Vampire: Dark Ages (Vienna) - Chapter 1: The Colony

[Goatkiller666]

[GM Edit - I mistakenly named this thread "The Warrens" without remembering that I'd named the Weaver Caern the same thing. I'm changing the thread to "The Colony" to avoid confusion. The thread actually represents the entire rat area, including all three caerns.]



[Everyone in the Warrens is assumed to be in Rodens form. Most of the places are too small to allow for any other forms.]

Kaldrenzi woke in the common area, off the Ravaging. Many others from his Plague were present, and it smelled of home. There were hundreds of rats in the narrow tunnels with him, in a big moving ratpile. Most of his other wounds had healed up by now. The one in his rear leg still ached a bit, but it wasn't really a problem. The huge tear in his shoulder, on the other hand... even with the ministrations of the Mother of Ravaging, it still hurt some. The spirit bound within felt strange, but somehow comforting.

What woke him was an increase in activity of the rats in the pile. They were all crawling over each other to get to a new arrival. The Vengeance and the Mother had just walked into the area, and all the rats wanted to show their respect. After a little while, the Mother came to where Kaldrenzi was resting, sniffed at his shoulder, and spoke to him.

"Your wound is better. By tomorrow, it should be as well as it will get. I expect there will always be a little pain there, but that should remind you of your accomplishments, and your mistakes. A little humility can never be a bad thing."

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Chittering: "Aye Mother, I was in over my head. But the honor of our kin demanded I get it back. I have learned, and gained from the whole affair."

"My thanks again for the assistance with my wounds, and the gift bestowed in it. I shall do my best to fulfill what it means to us all."

[Goatkiller666]

"What do you plan on doing, now that you've recovered the item, what are your plans? Will you stay in Vienna?"

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Chittering: "I don't know at the moment. The kin have given it to me as reward for their vengeance served. I am at loose ends. With how badly the whelp savaged me, I wasn't sure I'd make it. Any plans beyond making the pain stop haven't formed."

"Of course, I am at your service, and any of the others of the caerns. I may seek the streets and wander, seeing who is who, what is what. See how They've ruined everything more. You'd be the first to know if anything amiss was there. A fresh set of eyes, unused to the typical Vienna humans patterns may see something from a different perspective."

[Goatkiller666]

Mother chitters happily. She rises on her hind legs, and gestures in an almost human way. "The full moon is past, when we celebrate Luna's gift of rage, the destruction of the Wyrm of Balance. But you were recovering from your wounds. Now that you can move about the city, you should go to the other caerns. Introduce yourself to my sisters and their guardians."

Her eyes twinkle in the near darkness of the warrens. "I hear the leeches have brought in some blood sorcerers. We do not want them to know of these caerns. Perhaps you can be of service to us."

She continues, "Something is happening with the leeches. There has been much activity. My sister has had many premonitions, but we do not yet understand them. We need eyes on the street."

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Chittering "Which do you suggest I go to first, and where are the leeches gathering. If there are any that you deem...removable, or just any in particular you want watched, I will happen to them, or scout and report back."

"The blood sorcerers, aye, we must be wary, those ones, they defile everything they touch, wether nature, human, or beast."

Recalling the local landscape on my way through to my last assignment, I mentally plot out the quickest, safest path to the next caern Mother mentions. If she mentions particular places of leech involvement, I may tiptoe around there.

[Goatkiller666]

[The Court thread is happening on the night of the Full Moon, which is actually a few nights ago.]

"Seek you my sister, the Mother of the Swarm. She follows the ways of the Wyld, and is the one to get visions. She says they are from Grandmother Rat, or perhaps from some spirit of our kin, lost in the Deep Umbra since the War of Rage." [Vienna custom is to refer to Mother Rat as "Grandmother Rat" since the three Caerns are run by those who call themselves "Mother" as well. The implication is that Mother Rat is yet still higher in respect than any of the three, for they do not wish to imply any greatness on their own parts.] "Regardless, she gathers the clues, and the Mother of the Warren makes sense of them. It falls to me and the Vengeance to bring down Grandmother's Wrath where it must be brought."

She places her paw on Kaldrenzi's injured shoulder and chitters a prayer over it. "May this pain keep you always focused on the great tasks that lay ahead of you." She squeezes it, hard, drawing a squeek of pain in the process as she ends the blessing.

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Chittering a squeek of pain at the grasp on the tender shoulder.

"I shall heed your wisdom Mother, and travel to the Swarm seeking the wisdom of the Mother there."

"May Grandmother's blessing fall many upon us all, and woe betide those who cross us."

Working my way out of the Ravaging, exiting through the Lee of the Stone, peering around for any onlookers, and upon seeing none, shift to Homid, and begin towards the Caern of the Swarm, by way of Vienna proper, seeing if anything sparks my attention that would be worthy of note to any of the Mothers.

[Goatkiller666]

Kaldrenzi is walking along the streets of Vienna. It's mid afternoon, so the leeches are still hiding from the sun. But there are humans aplenty about. The Ravaging is beneath the City's barracks, the Rage from the caern even attracting the city's more martial inhabitants. There are plenty of soldiers nearby as Kal makes his way to the Swarm. As he begins to pull away from the area with all the soldiers, a great racket can be heard. Several knights, wearing various foreign colors can be seen riding the other way, headed towards the barracks. They're not racing by, but the people on the streets make way for such notable nobles anyway. After the knights go by, a boy follows on a small mule, smirking.

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Seeing the knights in all their armor clanking by, I look at pennants, crests, and coats of arms. The humans place great store in such things, it maybe worth noting who is what here.

The boy smirking strikes me as out of place. Unobtrusively, I try to join into any "groupies" who are following the procession, keeping an eye on the boy. If none are groupie-ing, note the general direction of hte procession, and take sidestreets and alleys to keep them in sight/their path.

