Vampire: The Requiem - Howell University

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Loredoctor
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Vampire: The Requiem - Howell University

Post by Loredoctor »

Please post in here for Stories relating to Howell University.
Last edited by Loredoctor on Sun Sep 27, 2009 1:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Tatiana Ivanova
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Post by Tatiana Ivanova »

Fresh from Khalida's apartment, Tatiana wound her way across the campus, looking at various flyers, looking for any student clubs meeting this night with a political bent, or women's groups. "Paganism in Power, sounds like a real winner" she muttered to herself, as she carefully noted where the group was meeting, before heading over. This would make an excellent initial base to build herself an entrance into mortal politics.
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Post by Loredoctor »

Tatiana walked onto an open courtyard. Three sides of the brick court were surrounded by a u-shaped building that may have been built in the nineteenth century. Opposite the building was a single-storey lecture hall or a more modern design. A group of students, around twenty individuals of varying ages, were milling about the entrance chatting and smoking. Not a few were glancing at Tatiana. One in particular, a bearded male wearing jeans and a sports jacket was smiling appreciatively as he glanced over her. Beside the entrance was a sign advertising the evening talk. "Paganism in Power".

After a few minutes, a woman confidently strode out from the archaic building. She was carrying a pile of books and several sheets of paper were tucked under her arm. However, she did not appear to be struggling, and when she reached the lecture hall turned around quickly and looked at the group.

"Paganism in Power, ladies and gents," she said aloud with a southern accent. "This way please, and turn off your mobiles."

The group filed into the hall.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Tatiana Ivanova
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Post by Tatiana Ivanova »

Tatiana kept to herself mostly. This was her first visit. She worked the edges of the crowd. Trying to not leave too strong an impression yet..assessing the group. Learning the "Who's Who". Observing the factions, uncovering agendas, marking points of contact with administration, government.

But the people who also had ties to PRIDE, those she strove to cultivate. Easily calling upon the endless hours of training, she let her eyes light up, the blue of a summer sky across the steppes, as warm as noon.
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Post by Loredoctor »

Tatiana walked with the group as they filed into the lecture hall. Straight away she assessed her companions. Most were students, although judging by their age range and style of clothes she guessed there were not a few postgraduates. Some faculty members were there, talking energetically to other staff about university issues and the latest journal articles. That left a few people in the group that likely were from outside.

The lecture wall was not very large. The seats were very comfortable and faced a raised platform. A whiteboard sat on the wall behind the platform. The lecturer was already writing on it, the names of historic figures.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Tatiana Ivanova
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Post by Tatiana Ivanova »

Tatiana simply listens. She is simply learning the name,s faces, and agendas of the major players. Essential groundwork before moving in.
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Post by Loredoctor »

Tatiana observes a senior lecturer, several senior staff from the faculties and many students and not a few individuals external to the campus. She does not see any Kindred.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Tatiana Ivanova
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Post by Tatiana Ivanova »

Having accomplished her goals this evening, Tatiana makes polite small talk with those she marked. The leaders of the group who have some real influence outside of Pagans In Power, members who have ties to other groups to cultivate, and those rank and file members who are leaders in fact though not name.
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Post by Loredoctor »

This ends the Howell College encounter.

1xp for roleplaying.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Tatiana Ivanova
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Post by Tatiana Ivanova »

--edit--removed due to getting ahead of Storyteller...
Last edited by Tatiana Ivanova on Thu Oct 01, 2009 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Khalida Mufarrij
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Post by Khalida Mufarrij »

[continued from Old Town]

The library on the campus of Howell University is brightly lit and quietly humming from the whispered conversations of students in study groups or talking quietly to themselves as they made notes while doing research. Moving to the kiosk to reserve an internet computer, from which she could both research online and access library files, Khalida enters her student identification number and awaits her computer assignment. The monitor screen flickers a warning message with a red border around the edges:

This account number is inactive and may only be used for research purposes. To check materials out from the library, please report to the circulation desk and request a non-student/non-faculty guest account. Guest accounts cost $500.00 per academic year (September through June), and $100.00 for Summer session (July through August).

...fine, just give me a computer already!
Pressing the OK button, Khalida is assigned her computer, #22, and seats herself in front of the monitor. May as well start with something easy. Launching dogpile.com (she always laughed at the name, but she found it quite effective to search 23 search engines with one entry), she entered the keywords: Emma Saint AND Lordenshaw City then started reviewing the results which popped up on screen.
Whispers in the dark,
intimately suggested.
Influence unfolds
…”

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Post by Loredoctor »

Khalida sits before a computer along a row of desks mostly unoccupied. To her far right sits a man hunched over his keyboard, scrubbing his tired face with one fat hand while the other rapidly presses keys. He looks at her for a second, licking his lips in attraction, and then returns to look at his screen. The library is deathly quiet, and in the distance a phone rings.

Finishing entering the search terms, Khalida looks at the list of hits:

1. Emma Saint committed to Riverview Asylum, Lordenshaw. A resident of Hati street, Emma was found with numerous bite wounds across her body . . .

