PrP - BaF - Babylon

[Drakken]

Babylon is everything you would expect a dive bar to be; outdated, a little dingy, and still smells like smoke from the years when nine out of ten patrons liked a cigarette in one hand and a stiff drink in the other. What isn't expected is just how quiet it is inside. A place like this would be expected to be filled with yelling and hearty laughter from a joke that would get you kicked out of a self-respecting establishment. Instead, a low rumble of voices can barely be heard over the sound of Springsteen playing from the Juke-box.

There are five patrons in the sparsely populated bar, each one of them dressed in the uniform of a blue collar worker. The bartender, a man who appears to be in his early 40s is wearing a tee-shirt, jeans, and a leather vest. There are patches on his vest, though from here you can't exactly tell what they say or represent.

Somewhere amongst the population, you feel the press of a beast.
BP: 2

Remember that this is a new scene, so if you were blushing previously you will need to spend the vitae to continue your blush into this scene.

[Conner Wells]

As Conner enters, making sure to maintain the stolen color in his form, his mundane and supernatural perceptions are already working on overdrive. His inner predator gnaws at him, telling him to watch himself. One of these things is not like the others. The lack of...enthusiasm from the patrons was also a bit disquieting. There was less of a crowd to lose one's self in; fewer voices to muffle conversation. We'll have to play this carefully. No need to start any more trouble right now.

He holds the door open for Helen to enter as well; a show of chivalry and to make sure they weren't separated upon entry.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 23:14:09	Conner Wells rolls 6 to Read the Room, Focusing on Predators (Wits + Empathy) (10 Again)	8, 9, 7, 7, 4, 7	2 successes

Conner gives Helen a nod, as if to say 'You take the lead'. He tries to follow his gut instincts to evaluate who should be watched the most, while also trying to isolate the influence of another monster. Could be a helpful witness. ​Or another wild goose chase.

[Helen Kingsley]

"Mind if we take a small detour ? I'm a little parched." Not becasue of the drop, but she's been putting more into all this than she thought she would. Admittedly, the guy they just chased off might be back in a while, but with a little luck, that wouldn't happen too quickly. If Conner gives his clear, she switches the cap for the poncho and gloves again and is off to see if anyone or anything is out and about in the area at this time of night. It takes some time until she spots a figure walking along. Well, beggars can't be choosers, right ? She disappears in one of the narrow alleys along the way and as said figure passes by, a quick grab with the element of surprise pulls it off the street...

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-23 14:38:57	Helen rolls 4 to Hunting roll (Str+Subt) (10 Again)	10, 10, 2, 7, 4, 2	2 successes

--------------
Helen changes again, gloves and poncho back into the bag and gets the cap out again, which, thinking about it, wouldn't have been strictly necessary, as she pulls it off again as she passes Conner, who holds the door open for her. "And people claim chivalry is dead..." she remarks in passing with a nod. Well, looks like is this is her kind of dive after all. Small, smells of smoke, music box playing the Boss... She's been to gin mills that were way worse than this. Just the low number of patrons and the noise level (or rather: the lack thereof) is off-putting. Hell, if she tries a little, she can even make out the lyrics of the song.

She remains in the door for a bit while steeling herself against the stronger predator that is hiding somewhere among the folks inside. As Conner stays with the door, she enters further as soon as she is sure she can do so safely. She lets her gaze wander through the room, mainly to make sure she knows where the doors, windows and obstacles are and how the patrons are distributed over the room. Just in case the whole place turns out hostile... But then, perhaps there are other things that don't fit the picture ? As she looks, she slowly walks towards the bar, with a nod directed to the barman.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-26 22:18:29	Helen rolls 5 to Perception (Wits+Composure) (10 Again)	8, 10, 4, 4, 2, 1	2 successes

As she looks, she slowly walks towards the bar, with a nod directed to the barman.

[Drakken]

The barman looks up as Conner and Helen enter, a small grin breaking the look of sheer boredom that painted his face before "Welcome," he says in his low rumble, with the kind of tone that lets you know he's seen some shit, "Have a seat anywhere and I'll get to ya shortly." He's even more pleased when Helen makes her way to the bar. He puts down the glass he'd been 'cleaning' and turns to her. "What can I get for ya tonight?"

Helen

All of the patrons have a downtrodden air about them, though that could just be fatigue from the shift they've obviously just come off of. Up close though, she notices that the vest the bartender is wearing must be nearly as old as he is. One of the patches on the front of the vest is round and black with silver embroidered lettering that reads "1%," another is a patch showing sargent's stripes, and the final one is a large patch on his right side that says "AFFA". On the back, the only patch was a rocker on the bottom that read "Sacramento." Closer inspection on the front shows a place the isn't as sun-bleached as the rest covering the right side of his stomach.

Helen can take a guess at what some of them mean, but I would need a Wits+Streetwise (Plus anything in Allies/Status/Contacts:Criminals) to know for sure.

Conner

The bartender isn't trying to hide what he is from other supernaturals, he is the Kindred in this bar.

