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

[Taduz Illyannovich]

"But, there are boy puppies and girl puppies? Are not the more pretty of the girl puppies who are growing up then lady puppies?"

Seeing this track maybe a bit far advanced for Sabine, I resort to something that maybe more her speed.

"Puppy? Aren't you a girlpuppy though? And if others see a beautiful tail like yours..." Blood. Hot. Sweet. Can feel/smell/taste it from here.

I close my eyes after seeing a look in Sabine's eyes, hoping my own don't have that same ravenous quality.

Don't get up, calm yourself Taduz. Get up. Calm down. Go over there and drink it all. You are not going over there. Drink, hunger, drink it all No. Go. Drink. Now. and squeeze my eyes shut tighter.

Feeling the urge become more manageable, I start to relax, then I hear/feel/see/smell Gedeminas, and prepare to see which way he jumps.

[1 Blood spend for 1 Dexterity]

Brothers, let me be swift and nimble as you tried to teach me.

[Olaf_Magnusson]

Outraged at this profaning of a warrior's sacred oath, and the pending assault, I leap to defend Seska and her chattel. "By the All-Father, I strike thee with all the power of Thor!"

(1 Blood for Celerity, 3 to pump Strength)

Hit him...hit him....pick him up...throw him through a wall.

[Seska Karantanija]

The Red Lamb Inn
-------------------------------

Seska prepares to thank the warrior for his offer though assure him that she would like to deal with Amisa herself, and compliment his rapidly progressing language skills, however her armsman's boldness interrupts her efforts. She stands to try and calm his rage, "Bojan". He is intent, "Let me...". He slashes his hand, "fini...sh."

She rolls her eyes back and leans on the heavy table, trying to keep her wits. Calm. Do not lunge. Control yourself. She takes a few moments to gain her composure before walking over to Bojan. Seska places her hand on his shoulder, under the guise of thanking him for his oath, but with the intent of dragging him into the kitchen to clean up.

Seeing Gedeminas about to lunge as she reaches her man, Seska at first reacts with a surprised look which quickly changes to a fierce glare. Her eyes glow yellow and take the shape of a serpent's. Her hair gives the appearance of undulating back and forth. No harm shall come to mine.

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Tensing, I am waiting for Gedeminas to move, the minute he twitches I'm kicking his chair into his legs, hopefully knocking him to the floor by entangling them.

[Erick Shinnings]

Dante examines his new-found friend intently. Pacing back and forth, he addresses the lad, "The Lord God, in heaven, speaks to me Erich. He speaks to me and shows me the world in a way no other could understand." Dante sniffs the lad, muttering, "interesting."

After the inhale, and surprised look from Erich, Dante begins to pace in front of the newcomer and speaks, "My friend, God speaks to me of you now, he tells me that legions of hell are hounding you, but that you have resisted them. Answer truthfully, for these next few minutes will be very important. What does our Lord mean by this?"

My smile at Wolfgang's kindly invitation adruptly descends to a look of amazement and shock at Dante's revelation. What by the gods in...

My mind is reeling. This Christian monk, who I assumed to be slightly eccentric as opposed to his ascetic "brothers" seems to possess a genuine connection with divine power. Is he a genuine prophet? An auger thought lost with Roman antiquity? Is the Christian God truly real and are Dante's words and faith true?... And what demons are hounding me that he speaks of?

Doing my best to muster my wits, I answer slowly and deliberately, "Monk...I will give thee naught but truth if you would speak and tell me more of these visions." I gaze at him with a look of utmost seriousness, betraying my scholarly and curious nature.

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

Dante looks questioningly at the lad and begins to speak, "I have told you all that our God has been willing to impart. You look surprised, young one, have you no faith in our Father in heaven?"

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

This one knows me not...

Dante looks up to the heavens, arms raised, and whispers, "Thank you, Lord."

Dante turns to the lad, eyes steely and cold, and speaks, "I'm sorry, my friend, for what must come next." Fighting back the hunger, Dante whispers, "I crave! I hunger! Wolfgang, Gunter, seize this heretic! His blood must be cleansed and purified in our lord's name!"