2. Emma Marcus has once again delivered the powerful Saint etching to Lordenshaw Art Gallery. . . .

3. Saint Hall Hospital. Emma Rose welcomed by Lordenshaw Mayor . . .

4. Emma Saint where are you? Look behind you desert whore, I am smiling. Oh how I smile for you.

5. Time and again, Saints team of Lordenshaw city baseball pitch steal Emma's heart . . . .
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Khalida Mufarrij
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Post by Khalida Mufarrij »

Stunned, Khalida reads the list of hits again. Then opening a Word document to begin cutting and pasting relevant sections of each article, she opens the first hit...
Whispers in the dark,
intimately suggested.
Influence unfolds
…”

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Loredoctor
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Post by Loredoctor »

Refer to pm.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Khalida Mufarrij
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Post by Khalida Mufarrij »

Her hands shaking on the keyboard, Khalida looks the other hits over, and unknowingly holding her breath, discards the second, third, and fifth hit for now, clicking on the fourth one.

"Look behind you, desert whore, I am smiling," she mutters to herself ever so quietly, while attempting to smother a shudder. "Is there such a thing as coincidence? I'm beginning to think not, in this case..."
Whispers in the dark,
intimately suggested.
Influence unfolds
…”

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Loredoctor
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Post by Loredoctor »

Perception (Wits + Composure) roll: 0 successes.

Khalida senses that she is being watched. She turns her head slowly but there is nothing behind her but rows of book shelves. A librarian walks by and smiles at her briefly before moving on. In the distance, above one aisle, a fluorescent lamp starts to flicker and then dies.
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Khalida Mufarrij
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Post by Khalida Mufarrij »

Rubbing the back of her neck briefly, Khalida returns her attention to the monitor to see the results of the fourth hit.
Whispers in the dark,
intimately suggested.
Influence unfolds
…”

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Loredoctor
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Post by Loredoctor »

When Khalida looks back at the screen she immediately notices that the fourth option has changed . . .

4. Emma's Stained glass windows. Look behind the desert supplies store for the glass supplies that will keep you smiling . . .
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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Khalida Mufarrij
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Post by Khalida Mufarrij »

Khalida's right eyebrow lifts fractionally. What the hell? I didn't refresh the search page when I opened the new tab to read the first hit...

Shaking her head in confusion, Khalida noted the address of both the desert supplies and glass supplies stores. Perhaps a drive by later couldn't hurt. Again, just to see what may be seen...

Following through on the other three hits to be thorough, Khalida notes anything from each of them which might prove useful, then does a few more searches, entering phrases as keywords as she recalls them:

Dream interpretation AND "glittering golden water"
Lordenshaw City AND resonance AND "22"
three signs precede the "One Beyond Time"
"Daughter of the Desert" AND "The Eye" AND Lordenshaw City
"The Speaker with the Dreamers" AND Lordenshaw City
"The Ship with the Oft-Repeated Name" AND Lordenshaw City
"The Manipulator" AND Lordenshaw City
Green eyed raven
"The Walking Worm" AND Lordenshaw City
Man Covered in Teeth with 100 mouths AND Lordenshaw City
"golden eyed shadow"


A couple of hours later, as the last hour the library would be open that evening approached, her eyes bugging out of her head from following endless useless hits, Khalida prints off the Word document of what little information she gleaned from her searches and placed it in her clutch. Looking around, she spies the librarian who had smiled her way earlier sitting behind a wooden counter with a sign hanging over it which read "Reference." Gathering her belongings, she makes her way over and politely waits for the librarian's attention.

Research drawing upon Investigation with dreams as a specialty skill and Intuition as appropriate drawing upon Occult with vision interpretation as a specialty skill
Whispers in the dark,
intimately suggested.
Influence unfolds
…”

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
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Loredoctor
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Post by Loredoctor »

Research (Intelligence + Occult +1 [specialty] +1 [search engine]) roll: 2 successes.

During the time Khalida searches, she only manages to find a small amount of information. By the time she leaves, she gains an understanding of her experiences, and further sources to follow.

Importantly, an occultist by the name of Sandy Monroe published a book in the early part of the twentieth century. It was titled, Of Unseen Worlds and their Denizens and the Art of Touching the Veil. The book has been out of print since the decade it was printed, and only three hundred copies were made. Lordenshaw city has four copies, two of which are in the university. The other two are believed to be owned by collectors.

The search noted that the Walking Worm is "something that should not be seen" and a servant of the Maejin. It frequently is seen with the "Man with a Hundred Mouths", who is compelled not to lie or tell the truth but to force others to tell themselves lies. The Man is also rumoured to render people mute. The Worm is worse, but no one is sure why. According to the search, these two may indeed by the same being. It is suggested that they are facets of "a mirrored city known as Urkash Hratha".
Waddley wrote:your Highness Sir Dr. Loredoctor, PhD, Esq, the Magnificent, First of his name, Second Cousin of Dragons, White-Gold-Plate Wielder!
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