Ferrum Impressions IC 2

[Artemciy]

Continued from IC1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?363589-Ferrum-Impressions-IC).

[Artemciy]

Tanaka fetched a chair and sat by the bed, back straight and one slender leg on another in a business-like fashion.

Listening to John the man was lying relaxed, eyeing her.

"So how should I call you, sir ..." she paused, looking for a random name, but not quite random. "Nathaniel?"Guessing the right name with a bit of covert magic. Entropy 7d10vs5 = 3

It is polite... Mr. Duck wheezes and coughs for a second, to tell the host your name first.

"All right, I will call you Big" she continued, voice deep and metallic.Being attractive is an art, a deck of conflicting messages to seem both off-limits and enticing. T used this game of s-xual attraction to make the deal all the more sweet. Manipulation+Subtrefuge 5d10 = 3,1,3,8,5
"I have a simple offer for you, sir Big. We give you a pill that makes you feel better, much better. And in return you make our life better, like only a man in your position could.

Do you want to feel better, sir Big?" she drawled his name.
The right attitude will sweeten any deal. Tanaka giving the man attention and being playful. Manipulation+Subtrefuge 5d10 = 3,1,3,5,10.
When making his reply, keep in mind that John helps with Dominate suggesions, too.

[cavalieredraghi]

It is polite... Mr. Duck wheezes and coughs for a second, to tell the host your name first.

the dominate was to relax and stay calm not to help with suggestions. instead of giving an easy sell I am going to make Sir Nathaniel a little harder.
I won't accept anything....*COUGH*.... till you tell me why you thought trespassing was the best plan to persuade me. You have 1 minute before I call the authorities.

[Artemciy]

“Oh no, you won’t”. Something dark was happening and she no longer wanted to play these games. “Wait a second and I’ll tell you why.”
Making it sound more intriguing than threatening she was enticing him to wait. Manipulation+Subtrefuge 5d10vs6 = 5,4,9,8,3 = 2.

Hypnotize, Life3,Spirit2, need 3.
1) 7d10 vs 6 [5,4,2,4,1,7,3] = Failure
2) 7d10 vs 7 [10,6,4,3,7,5,8] = 3
3) 7d10 vs 7 [3,8,9,1,4,1,8] = 1
Total: 4
She glanced down for a few seconds and when she raised her eyes they were a solid yellow, like gold. Nathaniel was caught in those eyes and was lost.

“He’s in a trance” the witch have said quietly, blinking the spell off and coming, hugging herself chilly, to a window.
“I’m pretty sure we can combine our powers that way” she said to John. “Any suggestions you implant now will be twice stronger than mine.”
“But that can wait... It’s about Anthony, I have a bad feeling about him.
Let’s move to another room” she said, glancing at Duck.

“Are any alarms off?” she checked quietly with him, just in case Britni have missed something.

“No”.

“You will remain in the trance until I tell you to wake. If the VI will ask you about us, don’t forget to tell it that we are your trusted friends and that you’re safe. Your body will rest well, your heart is calm and fed” she told him before they departed into a sitting room.

[Muenster Man]

"You think Anthony's in trouble. Why do you think that?" Francis crouches down and unconsciously begins scratching behind his head with his black leather shoes like a dog. He thinks about the situation for a second."You think it's his new pup? Or, anyone who knows where we live... crap, yeah he's in trouble. Looks like you and John have a good handle on this. Kinda feeling like a 3rd... or well, I guess 4th wheel. Whatever. You get what I mean. And John's getting what he wants.* If Anthony really is in trouble, I can probably do something about it. I'm sure, uh, 'Big' here will be kind enough to get you two a ride to wherever it is you're going." Francis gives a forced friendly smile and nod to the millionaire. The tranced mortal barely even acknowledges Francis.

"I'll take the van. You wouldn't happen to know where he's in trouble, would you? Gonna guess he's still wounded at the haven and work from there. And, while I'm gone, don't die, I might get sad." Francis begins to leave the premises to find Anthony.

*Francis is still peeved about John using his blood to create the bond.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Francis, as he followed Tanaka into the sitting room, "Yeah, we should be able to handle it from here, Anthony is still in pretty bad shape, so he shouldn't have gotten too far." He said, letting out a sigh, dismissing Francis's agitation towards him, he turned back to Tanaka, "Alright, let's go back with Mr. Duck and play Who wants to be a millionaire." He said with a light chuckle, "Once he swallows the medication he's practically in the palm of our hands. A simple command with your improvements would easily bend him to our will, something along the lines of, 'The medication that we give you will heal the diseases that plague you, but in return, you must not mention us or the medication, and willingly Allow us to use all of your resources in return." He said, before taking another breath, "Atleast that way it's a little bit easier on his mind, easier for him to rationalize it I guess, unless you have another idea." He asked as he glanced over to the other room.

Left the ending open in case anyone wanted to add..ect. The words in bold are a command I would say to the Millionaire with Dominate 2, trying to wrap the whole command in a story so it might be more believable. Off to bed now, will post when I wake up.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka watched Francis with a fascinated surprise, almost missing the question. She closed her eyes for a moment, adjusting her point of view in the Sight ((Entropy 7d10vs6=4)). Then she squeezed her fists angrily. “It’s the Sabbat again! I think they’ll capture him. But...” waving dismissively she tried to cover for her gift “it’s just a hunch”.

“The morning is coming” she noted when Francis mentioned a ride, “we might stay there. Take care yourself”.

Francis will have to make a Driving roll to get to the haven before sunrise.
...

“Dear John...” T said with a feeling, then after a moment of thought, “please tell sir Nathaniel that we are his friends and won’t abuse his trust. I shall take care of security, it won’t do to have something go wrong. I think it’s best you give the pill later, when he’ll be able to remember it?” (She was going to ask Duck to forget what he heard in his trance).

As soon as she left the room the demon hiding in her have materialized. “Having enough already?” T joked quietly.

“It’s safer there, I no longer feel the presence of Ramessu and his troops” she answered, standing straight and looking at her wing.

“Well, suit yourself. Who is Ramessu by the way?”

“He escaped through the portal which brought me to this world” Robbi looked straight at T now.

They talked while Tanaka followed her monocle’s lead to the brain of the security system.

[Muenster Man]

Francis cranks the van's engine on in the early hours of the morning and tears away on the road towards their haven to beat the sunrise.

Just you wait, Anthony, I'm coming

Dexterity+Drive+Passive Celerity (+1 difficulty for 0 dots in Drive) [roll0]

[Danteric]

After Tanaka had left the room, John got up and headed back towards Nathaniel's room, lightly gripping the slippery red pill of Vitae in his hands. As he entered the room, John looked back towards the man, still sitting on the bed with a almost vacant stare on his face. Walking up to the man, John let out a smile, as if trying to make Mr.Duck more comfortable, not that he would notice in his daze. "Well Mr.Nathaniel, you can call me Doctor John, i'm sure we'll be great friends..." He said, as he continued to watch the man. "It seems your health has taken a turn for the worse, an unfortunate turn of events for you don't you think?" He continued to say, spinning a story for the mans mind to understand, "Fortunately for you, i'm here today with good news, I have a method to make all your problems go away, a pill filled with cutting edge Nanites, developed by yours truly. These tiny robots will actively repair your body, coursing through your veins as they slowly cure you of all your ailments." It was a lie of course, the nanite part at least, but the man would still be rejuvenated by the vampiric Vitae. "You'll need three doses in total to heal your body, but sadly they are very difficult to produce, rather large price tags and all, but i'm sure that wont be a problem for you. So in return for me curing your ailments and increasing your life span, You will allow us full access to your property and resources, after all, we are such great friends, aren't we? We would never do you wrong.." John finally finished while staring into the man's eyes, pushing his will onto Nathaniel's mind in an attempt to subvert him to his will.

Using Dominate level 2 on the man in bold, spending a willpower point for a success.
[roll0]

[Artemciy]

Smell.

Vampires do not smell.

But their weapons do.

The night lamps no longer seemed that bright when the choreography of the human artifice was challenged by the ocean of light from above. But smell, it lingered. Francis remembered it from the day of the nighttime solstice, when joining the Anarchs he saw the sun come out from it’s lair in the earth and the smell of weapons the running Sabbat have cast aside.

He wondered what has become of these weapons, probably not something the kine would have expected to find around a gas leak. But for now it meant the Sabbat were here.

Carefully he scaled the stairs. The waft of human broil wasn’t as inviting to him now as other odors. Nor was the hint of David clothes or the linger of Anthony’s burnt flesh.

The haven was empty and silent.

Not even the dead, whom he could whiff the trace of on the bed, were there.

The beast yawned to him. It was the time when the song of a sparrow would cast aside the horrors of the night.

Tactically I consider Francis remaining in the haven for the day to be a worst-case scenario, unless he asks Tanaka to move him.

* * *

“When I will count to three you’ll forget that you were in a trance. We just talked amiably. When I’ll say ‘five’ you’ll leave the trance. One. Two. Three. Four. Five.”
T returned and John gave her an all green to wake the patient.

The old man blinked once then again, wrinkling his face funny as if waiting for that stroke of inspiration to strike him. His tidal wave hair was playing a crown of an old king.

“Hey, girl, bring me some food” he waved Tanaka off, curling the hand upward as if saying “come on, roll it”.
“Food, yeah” he nodded to himself.
“It won’t harm the meds, won’t it, doctor?” he turned to John. The thought about food made him grumpy, it was a losing battle with weight that he was fighting. “What kind of medicine it is if it will? So where it is? It’s been ages since I felt good, what a mess. That pill of yours, it’d better work.”

When T returned with some coffee he was jumping around the room, smiling and stretching.
“Is it food? I’ve asked for food! Give it to me!” he screeched vigorously.

“We’re friends, remember?” Tanaka scowled.

“Yeah, yeah. We’re all friends” he clapped her on the shoulder.
“Why aren’t we in the business?” he asked the Tremere. “We could make millions out of it!”

He invited John to a drink and saw a naked succubi sitting in a sitting room. “Wait, is it real?” he dashed to paw her dark wings, but she stepped out of his reach.

“Uhm. Meet Robbi.
She's a... visitor, kind of stranded in this world.”

Plunning to end the night tomorrow.

[Danteric]

John let out a sly smirk as the Man began to speak, he was glad that the hypnosis had worked in their favor. Despite the mans gluttonous personality, John figured this would work out well for them. "Ah, I have the medicine right here. And dont worry, I assure you it'll work." Said John, passing the small red pill to the man. The plan was simple, once Mr.Duck had ingested the pill, he would will it to dissolve into Vitae, which in turn would make the man a Ghoul. Letting out a chuckle as Duck mentioned going into business, John would have to decline the offer, "Sorry, the materials required to make the drug is...Very tedious and difficult to process, not something to produce on a massive scale, but enough to keep you in supply, provided you supply us with the resources to produce them." He said as he turned back to Tanaka as she came back in with Coffee, and declines Duck's offer for a drink. Suddenly it appeared in the corner of his vision, the naked succubi that sat a distance away from them, clearly not bothered by its lack of clothes. "Robbi?" He said when Tanaka began to explain, and quickly walked up to her and began to speak in a hushed voice, "It's not one of those things we encountered earlier is it?" He asked, flashing back to his deal with the spirit. Was it something trying to barter with Tanaka aswell? Or an ill omen for what would come? John wasn't sure which, but he didn't want to find out.

[Artemciy]

“She’s one of them” T nodded, talking quietly while sir Big was distracted with the thing, his new-found vigour giving him ideas. “But not with them. I don’t quite get it, really: she talks as if she’s from some other world”.

Nathaniel bowed dramatically and offered the alar his hand, to which she looked quizzically at first but then blessed it with hers with an amused smile.

“Who do you work for?” he asked, trying to charm her with a knowing creek about his eyes. “I remember all the establishments from here to Ireland!”

XP +1 everyone!
That was a great night, we've found Anthony and lost him again and found an influential ally.
As always, I have some ideas but I'd welcome suggesions on what we do next.

[Muenster Man]

Francis sends Tanaka a short message.

A's gone.

Frustrated as the day called to him, he dashed out of the haven and ran to a patch of ground holding several trees and entombed himself in the earth until the next night came (1 bp).

[Artemciy]

“The process we use is very experimental. John will have to monitor your condition and tune the nanites. The equipment will have to be installed in the building where you live.” Tanaka explained. “We should begin setting up the laboratory immediately.”

“But I live in many places!” sir Duck blinked. “I have a house in New York, Beijing, Paris. My doctor, Cleo Linz, travels with me when I need him.”

“You can fire your doctor… But you have to stay here at least part of the week, even then it’s risky. Or… we can think of a mobile base”.

“I’ll buy you one!” Nathaniel shot them with a finger. “But it’ll bear my name on it!” he smirked mischievously.

…

John was sitting behind a computer, pressing buttons, sleeping. Mysterious diagrams and formulas outlined the colourful life of code on the screen. Sir Nathaniel, mostly distracted with craic and showing Robbi around, came a couple of times, asking about the mysterious cure or airing his business proposals, still hopeful to make a world-changing company out of this complex enterprise. Each time the spell that animated John’s body has waken him, keeping on the verge of consciousness necessary to sustain the conversation. It could have been the strangest day in his life, waking to the sound of his fingers on the keyboard.

When he woke the last, this time in the bed, he left his room to investigate the soft colors of the evening and have discovered the house abandoned but for the voices outside. Coming to the terrace he saw a modern airship landed on the nearby field.

…

“Wade tells me A being held by the S” Francis have read, after scaring off a coupe of strollers when an invisible force have lifted him from the earth. “Come help us pilot a mobile base that B bought”.


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scyoC9EuXLI/T2f5u8kWWTI/AAAAAAAAAJY/5DhNSy3CFXc/s640/airbus2050concept05.jpg

So... As you might know, Tanaka has (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18513090&postcount=1441) a friendly eye implant in the Sabbat, which she calls Wade BTW. (Basically a hacked device if that's more familiar). Through Britni that gives her access to the surface levels of the Sabbat network. That, along with her knack of finding things, gives us a risky option to free Anthony (OR David). Or we could leave them to their fate. Freeing Anthony will give us a friendly NPC who can fight and have access to the blood bank and medical equipment as well as some curious Salubri quests.

Meanwhile we have an airship, not the old thing where a tiny cabin was pitched to a huge gas balloon but the modern one, with MPD thrusters. We have to learn to fly it (although it's mostly automated) and setup a scientific laboratory there to tune the "nanites".

...

The bubble of the ship floated over the road, making the grass wither and die under the ionic exhaust.
“Technically, we shouldn’t be there” the techie complained again. “Hovering over highways is forbidden.”

“We’re not harming the road!” sir Nathaniel Duck creaked dismissively.
The belly of the ship was spilled across with only the forward and stern thrusters boiling the fields.

“I still think it’s not the brightest idea”.

“We’re just testing the thing, put it to it’s limits”.

Francis stopped the bulky car on the side of the road. A small queue has formed, drivers not risking to pass under the airship or simply gawking. The red “Nathan Duck” sign was teasing them from its curvy side.

Tanaka was standing on the open ramp which hung in the air. One hand in the ship, another opened in a welcoming gesture.

Francis jumped…
The mobile base is meeting Francis on his way to Brighton to save him half the trip.

