7, 7, 5	1 success

She wasn't a trained professional by any means but she should have had enough personal knowledge to at least understand the gist of it.

[Milton]

Introductions are made and Milton nods his welcome to each in turn. Ms. Kingsley, a cousin of Jennifer's, who Milton has heard about. Ms. Carter, or Ms. Lin for that matter, a new addition to Milton's mind. And this odd, little Shadow, Mr. Stevenson, with his mess of papers in a corner of court. Waiting for the Prince or the Seneschal? The Lord could laugh at the idea of this...unknown quantity trying to make direct contact with such august personages. Better for him that their little group has found him first.

"Well, Mr. Stevenson, let's see what we can see," Milton says, taking the proffered seat. Always ready for a puzzle.

He begins, with measured movements, sifting through the documentation the Shadow has laid out before them. Careful to wait his turn should another of the group being reviewing a certain item.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-11 08:14:08	Milton rolls 7 to Intelligence + Investigation (10 Again)	1, 10, 9, 2, 1, 7, 5, 7	2 successes

He very methodically reviews each piece of documentary evidence on the table, listening to the others speak, but always returning to the materials. He's looking for obvious patterns: location of the incident, connections between the victims, other repeated details...

Looks up at Connor's mention of the Jackal investigation, "Quite right, Pastor Wells. Though, in that instance, the culprit was attacking after a Kindred had completed feeding, killing the still-living victim and calling attention to our...activities. I have not heard reports of similar troubles from our community in recent nights. Also, if I'm not mistaken, no bite marks were left on those victims, so that detail is...a departure." Still, the issues do share a resemblance. Which is troubling.

Milton looks to Stevenson, "To confirm: the coroner has not started asking questions about the blood loss?" Trying to gauge just how close to a breach they might be at present.