[Conner Wells]

The bartender's rugged tone combined with the realization that he wasn't human sets off several alarm bells in Conner's mind. Are the patrons his thralls? ​No. They're too...alive. Inactive as of yet, but still alive. The Shadow takes a seat at the bar, as close to the bartender as he can. He nods in Helen's direction to indicate that they were in the same party. "White Russian for me, and whatever my friend would like. I've got the tab." He notes the patches on the bartender's vest, trying to see if they ring a bell. Some gang affiliation? Personal decoration? Some subtle show of his Kindred identity for those who'd look for it?

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-29 21:41:07	Conner Wells rolls 3 to Discern Bartender's Vest (Int + Streetwise) (10 Again)	9, 3, 10, 4	2 successes

As the bartender prepares his drink, Conner decides to broach the subject of their approach. "Hey, I couldn't help but notice there was some pretty weird graffiti outside on your wall. You get that often?" Perhaps he was used to his property being manhandled, given where they were in the city.

[Helen Kingsley]

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-11-30 11:35:25	Helen rolls 1 to Wits + Streetwise (=Wits-1) (10 Again)	2	failure

Helen thinks she has a rough idea about what sort of guy they might be dealing with here, although she's unable to confirm it, really. She puts the cap onto the bar, sits down next to Conner and chuckles a little to herself as he orders his drink. "A beer and a Whisky." she replies when asked for her poison of choice. Her only alarm bell at this very monment is sitting with her back to five pretty quiet guys, although she sort of also has the feeling the guy in front of them is more like distributing the dirt evenly than really cleaning the glass. But then, that's the charm of these places, isn't it ?

"Is it always this quiet or are we just with the early birds ?" She points over her shoulder with her thumb. "Anyway, what're you called, boss ?"

[Drakken]

The barman looks between Helen and Conner for a moment after the latter asks about the 'graffiti' on the wall outside. He looks out to the mostly empty room and speaks. "Alright boys, clear out. Got some business so I'm closin' down early tonight, come on back tomorrow for a round on the house to make up for it." The patrons moan and groan, but drain their drinks and head out. While they're doing that, the barman goes to work on your drinks, starting with the beer and ending with the white Russian.

"You just caught the early birds, miss, and you can call me Max." He says as he makes his way over to the door and locks it.Once again he looks between Helen an Conner, settling on Helen. "He okay to talk around?" He asks, nodding his head toward Conner.

Conner

The "1%" patch refers to the man being an outlaw. The empty spot on his stomach would be where his year patches would normally be. The "AFFA" on his side refers to a common saying among biker gangs. '(Gang) Forever, Forever (Gang)'

[Conner Wells]

Conner can sympathize with the bartender, now known as 'Max'. The feeling of being an outcast was something he'd wrestled with since day one in the city. Perhaps there's some common ground to be found in that.

He leaves room for Helen to make her answer, then sets both hands on the bar with knuckles out to reveal his Lancea ring. "Conner. Well met, Mr. Max. We've been examining rumors of a killer who's been leaving bodies around the industrial district. One of the victims was killed close to here, apparently painting a message in blood on the outside wall." ​His voice is still a bit low, in case of prying ears. "This killer's work is beginning to attract some unwanted attention around the city, and could attract even more if he's left unchecked. Any information you can offer would be greatly appreciated." So far Max had been cooperative, so Conner was willing to consider him a bystander at best.

[Helen Kingsley]

"Okay, Max, I'm Helen."

She hears the other patrons leave. Well, thats one less thing, provided they are as gone as they appear to be... Still, her attention shifts back to the sole remaining occupant of the room that isn't them. Asked if Conner is safe to talk around, she gives him a short look out of the corner of her eyes, before continuing with a nod at Max.

"He is."

So far, she has nothing else to add and waits to see what Conner will get to hear.

[Drakken]

Max gives a nod to Helen in response to her answer. "Well, I'm aware of the graffiti. I had hoped that anyone other than Kindred would confuse it for some mumbo jumbo occult shit. I can give you some information about the guy who's been stalking the area, but I can't tell you where he's staying. He always comes while the bar is open, and all I can do is try to keep the guys inside until he's gone."

He takes a seat on the other side of the bar from both of you. "His name's Mark Jacobs. He was a regular here, until he got sick at least. Cancer, stage 4. He started coming in and starting fights so I had to throw him out. One night, a few months later, he came in spouting that he'd been cured. Dumbass didn't even Blush. I caught him outside feeding out in the open and chased him off." The Kindred man sighs and takes a drink from a nearly empty bottle of tequila. "Someone embraced him and left him to figure everything out on his own, and he refused to accept my help to learn. Now that he's been sighted by more than me, I doubt he'll be back."

He runs his fingers through his hair. "Listen, I don't have any more information, but I'm willing to help in any other way I can. I have a cellar hidden in the back. When I ran with a gang back in the day, we used to use it when we were hiding out from the cops. If you need a safe place to talk you guys can use that, I'll get you the key."