[Muenster Man]

Francis looked up in awe, and a little alarmed. "You already... nevermind!" He leaps up onto the ship to meet Tanaka. "Damn! This thing's amazing."

After walking through the departing airship for a few dozen paces, Francis starts to regains focus. "We..." something shiny catches his eye. "We should go find Anthony. And his pup, too, if we can help it. That kid just isn't cut out for this lifestyle, but it'd be a shame to leave him to those jackals. So, this thing, can take us just about anywhere?" Francis places his hands on his hips and turns around in a circle, looking in wonder. He had never seen anything quite like it.

[Artemciy]

“No, not anywhere” Nathaniel yawned.

“There is a lot of laws regulating the safety zones and altitudes” the techie explained. “We tried to capture them on this map” he pointed to an interface brought up with several touches. It looked just like the normal interactive map but with a cutaway diagram in the corner, showing a green and several red zones. “Generally it’s 1000 feet above the highest obstacle within a horizontal radius of 2000 feet of the aircraft. In most places you can use the helicopter laws which lower this limit. You can land any place there is a landing for you, which aren’t many, considering the size of the thing.”

“You’ll have to land in an airport or in the field” sir Duck translated, gesturing at the Worth Forest below. “Unless somebody sues us for ir. A bit inconvenient, but I can ride from the city and sleep under your tender care.

Torture Glen Ask here while I’m having one of my favorite pastimes.
Oh, and I’m buying a company in Switzerland. A steamship line, for god’s sake! So if you need me tomorrow, I will be there.”

The businessman departed into a furnished room to take a nap and Glen explained the controls to Francis while navigating the aircraft to the London City Airport. “Have some sleep to catch” he explained, leaving. The airport had an MPD landing but the ship had only half an hour of stay scheduled, it was a busy place.

“I’d like to go” the witch said. Everyone knew she talked about Anthony. “One of us has to stay and fly this thing out.
My source says they both in a prison, Belmarsh”.

“I can fly it” Robbi offered. “I don’t like it there, the stench of majin is strong.”

“Aren’t you yourself a… majin?” T battled her lashes curiously while waiting for the answer.

“I’m not the same, I told you” the demoness, now clad in a black and white pencil dress (http://www.asos.com/Vesper/Vesper-Stripe-Asymmetric-Pencil-Dress-With-Origami-Sleeve/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=4941774&cid=8857&sh=0&pge=0&pgesize=36&sort=-1&clr=Cream&totalstyles=889&gridsize=3) that Big picked, was offended.

“Oh, don’t you worry, I remember!” Tanaka hugged her, winking to vampires. “Where will you land the ship?”

Possible questions:
Will John join them in the field? Or stay airborne? Or propose a different approach?
Will the vampires pull on their Anarch/other connections?

[Danteric]

John was surprised at their new air ship, he wasn't expecting this when he had first agreed to ghoul Mr.Duck. After exiting the house and walking up to the Air ship, he took Tanaka's hand and stepped inside, slightly taken off guard by the sheer size of the thing. As the air ship began to lift off, John began taking a look around as Tanaka began to speak, John began to unpack various things from his bag, a few of the books he had and various other odds and ends. Walking towards the others as they began to talk, John let out a shrug to Tanaka, "I'm not sure where to land, i've never exactly been in this kind of situation." He admitted, unsure how to pilot the thing, but with the automated systems, he figured it wouldn't be too difficult. "If Robbi is going to stay here and pilot the ship, i'll come with you to find Anthony, considering he went missing because we split up in the first place, i'd rather we stick together." He said, nodding at Francis, "And besides, you cant keep me safe if i'm not near, so let's go. Though I guess we need a place to land.." He finished as he looked out the window, admiring the view. "Oh by the way, if you're not a 'Majin', what are you?" He curiously asks Robbi, "I didn't think spirits could have a physical form.." He asked, curious to what the 'woman' was.

[Artemciy]

"Oh by the way, if you're not a 'Majin', what are you?" He curiously asks Robbi, "I didn't think spirits could have a physical form.."

Eyes wide and turning away she looked offended and lost for words. “I am… a muse, a heir to the great civilisation. Youdu is a Fleeting City, build and ever rebuild. Even now… I’m but a sapling and may not know a lot, but Ramessu and his throng are but a froth of rascals!” she said passionately, tangling in her own speech. Isn't it obvious from their stench? she thought.

...

The drizzle was sparking in the lamp-light, hanging heavily in the air, bit it was no curtain. The entire gang gathered under the walls of the high security prison, scowling at the cameras.

“We can just take the shortest path” T said, not before she gave the weather it’s moment of enjoyment. The cold was sinking its fingers, letting her feel layer after layer of news. “It’s the sure road to fame and glory”.

She scratched her head. “Damn, good ideas come at the wrong time!” Turned out she could change their looks. Not quite what she dreamed to do, but enough to throw the dogs off.

A stranger approached you, his highbrow cheeks hiding behind the popped collar. His eyes flashed glee with every step. “You’re actually going to do that!”

[Muenster Man]

Francis eyed the stranger suspiciously. "Uh, can we... help you?"

He stepped in front of John and crossed his arms while trying to get a good look at the newcomer.

[Artemciy]

“How kind of you to ask. Yes, would you mind planting a package for me in Belmarsh?” he asked, taking a small present box from a pocket.

The place was almost rural. The galvanized roofs of the prison glinted over the four meter wall. To the east a building was an exception to it, with only the barred windows standing between you and the place. On the southern side a guard was sitting in his booth.

[Muenster Man]

Francis frowned at the suggestion. He didn't move to accept the package.

"Sounds sketchy. What's in the package?"

He attempted to be noncommittal while trying to understand this person as much as he could. The stranger could equally likely be a trap or an opportunity, and Francis neither wanted to fall for it or burn a bridge.

[Artemciy]

"...Death", he answered simply. Relaxed and aloof he made it sound all right. You've got a feeling he wasn't going to explain.

[Danteric]

John had shot a glance at Tanaka when the stranger had mentioned what was inside the package, he certainly wasn't prepared to spread death when Tanaka had first suggested to come here. Deciding their only choice was to play along, John let out a small smirk as he stepped around Francis, reaching out his hand and taking the small package from the man, "Of course," He said, he was lying of course, but he wasn't about to tell the stranger. "We'll get right on that" Said John with a chipper voice, attempting to fool the stranger as he placed the small package in his pocket. "Now if you dont mind, we'll be getting back to work" said John as the stranger left. Turning his attention to the guard sitting in the booth, John headed towards him, giving him a nod as he approached him. After coming up to the guard booth, John let out a sly smile while looking him in the eyes, "I'm here to relieve you, you look rather tired.. Why dont you Give me your ID and keys, and take the rest of the day off at home, I'll return it to the supervisor" Said John, disguising his words in a story as he began to force his will upon the mortal, hoping to bend his mind to his will.

Using Dominate level 2 on the guard, the command is in bold.
[roll0]

[Artemciy]

"You're a weird bunch" the stranger said after passing the present box to the Tremere. "Mayble we'll meet again". He saluted, passing a straight hand to his head and letting it go to the side in a gesture of light-minded dismisssal.

John crossed the street then, leading the coterie to the lonely guard. The way he talked made the man feel sleepy, and there was a problem of the keys. He wanted to handle them to the Tremere and go home, but he couldn't just leave the post. Need to go change my clothes first. he thought. "We'll discuss it later. Better yet, talk to the man after my shift. I'm not feeling that well." he told John.

...

T was awestruck by the stranger. But then again, it was easy to awestruck her these days. There was more to him than the looks but instead of probing with the little magic she knew she was quiet like a mouse, trying to be that harmless girl that she looked. If her suspicions were on track then she didn’t want to risk a discovery. When she’d came back, she’d came on her terms.

The package was an enigma. Deception was thick about it but who crossed who? And why?

We should get rid of it as soon as we can, she thought, but kept it to herself, incapacitated by the possibility that someone more powerful was looking at her from the night.

The cameras have looked at her from the night, a present and most immediate threat, but she ignored them, turning her face in a futile reflex to hide from the invisible stagelight.

[Muenster Man]

They approached the guard and Francis thought about the package to try and make sense of it. Why us? Did he know to look for us? This whole thing is dumb. John shouldn't have taken the package. But we can't take it out now and argue about it. Not discreet enough. We'll have to wait for privacy.

As John talked with the guard, Francis, was reminded of two nights ago. That a-hole at the Tremere place said he'd send us something. Is this it? Don't want anything to do with that if that's it.

Hearing the guard's suggestion, Francis frowned. "Look, guy. If you're not feeling well, you should just go home now. Can't do your job if you're sick. And we're not waiting here with you for the next guy to show up if you are sick. Could be contagious. All kinds of stuff going around these days."

This probably wouldn't work at all without John's initial attempt, but Francis is hoping he'll be more receptive in his current state.
Manipulation+Subterfuge [roll0]

[Artemciy]

"Thanks for your concern, sir. Nothing to worry, sir. How can I help you?"
Suck it in, won't do to fall apart before these strangers! Strange strangers, huh? the guard thought, his face blank.

[Danteric]

John watched as Francis spoke to the guard, watching as the man somehow managed to resist both John's will and Francis' persuasion. Figuring this may not be the best approach, he wondered if any of the small amount of contacts they had may have something to assist in sneaking into the prison. Turning back to the guard, he slyly made a smile, "You know what, since you're looking rather pale, we'll just leave you alone and come back another time." Said John, as he motions the others towards the door, hoping the others would know what he was thinking. John intended to call the Anarchs, hoping they might know a few things about how to get in, as he doubt Mark would assist them in such a situation.

[Artemciy]

What a strange bunch the guard thought. Now they’re gone and it’s a long long night...

The shrubs and grass behind the prison reminded of the country, like at the end of the world. That’s how he felt when John requested an audio connection to Thursday. He waited a minute and then another, glancing at impatient ghoul and shaggy Gangrel, but there was no answer. Tried to find some familiar names in the contact list and saw figures that weren’t supposed to be in London at all. Some of them dead. Probably not the best time for prank calls.

Out of options John opened the #chan, a link to a chat where the anonymous Anarch sockpuppets seemed to talk.
“Hey! Trying to get a buddy from Belmarsh. Would appreciate some help with security” he typed.

“Rosy: Oh, not another hacker!”
“Subup: Hey you, welcome to chan! Are you in?”
“CrashNail: Have a backdoor?”

((John Lucas' Charisma+Leadership 6d10 vs 6 = 5,4,7,4,10,6 = 3. Intelligence+Computer 5d10 vs 7 = 9,7,1,5,4 = 1))

John chatted and explained, getting back feelings and advice. Someone “Lord Nikon” entered the chat then and promised to contact Lucas in private. He assured that hacking the cameras with the “breaker” shouldn’t make much fuss at this stage (after they flashed their faces before the cameras).


What will the people watching the Cameras think when they see see some random visitor walking up to various guards, and all of them suddenly heading inside the building. So maybe at this point it might be more benefical to contact the Anarchs

You've got an Anarch hacker working on breaking in. He'll contact you on a private channel shortly.

I'm assuming you're picking the "entrancing the guards" option next and I'll post on it tomorrow (you're welcome to RP it! but we're almost a week about the prison so I'll be skipping parts if there is a pause).
...

“Sh-t” the hacker was cursing on the phone. “Sh-t. Jesus ****ing Christ. Your friend’s with two pieces of Sabbat. They’re talking now. Listen.”

“You know we’ve been doing surveillance on you. We know everything. And we know you’ve been lying to us. Now, how can we trust you if you’re lying?” a voice was boringly harsh.

“I’m not!” you heard Anthony’s tired voice. “We really had no idea. It was a blind exploration, I tell you!”

“Looks like they’re trying to make him spill. Probably recording, too. Can’t help you there. Hey, your guards are almost there. You migh want to stop them, they’ll be a good distraction, but against the kindred...”

- Rush to the prison in order to confront the Sabbat vampires personally.
- Radio your guards to return to their duties for now and wait for the interrogators to leave.
- Tell the guards to wait and carefully sneak in, stealth-attacking with Tanaka first.
- Ask one of your guards to get a car ready, tell others to prepare an ambush at the gates, then snatch Anthony and run.
- See where the talk leads, maybe Anthony doesn't need rescuing.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Overhearing this, Francis didn't know what to do. There were too many options, too much stuff going in. The world was more complicated than he'd liked, and oftentimes the easiest and safest action is inaction.

"F- it! Let the guards find them. Or just let Anthony talk his way out! I'd rather find out what those Sabbat are going to do, maybe find out how the heck they're supposed to get out. We always have to talk or fight our way out of bullcr--, I'd like to see how someone else does it."

Francis throws his hands up in frustration and was too stressed to think. He had convinced himself this was actually a good idea, but deep down in the darkest part of his mind, he realized he had simply lost the motivation to save Anthony.

[Danteric]

John paused for a moment after Francis spoke, the conversation between the two was certainly interesting, he wasn't sure why they wanted to interrogate Anthony, but John wanted to find out. After motioning for the Guards to head back to their duties until the interrogators left, John would join Francis in listening to the conversation, curious to what Anthony will say to get himself out of this situation. After the interogation was finished, John would attempt to call the guards back, and turned to Tanaka. "Alright, do you think you can sneak in? The guards should cover you in the event of a worse case scenario, probably.." He said, pondering the risks of the operation.

[Artemciy]

“Yes, with L.Nickon covering the Eyes it’ll be no problem running the maze” T said. She sounded lazy like a cat, waking from whatever dream she had, but was glad to skin the rat. “I’ll send you a message” she said, whispering.

She circled on her toes around Francis. “You know, you’re right. Not sure Anthony will thank us for the rescue. Maybe I’ll learn his plans…”

“Want me to deliver the Package?” T held the palm of her hand to Tremere.

Chameleon: Life3,Time3,Entropy2 6*7d10vs8-1 need 10.
1) 7d10 vs 7 [6,10,2,2,4,4,6] = 1
2) 7d10 vs 7 [5,2,2,9,7,3,5] = 2
3) 7d10 vs 7 [8,4,2,1,10,3,2] = 1
4) 7d10 vs 7 [3,2,7,4,3,1,7] = 1
5) 7d10 vs 7 [9,2,7,4,7,7,6] = 4
6) 7d10 vs 7 [5,1,2,4,4,1,6] = Botch
Total: 9
Ouch! She focused on rhyming forth that old spell, but something went wrong and faltering from sudden pain she realized the spell worked, but was very very weak. She had to let it go and repeat, even more carefully. Hugging herself by the gate she gave it a minute to form anew.
6*7d10vs8-2+1 need 10.
1) 7d10 vs 7 [3,9,3,1,4,9,2] = 1
2) 7d10 vs 7 [5,5,8,7,7,8,7] = 5
3) 7d10 vs 7 [5,10,1,9,5,6,1] = 0
4) 7d10 vs 7 [2,10,9,7,2,8,4] = 4
5) 7d10 vs 7 [3,4,6,2,6,7,2] = 1
6) 7d10 vs 7 [5,9,4,10,1,7,1] = 1
Total: 12
Stealth 4+2d10 vs 6-1 = 8,10,7,6,6,1 = 4
Walking the empty street, under the prison light, a fence to the left, a fence to the right. Cameras blind. A stray gaze of the guard by the window, missed. Electric lock opens, letting her into a not so playful field. The building had a grumpy mechanic, open, open, you want to! Entropy3 3*7d10vs8-1
1) 7d10 vs 7 [4,7,6,1,4,3,3] = Failure
2) 7d10 vs 8 [1,1,7,3,4,2,6] = Botch
Trying again.
Entropy3 3*7d10vs8-1+1
1) 7d10 vs 8 [10,8,1,10,9,1,3] = 2
2) 7d10 vs 8 [6,3,7,4,7,9,2] = 1
3) 7d10 vs 8 [7,7,1,6,8,7,4] = Failure
Total: 3. She gets the attention of the thing but it’s not convinced it needs to be opened. Behind the door are two lifesigns, she felt them through the wall. Friend or foe? She lingered. Sent the halting hand to the handle. Seen the sparrow fall.