As Wolfgang and Gunter surround the poor lad, Dante says, "This is for your own good, heritic, the demons of Hell that pursue you, this Beast, would have consumed you before long. Yes, I know what you are, it emanates from you like a gourmet feast. You're condition is no secret to me!"

At this, Dante lunges at Erick attempting to sink his fangs into the poor lad's neck, screaming, "May you see the Lord God in all his power and repent, for you will be cleansed at last!" (Cast Dementate 2 dots to distract, (Edit) use as much blood as I can to max strength if possible, if not then just do 1 for 1)

[Erick Shinnings]

At this, Dante lunges at Erick attempting to sink his fangs into the poor lad's neck, screaming, "May you see the Lord God in all his power and repent, for you will be cleansed at last!" (Cast Dementate 2 dots to distract, (Edit) use as much blood as I can to max strength if possible, if not then just do 1 for 1)

"GAH!"

I do my best to resist his attack, focusing my will and hoping that there is some power within me to come to my aid. I call on blood to increase my strength to resist the attack. Looking toward Wolfgang, I scream for his aid (Dominate 2) "GET HIM OFF OF ME!"

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

(OOC, I dunno if I have the time in game to react like this or not, or if it's even necessary, but no harm in trying, right?)

As Dante nears his opponent, he notices the look in his eyes, a look of pure evil. Dante hears the odd command and is confused.

"This one uses devilry on my flock..."

As recognition appears on his face, Dante turns to see that Erick's eyes are focused on Wolfgang! Quickly, Dante mutters to his companion, "Resist Brother, remember what happens if we falter!" (Use dementation 2 dots to give him a quick vision of the apocalypse to remind of his mission)

Dante returns to his surprised victim, and attempts to sink his fangs into his neck.

[Goatkiller666]

Castle Giovanni
---------------------------

More detail on the scene: all four are in the courtyard by the front gate. Erick has Gunter on his left arm, Wolfgang on his right. They are each gripping him by the elbow. In front of him is Dante. So far, Dante has monologued, thus allowing Erick's Dominate to work against Wolfgang.

[Dante has no blood left with which to increase stats.]
[Erick has 9 blood left, and can spend 5 per turn.]

Order of Initiative

• Dante:5
  Wolfgang:5
  Erick:4
  Gunter:4

[ In the first round, Dante can either attack with fangs or use Demenation. Since later posts by Erick assume Dante has latched on, I'm ignoring the Dementation.]

Turn 1
Dante jumps towards Erick, who is still surprised and held by the two soldiers. He manages to sink his fangs into the man's neck, doing only slight damage [1 agg]. He may begin to suck blood the next turn.

Wolfgang and Gunter hold onto Erick's elbows, though both are shocked by Dante's having grown fangs. Gunter asks, "Brother? What's happening?"

Erick makes eye contact with Wolfgang and uses Dominate on him.

Turn 2
Dante begins to suck blood. At the same time, Wolfgang releases Erick's elbow and grabs Dante's shoulders, heaving him away from Erick. Dante succeeds in getting two blood (max of three per round, if uninterrupted) before he's pulled away.

Gunter and Erick go at the same time as well, but Gunter sees his brother grappling with Dante and releases Erick to intervene. [Next post should be from Erick, since Dante's turn was simply to suck blood.]

The Red Lamb Inn
-------------------------------

More detail on the scene: there are two tables, each seating four. At one table are Seska, Bojan, Pierre, and Vida. Since Seska is speaking, I'm putting her chair on the side towards the second table, where sit Olaf, Taduz, Gedeminas, and Sabine. Pierre is across from Seska. Sabine's chair is the one closest to Seska's table, putting her across from Gedeminas.

Order of Iniative

• Sabine:6
  Taduz:6
  Pierre:4
  Olaf:3
  Seska:3
  Bojan:3
  Vida:1
  Gedeminas:0

[Since I locked the thread, I PM'd Sabine for her action. Since Gedeminas is in frenzy, his choices are pretty limited.]

Turn 1
Bojan spills his blood. Everyone starts to resist frenzy.

Turn 2
Taduz regains control.
Sabine regains control.
Seska regains control.
Gedeminas loses control and enters frenzy.

