Vampire: Dark Ages - Scene 4: In the Halls of the Dead

[Sabine]

I bark at him as he leaves, and laugh once he's gone.

[Seska Karantanija]

"Hahahaha! Good doggie!"

[Sabine]

I smile, beaming! "Arf! I'm a good dog!" I get up and run around Seska's legs a few times, barking. Then I run around the room.

[Alína Nyárí]

Alína chuckles as Sabine scampers about the room. "You impressed me with your owl hoots earlier, child. Do you think you can follow along and produce the bird calls I did in the coach ride when we left the inn?" Alína then breaks in to a variety of bird calls she has used in the forest near her home while gathering herbs and medicinals, though her concentration is on various owls, pausing after each one to allow Sabine the chance to learn it and instructing her in the name of each bird as she does so.

[Sabine]

"You're not doing it right!" I repeat all the calls, better.

[Animalism 1]

[Seska Karantanija]

Seska ends her smirking at Sabine's words. Her eyes widen in astonishment, then she nearly falls over from laughing too hard.

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Taduz listens to Alina's call, then to Sabine's perfect call, and falls over from his crouch laughing hysterically at Sabine's reply.

[Johann Von Braniff]

Johann paces impatiently in the shadows, watching and listening. "I must get away from this place."

[Alína Nyárí]

The Jewess' eyes sparkled with delight as her calls were not only imitated but bettered. "I will gladly have you teach me instead, dear one," she grinned at Sabine.

[Goatkiller666]

"I must get away from this place."

Hardestadt enters, slamming the door open as he does. "Soon, young man. Soon we will be rid of you. Perhaps for good." He laughs at his own joke. The other founders follow him into the room, with Roderigo bringing up the rear.

"But, before you young birds fly the nest, or perhaps return to the nest, I must teach you a few things. I hate to change metaphors, but consider me like your absent Sire in this matter. Now, you are puny, immature and naive. However, there is little that we may do about these most unattractive qualities. I shall therefore aid you immesurably in your hunt for the conspirators. Listen closesly, for I become... choleric... when I am forced to repeat myself."

"Claudius and his Conspiracy of Isaac meet in any number of places, huddling together to plot and scheme like the scofflaws and vagabonds they are. They think they are safe in their little havens, because they are so adept at scurrying away like rats when their betters come calling. Yet, like rats, they seldom fear their own."

He pauses to look at the characters and take a sip of blood from a nearby servant. "Therefore, you shall present yourselves to the anathema at the Inn of the Lion, where my sources say they often cower after being routed from more comfortable nests."

"Do not attempt a frontal assault on the anathema, for you have no hope of destroying them. Instead, sue for peace. Present yourselves to them, and beg they take you back. Tell the vile traitors that you escaped from my clutches by overcoming Roderigo. Bring him with you as proof and say he is Dominated by you," Roderigo snaps his head torward Hardestadt, in surprise, "but do not let them kill him for betraying them. Tell the conspirators that you found them by asking Roderigo to take you to all the places where he had seen them."

"Watch and learn all you can. Find out when they intend to attack Japheth and tell me. And if you can, destroy them, one by one. This will remove the burden your unlawful sires placed upon you at the moment of your rebirths."

Roderigo asks, "But my lord, if you know where they are, why do you not merely raid the Inn and destroy them there?"

Hardestadt grabs a bowl from the table and throws it at the man, who turns aside and is struck only in the shoulder. "Fool! Do you think I could not catch them if I wished? Do you think Claudius and his fellow rats have escape routes I cannot block? I allowed them to slink away, tails between their legs. It is not enough to wreak righteous retribution on them. I must prove their guilt, and demonstrate the need to band together against such renegade Kindred. But have said too much. All you need know is that I must catch them bloody-handed trying to kill their Cainite betters."

Roderigo asks again, "But my Lord, they were not killing their betters when you..." and another bowl flies towards him, this time too fast to duck. The wooden bowl clips him in the temple, and he falls to the ground.

"Idiot, I need not explain myself to you!" he roars. Then, glancing at everybody else in the room, he continues, "Sometimes my spy is not very well informed. Sometimes I think she is... but no matter. This is not for your ears." Turning to one of the servants, he says "See him to his feet." The man helps Roderigo stand, and all can see that he is mostly undamaged. Perhaps just a bruise on his face.