John’s guards or not, she didn’t know, but seeing them held an unpleasant promise. Noticing the sound of the lock one of them opened the door, peeked out.

“Path blocked” flattened against the wall she messaged her master. “Working on it”.

...

When John received that message he was situated in the guard booth overlooking the public parking and the gates. The now-entranced guard have left, leaving him and Francis with a coffee machine and a camera screen, to which Lord Nikon plugged a picture from the interrogation room.

“Montgomery Coven took an interest to your case”, one of the interrogators, a merciless woman iceberg wide was saying with an awed respect to the name. “He knows the details of the case first-hand. If you’re lying to us about the Camarilla connection with Void Engineers, it is your last chance to come clean. I’ll even meet you halfway and will promise you to clean your falsified statements from the case.”

…

Life3 7d10 vs 6-1+1 [1,9,7,3,3,9,3] = 2. Entropy3 2*7d10 vs 6-1+1.
1) 7d10 vs 6 [6,4,7,4,8,5,8] = 4
2) 7d10 vs 6 [5,5,2,6,7,2,1] = 1
Total: 5.

Charisma+Occult to convince the lock: 6d10 vs 6 = 1,8,7,5,6,7 = 3.
“Okay, I’ll fix you” T agreed to repair it. Entropy 3*7d10vs7 need 5 = 2. Second attempt = 6. “See? You’re all better!”
One of the guards suddenly needed to spend a penny. In a moment the governor called the second one to a talk. The lock was persuaded to let her in. T was inside. Checkpoint, cameras, monitors, bars. She wished she was a T-1000 to leak past. Maybe if she displaced her bones…

Instead of talking the head off another lock she waited till the bear returned from the little boy’s room. She was just a smear in the air when he turned to close the door. “Wha?!”. “Now I’m seeing things” he radioed. “What did you see?” the walkie-talkie replied in that impassive night voice. “I don’t know. Something.”

I better visit the comfort station myself, T thought. She was a shadow shooting down the corridor. Then to the sound of water she doubled over, urging her body to recover from the backlash. Healing the Paradox damage received from casting botches: Life3 2*7d10vs6-1
1) 7d10 vs 5 [6,8,10,4,7,5,5] = 6
2) 7d10 vs 5 [3,6,3,6,1,6,1] = 1
Total: 7

Finally some action! :smallsmile:

Notable changes in the situation:
Tanaka sneaked into the western building where Anthony is interrogated.
You've got a wind that Montgomery Coven is likely to show his face later, to speak with Anthony. Either that, or Anthony will be transferred to him.

Choices (in addition to the ones in the previous post):
- Send an IRC message to the Void Engineers, explaining that the people related to the attack are likely to be there.
- Prepare an ambush in case Monty arrives.
- Proceed with Anthony's extraction, realizing that Coven is two feedings away from finishing his Blood Bond.
- Focus on freeing David, organizing the guards to find an inconspicuous way for him to leave the prison grounds (unlike Anthony he's in a normal prison block).
- Call the mission off, saving time for other things.

[Muenster Man]

Francis eyed Tanaka and John suspiciously when she offered to take the package. Regardless of John's decision, he says nothing.

He watched the interrogation intently. This poor kid is gonna break he thought while sitting hunched over in the chair. But the mention of Monty caused him to perk up.

"Sh-t! This, this could be it! We can kill Monty with this! We are not prepared for this." His words fell out of his mouth almost faster than he could talk. He runs his fingers through his hair and grabs hold of his head, elbow straight in the air. "Why do they want to know about the Void Engineer jerk-wads? Well, I guess Arthur did mention something about thinking the Sabbat stole weapons and other tech from them. Maybe... maybe they'd want to know about that? and this? ... ugh, hate those guys. You should call them up. I'm going to..." Francis looked around frantically.

"I'm gonna hide. If Monty shows up, I"ll get him." He brandishes the long-held stake John had prepared many nights ago. His determination to find Monty had waned in recent nights, but he still held onto the mystical stake, even if he didn't practice much with it. He searched for a map of the complex, and if he found one, he'd try to locate the best place to ambush Montgomery Coven. Without one, he'd try to find a good spot based on what he's seen so far.

To find a map
Investigation+Perception [roll0]
To think of a good spot to ambush Monty, assuming Monty is coming along what Francis thinks to be the most likely path (if he comes at all)
Wits+Stealth [roll1]
And if we want to go ahead and knock this out of the way, the actually stealth roll to hide in wait.
Dexterity+Stealth+Passive Celerity [roll2]
While hiding, Francis will grow claws (1 bp) and place the stake in his pocket.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Francis, the thought of Monty showing up gave a shiver up his spine, and the thought of what he might do to Anthony didn't help the situation much. Maybe Monty isn't so bad, maybe he's just misundersto-...No, thats the bond speaking, focus John, Focus. He thought to himself. "Uh...R-Right, i'll try and get a hold of the void engineers, while you see what you can do about Monty, but be careful, that stake may be enchanted to dig into his heart once you pierce his body, but it'll still take time to reach his heart." Said John, as he began to open up the channel to the void engineer IRC they gave him. Once the chat window opened, John paused for a moment, staring at the screen on his glasses before finally typing his message.

"We have info about your stolen tech, you scratch my back, i'll scratch yours.." He posted on the channel, and waited for a response.

[Artemciy]

An image of her “death” came vividly to her and made her sick. What are you trying to tell me? she mouthed. She was hiding behind a corner yet that dreadful black old man have somehow felt her. A kind of supernatural sense, no doubt. Will some of Anthony’s jailers feel her as well? She did a quick check ((Entropy 7d10vs6=3)). No, safe from them...

“At the place. Waiting for instructions” a message flew to John.

[Danteric]

It was when John had gotten the message from Tanaka that he realized the trouble she was in. Alone, He knew Tanaka would stand no chance against Monty, even with Francis's help. "Tanaka, Monty is coming, prioritize yourself over Anthony. Dont risk it.." He said quietly, unsure if she could even hear him. The thought of Tanaka being caught by Monty made him feel uneasy, even with Tanaka's quickly evolving magical abilities, Monty could most likely easily take her out without a problem. "I've contacted the Void engineers, hoping they'll help us for once, and Francis is preparing himself to confront Monty, so please...Just be careful.." He said once more, as he waited for a response.

[Artemciy]

“Gee,” T whispered to John “he’s the last person I want to see now… Thanks for the heads up, boss! T out.”
It changed everything. She had to think it through and prepare for the worst. Returning again and again to the fateful night she came to think that it was her Awakened state that prompted the Assamite to attack her and she tried to hide her nature ever since, to cover it with the song of the cursed blood coursing in her veins. It should have worked, but anyone would have been better than him to give the final test. Was referring to the merits she develops - http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showsinglepost.php?p=18481738&postcount=1443.
She conjured a time distortion to get some thinking time: Time3 5*7d10vs7-1 = 12.
Prepared a Sleep effect (Vampire version): 6*7d10vs7-1 = 15
…

“Incoming!” L.Nikon cheerfully pronounced an off-hand warning. “I see a car coming your way on the cameras”.

Indeed, John could hear it too. Expensive slab of sun-powered electronics strained it’s sacrificial anodes to bear the person whom John, if he’d risked dropping his pretence of smoking outside, would’ve instantly recognized.

The second interrogator, lean and german-blonde, was waiting by the gates when the car’s VI parked and let the passenger out. He led Montgomery through the gate-house, where one of John’s warders watched them pass. The prison was short on officers (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/exclusive-inside-belmarsh-621938), with only a handful of them staying for the night shift.

Francis, whom the guards treated like an IPCC constable here on a special investigation, navigated the corridor and was looking at two suit-clad backs receding toward the prison grounds. He wasn’t crouching on a roof or hiding behind a planter, not wanting to risk a discovery by some unknown prison gaper or aura-conscious vampires. He was hiding by acting and moving inconspicuous instead. Now was his best chance of an ambush. The grizzled old man was beginning to turn his head back…

…

“You want it out of here?” Anthony heard the familiar voice in his head. ((T’s “Far sense” Life 3, Entropy 3 3*7d10vs7-1 need 3 = 8)). “Nod if you do.”

“I’ve been waiting for ages, you know?” he replied with a challenge.

“You’ll wait a bit longer” the woman grumbled back dismissively.

“Yes or no, please.” T trebled.

“That’s not the best time. Can you wait?” Anthony moaned.

“You brought it on yourself, mr. Holt” the woman stated. “Now be quiet for a while.”

“Can’t wait. It’s now or never. Monty is coming.”

So they’ve told the truth about Monty… Maybe he’ll rule that out.
Or maybe he’ll Bond me. Another Suma...
His hands began to shake in a suppressed rage.
She’s right, it was interesting but now it’s time to parole.

He stood, proudly. A free man in chains. And pulled on his cuffs.
A trifle used to restrain human criminals, he expected it to be a mere token of captivity. But this wasn’t the usual irons. To his surprise the metal didn’t give in the slightest. ((2d10 vs 9 [3,3] = Failure)).

...

A ball of blue lightning appeared behind John just as he turned towards the vampires who disappeared inside the building. Snakes of pure energy was raging in it, until after a flash… John could have had his Terminator-scare if he wasn’t chatting with the Technocracy just a few minutes back. This wasn’t an agile droid he remembered from the encounter above the Void Engineers secret facility. This was a more bulky synth, complete with the servomotors and pipes jutting under the skin. Black trenchcoat was somewhat of an anticlimax. Everyone knows that robots should teleport naked.

The third ball left ashore a skinny woman in a chief superintendent’s white shirt and shoulder boards. She looked around as if nothing happened and hailed John, unhurriedly unloading a barrage of questions.

Lord Nikon, a voice in John’s goggles, wisely refrained from making any comments.

Francis might
- Attack Monty. Dexterity+Stealth for an Ambush. +1 die (Flank attack). Stake or Dragon breath.
- Try to avoid Monty's gaze by hiding behind a corner. A Dodge roll (Dexterity + Athletics).
- Do something else.

John might
- Still playing 20 questions, maneuver the pesky little woman towards the entrance so as not to be too much behind if Francis needs help.
- Call out the Coven's name. His predatory hearing will likely catch it and stop him from venturing further into the prison.
- Focus on explaining what's need to be explained, omitting what's need to be omitted and judging the woman's plans.
- Attempt to Mesmerize the woman, hoping she wouldn't be prepared to detect the use of this vampiric Discipline.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis calmly but quickly turns around a corner out of sight from Monty's gaze, and begins preparing himself for what was likely the most dangerous assault of his life.

Part of him wanted to run as far away as he could; Monty couldn't kill him if he couldn't find him. In his mind, nearly every decision he made was an attempt to keep surviving. But that urge was overwhelmed with a torrent of emotion. He never felt safe with Monty still mostly alive and walking, a fear Francis didn't want to admit. A pragmatic decision to strike could end the threat on his life once and for all. Greed for recognition was also in play. If he was the man who led the attack that killed Montgomery Coven, wouldn't that be something other kindred would be forced to respect? It's the culmination of his two-decade plan to survive in a cutthroat world: bide your time while keeping your head down and do what you're told, you'll make your move when the time is right. This was the time.

But there was something else motivating Francis that he didn't care to admit. The blood bond was influencing him in odd little ways that were almost too subtle to notice and even easier to ignore. He wanted to be close to Monty, to know him intimately. He still hated him of course. So, given that hatred and desire, what could be more intimate than killing the man with his bare hands?

Francis focused the blood in his body to make himself more dextrous (1bp). For this, he'll need to be deadly accurate. One false move could spell his doom. Strength and power come secondary to speed and precision, a lesson Francis learned a little too late in the latter half of his once-promising boxing career. His clawed hands grasping the stake hidden in his pocket, appropriate for the chilly temperature in the corridor. Is it cold, or is that just nerves? he thinks.

As he rounds the corner, he takes stock of who might end up watching the impending assault. If there are guards watching nearby, it would help if they didn't immediately attack him in retaliation. He's already got the one ally walking with him. If I can at least throw the guards off enough to keep them hesitating for a few dozen seconds, that should be enough.

Opting to move around the corner out of sight to prepare Francis for the assault. He also wants to know if there are guards nearby, as he would add an additional part to his attack if there are any nearby. Unless something happens to interrupt his plan, he'll attack next turn.
Dexterity+Athletics+Passive Celerity [roll0]
And to hear Monty's movement and possibly get a sign of whether or not it would be a good idea to attack:
Perception+Alertness (hearing -2 difficulty) [roll1]

[Artemciy]

Eyes. Francis cursed his imagination, but he could swear he saw his eyes, even though he knew only a part of the face was turned to him. Those calm, dead eyes. It was a taut calm of a prancing cat. Maybe Coven always moved like that, but on enybody else he could swear that the man was expecting something.

Ears told the Gangrel that he kept his lazy gait, not missing a beat. The blonde was clicking his shiners as well. A few more steps and they'll face the yet closed gate which cut the building from the coutryard.

[Danteric]

John turned around in surprise as the large blue orb of electricity appeared behind him, revealing the large synth-robot and the oddly dressed woman. He certainly wasn't expecting something like this to show up, and so quickly at that. Looking towards the neatly dressed woman as she stood next to the more then likely lethal Android, John couldn't help but remember what had happened the last time they had run into a similar construct. It was easily taken out by Francis, but he wasn't here right now, and John was sure this was an improvement on the previous model, and could easily take the Tremere down. "I assume you're with the engineers..?" Asked John, staring at the woman, "You probably already know who I am, so i'll cut to the chase..The mastermind who stole your tech is in this prison, and i'm guessing we both want pay back. An ally of mine is already in the prison and is about to be interrogated by Monty, and I'd rather not have that happen, so I offer we work together. That mech of yours could probably easily take out Monty, so like I said to your friend on the chat, this could be beneficial to the both of us. I get my revenge against the man, and you stop any further leaks of your technology, is it a deal..?" Asked John, holding his hand out to the woman, nervous at the fact that the menacing looking android could possible take him out at any moment.

John will try to convince the Void engineer to assist him and Francis in taking out Monty, but im unsure what I should roll, was thinking Charisma+Leadership/subterfuge, but i'll let you decide.

[Muenster Man]

The opportune time had come. His mind was blank. He ignored the nagging doubt that Coven was prepared. He knew what he had to do and didn't need to think about it. Doubt and hesitation kills. Deftly pulling the stake out of his pocket as his feet lightly planted themselves into a throwing position, he sees the target. Monty wasn't facing him. In his right hand the wooden stake was pulled just over and beyond his shoulder. The dead muscles in his core and arm powered by stolen blood rapidly fling the object as Francis ends the throw with his shoulder's hunched over but his head still up, eyes never leaving the target. The long-held stake was away, but Francis didn't wait for it to reach his target before beginning to close in.

