At The Lily (Attn: Jayant)

[Ishani]

Ishani sits in her office looking through some financials as she waits for Jayant to arrive. She had told a little white lie on the phone. She wasn't doing any paperwork dealing with the Lily, she was looking through her own portfolio to make sure she had the funds to move around for her business venture. She'd decided she wanted her own place of business a few months ago and had just now gotten the time to start looking into it.

She is going to have to call Oliviette soon and speak with the woman about getting some of the more complicated aspects set up. She wasn't sure how Asa had managed to get all of the Millar assets bundled together, but she knew her own business would have to be added.

She shuffled through the paperwork once more before replacing them in their manilla folder and sliding them in the top drawer of her desk. She isn't exactly looking forward to Jayant's visit since she knew what he wanted to talk about, but she'd promised to assist him before and she can't very well take that back now.

She flips on the TV and switched it to ESPN. Asa had gotten her used to hearing the background noise and she'd listened to the football chatter for so long now, she almost understood the game.

She leans back in her chair and waits for the knock on the door.

[Jayant Nagaraj]

Jayant pulls up somewhere nearby but at a distance from the Lily so he could spend some time in the fresh air for a while, gathering his thoughts. If he had a heartbeat, it would be going two to the dozen as his father used to say, and butterflies would be swarming in his stomach. Sighing at his own inadequecies upon reaching the club and slips in easily, his apparent lack of any notice coming to his aid once more. Completely aware of where Ishani's office is, Jayant glides there easily, knocking upon the door lightly and waiting to enter.

[Ishani]

Ishani stands and walks to the door, hitting the mute button on the remote as she passes the TV. She opens the door with a smile.

"Come on in." She says lightly and indicates the couch. "Have a seat."

She closes and locks the door behind him, not wanting anyone to just barge in on them before moving to a chair next to the couch. After she has settled herself, she nods to Jayant. "All right, what's the verdict?"

[Jayant Nagaraj]

With a smile, Jayant enters and stands before her, the smile quickly fading as Ishani takes her seat.

Straight to business.

"Circe and the new arrival, Cassandra, performed a ritual. Once finished, the Hierophant gave me these letters to pass onto yourself." After handing the notes to Ishani, he remains silent, waiting for his orders.

The Hierophant's Letters

Circe sent two pieces of paper with Jayant; a brief letter of explanation, and another page containing some observations and a drawing. Both are handwritten in Circe's neat script.

The letter says, simply:

On this night, I performed a ritual intended to reveal some clue as to where Priscus O-Yama might currently be found. The Goddess blessed me with unusually clear set of prophetic images, and given the seriousness of this matter, I have chosen to send Jayant to you immediately with this information, that it might be put to use as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The page accompanying this letter contains my notes regarding the vision shown me, my interpretations of the vision, and a drawing of a distinctive symbol that was part of the vision, and which I believe can serve to identify his location.

~ Circe

The other page includes the following notations:

I have seen what appears to be a rough map of the Sacramento area, with two markings. One strongly resembles the symbol sometimes used to designate the Ordo Dracul. The other was somewhat above and to the left of the O.D. marking.

I believe this to indicate that Priscus O-Yama is currently held at some location to the north and slightly to the west of the Ordo Dracul chapter house, but nonetheless within or near the Domain of Sacramento.

The symbol associated with this location is reproduced below. It appears to represent the rising or setting of the sun. As stylized as this image is, I suspect it might be some company symbol or logo.

The symbol she has drawn is this:

[Ishani]

Ishani reads the letters and then stares at them for a while. She considers the information and how it could relate to what happened in the Chapter House and Rahyna. She looks up at Jayant. "I remember O-Yama saying something about experiments and a labratory in that dream we all seem to have had. He said they were asking him questions about us and what we could do. They experimented on him, as was apparent by his appearance in the dream. I wonder......the things that have infested the chapter house also seem to be some odd experiment involving ghouls or something close to it. I also know that Rahyna was taken by them and is being held somewhere in the city. Do you think perhaps they could be held in the same place, along with all the other kindred that have gone missing?"

The information in the letters was extremely important and Ishani folds them back up and tucks them into her back pocket before giving her attention back to Jayant. "Did you happen to talk to Circe about what happened at the Crone Temple the other night too? Are you still recovering? Were there any more ill effects from that hit you took?" She knew she was pappering him with questions, but she needed the information and she was also hoping he would tell her he's ok. Sometimes one had to pull the information from Jayant to get anything.

[Jayant Nagaraj]

Mentally reversing over the questions, Jayant feels it prudent to start at the end and work to the start, firstly by lifting his top to reveal no wound before lowering it once again.

"Circe looked me over, prodding and poking at the wound until she was satisfied and said that it would be fine for me to heal it, so I did just that. It was a stain that I do hope not to get anytime soon. As for the temple, I explained as much as was necessary for her to work with but left out..." his voice trails off as he breaks eye contact, unsure how (if at all) embarrased Ishani may be regarding her reaction to the worm-creature. "Well, you get the gist. At the moment, I'm at a loss for how to prepare the temple for Elysium but this matter with ol' O-Yama seems more pressing. I miss the one-eyed bastard and feel its time to get him back."

Have I gone too far? he thinks suddenly aware that he has cursed out loud, his eyes widening.

"My apologies, I didn't mean to swear. This whole situation is infuriating and I crave to simply help as best I can. Sometimes I only want.....well, it doesn't matter." Jayant leans forward to rest his hands on the table, regaining his composure. "All that matters is cutting the heart out of whomever is behind this and showing it to them as it still beats."

[Ishani]

Ishani frowns, not understanding this man at all. "It does matter, you know. Well, it matters to me anyway and therefore it matters."

She leans forward in her chair and fixes him with a look that she knows he will be unable to ignore. "We will find O-Yama and I think Circe just gave me the clues I needed. I think we should probably grab one or two other people before we go looking."

She considers her next words carefully, not wanting to give him too much information, mainly because she didn't have it all herself. "I've mentioned before when I was attacked by the substance from the Lost Nights it changed me. How it made that change I don't know, but I remember that it burned. It was like I had molten lava running through my veins instead of vitae and I felt it over every inch of my body. When that thing showed up in the temple, I felt the same burning. It.......turned my blood somehow, into something else, something venomus to kindred. I don't know if I can explain it any further then that. When I felt that sensation again I just wanted to get away from it. I didn't know what it was going to do to me next. It's already cost me the connection I used to have with Yama. I don't want it to cost me the connections I have made here with other kindred." She pauses, debating on whether or not she should continue.

"I've felt a constant anger eating at my soul since I woke up from the Lost Nights. I've been hoping that it will go away, but it has only gotten stronger. I am afraid that it will cost me everything I have built here. I need to find the people that did this to me so I can get some answers from them about what their substance did.

That is why I ran from the temple. I couldn't stand the thought of losing........everyone I have right now."

[Jayant Nagaraj]

As Jayant stands in Ishani's office, listening intently, he feels the vibration of the phone in his pocket and, seeing it is Circe, apologizes to his Priscus before answering.

"Hello, this is Jayant."

[Ishani]

Ishani's eyes narrow in obvious irritation. She stands and goes to her desk. She pulls out a notepad and paper and begins to write on it while Jayant finishes his oh so important phone call.

[Jayant Nagaraj]

Jayant hangs up and slips his phone back into his jacket. He didn't seem to notice the sudden chilled air.

"The Hierophant sends her regards. She also claims to have found a weakness in these worms."