Turn 3
Sabine sees Gedeminas face turn bestial, fangs extending and he rises to move toward Bojan. She merely moves out of the way in surprise.

Taduz rises from his own chair and kicks Gedeminas' chair into the back of his legs as he rises. This causes minor damage [2 simple], but stops Gedeminas' momentum and he falls back onto the chair.

Olaf regains control.

Seska moves between Gedeminas and Bojan, and activates her power. [Taduz, see PM for more details.] Gedeminas' gaze moves to Seska's face, as her animated hair presents a sort of visual focus point. With an extreme effort of will, Seska feels drained, but Gedeminas is now frozen in his chair, as if calmly seated, only his totally still but bestial visage betrays that he's nothing like calm on the inside.

[Seska Karantanija]

The Red Lamb Inn
-------------------------------

Seska spins around and grabs Bojan's wrist, unconcerned about the chaos soon to follow in the main room. "Kitchen. Now. We're cleaning that wound." Without waiting for the confusion evident on his face to settle she drags him into the kitchen.

Steady. "You do not begin to understand my anger at Giovanni yet, Bojan." Resist the smell. She grabs a bowl and fills it with water from their barrel of river water and sets it on the work table next to where she brought Bojan.

"No questions for now. You will understand more when I finish my tale." She takes his bleeding palm in her hands and turns her back to him, pressing against his body. She licks the cut, a reflexive habit from cleaning many such wounds before, which staunches the bleeding, however she finds herself savoring the flavor of his already spilled vitae. Yes. Delicious. She finds her fangs lengthening and barely catches herself before breaking skin as she bites down. NO! You mustn't! Quickly she sticks his hand into the water and rinses it thoroughly.

She turns around leaning her forehead against his sternum [height difference] while lightly pounding against his chest with her left fist in frustration. "No more of that tonight. Promise me--no more."

Finally gaining some composure she pushes away from Bojan. Followed by a sudden twinge from her stomach. Snatching the bowl quickly she sloshes bloody water all over the floor but cares not as she finds the night's dinner involuntarily rejected by her dead organs. Barely giving it a thought she shoves it under the table, grabs his wrist, and heads back for the main room. "Come. I need to finish before anything else happens."

[Erick Shinnings]

I wrap my hand around my neck, covering the wound where Dante bit. Totally bewildered, and infuriated - I am at the very least somewhat relieved that the other two men have decided to be a bit more hospitable to my current situation. Feeling that trying to continue to "persuading" the seemingly more pliant human guardsmen, I shout to try and get Gunter's attention as he is struggling with Wulfgang.

[Dominate 2] "Cease your aggression toward me, guardsman. I swear that I mean you no harm, whatever this hell-tainted monk may have you think! See not his beastly fangs?! I am not thine enemy!"

(( If Gunter didn't make eye contact with me or somesuch, I'd at least like to try to just persuade him to stop attacking me ))

[Taduz Illyannovich]

I stand, keeping myself standing loosely, hands semi-closed palming one dagger into a hand, blade flat against the inside of my forearm, the semi closed hand holding the hilt.

What was that... and where did she get it from?

"Calm yourself, or you will be calmed."

The noble taunting the nun? The same?

[If he moves to attack me, 1 blood to Str, 1 blood to Stamina]

If he moves against me, he's insane, now what did that slavic dog do to me in Cur Claudio's castle...

Trying to remember what Lord Mieczyslav just before the whelps broke up Claudio's party.

[3 Blood to Awaken the Zulo Form if I spend the str/sta blood, contingent upon if Gedeminas moves to attack me]

[Goatkiller666]

Dining Room of the Red Lamb Inn
----------------------------------------------------

Bojan says "My word, Countess." as he's pulled back inside the dining room. "Oh, sorry. I'm not supposed to make oaths for the rest of the night."

[This conversation would take several combat rounds to finish, so we'll freeze Seska and Bojan in time for a bit, while the others finish off whatever they might want to do.]

Castle Giovanni
---------------------------

Gunter is looking at his brother while he struggles, though he did see the bloody wound on Erick's neck before he shifted his attention to Wolfgang.