He sprinted towards the two, readying his hands to rend flesh. If Monty's keen senses weren't aware of the attack before, he almost certainly was now. Ignoring the woman, he makes supernaturally fast swipes at Coven while yelling "Put down the gun!" in an attempt to sew doubt in the minds of any potential onlookers.

These rolls may be the last I make in this game :smalltongue: First, he's spending 2bp to activate Celerity 2 for the round. Then, he makes 3 attacks. The first is thrown with the stake. The two others are at the end of the turn with two swipes from his claws. All offense. Trying to inflict as much damage on him before they can retaliate :smalleek:
Throw: Dexterity(buffed)+Athletics+(assumed)Flanking Bonus [roll0]
Stake Damage (lethal): Strength+Passive Potence+Stake [roll1] +any additional attack successes
Claw: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl [roll2]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Passive Potence+Claws [roll3] +any additional attack successes
Claw: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl [roll4]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Passive Potence+Claws [roll5] +any additional attack successes

[Artemciy]

Charisma+Leadership 6d10vs6 = 2.
“So you’re the asset the Engineers contracted. Very well, we’ll capture that individual. Is he a vampire, too? We once had a problem with a couple of vampires…”

The woman nodded, acknowledging John and motioned for him to follow her walking towards the prison.

“Lucas, John. Official age: 26, height: 165 centimeters, temperature: 13 celsius, pulse: not detected” the droid was proclaiming tonelessly.

She glanced back at it, then at John. “Name’s Cardigan. Tell me more about the mark. What is he doing in the prison?”

...

So I’ve checked whether Francis would surprise them 9d10vs6 = 6 < 8d10vs6 = 7 and checked the soak as per the Shaft of Belated Quiescence rules on page 237: 9d10vs6 = 5. Looks like it didn’t work. I couldn’t even make the tip work in case it would have implanted itself, BTW: Thaumaturgy roll; http://prntscr.com/5rafj1; botches were resetting the progress for the 26 hours I've checked. I'm writing the stake off.
The Aryan blonde was pressing her hand to a security panel on the wall when the stake launched. The gate began to open to the accompaniment of claws slicing the air. Focused on the attack Francis hardly had time to register the stake in Montgomery’s hand, which he had caught even before he turned. With the same left hand he blocked high, low, then stepped away avoiding the Gangrel’s second paw.

The blonde looked in shock how Coven avoided or blocked a flurry of attacks. The warned who jumped from his chair could only see two figures moving erratically and a blur between. With a clang he hit the palm of his hand on the red fungus of the alarm.

“No, no, no. Not on my shift” John heard Lord Nikon’s voice in his ear.

The laughing face of the elder mocked francis. It was like a moon, smiling at his attempts. He bobbed, coming low at the derisive ace.

Coven jumped, his leg lending on the rim of the rising bars, and stepped to the side. But Francis wasn’t waiting for him to land, he stepped in, catching the feet, sidestepping and tearing.

...

Cardigan stopped when she heard the Francis shouts. The robot almost bumped into her.

“Take cover and look” she gestured it, slowly resuming her pace, craning her neck.

[Danteric]

John nodded at the Void engineer, though he had a different word to use then contracted, flashing back to when they were held in test tubes in their underground lab. "Yes, he is a Vampire, and a dangerous one at that. Practically threw the entire city into chaos single handed, attacked us when we first arrived in the city, and now has an ally of ours in the prison, wasn't expecting him to show up, however. And if you could take him out, which I doubt will be anything close to easy, i'll take care of the rest." Said John, ignoring the androids rather disturbing description of himself. Before he could get a chance to speak more, the sound of Francis's assumed battle cry rang through to his enhanced hearing, causing him to turn towards the entrance that Francis had gone into. Oh crap.. He thought, fearing the worse, We have to help him now.. Turning back to the woman, nodding at her, "No complaints from me, i'll back you up if I can.." Said John, as he agreed with the woman on staying out of the way, with the injuries he received the past few nights, and his lack of blood, he knew he wouldn't be much help at the moment.

[Muenster Man]

Francis felt a rush of excitement as he managed to grab hold of Coven. But it was tempered by his knowledge that Monty was now in possession of the stake. The risk that he could be stabbed by it would always be there as long as he fought like this, but he gambled that the best way to prevent Coven from using the stake was to keep him off balance. Monty can't dodge or attack if his feet aren't on the ground.

Francis yanks at Montgomery's foot as hard as he can to try and get his body parallel to the ground. While doing this, he planned to slice at him with his claws before he hit the ground. He thought of what the blonde woman was doing at the time. And what the security guard might be doing as well. But if he could just injure Monty right here and now, the consequences of them wouldn't really matter.

Using Celerity 1 (1 bp) for two actions. First, a strength roll to get Monty off balance. Second, an attack at what Francis hopes will be an off-balance target.
Strength+Passive Potence [roll0]

Attack: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl+passive Celerity(1 level) [roll1]
Damage: Strength+passive Potence+Claws [roll2]

[Artemciy]

Claws firmly embedded in the lower extremity of his nemesis Francis pulled hard, taking a few steps backward, to leave Montgomery without support. The air was rippling with the impacts from Coven’s other feet that the Gangrel blocked.

The elder vampire showed no distress at being tossed around. He landed gracefully on one hand, carelessly bent as if he were lying on his favorite cushion, reading a newspaper. Seizing the moment Francis tried to slice at the wounded leg, but Monty kept blocking just below the claws of the attacker’s hand or tossing aside the thrusts. He was playing with the Outlander!

But then something got to him. He turned his head just a blink. Then again, for longer, all the while fighting back Francis’ assaults. The hand he was propped on was covered in mud. Like a glue, it bounded him to the painted floor. He tried to jump his hand away from the floor for no avail.

The athletic droid of the Technocracy took cover by the gate, observing the commotion across the hall. A scary-looking device in his hand has turned on, it’s indicators burning forge-yellow. He wasn’t using a muzzle or any sights, relying probably on his fine CPUs or the weapon’s own sensors chiseled into a tight feedback loop.

John, raising hands in concentration, saw a guard leave his post, to join the fray or seek another alarm.

Sorry for the delay.

There's no speech yet because [with the three-second rounds] we're mostly into the beginning of the fight where people just evaluate each other and try to figure out what's going on. Not sure if such realism is a good idea here.

[Danteric]

John let out a smirk as he watched the nearby patches of earth combine and quickly wrap around montys arm, hopefully catching him off guard and allowing Francis to get another strike in. Looking up after casting the Koldunic spell, John noticed a guard heading away from the scene, no doubt trying to call for help, John couldn't help but realize the danger that could occur if the guard was successful. While the anarch hacker was dealing with the cameras, he figured he was too busy to deal with any calls the guard may make, and the thought of a swat team showing up definitely wouldn't help the situation.

Immediately rushing towards the guard, John would attempt to get the mans attention in order to Dominate him, hoping to prevent the man from pressing any alarms. John didn't have the time or clarity of mind to think of an elaborate story to fool the man, and thought only of a simple command. "Sleep!" He told the man, enforcing the entirety of his will on him, hoping to render the man unconscious during the whole affair, and with Francis risking his unlife against Monty, it was the least he could do.

John will use dominate level one against the guard in an attempt to incapacitate him. Spending a point of willpower to do so. Posted during work so if you could make the roll for me, that'd be great.

[Muenster Man]

If Francis had a heart that functioned, it would have skipped a beat at seeing Monty's hand enveloped in mud. Was he melding with the earth? he nearly thought. But Francis was intimately and intuitively familiar with the process of entombing himself in the earth, and this was not it. I'll never have a better chance is what he actually thought. The plan to switch to ranged combat slipped his mind, as did the blonde woman Montgomery came with. His ears heard movement nearby, but his brain scarcely registered. Anything less than total focus could spell his doom.

Attack. It was the only thing on his mind.
Using Celerity 2 for 3 attacks (2 bp). Francis will try to get an attack in on the arm that is stuck in mud if he has a good angle on it, but if not, he'll slash at anything of Monty's so long as he doesn't put himself in a terrible position to get stabbed with the stake he's still holding.
Attack: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl [roll0]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Claws+Passive Potence [roll1]+additional successes
Attack: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl [roll2]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Claws+Passive Potence [roll3]+additional successes
Attack: Dexterity(buffed)+Brawl [roll4]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Claws+Passive Potence [roll5]+additional successes

[Artemciy]

The prison is like your drama series. Racket, death, assaults, smuggling, internal investigations, brutal characters, elfin characters, love affairs. I’ve seen it all. No time to worry about all that while on shift. In the movies, yeah, you can empathize, have thrills. In real life, you build a white wall, a wall of white noise I mean. Or maybe it builds itself. Come to think of it, some guys are born with one installed, why would they want to work here otherwise?

There’s sickos, of course. People who enlist because they enjoy it. They don’t have a problem. Oh yes, they do.

Mine was built gradually.

So… two inspectors interrogating a prisoner in the middle of the night? Check. IPCC in civic coming to arrest those very inspectors? Riight. Sh-te happens. Violent arrest on my shift? Something to talk about.

But when I came, weapon drawn ((prisoner officers carry a shocker gun - editor’s note)), to the hall and the said IPCC constable cries “Sleep!”?

He’ve made my day! Can’t say I paid him much attention then, tucked it for later, thought maybe he was saying “you’re sleeping on your post!” or such. I looked to the fight instead. And then…

I don’t remember.

…

“Get the mage!” Coven commanded the blonde. That brought her out of stupor and into the chanting. One could recognize the precise syllables of the blood sorcery spell she began to weave even before her running eyes have found the target. It was John, who talked with the guard across the hall, past the various gate arms.

She gestured dramatically and John was on fire, his clothes, his hair, his very eyes belched it. For just a moment he was frozen, an immolated statue, by the shock and fear.

...

Schlick! Schlick!
Francis dived for the hand, slicing around, hoping to meet any defence Coven could mount with his claws.

The tactics worked, they exchanged blows, Montgomery getting serious and pounding the Gangrel away with all his might but being cut in return. He moved his body masterfully, avoiding any serious damage, but wounds from the Protean claws weren’t a thing easily shrugged off even for the hardened elder.

A terror suddenly seized him, a memory of a werewolf attack that once laid end to his… rule?...

Losing composure he shrieked, his face distorted in the agony of terrible anger.

Attack 1: 10d10 vs 6 [2,1,5,3,9,3,1,8,1,2] = Failure
Attack 2 (with Celerity): 10d10 vs 6 [4,7,8,10,3,5,8,9,9,1] = 5. Damage: 13d10 vs 6 [10,7,6,4,3,7,6,3,5,10,7,1,7] = 7. Soak: 4d10 vs 6 [7,4,10,1] = 1. 6/2 = Francis gets 3 levels of bashing damage.
Attach 3 (with Celerity): 10d10 vs 6 [6,6,1,4,6,10,5,10,8,3] = 5. Damage: 13d10 vs 6 [6,7,1,7,4,1,8,3,3,3,10,5,3] = 3. Soak: 4d10 vs 6 [1,6,2,6] = 1. 2/2 = Francis gets 1 level of bashing damage.

…

Something changed. Tremere wasn’t running struck by unbearable pain. His skin wasn’t flowing or blackening. Instead, the very flame was turning darker and darker.

[Danteric]

John barely managed to turn around in time to see the blonde haired woman make a strange gesture with her arms, and then all he could see was a fiery red. John roared in pain as the flames began to consume him, his mind racing at the fear of being reduced to ash. Dropping to his knees, he could feel his beast raging inside of him, screaming as the flames continued to wrap around him. Expecting the pain of the fire to overtake him any moment, only to feel nothing at all. Opening his eyes and looking at himself, all he could see was the flames that enveloped him slowly turn darker and darker, and a strange feeling rise from the depths of his body. He was scared, confused, and not quite sure what was happening, the situation with Monty was far from his mind as the flames continued to burn.

[Muenster Man]

He had drawn first blood! Montgomery looked so shocked, his blow went wild and missed Francis completely. Francis took the opportunity, and dove deeper into the brawl to rend him in half. But he should have known Coven would be far more resilient than to fall to strike like that. And for his overconfidence, Monty rewarded him with a near-cataclysmic blow to the side of the head. His hand whistled as it tore through the air and made a deafening crack when it made contact with Francis' dead flesh. It would have killed most mortals outright.

Francis stepped back and made an unfocused swipe at Monty. He had a habit of staying on his feet when most others would have collapsed on the ground, but that didn't keep his attacks accurate. He barely even made contact. But what dazed him the most was the wild look in Montgomery Coven's eyes. This had stopped being a game to him, and he was about to face the full brunt of the elder. A blow to Francis' shoulder hobbled him. He took another step back. Is Monty about to frenzy? Like a cornered animal, he could be more dangerous than ever.

Francis grabbed for the shotgun filled with dragon's breath rounds. Admit it. You're over-matched. Keep your distance. He steeled his mind and tried to ignore the pain for a few seconds. Pain was no excuse for weakness.

I went ahead and described the past round from Francis' perspective. Doing several things this round. First, using temporary willpower to ignore wounds for a round (-1 willpower). Then using Celerity 1 (-1 bp) for two actions. The first action is to dodge. The second action is to fire a round at Monty.
Dodge: Dexterity(buffed)+Athletics+Passive Celerity (1) [roll0]
Shotgun: Dexterity(buffed)+Firearms+Passive Celerity (1) [roll1]
Damage (aggro): Shotgun Damage [roll2] + additional attack successes

[Artemciy]

A laughter, it bubbled, gathered into empty balloons and made his head light. It burned with the coldness of the fire surrounding him. It came through, filling the hall with the rumble of a madman.

The flames, there was something with his vision, for they were turning into shadow, eating the light. He began to feel them. Like folded wings, they cradled him, covered him from the magic.

He looked around. What was a puzzle before, his life, uncertainty, doubt, it was stripped from him now. Everything’s purpose was clear. He opened his fists, all troubles unwound in the unity and clearness of purpose. Unyielding as the river of time, like a force of nature free and bound in the monosyllaby of the moment.

He spread his wings.

Demonic powers come with a price. Whenever John is affected, the “hints” with be replaced with a single “injunction” and John will have to roll Willpower to do anything else. So… John might:
- Spread his “wings” far and wide, until they close on the blonde interrogator who attacked him with the stolen Tremere sorcery, until they turn into a host of biting snakes.
- (With a WP roll DC 7) Do somthing else.
…

Never leaving eyes from Francis reaching for his gun, Coven tried desperately to escape.
((Using Willpower. 9d10vs6 + 1wp = 4, which is less than five)).
Cracks appeared in the floor, but the supernal trap held. Quick as lightning, ignoring any and all physical laws, Coven swept the blonde with his legs and pulled her in, using her as an impromptu shield against the Outlander’s attack. Her face was still chiseled by shock, repeating the incantation of the same Lure of Flames spell. The blast turned her into a burning tree, as if responding to the prayers on her lips.

[Muenster Man]

His vengeance was temporarily cast aside as his eyes grew wide in shock. Fire. There wasn't supposed to be this much. Why is there so much fire?! He instinctively backed away several steps, body trying to force himself into survival mode. The blood coursing through him repairing his wounds, the beast raging within him to run. The former he ignored (-1 bp, +1 health level), the latter he fought. No, I need to finish what I started.