Rafael steps forward now, seeming to always be standing to best effect, long hair expertly coiffed, with the torches' light perfectly accenting his chisled features. He says to Roderigo, "Deliver these serpent childer of the anathema unto the bosom of their family." But before Roderigo can say anything, Rafael cuts him off. "Before you leave, I must tell you of the Masquerade. It is an idea of which I am too modest to claim origination, but nonetheless one we all must embrace. For millenia, we Cainites have rules over the mortal kine as kings of peasants. For our power was paramount in the world, and none could stand against us. But the world has changed. As the kine grow more numerous, and more cunning with their use of tools, and of writing, they begin to be a danger to us. Now, there are groups of Teutonic Knights who hunt Kindred throughout Europe. The Church, the very seat of Cainite power over mortals, now has divisions of Inquisators who root out and destroy our elders. No longer can we act openly."

"So, know this as you return to the world you once inhabited. None may know what you are. Hunt in secret. Rule the mortals through proxies. Let no one say 'the king has not aged a day since my grandmother was a girl' for soon afterwards, there will be men coming by day for all of us. For if the kine know, not just suspect, but know that there are vampires among them, they will stop at nothing. And while they are weak, they are VERY many, and they would overwhelm us ere long. Maintaining this secrecy is one of the tasks of our coalition. We would rather destroy one of our kind than alert the sheep to our existence."

Hardestadt then steps forward and says, "Above all, you should all be weary of the Lady Jadviga Almanov. I have had conflicts with her before, and she is most crafty. If you get a chance, do not hesitate to strike her from this world. She is second only to Claudio in danger to us all."

Roderigo, still holding his head, says "We are now in Funfkirchen, to the northwest of Zombar. The Inn of the Lion is to the southeast of it, in Neusatz, on the great Danube itself. We will pass through Zombar on the way there, so you may meet up with your minions while we are there. I do not recommend that they accompany us to the Inn, but you may at least alert them to your survival, such as it is."

[Unless anyone has anything else to talk about here, let's move ahead to arriving at Zombar, around midnight the following night.]

[Seska Karantanija]

[I am fine with skipping ahead, although I would have questions about which are the most dangerous targets, known weaknesses, and how we would actually take them down. We know about stakes (will they be provided?), but what about other weapons such as bows or swords?]

[Taduz Illyannovich]

[I'm good with skipping, but I also had questions about supplies, information, and what to expect of the local populace.

[Goatkiller666]

[Roderigo can answer most questions en route.]

[Olaf_Magnusson]

"He who did this to me has much to answer for" comes out in a near-growl. "Let us go, and find them. I will have weregeld for my own life"

[Alína Nyárí]

"mil-rd, if I may," the former mage speaks hesitantly. "May I have a word with Mistress Fanchon before we depart? Anything I can learn on the loss of my abilities, though the knowledge still resides in my head, and what may be done to try to regain them, would be appreciated."

[Goatkiller666]

Mistress Fanchon, who was standing there as well walks over to Alina. "Yes, my child. What abilities have you lost? And what makes you think I can help you regain them?"

[Alína Nyárí]

"My abilities mostly focused on healing, milady. My vision would "shift," and I could see the essence of a thing and know instantly how to treat to heal and cure.

"This one," with a nod towards Roderigo, "tells me I am of your clan, as the dark wizard Casmir," she shudders as she says the name, "is the one who embraced me as well as Gedeminas here. He said these Tremere are former mages themselves, and as such have retained practices similar to what I have known.

"Now, my third eye is closed...
My inner senses are shut...
I've lost my connection to the weave...

"I fear what your clan practices. Casmir was dark and evil. My hope is that not all of the Tremere are such. If it possible...is there a way...

"Can you at least point me to a way to attempt to regain what I have lost with the embrace?"

[Goatkiller666]

"Ah, I am not surprised Casmir took special attention of you, then. The blood of a magick user always appealed to him. So yes, if you are of my clan, then I am duty bound to bring you and this Gedeminas under the clan's shelter and teach you the ways of things. Rest assured, though the vampiric condition has effectively severed your connection to the power you knew in life, we have discovered ways to mimic those abilities in death."

"Though, if you wish to heal, all it really takes is some of your blood in a mortal's mouth, and the mortal may heal most any damage. So there's not much study of healing magicks beyond what any Cainite can accomplish."

"Once you and your companions are done with this task, return to me, and we will begin your initiation into the mysteries of the clan."

[Alína Nyárí]

The Jewess smiles with relief at the courtesy shown. "Thank you milady. I know not of Gedeminas' plans, but I will return to seek your instruction as soon as I am able."

[Gedeminas]

Gedeminas bowed, and says to Mistress Fanchon, "Thank you very much, Mistress, I look forward to learning the ways of magic."

[ooc]I'm fine with skipping ahead as well, I guess.[/ooc]

~~~edit~~~

still speaking to Fanchon, "However, I would like a question answered, if it is not offensive. Rodrigo here mentioned another tribe of demon-worshipers that the Tremere destroyed. May I hear some more about them?"