The Resurrectionists: Arkwright Cemetery

[Jacque]

The Lord listened as Conner replied to his two questions and offered Jack the radio. He took it, placing it in his pocket.

And yet, the Shadow stayed. Perhaps he misunderstood that there was room for debate. His eyes shifted to Quinn as she spoke truths and dangled her carrots to plead with the Shadow to listen to the wisdom they had both already offered. The Lord looked back to Conner as she asked him to elaborate on the motives of the Lancea. Jack committed to two questions and those were answered. He had no interest in the answer to Quinn's question, only a growing annoyance at the continued presence of a Kindred who could not navigate their Danse safely.

"You may provide that information if you wish to," he stated directly, plainly. "What is non-negotiable is that either now or after you share the motives of the Lancea that you leave." A short pause before he added, "Immediately." There was no time. They needed to get back on the move and find the remaining landmarks, but he had to know the Masquerade was upheld above all else.

Given the timed nature of the plot, Jack will initiate social combat with the intent of securing compliance to his direction to leave if Conner does not do so himself in the next post. Please post your Dominance, Guile and Nerve in your next post if Conner stays.

[Seryna]

The night seems to hold its breath around the kindred. They were now three. Surely the other three were just out of sight. Did Conner wonder about his companions in the cemetery, tonight? Not true friends. Not yet. Although Maxwell had hunted for Conner the evening before...

Jack had dealt with the security well enough. Were these three discussing quietly? Were they truly alone here?

Conner in his hungrier state could hear a whisper from his beast. There was food somewhere in the direction that the other three had traveled. Not in the direction of the urn garden. Yet true north.

Conner Wells is up - Quinn Durant - Jack

[Conner Wells]

Conner wants desperately to say 'no'. He wants to march off into the night, drag Pope into the sunlight and watch the Acolyte burn in this and the next life for his crimes and for what he'd wrought tonight. But even as his resolve screams for action, wisdom speaks to the hunger in his belly; the undying exhaustion seeping into his bones. And even if the Seneschal didn't give a rat's ass about him as a person, Quinn did. And they were both advising him to leave. Dammit! Why is it always like this! Why can't I...

Remember you idiot! You're no use to anyone dead or frenzied! Take this for what it is: an opportunity to learn and prove your worth. Strategic withdrawal is not a defeat: it's a chance to plan.

The Beast, practical in its hunger, speaks truth. Conner feels the radio leave his grip, looks to the Seneschal and Quinn. "The Coterie that hired you wants to resurrect Pope as a living weapon, specifically in the hands of the Invictus, assuming they aren't Pope's acolytes in disguise." He knows Quinn will understand the danger of this, but would the Seneschal? Perhaps this would be a test of worth for more than him. "The Lance want to simply remove his body and secure it. Nothing else." Keep it simple, keep it clean.

He bows to the Seneschal, bows to Quinn, and before he turns to leave looks to both of them with a look of honest concern. "Please bring our people back safe." ​And so he turns, and makes his way back to Sherah Israel. There was still one last thing he wanted to do before departing Arkwright Cemetery for good...

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn smiled ever so slightly, and nodded to Conner's wish to bring everyone back safe. They would do their best, but in reality there really were no guarantee's.

When Conner was out of sight, Quinn turned to Jack and raised her eyebrows once and let them fall. "Never a dull moment." She paused a moment and glanced around. "Also, shouldn't our fellow explorers be back by now with excuses for going the wrong direction?" She reminded of their missing comrades.

While there were alone, or appeared to be, Quinn tucked her hair behind her ear watching the Seneschal closely. It was always polite to do Telepathy with permission. They had agreed to signals. So she waited until she met his gaze before focusing her gift on him. Her mind reaching for his.

Quinn's 'voice' was different mind to mind. More depth and richness than her normal delicate tone.

"I can't get the box out of my mind. Everything I saw keeps replaying in my thoughts as we've gone through the cemetery. You know what is required to raise another Kindred from Torpor? If you cut the arms and legs off of a Kindred, they would fit in this box. In my vision I had the perspective of being lowered into the box. I thought that meant a relic of power due to sensing something deeply metallic....but blood can come off as metallic too. Like copper pennies in the mouth...." Her voice fades, but her constant stare let him know she was still connected, so to speak.

[Jacque]

Jack's eyes widened at the final request of Conner. It was interesting to see, considering the opposite sides of the fence they should be on in the matter. Something the Lord filed away in his mind to leverage later.

"Indeed," he replied. "All things considered, he took that well." He shook his head at the question, "I gave Mister O'Brien a map. The rendezvous would be in Laurel Hill"

A nod to affirm he was currently a willing participant, he listened to the voice in his mind and responded in kind. His voice was more polished and each syllable more pointed in articulation.