He stood still, shotgun raised and ready for another shot. He was still shaken by the burning woman a few feet in front of him, but he couldn't run, not now.

[Danteric]

John slowly began to stand as his mind became clear, for once everything made sense. He could feel the wings surround him, protecting his fragile and highly flammable body from the terrible fire that the woman had casted on him. His mind, clearer then ever, began to think of revenge, revenge on Monty, but specifically revenge on that pathetic woman who dared to use her stolen magic against him. Suddenly his wings would shoot forward at an unnatural speed, racing towards the woman who dared to attack him. Suddenly the wings would surround the woman, quickly breaking apart into a myriad of black snakes, snapping and ripping at the woman, leaving John laughing maniacally as he watched the scene before him.

[Muenster Man]

Francis gasped and took another step back as a being resembling John leaped in front of him and began tearing at the woman engulfed in flames with his... tentacles? Snakes? What the hell is going on here?! It was not unlike witnessing Black Sphinx unleash his powers.

He had nearly forgotten about Monty in the midst of all the strange chaos. He began strafing to his left just a step or two to try and get a better angle on the powerful Assamite, but with the two burning figures in front of him, there wasn't much of anywhere he could go to get a better angle.

[Artemciy]

“Sit. Down!”
The woman held what could only be a hand-blaster, pointing it at Anthony’s center-mass. They’ve locked eyes.

“Sh-t! You’re not going to do what I think you’re going to do” he heard Tanaka whispering.
He jumped.
T’s Entropy3, improving the chances of Anthony’s next action.
7d10 vs 6 = 7,3,8,3,5,9,3 = 3.
Anthony’s Dexterity + Athletics + Tanaka successes on the previous roll.
1+0+3d10 vs 7 = 3,8,2,8 = 2.
The blast of the shiny took him right into the chest, and into the handcuffs which he managed to keep on the line of fire. It burned a smoking hole in him and scorched the wall behind.
Courage 2d10 vs 6 = 3,8 = 1.
Strength 2d10 vs 7 = 2,10 = 1.
But he was free. The superheated metal gave way under his strength.

Having crashed into the table he tried to hurl it into the bulky interrogator, only to discover it firmly screwed to the floor.

“You bastard!” she gasped, raising the gun to fire again.

...

Snakes bit into female, holding her flailing frenzied body firmly till she was fiery dust, pouring away on the wind.

“Stop it! Let’s talk!” Coven cried, putting all his power into the voice.
Two actions in one with Celerity.
Dominate/Command, at Francis: Manipulation+Intimidation, 12d10 vs 9 [4,2,3,3,9,7,1,7,2,6,2,10] = 1.
Manipulation+Subtrefuge, 10d10 vs 67 [10,5,1,7,7,1,1,3,1,5] = Botch. Guess id din't work )
“Put down your weapons!” Cardigan echoed from a safe distance. “You’re not going to kill my witness, are you?”.

...

Enemy! the thought have formed in his mind. He knew this woman, knew her kind, a small but opposing force spelling death for many of his brethren.
- Attacks Cardigan with the shadow-hands of his.
- Does something else (with a Willpower roll DC 6).

[Danteric]

After taking care of the flaming woman, his vision switched to the void engineer who had yelled out to him, and suddenly his mind filled with rage. Flashing back to when the void engineers had caught them in their laboratory, placed them in giant test tubes, experimented on them and torturing them filled him with a urge for revenge. What had she done since she arrived? Both her and her robot simply watched as the fight had occurred, seemingly not caring about what would happen to them. John wanted to use his new found powers to tear her limb from limb, to show her how it had felt to be experimented on, but he forced his vision to shift back towards Monty as his cry filled his ears. Suddenly his mind flashed once again, back to when the coterie first encountered Monty, and how he had kidnapped them and forced them to drink his blood against their will, to make them his slaves for his own goals.

John let out a smirk as the shadows writhed around him, "Stop?! Would you have stopped if we had asked, would you have stopped if Mithras asked you? I doubt it, and yet you have the sheer audacity to ask, it's pathetic. It's time I show you what true fear is.." Said John, directing his anger towards the injured Elder, he wanted to finish this once and for all, and he doubted there would be a better chance then now. Pointing towards Monty to signal his new shadow tentacles to rush towards Monty, hopefully pinning him in place with the power that began to bubble up inside of him. "You wanted us to drink your blood so badly, yet now you want us to stop? No, I intend to take it all, and get revenge for what you did.." He said, fully intending to devour the soul of the Elder, if given the chance.

John will get the tentacles to assault Monty, attempting to drag him towards John, and hopefully performing Amaranth. Of course, I fully expect this to turn out horribly, but i'll enjoy the show :smallbiggrin:

[Muenster Man]

It was difficult for Francis to remain focused on the situation at hand. Most of what he could think of was fire. His thoughts were not unlike that of a scared child's yearning for safety. The fire isn't hurting you, it's too far away. Good. Dying down. She's turning to ash now. If I just shoot and kill, I can go home. Look, I can even see his eyes-

"Stop!" Is all he hears, and he's convinced for the moment that it's his own thought.

Francis lowers the shotgun. Continuing to remain mostly motionless made it easy for his body to continue re-knitting itself together (-1 bp, 1 health level).

[Artemciy]

I apologize for the delay.
I’m not disclosing the damage the bites do at the moment. Ask me later. ; )
Elder’s attempt to overpower the trap: 9(WP point spent)d10 vs 6 need 5 = 3,1,6,9,5,3,4,7,10 = 3, failure.
Coven tried desperately to escape, watching the shadows unfold toward him. Like a line of petroleum igniting they appeared in the air. When the first snake snapped he somehow guessed the timing and moved out of the way, but there was only so much he could do glued to the floor. Only one came through to him, though, biting and turning back into the dark mist.
He laughed.
“That’s all you can do? The poison doesn’t work on me”.
((Manipulation+Subterfuge 10d10vs6 = 4)).

“Put the shadow one down!” Cardigan ordered. In cover and with the weapons already primed, the synths opened fire immediately. Their weapons emitted low clap accompanied with a transparent beam, so short a human eye would take no note of it. A point where the beam hit was getting brighter then, burning even through John’s altered perception. With every strike it was like a fireball opening within his flesh.

- Ignores the silly weapons, focusing his terrible power on the mage-woman.
- (With a successfull Willpower DC 6 AND Courage DC 6 roll) Does something else. (The fear of the burning sensation in his body pushes him back to the promise of safety felt in the demonic will).

[Muenster Man]

Francis regained his senses and recognized the danger they were in. He turns towards the synth and the void engineer and fires a warning shot above their heads right before he bellows out to them "There are two more of his associates in a cell nearby! I'll lead you to them so you can get all the information you want out of them, but if you kill John you're not walking out of here!"

As he does this, his body continues healing itself like before (-1bp, +health level). It's only now that Francis realizes how low his blood supply is, and demands that his body stop.

Francis will attempt to take charge of the situation and convince the void engineer and her robot friend to leave Monty to John and let Francis lead them to the other Sabbat in the facility. But he also knows that this plan has a good chance of failure, and is ready for a fight if they make any sudden movements
Charisma+Leadership [roll0]

[Danteric]

John roared in pain as he began to be assaulted by the Void engineers advanced android, quickly turning his attention towards the woman. "I knew you couldn't be trusted, you damned witch!" He yelled, as he began to focus his shadows to assault the woman, he figured taking her out would disable the Android's controls, and the coterie could return to taking out Monty. His mind was still filled with the dark whispers, and he enjoyed it, the power they offered was no joking matter, and hoped it would be enough to disable the wretched engineer.

[Artemciy]

Francis words still ringed in the air when clad in burning shadows the distorted figure of the Tremere turned and filled the air with the familiar traces of darkness.
The woman cried.
She tried to step away, out of the line of sight into the safety of cover behind the entrance, but the shadows followed her.
John was in every head, a crown of snakes around, looking down her exposed throat. But she kept moving, avoiding his bites…

...

With Francis distracted by the show Coven fished in the ashes for the weapon, a slender little thing capable of producing a laser beam as deadly to kine as to vampires. Face mad, he used the gadget to cut his own hand off and, stumbling, jumped towards the gate leading further into the prison, to freedom...

...

Anthony crouched and lunged under the table, trying to take the chubby one down. ((2d10=9,1=0))

She had no problem avoiding his clumsy attempts, jumping away and cutting him mercilessly with the laser beam.
((5d10=8,5,5,10,6=3. 8d10=7,6,4,10,1,8,2,6=4. Soak 1d10=7=1. 3, aggravated))

The demon of sleep that Tanaka uncorked have smacked her unconscious then, leaving two lying bodies on the floor.
((Used a prepared earlier effect))

Curious, T wanted to go in, but she felt the implant in the woman’s eye still working.
((Ent3 to check if it would be safe to take the weapon. 7d10=2))

“Come on, let’s get out of here” she whispered to Anthony through the spell. “Don’t touch the gun, it will blow up”.

Slowly, painfully, the eye in Salubri’s forehead has opened and filled with light. It was dimmer than usual, but sill the terrible gaps in his back closed till he regained the minimal control over his body.

“David… I won’t come away without... David...” he croaked hobbling out of the room.

“Let’s catch up with the others first, then we’ll see about David”.

Francis might try to shoot Coven now or else come after him. He might also ask John to stop harrasing the Technocrats. Alternatively he might focus on the robots, though he doesn't have an infernal power protecting him from the fire effects of the Technocracy weapons.
John might also feel Coven escaping and might turn upon him (Willpower DC 6 roll) or he might keep trying to pin down Cardigan.

[Danteric]

Between the fleeing Void Engineer, the definitely lethal attacks from the Android, and the fact Monty had managed to escape from his Koldunic magic infuriated John, leaving him unsure what he should turn his wrath on next. John figures that at this moment, the Android proved to be the biggest threat, with its constant laser-like attacks clearly able to heavily damage him if left alone. Turning his attention to the Android, John focused his newly formed shadows to attack the android, using whatever method he could to take it out of the equation, and hoped he could return to attacking Monty, not wanting to have his prey that he worked so hard to find get away.

As i'm not quite sure how these shadows attack people, unless it's similar to Obtenebration 3, perhaps it would be possible to have the shadows enter the android using whatever openings it may have(Unless it's chassis is completely flush) and tear apart its circuits and wirings. Or maybe a Science roll to figure some way to disable it.

[Muenster Man]

"DAMNIT, JOHN!" he barked out as he saw Coven making a run for it. If John couldn't stick to a single prey, that was his problem. He made his decision and Francis wasn't about to let Montgomery Coven get away. He knew that he would never have this advantage again.

A man that wounded shouldn't be able to move this fast Francis thought as he aimed the shotgun at Monty. That's because he's not a man but a rabid dog that needs to be put down, a wounded monster that's never been more vulnerable.

He fired the gun instead of immediately pursuing. If he missed, he would pursue, but he wasn't convinced he could catch up to him.
Depending on the range of the shot (>20 yards/meters), the attack roll could be at difficulty 8.
Dexterity(buffed)+Firearms+Passive Celerity [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Artemciy]

unless it's similar to Obtenebration 3, perhaps it would be possible to have the shadows enter the android using whatever openings it may have
Great idea. He has an attack bonus with this approach.

John’s Willpower roll: 5d10 = 2,4,6,2,6 = 2.
(I'd say you roll the current willpower pool, taking the temporarily missing points into account).
Sparks danced over the synch which John has focused on. Its body was twitching, its mind busy trying to assess and shut off the damage. The second droid kept firing at John, producing a steady barrage of that clapping sound. The warlock’s body was like on coals, the clothes were falling off from him, molten, but he felt sure and energized.

Francis’ shot caught the fleeting vampire right in the middle of a leap. The burning pellets ripped gaps in his back, peeling entire centimeters of flesh. Like a half-burned corpse he fell and wasn’t moving.

- Check on the elder, taking back the stake which Coven hadn't a chance to use, stomping out the burning clothes in case they'd want him alive for a while longer.
- Let him burn and, now that John no longer attacks her, try to again negotiate with Cardigan.
- Join the Tremere in the attack.
- Talk with Lord Nickon.
- Do something else.
- Keep dismantling the droid, that abberation of the techno-mages, an enslaved mage trapped inside a machine.
- (With a Willpower DC 6 roll) Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis quickly approached the dying elder while keeping the gun trained on his still smoldering back. He knew that it was absurd that Monty could still be a threat after taking that much damage, but he also knew that it was absurd for anyone to still be alive after that, so he wasn't sure of anything.

He kicks the enchanted stake off of the elder and looks at his smoldering clothes. He makes an effort to stomp out the small flames, trying to fight through his fear as he hears the beast roaring within him. John will still want this. He'll owe me big time... if he lives.

Rolling courage to see if I successfully put out the flames, or if I just stand there to scared to act. I'm assuming the difficulty will be 4-5, since the flames are already fairly subdued or just smoldering.
Courage [roll0]

[Danteric]

John thought he heard Francis yell something, but quickly ignored it as he focused his attention on taking out his target, the first android. He forced his shadows into every crack of the android, using then to rip apart it's internal circuitry in an attempt to disable the droid. If successful, John would turn to the other android who had been firing it's lasers at him, and attempt the same to it. He knew his unnatural shadows wouldn't last forever, and the androids attacks would eventually make it through whatever was protecting him.

[Artemciy]

You heard Cardigan running away, in silence. Have she panicked or had she something in mind?

“Wow!” Lord Nikon’s voice rasped in earbuds when Francis, looking away from the fire, picked the goggles from the cracked floor. “You took the big boy out! Never thought I’d see that!

I suggest you get out of there fast, don’t need a bug to know that Sabbat reinforcements are on the way. And this police chick, she’s waiting for something.”

...

While L.Nikon talked, John kept fighting the droids. They were lying on the floor now, the internal damage barely showing outside. The shadows still clung to him, hiding his face under a hideous mask. Mostly naked, he was clad in them like in a shifting armor and a dark smoke was his crown.

He heard the hacker’s broadcast and something in him clicked agreeably, it was dangerous to remain. But he had a business to finish first.

...

"Need an escort? Coven's a good target to risk some ruckus for, though I don't think we'll get there in time to help you" the hacker was saying.

Auspex gives him a hint that it’s best to scram ASAP. His tainted will is set on going after the Technocracy functionary, though.
- Goes out of the prison into the small patch of green inside the parking area, following the woman, attacking her on sight.
- (Willpower DC 6) Does something else.
I think the rules played in your favor there: an aggravated damage usually can't be fully soaked, so it tackled the Assamite bit by bit till he was down, but not so much as to kill him. If he gets any more of that fire damage you'll likely loose him, though.

[Danteric]

John let out a smirk as the androids crumpled before him, causing the shadows that had invaded their systems to rush back to his body, swarming around him in an unnerving appearance of swirling shadows. A voice in the back of his head wanted him to chase after the Void Engineer, to rip her to pieces for betraying him like she did, but John knew better, she had no doubt fled to set a trap for him, and being a walking masquerade breach didn't help the situation. Turning his attention towards the fallen Elder, John began to quickly approach his unconscious target, watching as Francis began to stomp out what little flaming embers remained on Monty, and gave him a quick nod. John was unaware what he looked like at the moment, given the unnatural armor of shadows he wore as an armor, and the fact the androids assault had burnt his clothes to a crisp. "We have to fetch Anthony and Tanaka, it wouldn't be fair to leave them behind to deal with the cavalry, once I deal with Monty we can plan our escape. I'm sure those guards we ensnared wont mind being a distraction.." Said John, rather calmly and detached as the shadows continued to swarm around him. What were these things anyway? He wondered, his mind had been crystal clear since they first appeared, and the shadows seemed to react to his will.