Something is going on. I want to know what.

[Goatkiller666]

There are eight knights riding, showing colors from six different places. All are Christians, but you don't recognize any of them for certain. There are two wearing the same colors, which look somewhat familiar, but that's all. You can make note of them for later. You just don't recognize any of them at the moment. None are local, to be certain.

They're taking the wide street back towards the eastern gate, so it's easy to follow them. The smirking boy follows along on his mule, and the rearmost knight doesn't abuse him for following so closely (some knights would).

You basically retrace your steps, nearly to the area where the Ravaging starts to have entry tunnels (there are many, spread over this area of town), when they veer to the south into a large clearing. On the far side of the clearing is a church. The knights ride into the clearing, dismount, and walk into the church. The smirking boy follows them, almost skipping as he goes.

This is one of the nicer churches in town, dedicated to Mary Magdalene. Generally, only the well to-do are there, mostly minor nobles.

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Interesting, band of 8, nobility or playing at it, one boy extra with arrogance to match the bands swagger.

Checking my surroundings to make sure I wasn't being followed, head back towards my original destination, mentally replaying their features for later identification with the Mother I'm going to speak with.

[Goatkiller666]

Kal arrives eventually at the western gate to the city. Like the eastern one, it's a long bridge across the city's moat, that runs into a fortified wall. This area of town has several small rat-holes that he can easily spot, which lead him down to the tunnels of the Swarm.

The Tunnels of the Ravaging were darker, more oppressive. You always felt like you were about to be attacked, even though you were surrounded by your fellow rats. But the tunnels of the Swarm felt safer. There is no light, so it's not brighter. And the tunnels are no wider or firmer. But the feeling was of curiosity and playfulness rather than violence.

Kal's shoulder is no longer so attention-grabbing, though if he focuses on it, there is still some pain.

The rats are moving into and out of this area much more, heading for the deep tunnels that run all through the city.

As he approaches the main chamber, a cave big enough for several humans to fight in, he sees that the coming and going of the rats seems to all flow into and out of a single tunnel in the wall to his left. Several larger rats stand by that doorway, sniffing those who approach, and waving them in. Behind them, stands a crinos ratkin, mostly relaxing. This is probably the Champion of the Swarm. Nobody seems to be Mother, though.

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

To the doorguards chittering "I am Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff, the Mother of the Ravaging sent me, I come seeking the wisdom of the Mother of the Swarm, her visions of the Wyld. The leeches are afoot. I wish to be armed with all the information I can get before looking into their activities."

"I may have information already that may help, her visions may give clarity to what little I've seen."

[Goatkiller666]

The crinos leans in, standing hugely over the regular rats around him. "She's busy with reports. Wait here. In an hour, she'll be available."

During even this quiet conversation, something like 200 rats have gone into and out of the door.

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

New guy gets brushed off.

"Alright then, I'll do more scouting on the actions of the leeches who seem to have their minions moving much during the day and themselves moreso at night. The band of knights who just strode into to town acting particularly unlike normal human's nobility may bear watching also. Especially in light of Mother's visions."

I turn and scurry away, mission semi-accomplished. Mother will get the information. That's the important part.

[Goatkiller666]

The crinos calls out to Kaldrenzi. "Wait. Which knights? Describe them."

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Turning tail to return to the Crinos.

There are eight knights riding, showing colors from six different places. All are Christians, but you don't recognize any of them for certain. There are two wearing the same colors, which look somewhat familiar, but that's all. You can make note of them for later. You just don't recognize any of them at the moment. None are local, to be certain

"It was very untypical of the local humans to part for them like they did, being foreigners."

"There was a boy following them, unlike most of their nobility, they let this one tag along, close. He was a rather smug child, almost disrespectful. He may have been part of their band, but I can't say for sure."

[Goatkiller666]

The Champion chuckles, when he hears the description of the knights. "Those are garou. Some mixed-tribe pack from the Crusades. The boy is their newly sworn 'squire', a Bone Gnawer of our city. I'm told he finds it very amusing to be seen in their company."

He settles back down on his haunches. His manner is much more relaxed. "Thank you for the information, but we need not break Mother's trance for that. When she is done collecting from all the rats, she will come out, and you may talk to her then." He gestures to a section of floor next to him, and out of the way of the flow of rats, an invitation. "Are you the one who killed the garou who murdered our cousin? Mother of the Ravaging is tickled pink with that story."

["Cousin" here means "fellow rat".]

[Kaldrenzi Culls-The-Chaff]

Shift to Crinos, where my scar is rather noticable.

"Yes, I was the one who avenged our cousin. We all have our roles, I fulfilled mine. It was also a lesson."

"I learned he was Garou just as Fleshrender entered his neck. After stalking him, he gave no sign of his nature. I was overly eager to meet justice and didn't reconnoiter enough. He almost hit the ground cleanly. He howled and rose seeming before he hit the ground, looking almost unhurt, and charged. I danced away, trying to make room, but he was typical of his kind. Rend Tear Roar. No finesse."

Looking at my shoulder "He cornered me eventually, without a place to scurry into, he lunged with both paws out. I dodged to one side, one missed, but the other sank clean through my shoulder. He looked suprised as he noticed that my weapon had sank clean to the hit into his chest. His own effort ensured it went in nice and deep. Underneath that much fur and fat, I made sure he was dead. Removing his claws from my shoulder almost had me join him in his eternal sleep."

"I found the blade on him, managed to make my way to the Ravaging, and collapsed. Tended and mended, and a touch wiser now, I am returned to do whatever duties I may for the Sisters. For now, it's scouting and spying."

With a gleam in my red eyes "Nothing else is off the table though"