"I had been considering the possibility since the Hotel. There is very little a torpor'd vampire needs, and the fact they refused to share any details beyond that with us was frustrating. I'm not particularly fond of us being treated as pawns in this game." He handed the 2-way radio to Quinn, "Probably better for you to relay any chatter this way than me trying to parrot it to you. Unfortunately, it seems that Vincenzo is not just a mercenary, which will make him harder to reason with I imagine." The Lord's mind strung out to what he knew of relationships between the Covenants and nearby cities. Nothing with San Diego, unfortunately. "Given the circumstances, I think we should leave the box obfuscated until we know we can get everyone back together. The clue says the grave of the liar should be North of here and North of there would be Lady Grief with the key." The Lord retrieved his duffel and looked around quizzically before looking to Quinn, "Wait, where's Maeve?"

He looks North, surveying the Land as he waits for an answer.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-29 10:14:15	Jacque rolls 7 to staying alert (Wit+Comp+1 HS) (10 Again)	9, 6, 10, 7, 4, 8, 9, 7	4 successes

[Seryna]

The radio chirps.

"Wells," A man's voice, calm. In control. "Be aware - danger." There is a pause.
"I became aware that we were being watched, I made the mistake to give chase. There was an attempt at ambush. I scared them off, but I think," The voice pauses again. A beat. Two.

Jack's gaze turns up that the area immediately around you remains still. Quiet. Yet when he looks after Milton and Connor to the north, he becomes aware of two figures standing approximately six yards away. They had been standing so perfectly still and quiet.
The two men are short and stocky. They wear black knit beanies and grey wool sweaters. The men have been painted with Vitae along their collarbones, peeking through the shirt. You can smell it on them. This is likely some sort of occult work. Each wears a military backpack.

The one on the right is 5’6’’ with short cropped hair that is covered by his beanie. The man on the right has a hand – held radio in a side pocket. The pack looks broken in, yet in good repair. The one on the right has a bone saw hanging from a second leather belt on his waist. The man on the right is casually holding large bag, a shovel head peaking out.
The one on the left is 5’8’’, dark skinned, with a tattoo peeking out from beneath the torn sweater sleeve on the left arm. There are fresh bandages applied to the arm and hand. The man on the left has dirt and leaf litter on his sweater and pants, wiped off as much as possible. He appears dirty, suggesting a tussle on the ground. Leftie has a leather bandolier worn across his chest, attached to the 12 - gauge shotgun.

You note that they each have a large dagger the size of a spearhead in a sheath on the right hip.
The men appear to be watching you. Alert and calm. The man on the left lifts a radio to his mouth. Click as he turns the radio on.

Quinn becomes aware of the smell of vitae, she can smell it on them. She can also hear what comes next, as easily as Jack can.
"Boss, Wells looks to be heading out. Watching Pretty and Alert. They are aware of us."
Calm, yet resolute.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-29 21:05:57	Storyteller rolls 8 to Vincenzo's ghouls (10 Again)	9, 6, 6, 5, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2	4 successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-29 21:17:40	Storyteller rolls 8 to Vincenzo's ghouls defending vs haunts (10 Again)	5, 3, 5, 1, 9, 7, 9, 3	2 successes

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-29 21:18:12	Storyteller rolls 7 to Arkwright haunts vs Glenn (10 Again)	3, 10, 9, 9, 2, 3, 8, 1	4 successes

[Conner Wells]

If asked later, Conner might be tempted to say that he'd planned to omit a piece of information from Jacque and Quinn, but in truth he'd simply forgotten about it in the rush that had accompanied his journey to the unmarked child's grave.

In any case, Conner enters Sherah Israel with a lot of doubts, a pinch of resolve, and an unmentioned burner phone...

Continued in The Resurrectionists: Sherah Israel...

[Quinn Durant]

Quinn's gaze was all for the Seneschal, keeping their telepathic communication going. Quinn took the two-way radio from the Seneschal's hand and clipped it to her belt. The chatter made her yip slightly in surprise, as her focus was on the Seneschal and what she was doing mentally. She still had her peripheral of course.

"Maeve snuck off as soon as she heard the security guards and Conner situation. Which is pretty typical. Maeve only thinks of herself, so not out of character for her to try to get ahead, even if it meant abandoning any semblance of leadership." The sense of disappointment lapped at the shore's of his mind. Quinn's butt started vibrating, and she pulled out her phone breaking the connection between them, to check it, holding one finger to indicate a moment as her attention had to waiver. She read the text, and immediately her face screwed up in an annoyed pout. As if someone pissed on her Doc Martens.

She looked to Seneschal again and nodded once, staring hard into his eyes. Asking without asking. Once back in, he could feel her irritation with the situation. "Conner just texted me." And her mind flashed the text into his mind as if he was looking at the message in his minds eye. Like a daydream, only the perspective was wholly Quinn's.