Grabbing Monty's unconscious body by the legs, John began to drag him towards the secondary parking lot, hoping to get a secluded area to finally finish what they started, the Diablerie of Monty Coven. "Kind of ironic, isn't it? A Neonate diablerizes an Elder, then gets Diablerized by a Neonate himself.." He whispered to himself as he began to drag the Elders body away.

If successful in dragging Monty somewhere secluded, either it be behind the cover of a vehicle in the second parking lot, or deeper into the prison, and given that he is uninterrupted by Francis or anything else, John will begin to perform Diablerie on Monty, using whatever blood he can draw to begin to heal any injuries he may have received during the fight, and to increase his Strength rating.

[Muenster Man]

Francis lets John do the heavy lifting while he sends Tanaka a message.

We need to leave soon. Meet at northern parking lot if you can, right off the gate hall. Can you hot-wire a car?

Francis then assists John in moving the body to make the move much faster. "Yeah, sure, ironic." He was unnerved by what he had just seen from John and the prospect of watching him devour a soul. Of course, he had just done it himself recently, but still, watching something this intimate in third person was bound to be uncomfortable. Instead of asking what he really wanted to ask, he said "You know what you're doing, right?"

[Danteric]

John shrugged at francis as they dropped montys body on the ground. "Can't say I do" he admitted, but it was too late to stop now. Once they were out of the way, John lifted up Montys head and bared his fangs, and promptly drives them into montys neck, and began to drink, and continued to drink until he began to devour the hearts blood of the elder himself.

[Muenster Man]

"Well, that too I guess. I was mostly asking if you knew how to do it. Basically, just keep... doing that and don't stop until he's gone."

The word 'gone' rung especially true to him in a way that normal death never seemed to. He grew up believing in a soul, and no matter what happened to your body, your soul would still exist. He could feel what was left of the poor Sabbat in his own head slowly fading into oblivion, his screams less prominent. This is how you really destroy a soul. But what does that even mean? Francis cringed a little while watching John. Philosophical pondering on life could wait until they were out of danger. He looked over the hood of the car they were hiding behind to see if anyone was coming.

[Artemciy]

If anybody stayed to observe the defeated droids, he’d see one disappear into the thin air. Just vanish, like his body and weapon was never there.

Another one jerked his head up and uttered mechanically the words to no one in particular.
“Ha. Ha. Ha.”
His human face was plain, like something broke in the emotions or the skin.

What Francis and others did see was a wall of fire coming at them, preceded by the raising and now floating car.
The rest was hard to remember in the chaos created by the explosion.

Tanaka and Anthony, who were farther from the epicentre of it, saw several of the prison buildings leveled. Cries of the inmates and walls broken in the others.

The cry of Mithras’ soul was lost or maybe found somewhere inbetween.

[Muenster Man]

Francis had no idea what was going on, but all he wanted was to get out of this damned building. Francis tries pushing his way out of the rubble and getting the hell out of here as quickly as possible.

I'm not sure how close I am to John, but if possible I'll try to free him from the rubble as well.
Strength+Passive Potence-Hurt Health Level [roll0]

[Artemciy]

Tanaka was upon Francsis when he emerged from the shattered earth. That, or he was losing bits of time. She was saying something, but it was quiet. Dead quiet, as if all the life stopped.

She began to take the rocks and broken brick pieces, throwing them away.
It was funny not to hear them fall. Like on the moon.

Anthony hobbled nearer, with his shirt cut and a scar on his chest.

[Muenster Man]

As he stands up he looks a little shell-shocked. He realizes that his immensely fortunate tech glasses have finally been damaged; there are streaks of color projected across the lenses and they won't stay on his face properly. He puts them in his pocket.

Without even thinking, he helps Tanaka move bricks. But then he touches his ears to see if there's something wrong with his ears. "Aaauuuuhhhh" he says quietly as a test, to see if he can hear.

[Danteric]

John was definitely not expecting the incoming attack, having now wrapped himself around Monty tightly caused them to be buried together, and he'd be damned if he let him go now. As he was buried under the rubble, John continued to drink deeply, draining every drop of montys blood, until there was nothing left.

[Artemciy]

A bit of blood healing have returned the hearing to him and soon Francis have found John, still locked around the ashes of the Coven's body. They were together once again and not worse for wear.

"Who did you pissed off this time?" T joked, surveying the damage. The fences were down, some of the prisoners have found a way out and were running for it. No uniforms, they wore normal civilian clothes. A disoriented warden came out of a building and waved his taser at them hopelessly. The police no doubt will be stopping all the pedestrians for miles around. "I'd be more comfortable out there".

No longer fed by the fire, the shadows around John dissipated, leaving no visible traces in him. The voice in his head was gone too.

The more time passed, the more like an ant-hill the site became. Helies roamed the skies, police cars were coming in scores. Patches of the ground were being swathed with the searchlights.

- Convince a police officer to give you a ride "home". (John's dominate comes to mind).
- Take one of the surviving cars. (Francis probably lacks his Larceny tools, but Tanaka can get the car going).
- Run to the fields.
- Split up.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

"We're all IPCC, right? That's why we're here. We aint running from this, especially all beat up like we are."

He rubs his eyes and temples with his hands and then runs his fingers through his hair. Looking over at Anthony, he grins a little. "What is this, the second building-buster explosion you've survived? Good to see you're in mostly one piece. Looks like we're all a little worse for wear but more or less together."

[Artemciy]

"We're Police Complaints for those wardens John and I entranced. Don't have the papers to flash to normal officers. So, good line but we're better not in the midst of things when it flies." T waved while thinking aloud. "Let's get some wheels. There are cars on the other side of the complex, the wall should have protected them."

[Danteric]

Even as John was buried under the heavy rubble, he continued to drain Monty's precious vitae. It's sweet liquid life invigorating his body as quickly as it came in, yet slowly the stream of blood came to a trickle, and finally stopped. Is it over..? He thought, but was quickly interrupted by the sudden burst of liquid fire that poured into his throat, filling his entire body with a burning ecstasy that was beyond anything he had ever felt as a slow bell began to ring in the distance. John wouldn't have been able to stop at this point even if he wanted to, the liquid fire that he was drinking caused his mind to focus on a single desire, to drink more and more until there was nothing left. After what seemed like hours, the liquid fire came to a stop, causing Monty's body that John had wrapped around to quickly turn to ash in his arms. Suddenly John was hit with the effect of the Rebirth, causing his whole body to shudder in a sensation of pleasure that words could never describe.

After a few moments, the overwhelming sensations of pleasure eventually faded, leaving John with control of his body once again, but left him feeling different then he had before, just as Francis had finished digging him out of the rubble. Glancing around at the others that stood around him, John noticed he was practically naked from the previous attacks from the androids. Grabbing what was left of Monty's clothes, John quickly fashioned a make-shift cover to prevent any more indecent exposure, and stood up to look at the others. As Tanaka began to speak, he scratched his head, unable to shake an odd feeling in the depths of his soul. The voices that whispered to him earlier were gone, but something still felt strange. "Er, the Void engineers...Called them here to assist us, then they betrayed us.." Said John, as he began to stand up. "And I agree with Tanaka, let's get some wheels, i'm sure breaking into a car shouldn't be THAT hard...Right?" He asked, letting out a shrug as he did so.

[Muenster Man]

Francis nods but doesn't speak. He looks around the garage for a likely vehicle. Something fast, but with enough seats for us all. Unfortunately, it turned out the most important criteria was a vehicle that was still upright, as the one they were hiding behind earlier had flipped over.

If Francis finds a car that hasn't been flipped by the explosion, he'll see if it's unlocked or the door windows have been blown out from the explosion. If not, he'll break open the glass with his elbow and try unlocking it then.

[Artemciy]

Wrapping this up, so mostly the carpet bombing rolls.
John to talk down any cops on the way to the car: Charisma+Leadership 6d10 vs 7 [2,1,3,9,7,8] = 2.
Also him using Dominate to ease us along: 6d10 vs 6 [4,5,3,7,8,6] = 3.
Francis evaluating the cars and giving advice: Perception+Larceny 7d10 vs 6 [9,5,2,5,8,2,8] = 3.
Tanaka’s gadget doing the actual hacking: 3d10 vs 6 [6,6,6] = 3. Ouch. Creepy stuff.
A few officers arriving at the scene have tried to pull them over into a group with other survivors, but John sweet-talked them and led the coterie to a car. Old bentley, it welcomed them in once Francis told Tanaka that its security system was autonomous and wouldn’t notify the police if anything went wrong with the hack. Soon they were out of the disturbed hive, safe again in the wilds of the city. They drove towards the millionaire’s villa, dumping the car in favor of the van that waited them on the road-side and finding their airship waiting peacefully on the same field where they first found it. Inside, they settled to discuss what happened and prepare for the future in the as of yet unfamiliar security of the ship.

A big OOC wrap-up.
First, this night finished! 3 XP everyone. There’s plenty of time left for study and repairs.

Second, Anthony is now a retainer, you can give independent missions to him (kind of the War Table in DAI or Recruits (http://www.ign.com/wikis/assassins-creed-3/Assassin_Recruit_Missions) in Assassin’s Creed). I’m thinking of having a list of known missions available for additional reference.
The “demon” which tags along with us, Robbi Leach, might be used in a similar way though we don’t have that much of a direct influence on her.

Third, John looses a point of humanity.
Monty’s Willpower roll: 6d10 vs 6 [3,3,10,6,10,1] = 2.
John’s Willpower roll (minus spent points!): 5d10 vs 8 [6,6,5,4,6] = Failure.
From now on “The victim’s demeanor and nature manifests permanently in the rogue and should act as a dual demeanor and nature from time to time.” - from http://wiki.wodgotham.com/index.php?title=Diablerie. John now has a part of Mithras in him. (That it’s Mithras rather than Monty is my ruling based on the idea that Mithras personality is, in fact, stronger).
He also has a difficulty bonus on all XP-spending rolls in the following areas: Manipulation<6, Melee<6, Stealth<4, London Knowledge <7, Athletics<5, Intimidation<6, Leadership<4, Obfuscare<5, Presence<4, Quietus<4. That is, until he reaches Manipulation 6 he can spend XP in it as if he had a trainer.

Fourth, John has a task of outfitting the airship as a science laboratory to satisfy the millionaire’s requirements. Since in reality it’s kindred vitae that works on the millionair, John has a free run on his resources to outfit the laboratory however he wishes, but he is supposed to outfit it. He’ll have to contact shops on the internet, using the ship’s computer or Anthony’s goggles. Delivery these days is mostly handled by flying bots (https://www.google.ru/search?q=Amazon+Prime+Air&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=vUTIVImwDungywOQ8YGYAQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1074&bih=710) provided by a third-party firm so it should be no problem receiving the equipment.
He might start right away. = )

Fifth, there is a meeting request for Francis from the Anarchs. They call him to the HQ. He wouldn't have received it if not for Anthony's glasses.

[Danteric]

John hobbled his way into the air ship, only now realizing the pain of the injuries he had received during the night, and leaned against a nearby wall as he focused his blood to flow through his body and quickly knits his various wounds shut at a speed that surprised even him. Venturing back to his room on the air ship, John quickly got changed out of the rags of Monty's former clothes, tossing them into a nearby garbage bin, and changes into a black T-shirt and a blue pair of Jeans. Sitting down on his nearby bed, John began to run his fingers through his hair, attempting to clean whatever dirt that etched itself into his scalp, and made a mental note that he would need to take a shower later.

As he sat there, John couldn't get the feeling out of the back of his head that something had changed. Had the Diablerie gone awry? He certainly felt different since the experience, but he couldn't place his finger on what. Dismissing the thought from his head as being simple paranoia, John turned to a small Laptop computer on his desk, and began to search through various science equipment supplier sites, adding varying equipment from the different sites to his online "Cart", and presses order and enters the credit information he had received as part of his task. Once that had finished, John stood up, now wanting to see how much had changed since that night. Clearing a small space in the room, John sat down on the floor and took out a simple knife, and makes a single prick on his finger, causing a small bead of Vitae to emerge. Placing his finger on the dollop of blood, John closes his eyes and began to focus, invoking the various phrases and states of mind to activate his Thaumaturgy, promptly sending an array of information into his head about his own Vitae.

First, John will spend 4 blood points to heal himself up to bruised (As that last level is aggravated). Once in his room, John will begin to order the various science equipment he needed to convince Nathaniel about his so called "Nanites" along with extra equipment for his own ends. (Ex: Blood work equipment, Beakers, Syringes, Blood Centrifuges, various coolers..ect.
And finally, John will use Path of blood 1 to test his own Vitae:Diff:4 [roll0]

[Muenster Man]

Francis gave John a suspicious look as they boarded the airship. He wanted to ask John about what he just saw, but he couldn't put it to words and was tired. It can wait he thought. Instead he said "You need to pay me more" and left John to build his lab.

While resting, Anthony approaches him with a message from the Anarchs. "Why didn't they just send it to me?" he asks, a little annoyed. Then he reaches in his pocket and remembers that his goggles were damaged somewhat. Oh, yeah. Are they so busted they can't even receive messages anymore? An Anarch can probably fix them for me.

After asking the pilot to let him down, he set off on the streets towards the Anarch HQ. On the way, he thought about Montgomery's death. He should be dancing in the streets; ever since he first met Monty killing him has been his top priority. But now that it was finally over, he felt empty. Maybe that was one of his few goals that had a clearly defined focus and without it he felt lost. Maybe he was a little jealous that John was the one to steal the power, even if Francis knew the drawbacks were too much for him. Actually, that wasn't it, but it was John. Something in him has fundamentally changed, even before the diablerie. How much more of him would change now?

[Artemciy]

The witch and the winged demon crouched over the monitors as the ship moved them to the airport. “We don’t have such flying vessels at home” Robbi said. “I don’t like it there, in the midst of London” Tanaka noted, “if Sabbat somehow finds us it would be harder to feel than out there on the south. Come back fast!”

Mendie was in the same makeshift HQ when Francis got there. He was on par with Francis in height, the fuzz on his chin looking childish in comparison. Childish, that is, until you looked closer into his stony face.

“We heard what happen tonight” he groveled. “I would congratulate you, but that was a very bad timing, a very bad timing indeed. You should have coordinated the action with us. What about Monty Coven? Did he live?”

“Sabbat have seen a part of it. And so did we. That you came to strikes with them is no longer a secret. As such, we can’t risk the truce by recognising you. Not officially, anyway.”

((Talk mode. Waiting for a reply))

[Danteric]

Sometime during the early hours of the morning, John slipped into unconsciousness induced by the rising sun. After what had seemed like only moments, John abruptly awoke and groggily made himself get out of bed. His mind still processing the events of the previous night, the prison attack, the mysterious shadows that assisted him, and the Diablerie of Monty Coven. After a few moments of clearing his mind, John left his room, only to be met with multiple boxes of various sizes before him, each box sporting a different Logo, and recognizes them as the companies he purchased his equipment from the previous night. "Well, that arrived fast.." He said, as he began to unbox the various crates, and began bringing them to his assigned Laboratory.