Turn 3
Dante - 2 blood
Erick - 7 blood

Wolfgang releases Dante and turns to his brother. "Wait!" He holds up a hand, then points at Erick. "He speaks wisdom. Brother Dante, what manner of prophet has a maw like that and feeds from the blood of another?"

[Dante Nachtzehrer]

"Brothers, be not fooled by the wily tongue of the devil! You know me blessed by God, would I decieve you? God has blessed and cursed me brothers, with the gift of purification! I feed naught on God's innocent sheep, the mortals of this world, but those devilspawn that stalk them. You know what is right, brothers, can you not sense the taint of this Vampire weighing upon your souls? Remember the lessons I have taught you!" (cast dementate 2 dots on them to shake them from the domination and remind them of their mission)

Dante shouts towards the night sky, "God, I am naught but your servant! By God and the blood of the holy lamb, give me strength!" (use 2 bps to increase str) Dante then lunges at Erick to finish what he had started.

[Olaf_Magnusson]

*not understanding the nature of vampiric frenzy yet....*

"Leave off thy hateful glares!"

When he doesn't, I will punch him...punch him..pick him up..and apply him to the wall, pumping Str to max and fueling Celerity.

[Sabine]

I shift into puppy form. [Protean 4, spend extra blood]

I growl at Gedeminas.

[Goatkiller666]

Dining Room of the Red Lamb Inn
----------------------------------------------------

Sabine quick-shifts to hound form and barks. Taduz holds action while Pierre, and Vida just stare, amazed, at Sabine changing form.

Olaf punches Gedeminas twice, picks him up, then slams him into a wall. [5 damage, 8 damage, 6 damage]

Gedeminas is still frozen. He is now injured to Incapacitated, and has lost 11 blood on top of that. Within his still prison, his frenzy continues unabated, the pain of damage driving it on further.

When Olaf is beating the wall with Gedeminas' body, he notices that his legs are still bent as if he were sitting, and his arms do not move.

Castle Giovanni
---------------------------

Dante lunges for Erick, but the Welshman narrowly manages to dodge the attack, and he backs away from the blood-covered horror of Dante's fanged face.

[I'm assuming here that Erick chooses to dodge instead of something else. Dodging counts as his action, however.]

From above, a swarm of bats descends upon the crowd. They fly at everyone except Erick, and while they do no serious damage, they do bite and distract everyone. Erick hears a voice from near his shoulder saying, "Quickly! Away!"

Dante also hears a voice, whispering in his ears, "The forces of Hell protect their own!"

[Olaf_Magnusson]

seeing the body's contortions, and connecting it with the odd actions of Lady Seska...drop Gedeminas, deeming the matter dealt with. and sit back down, knowing no lasting damage was done, but honor is satisfied.

[Taduz Illyannovich]

Very strange.

Raising my voice to cut through the moist meaty thuds "Olaf, hold a minute, something is amiss"

I walk over and inspect Gedeminas, in his...awkward sitting position? "Olaf, please pick him up and hold him" I poke a few times at various places over the body, checking for signs of...stone?

Consulting my knowledge of medicine, the human body, and folklore, paltry as they may be, while trying to figure out "What Just Happened".

"Strange, paralyzed, frozen not just in place, but in stance, and in time it seems, he's still in the moment" What to say? "it happened."

Must ask Seska what happened.

"Gediminas, can you hear me?" Maybe, maybe not, if he is really that frozen, I could talk to Sabine's tail and get more of a response.

"If you are in there, it would be in your best interest, and the Inn's not invincible wall's best interest also, if you got ahold of yourself. Focus."

Is that the fate of us all?

"Mayhap this is a lesson to us all", turning to include Sabine in this, and talk up at Olaf "I felt it, I know you did, little puppy, and you did too. Mayhap Seska did, I didn't see her. But this appears to be something we all have to deal with."

But I'd be a liar if I said it wasn't a seductive offer it made.

"So, on top of our problems, we now have to deal with bouts of animal fury."

It never rains, it pours.

"Be on guard, everyone."

And I am downhill from a latrine.

"Olaf, please put him in a chair, on the opposite side of the table from the rest of us. Something nice and solid between his intended victim's party, and himself. In case he comes to still within his fury."