Then came the scent of Vitae, that caused Quinn's spine to stiffen. Her mouth watered at the scent, forcing her to swallow past the lump in her throat. She could see out of the corner of her her eye, but she fought looking at them to keep up the connection between herself and the Seneschal. She heard them well enough. And Jack could feel her slight wry amusement at their dubbed nicknames and the sensation of desire over the scent. "Show me what you see Seneschal. I have to focus on you to keep this connection between us. Let me see what we are up against." She used his title deliberately. She was re-affirming that she would follow his lead, and knew her place in this situation. His irritation well noted by the Shadow.

An intrusive thought cut through Quinn's thoughts. The urge to use her blood to whisk Jack away in a nano second flashed like lightning through her mind. To protect a pillar of stability for her court. It was the same urge that made Quinn take a hit for Jennifer. She restrained herself, but it was a near thing. They weren't here to fight. They had a plan to execute.

[Jacque]

Jacque's eyes flipped to Quinn's belt as he listened to the relay. His annoyance matched the disappointment that he felt flick across his mind. "Well I gave her the chance." A memory of reading a letter flickered across his mind with a focus on the word "Insecure". A sense of fleeting amusement could be felt in that memory. He then considered the new information from Conner and his recommendation, "Interesting, but even with that I doubt a deal could be struck where someone wouldn't be disappointed. Though I am interested in what he had to say earlier about the Coterie. That's too smart of an idea to be his. The Lancea may have some intelligence about our partners that we don't."

Shortly after, he saw them. He smelled them. They had been watching so closely to them, Quinn could feel the surprise when he saw them. He focused on the two men, the Vitae, the weapons they carried and lastly the bandages. "I can easily get the gun from the one and between the two of us we can disarm them without a shot being fired." He glanced around, not certain if the two watchers knew they were aware of them, specifically. His memory flicked along the different Kindred who left at different intervals and a return to annoyance. Jacque clearly had not wanted the group to split and now in front of him were two reasons why.

Then a crack in the air. Gunfire? He glanced towards the Urn garden and his anger grew in his mind further. Someone was an idiot from the three groups. There was security here and the cemetery bordered a residential area. They didn't need the cops to be called. "Change of plans. We already avoided one breech, removed the risk of a second and now someone is jeopardizing the mission in a new way. I need you to take to the shadows and fix the problem if our people are involved. Rendezvous on a path going straight north from this location in Laurel Hill to follow the next clue. Please make sure you're at least the first person to follow that direction."

He flicked his fingers towards himself, "I need that radio back for a moment," he spoke aloud as he waited for her to return it to him. It chirped once more as Jack made his move and spoke into the radio, "Boys, now you're making me blush. I'm not that pretty." He paused for a moment and grinned towards them. If they didn't know before, they knew now. His voice shifted from playful to more stern, sliding back into the role of Seneschal and Speaker, "Mister Boss man, I've already prevented two violations of the first by your agents. I certainly hope I didn't just hear a third jeopardy from one of yours. Either way, I'm consciously choosing to spare your two pawns in front of me. If they've been watching then they know what I'm capable of. All of that should be ample enough 'good will' for you to accept a short parley before this night gets any worse for the both of us."

He returned the radio with an air of nonchalant confidence, not bothering to wait for an answer and lifted his hand to his temple for a fleeting moment, "Just make sure our people are on track and I'll be in contact via the radio once we come to an agreement. I'm going to take this opportunity to figure out what Vincenzo knows about the Coterie and if we're being played."

The Lord took a couple of steps towards the two and raised his hands, flicking his wrists in a show of non-aggression. He quietly waited, raising his eyebrows to see if they'd lead him to his parley.

Given that it is over a radio, let me know if you'd like me to make a persuasion roll Seryna for Jack's offer and if there would be any modifiers due to the facts of Jack's argument.

[Seryna]

A pause from the radio. The men see Jack, give a deep bow from the waist when he looks to them after speaking to the radio.

The radio comes over with the voice of the calm man.
"Edgar, Marv, set aside your toys for a moment.

Sir: You say two violations. As far as I'm aware, my men have only been observing. If they have been naughty, you do have my apologies.

Unless you refer to Mr. Wells, who has been operating with my man, Maxwell, this evening.

I must warn you, sir. We have... Invisible... Observers. Have you noticed anything?
Was that noise your team, perhaps, sir? My men report no discharge by them."

The two men watch Jack's movement. At the motion with the hands, one slowly removed the bag strap from his shoulder and tossed the bag away. The shotgun was similarly pulled out from the body, hands shown to Jack to be on the strap and stock of the firearm, not the trigger. The man squatted to lower the firearm atop of the bag without risking a discharge.
Both men disarm themselves of both knives, and saw, and the one man slips them into the bag for speedy transport later, if necessary.
"Apologies if I offended, sir. Toys down, Mr. Vincenzo. Sir Jack has been... persuasive this evening, we watched him with security. Shall I escort him to you?"