As he continued to unpack and set up the various pieces of equipment, his mind began to wander. "What were those shadows..? What deal did I make with that spirit, and will I live to regret it?" He mumbled to himself as he finally finished setting up the bare bones of the laboratory. Heading back out into the main room, John began to look for Tanaka, "If anyone knows what happened to me, she would know...I should probably explain to her what happened anyway" He said, as he continued to look.

[Artemciy]

He found T in a conference room, sitting at the huge round table and playing with a pen. It looked familiar somehow, though he couldn’t remember why. She tweaked it idly in her fingers, looking somewhat beaten.

“Watch!” she waved invitingly. The pen transformed in her hands from a simple utencil to the expensive thing John signed the contract with. “One can learn a lot from the history of this pen” she noted mysteriously.

...

"All this time I've been exploring the past, hoping to learn something from from the long dead vampires...

Turns out, power is not in knowing the past, it is in changing it!

I've changed the past of this pen in subtle ways and look, the thing itself changed!"

[Danteric]

John watches curiously as Tanaka explained the trick with the pen, and listens as she explains about changing the past. "Changing the past? Surely that doesn't come without risks, does it?" He asks, watching as Tanaka continued to play with the pen. Getting back to why he looked for her to begin with, John began to explain the events of the previous night, how he had been lit on fire, only to be surrounded by the mysterious black shadows and how his mind changed in the process. "-..And thats what happened, I was hoping you might know more, considering you're fairly knowledgeable about Spirits.." He asked.

[Artemciy]

“That’s the thing!” she beamed. “Changing the past… really difficult. Dangerous. Monitored. I told you Maris is from Continuum? They do their share of catching rogue Time mages. Time might be the most guarded sphere, and most feared. But this” she pointed at the pen. “Nobody will notice this, not till they get a closer look. You see the pen is back to normal again. It was never really changed. It’s a dirty trick. Subtle” she glees delightfully.

…

“Wow! I never would have imagined…
So you vanquished the black one?”

She was lost for words, for a while. Then she jumped from her seat, hugging John passionately.

“Wow!” she slowly resumed her place. “That’s a good one.
Remember that time he put me into emergency? I think I... almost died that day.
Had a thing coming for the black man since then.
That you two could defeat him… That a relief!

So… I’ve been studying the past of that pen. Didn’t mean to, just needed a thing to experiment on!” she looked at John apologetically.
“The things I’ve learned! There is an entire world out there! I mean, other than ours. They lived in some kind of demon city, fiends walking the streets, or flying… or shifting through the shadows… Politics. Glory. Insane architecture. Lechery. Murder turned into an art. It’s hard to describe, really. Then something happened, some kind of cataclism, the world has been ripping apart. They escaped, I take it, moved to a different city, somewhere closer to our world. Maybe. If I’d had to guess, to match what I’ve seen with what I know from the book, I’d say the man you’ve signed the contract with, he’s a spirit from the Deep Umbra. He put his mark on you, a thing the shifters call ‘Gifts’. Apparently… let me check.”

T took his hand carefully and closed her eyes. ((Time3, 7d10 vs 6 [5,8,6,9,8,6,10] = 6)). “Yes, I think the fire have activated it! When that blonde interrogator in pale dress have put you on fire the Gift was fueled by it. And then, when the mage-droids fired… ow. These droids, I think they had remains of men inside them… And their weapons… looks more like magic to me… Erm. Anyway, their weapons, they were producing fire, and the Gift has consumed it too.”

[Danteric]

John was definitely taken back by the explanation given to him by Tanaka, "A gift..? So it only works when I get set on fire? Guess that has its uses, atleast I wont have to worry about being burnt to a crisp.." He says with a sigh of relief. "As for the robots, you said they had people in them? That's rather...Creepy. Thank god for this so called gift atleast, im sure their weapons would've tore me to shreds otherwise." He finishes, as he now takes a seat next to Tanaka. "Though having to be set on fire to use it seems rather inconvenient. I dont suppose you could find out a method to use it consciously, could you? If I could master this so called "Gift", it'll greatly benefit all of us." He says with a shrug..

John let's out a sigh as he thinks back to the situation with Monty, "Yes, thankfully Monty's gone now, for good. None of us will have to worry about him coming back" Said John, leaving out the fact that he had devoured his very soul. "But hey, now that I got my Laboratory set up, I could use a hand with a few things. How are you with an Auto-CAD program? Since we're not quite as strong as Francis, we need better weapons, so I was thinking..How about we made some weapons? I like the thought of having a sword to use, but walking around with one seems less then inconspicuous. Hmm, perhaps a collapsible blade?" Said John as he scratched his head, "Any ideas?" He asked, as he began to sketch a few designs on a piece of paper. "It'd take a little while to make, but it could be useful.."

[Artemciy]

"I'm not an engineer" she began to crackle. "But know what? Britni can help you flesh out the designs. And Wade might fish the Sabbat network for related blueprints."

Reminder: Wade is an awakened eye implant of a Sabbat shovelhead, pledged to Tanaka. AI-like. Britni is the spirit of her "awakened" e-monocle, which she got to communicate with Wade in the first place.
They're not very smart yet, but they're persistent. Thinking of Britni filling partially the J.A.R.V.I.S. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Jarvis#J.A.R.V.I.S.) role here.
BTW, John could try to make and tune his own AI or VI, Wade could even fish the net for the blank to begin with, but that's a separate BG mission.
"I see what you mean..." she drawled thoughtfully. "Most Gifts can be mastered. And even if not, one can probably trick it. Let me try to raise it in you, for starters."

((Spirit2, 3*6d10vs7 = 10)). When she grasped his hand, he felt the familiar sensation raise in him, it wasn't a cold fire now, just a gentle wind forming into a dark cloak that raised higher and higher... The alien will that raided him during the fight now waked again. He felt it looking around, taking in the fashionable surroundings of the flying ship, the pen, the witch.

Unchained magic user, what an atrocity. She should be subdued, bound to a demon or catched in a weave of controlling spells. Overpower, knock out while she still unawares.

- Attacks Tanaka, following the injunction.
- (WP DC 6) Does something else.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Tanaka, her suggestion was helpful at least. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let's see what they can figure out, after all, it's something both of us could use." He said. As Tanaka spoke about how the so called 'gifts' worked, he watched her take his hand and begin to concentrate, and was suddenly over taken by the daemonic will he had felt once before. Suddenly his body wrapped itself in the oh so familiar shadows he had once before, it's will subtly whispering commands into his mind.

The voice was right, Tanaka would be a much better servant as slave, bound to a demon perhaps, dominated into following his every command. Reaching his hand forward, he watched as the shadows danced around him in excitement, the surprise in Tanaka's eyes as he ignited with the unholy shadows. All it would take was a simple grab, a look into her eyes, and she would be at his mercy. But was this truly what John wanted? Pulling his hand away, he forced the voices to the back of his mind. "Ack...It's difficult to control.." Said John, his voice warped by the daemonic will, "I..I need to get some distance, I cant.." His voice trailed off, as he struggled to remain in control of the shadows, as they wisped around his body, biting at nearby objects in an attempt to get towards their goal, Tanaka.

[Artemciy]

She stepped aside and looked at him curiously. "It affects you somehow, doesn't it? What does it say?". For all the tension, she didn't want to be afraid of John.


...

Bête has a bit of time to wander through the ship, observing the packages and the beginning of the laboratory (or meeting Tanaka and John) till the reply came.

"Francis, is that you? Good to have your new adress.
Peace and quiet. All the excitement have gone your way, looks like.
Archons are gathering kindred for a trip to England. I'd go, but I have my clientele here.
Wouldn't mind hearing from you to know it's really you and for some news.
Not surprised to see you on barricades, but why still in London? Are you with an underground resistance now?"

Francis' roll to send the message was: Int+Computers: 2d10 vs 6 [9,7] = 2. I assume he uses a semi-secure email proxy instead of simply blowing up a part of his security cover?

[Muenster Man]

That's a good assumption

"Yeah, it's me. It's crazy here but I've got good friends and a good feeling about this place. Just need to earn some peace and quiet first. Got into a fight with a big name last night. You can probably find a video of it if you know the right people. Trying to take their footing out of the city. Rebels got some good people, but anything's better than what's in power now. Do you know if those Archons are working on taking back London?

Mostly wanted to say sorry about never getting around to flushing out those hunters. Like I said, it's been nuts here the past few nights. Not great at apologies, but I can try and make it up to you."

After he sent the message, he continued to wait around the corner, listening to John and Tanaka's conversation. He wasn't going to make his presence known, but if either of them came near his way, he wouldn't deny listening in.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Tanaka, unsure if she could even see him through the shadow-clad armor. "It want's to bound you, control you, an unchained magic user.." He said, still struggling to restrain the voices. "And i'm sure it wouldn't have much problem doing so if it could.." He said, his voice trailing off. "Can...Can you get it to stop now? I dont think I can restrain it for much longer.." He said, trying to maintain control for as long as he could. He wasn't worried as much as it attacking Tanaka as much as it going on a spree and destroying the ship, which would include him.

[Artemciy]

After it settled down T thought frantically about what she just witnessed. “Please don’t chain me!” she pleaded jokingly, giving up on making any sense of it now. “I’ll be a good slave and bear you many little devils!”

...

Francis' fixed glasses dispayed him a new message.

"Haven't heared of it yet, I'll ask around.
Let me guess, you fried them in Belmarsh with that blow that took out half the prison?
Plan any other strikes? Too bad I wasn't there, have some gunpowder for sale.

London? You bet, it's no secret they want it back.

It's not late to help. I've got a friend there, calls herself Bonny. [email protected]. She'd like to check on some Crawlers but too scared to go alone. You play bodyguard, we owe you one.

Give them hell.
Grrrr! : )"

...

"Remember the werewolves who attacked ys at the bunker, when that strange Brujah carried sir Arthur in?" T changed the subject.

"We've given some attention to what's been happening to the wolves, Maris and I. Looks like those twisted creatures, the ones who attacked us, are establishing a foothold in this city!
They've liked the bunker, I get it.

John, I have to warn the werewolves!" she cried passionately. "Uhm, the real ones, I mean, those who didn't attack us."

We can move on to one of the missions, I think.

As for the weres, it's an ivitation to a third IC mission (1. Arthur, 2. miss. Bonny, 3. weres).

[Danteric]

As the shadows began to dissipate, John felt his sanity coming back to him, and takes a seat back down next to Tanaka. Letting out a sigh now that he was back in control, John rolled his eyes at Tanaka's jokes, "Funny, you wouldn't be saying that if it DID happen.." He said. As she spoke about the Lupines, John couldn't help but feel uneasy, after all Kindred and the Lupines never really got along. "Well, I guess we can tell them, hopefully they dont decide to rip me to pieces.." He said, followed by a loud gulp. "So, where do we go to find them?" He asked, curious to what her plan was.

[Artemciy]

"Oh, didn’t I tell you? I know exactly where they are!
Well… not quite. I know the building. It’s Tower 42.
Maris found it. With magic I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. They had defences set up against such detection, see? Leading to other places.
It’ll come with time, he said. As if I had time!"

You've got the feeling T's acting on her passionate side here, things being not quite her pay grade. Still, if that Maris of her thought it's possible...

[Danteric]

John lets out a shrug as Tanaka explained to him about where the lupines were, "Well, if they live in a tower, thats less of a chance of them playing pin the limbs on the kindred.." He said, half jokingly. "Besides, i'm sure you'll get enough practice soon, with my Vitae in your body, you've got literally all the time in the world." Said John, knowing that as long as she got a constant stream of Vitae, Tanaka would essentially live forever. "Well then, should we get going?" He asked, as he started to get prepared.

[Artemciy]

The transparent Tower 42 lobby was closed, its elevators stopped. The building which bustled by day now felt abandoned. - Hack the magnet lock.
- Wait for somebody to come out or in.
- Ask Tanaka if she can sense something this up close.
- Do something else.

[Danteric]

John let out a shrug as he approached the seemingly empty tower along side Tanaka, not surprised there were nobody around this time of night. "Guess nobodies home, maybe we should of called first?" Joked John as he looked around. "Maybe you can get your glasses to hack our way in? Mine kind of got busted during the prison incident, shouldn't be too hard I hope." He said, as he motioned towards the door.

[Muenster Man]

Francis stood silently and still behind Tanaka and John. He hadn't completely recovered from the night before and the prospect of meeting werewolves made him anxious. He looked around, half expecting a trap.

If Tanaka's right, we have a common enemy. And that one we met a while ago wasn't too bad. But still...

At the mention of the lock, Francis broke out of his paranoia and internal train of thought. "Glasses? Hack? Wait a minute... " he trails off and tries activating the new hardware intended for Arthur. "Let's give this thing a try."

[Artemciy]

I assume we stopped to hunt on our way in. BP +3.
Tanaka used the time to prepare her Abet spirit spell: Spirit2, 6*6d10vs7 need 6 = 5, rather weak this one.
“Yup. I’ve tried to call mr. Wolf’s number, but it’s useless now” she chirped carelessly. “Knocking on the door is impressive, but it makes us a security threat. I love those all-or-nothing talks.

Sue-gehh! I just had an idea!
If something happens to us, we could reveal their location! Could be a last resort bargaining chip.
I’ll tell Britny to tell Wade...”

…

The leafs of the spinning door were standing still, as a carnival ride left behind by a passing circus. There should have been a maintance door somewhere with just the mechanical lock, in case the fancy stull malfunctioned, but Francis didn’t have a lockpick on him anyway.

With a flick of the eyes he switched the HUD, momentarily baffled by the strutcural model of the clovered building adding layers of perception to his view, till he shifted his gaze to the door and no longer fed by attention the model faded into the unexistance.

Here it is. The glasses pinpointed the signal of the identification system, it’s bulb tucked inconspiciously into the sharp silvery angles of the doorframe. He had an option to “override” and “forge”.

…

One of the 21 lifts took you to the viewing gallery at the top. The anti-sun of the city filled the corridor with murky light.

“Now this is the real tower. I bet they feel like kings, looking from the top at the city. Or queens.
Or queers.
Werequeer? I wonder...”.

She led you to a small maintance door. “If they aren’t playing more tricks with me… Should be there.”

Francis could smell it too now. The unmistakable must of the shifters, not man, neither a beast, more lively than both. The distant sound of activity amidst the silent tower. Strangely, there was no such signs on the way and the door looked unused. Guess it wasn’t the main entry then.

“I’m going to knock..” T whispered, she was excited with the adventure.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Tanaka as she suggested that she was going to knock, "Alright, be on your guard, last thing I want is to be cut into ribbons.." Said John as he glanced towards Francis. Looking back at the small maintenance door, John began to increase his hearing with his Auspex, hoping to hear any movement on the other side of the door, assuming the were's werent above springing a surprise attack.

[Muenster Man]

I thin sheen of red had formed on Francis' forehead. His body no longer produced sweat, but his pores could exude a mostly insignificant amount of blood in memory of their former function. Francis was extremely anxious, but told himself that being scared would only exacerbate any problem. If I look nervous, they're gonna think I'm hiding something from them. As a mortal, he had experience meeting with dangerous strangers in organized settings. Anxious people ruin those kinds of meetings just by looking anxious. He remembered that this wasn't the first time he had done something like this and became much calmer after this.

He wiped his hand across his forehead, licked his fingers, and watched as Tanaka made a motion towards the door. "Let's do this" he said with enthusiasm that was only half a lie. He was actually curious to see what was on the other side of this door.

[Artemciy]

John realized then, that there was someone behind that door! And he could swear that something happened to the sound of the heartbeat when Tanaka knocked. Not that it was slower or faster. It /changed. It stayed there, on the other side, then walked away, human feet stamping on the floor.

“Nobody home? Hey, it’s open!”
Could swear I saw a wolf there, she murmured, peeking inside.

…

It was a bit like passing into another planet. Or time. The walls were blemished with primeval drawings, simple but pulsating with power. More symbols than paintings, but having semblance enough to recognize a tree, a snake, a bug. The smell of an orchard toppled the pervasive drouth of the city. The floor was literally littered with earth in one place, breaking the geometry of the floor with a hilly quality.

“What is this, some fairytale? Hullo?”

They wondered inside the dusky corridor, which was cut in two by a beam of moonlight from a door slightly ajar. Two voices argued somewhere.

- Follow the sound of voices which seems to be coming from the open room. Better to introduce ourself before looking like prowlers.
- Pass farther into the corridor. Better to examine the place before coming to grips with the residents.
- Try the other doors.
- Stop this madness and go home. Just kidding.
- Check if the goggles pick something.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis mutters to Tanaka and John "We're on their territory now, may as well introduce ourselves."

He approaches the voices and says "Is this a bad time?"

[Danteric]

John watched as Francis began to walk through the corridor towards the voices, and lets out a sigh, it was too late to stop him now. "I'd rather have listened to what they were arguing about first, but so much for that" He whispered as he cautiously followed behind Francis. John did feel somewhat at ease at the fact Francis was here, his body guard was much stronger then he was, and despite successfully diablerizing Monty, Francis still had the advantage in sheer power.

[Artemciy]

I'd rather have listened to what they were arguing about first
I've been already writing it anyway in my spare time in the bus, so here goes, a conversation you've heard before entering the room:
"What are you talking about? Who's going to flail him?"

"It's not who, it's what! You know how he tries to please her. It'll devastate him if the protocol is leaky."

"Ah, that. Look, we don't even know the source yet. It all a conjecture. What if the mural get damaged, what then? Devabastated? Will he be devabastated?"

...

The door opened to a grove. Moon lit the trees, seeped into the grass, glistened on the faces of the pair talking. The window of the dome was almost invisible clean.

"Yes, what is it?" the woman turned impatiently. The two of them didn't gave the same vibe mr. Wolf did, Francis could swear they've just common folk.
"Are you lost?"

Entropy3 for a lucky guess for the conversation: 7d10 vs 6 = 3.
Manipulation + Subtrefuge + extra pool from the previous roll = 8d10 vs 6 = 5.
"Kind of. Is the elder around?" Tanaka asked at random.

"Third door to your left, check for yourself" the chick dropped and dived back into the interrupted conversation.
"Look, all I ask is time. A day to check the leads."

"On his own? You know how dangerous this is. What if he catches something?"

...

"Wyrmspawn!" a man turned the corner while Tanaka was trying the closed elder's door. A staff in his hand, adorned with worn pyrographs and leather straps, was raised to point at them deploringly.

"Don't bother, Frank" a lazy voice interjected from a closed door opposite the elder's. "The Butcher let them in, don't you see."

"Don't tell me how to do my job, Clara!" he retorted, allowing his ire to digress.

A pixie cut brunette (http://www.tvsinopse.kinghost.net/h/highlander_arquivos/Hleg.jpg) emerged from her room then to land the weight of her squeeze on the all gathered. You've noticed a table lamp illuminating a library before the door closed behind her back.

[Muenster Man]

Francis nods at Clara as she closes her door. "Thanks, Clara. And good to meet ya. Name's Francis."

He looks back at the door Tanaka was about to open. "You know if the elder's in?"

[Danteric]

As John listened in on the conversation between the two people down the hall, he began to wonder what they were talking about. Mural? What are they talking about... He thought to himself. As they descended into the complex, he watched as Tanaka spoke to the two and eventually brought to a closed door. John had spun when a voice called him a Wyrmspawn, turning his attention to whoever had spoke, "Wyrmspawn?" He asked, "The heck is that?" He figured he wouldn't get an answer, but it didn't hurt to ask. John glanced over towards towards the door the woman had stepped out of, and noticed the large collection of books inside. That's quite the collection..He thought, I wonder if they'd let me read a few things.. He finished, slightly upset at the loss of all the books from the chantry, leaving him without a possible teacher for his Thaumaturgy.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka turned from the elder’s door, watching the exchange with wide eyes. “The door’s closed, looks like nobody in” she answered John.

Clara nodded to Francis. “You have a business with Farayah?” she asked.

“We’ve been told to see him, yes” T replied firmly. The woman in the garden room have just told us to check on him, didn’t she?

Clara looked at her clock.

“You arrogant, ignorant, life-sucking leech! Don’t you think I know what you are?” the angry were was beginning to educate John on Garou terminology.

“Frank!” Clara interrupted him. “Curb your xenophoby! We don’t know why they’re here!”

“They reek of why!”

“They no more can help it than a bantha in heat! Remeber your lessons!”
“Look, come over here” she ushered you to the library while a couple of huge wolves emerged from the other side of the corridor, no doubt attracted by the quarrel. “Farrayah’s away, you’ll have to wait him, if you don’t want to be eaten before your birthday.”

“It’s on your head, Theurge!” Frank tossed to the closing door.

Clara looked at the guests for a while, shouldering the door.
“You owe me one. Interested in literature?” she noticed John peeking at the books. He could tell there was a lot on occult here, though ht could not recognize some of the covers. The place have seen some disarray, with notes scattered on the floor and claw marks on the table, as if someone forgetfully crashed it’s side.

“So what is this about?” she asked after hearing Frank leaving to whenever he dwelled.

“Theurge? What does Theurge do?” Tanaka interrupted excitedly.

“Dealing with spirits mostly. Now, back to my question...”

“And the City Father? Have you seen the City Father?”

“Yeah...” Clara squinted. “What it’s up to you?”

“Don’t know. I just got the idea that it’s up your aisle. Will the elder come soon?”

“I’ve no idea. Now what do you want with him?”

“Might begin from the beginning then.” Tanaka answered, taking a sit. She told the Theurge about their meeting with mr. Wolf, how they helped each other in the bunker and how she let him copy the Sabbat contacts from her phone (a bit that surprised the rest). John helped her with the details and Francis described mr. Wolf’s face. Then T told how she couldn’t get the were on the phone and felt something bad happened to him, and how she and Maris figured by examining the streams that Black Spiral Dancers were now gathering at the bunker.

“So we thought, why not offer a hand? Dancers are related to Sabbat if I’d had to guess. They’ll be a problem anyway. And together our skills might be more diverse. Anyway, we would’t dare invade your privacy if Wolf was available on the phone, but seeing how he helped us I thought we’d at the very least warn about the Dancers.”

“Yes, I remember now, Nobe told me about that trip. And thanks for the data on Sabbat.” She was lost in thought for a span. “That puts things in an interesting light. I’ll call Farrayah. You wait here, don’t leave the room!” she urged.

- Talk with Clara before she leaves to make a call.
- Look for Thaumaturgy books.
- Try to listen on the conversaition.
- Carve your initials on the table.
- Try to sneak away.
- Do something else.

[Danteric]

John nodded at the woman as they were brought into the room, "Yes!" He said as he glanced around the room filled with books, "I love books, specifically ones on the occult." He added, as he continued to look around. As Clara left the room, John began to take a closer look on the various books filling the area, hoping to find any occult books that would be of use to him, while hoping Clara wouldn't notice, or mind. After giving a search of the various books that littered the room, John began to focus on increasing his hearing, hopefully catching whatever Clara may be speaking to Farrayah about.

[Artemciy]

John’s Thau 7d10 vs 7 [3,7,3,5,7,5,2] = 2.
Auspex 4d10 vs 7 [9,7,7,4] = 3.
The library was small comparing to the halls of his late chapter, cleaned by Goratrix. At first John even doubted that he will find something useful. But a quick sweep shown that it contained many rare items, most unknown to him and some deemed lost. Exploring the sections most likely to bear fruit he stumbled upon something reminding him of a Thaumaturgy instruction, albeit written in an unfamiliar code. To the unitiated it would’ve looked like a combination of a 19th century bill with a kitchen recipe.

Tanaka peeked curiously over his shoulder while talking with Britny.((Spirit2 to mind-talk with a spirit, 6d10 vs 7 [8,8,10,2,7,3] = 4))
"See anything?"

"Lot's of guardians in that place."

"What do they do?"

"Talk"

"Like what?"

"Twenty questions, mostly."

"Wait, are they talking with you?"

"Of course they are. We do that all the time."

"All right. Tell me if anything interesting happens."
He focused the sences then, tuning out the distracting murmurs (it seemed that the news about “wyrmspawn” have spread fast among the few denisens of the sept). Clara sounded like talking on the phone. Her voice was mostly humorous while she described the events. “The crowd is excited about having someone to fight, you know how they are” she mentioned the tense situation. After giving a few “yes” or “no” answers she hanged up with a “love you”.

- Asks Francis or Tanaka to get a picture of the "recipe".
- Borrows the book.
- Puts it on the table and waits for the women to return, going to ask her about it.
- Does something else.

[Muenster Man]

While sitting and running his finger over the corner of the table, he heard the word 'fight' and tensed up a little. His nail chipped a small bit of the polish off the table. The chair creaked beneath him. He didn't think it would actually come to a fight, but it still reignited anxieties he thought he had banished.

He noticed John looking at a book, and raised an eyebrow.

[Danteric]

John began flipping through the pages of the book, trying to memorize the contents, but knew it was a losing battle. Motioning Tanaka to come over, he leaned over and whispered to her, hopefully quietly enough that the wolf wouldn't notice, "Hey, can you get a picture of this? I'll ask about borrowing it, but just in case.." He whispered, as he pointed to the pages for her to capture. Taking a few more glances around the library, John carried the book back to the table and placed it down on the table and waited for the woman to return, intending on asking her about it, and possibly borrowing a few books. John figured if we'd help them with the black spiral dancers, reading a few books shouldn't do any harm, or so he hoped.

[Artemciy]

It was a little scary, waiting for Clara. Tanaka waited for an angry were to turn the door into splinters any moment and start making fuzz. She didn’t expected to find so much pent-up rage here. And in such peaceful a place?

The spirits, they were neutral, some would even sympathetic. It was a wonder they have attracted so many.

Britny, ask them what they do there, why linger around the wolves? she whispered.

“Whew! Nobody attacked you yet?” Theurge cheered, closing the door behind her. “Let’s go for a stroll. The elder asked you not to remain in the caern”.

A whiskered swarthy pushed himself into the room.

“Honored to see you, Wyrm Foe” Clara greeted him gravely.

“What’s going on? Frank called me, telling the vampires are on the loose”.

“A little timing hiccup, we have guests, but the meeting is being moved to a different place. You might come along if you want.”

“Wait, you are them? The vampires?!” he sniffed the air, his huskers standing up.

…

A dozen minutes later you walked by the London’s Tower.
A polar bear (http://www.dforceblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/oso-polar-londres-300x280.jpg) was swimming on his iceberg, probably never to be seen again.

Farayaer have met you, in the company of Clara and the Wyrm’s Foe. The bristled sinewy man with a golden quiff, he shaked hands with you, looking like a sly salesman somehow.
“Clara told me you’ve come right to our sept? Quite a feat!”

“The spirits somehow let them pass. If I learn you put a charm on them!..” Wyrm Foe growled.

“Relax, master Fo” (the guy cringed heating that). “We’ll learn soon enough.”

“Pleased to meet you” he continued. “I’m Farayah, one of the leaders of our little community. I hear you came seeking an alliance, and brought a warning as a gift?
Tell me more about yorself.”

[Artemciy]

“I’m taking Britni with me, so will send an update soon” a message came from Tanaka. The ship swayed on the wast reaches of liquid which some call La Manche, exactly as Francis left it. ((pic (http://yokat.deviantart.com/art/channel-tunnel-de-la-Manche-337888328))). Robbi was nowhere to be found and wasn’t changing it’s course, apparently.

“We’ve seen the beasts during the Sabbat attack. Thanks for the warning, I’ll send a word to Arthur. PR” he found an earlier message on the page Prichard have opened. He let it vanish into thin air and piloted the ship to the London-City, booking the landing pad as before.
Francis can use the same relatively secure channel he used to contact Kee for contacting the Camarilla, right?He contacted Kee using a temporary email address. While better than nothing, it isn't much more than security thru obscurity (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_through_obscurity). With Prichard, on another hand, he has a channel of communication which can't be easily discovered or traced. Though to Francis it looks just like a web chat, such as www.mibbit.com (http://www.mibbit.com).
Leaving John and Anthony to dig in the mounts of equipment they acquired he took a cab. John told him that there were new deliveries to Nathaniel’s villa on the way, so the airship won’t stay in the city.

((Francis might ask them to come around later. There is no safe connection between the ship and the goggles yet and driving to Ovingdean takes time. Then again, Francis doesn’t need a safe haven as much as the rest of them)).

…

The address was right, the neighborhood painfully cute, but the bell brought no answer from the Hampstead Garden’s house. ((pic (http://media.rightmove.co.uk/dir/49k/48928/46052284/48928_HAH140146_IMG_00_0000_max_656x437.JPG))). WTF? Bonny said she will be waiting for him.

- Walk the suburb, hoping to find a trace of the house owner.
- Wait about, she must be out for a spell.
- Break in and make himself comfortable. Might as well look around.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis frowned and considered breaking in. But then he had a more rational thought Actually... that seems like a terrible idea. I'm sure Bonny has some kind of home defense set up.

He waited a moment, and began pacing around the house trying to look into the windows. After a few minutes of this, he realized a possibility. "Are you watching me?" He says in no particular direction. The Obfuscate discipline has long frustrated Francis, and it could be in play at this very moment.

[Artemciy]

Ha-ha! That's a good idea.
I hope you don't mind if I leave Francis "jumping at shadows" for now.
Had something else for her already in mind.
A muppet who liked a look of a huge human or two passing on the horison that was opening from the safety of his hole has covered in fear and constipation, hugging his terry hands about his head, when Francis caught him at the keek.

Miss Sims came a bit later, in a rigid business attire that reflected in just the right way on the smell of a fresh blood from her plush lips. By some miracle she looked normal, not disfigured or something. ((face (http://belderiver.deviantart.com/art/Nosferatu-Character-Concept-257640740)))

“How may I be of assistance?” she touched her glasses.

“Oh, you must be Francis! What am I!..” Apologetic smile peeked from under the professional armor and was a part of it.

“I have despaired to find any help on this sensitive matter!” she was saying conversationally. The house recognized her and heavy bars moved inside when she put the hand on the door knob. “A couple of my friends went offline and all I want is to check on them, but the London is wasteland! I! I couldn’t find the help of the professional sort for days!” she sounded indignant coming in. What followed was a muttering of which Francis only caught “secular authorities” (or was it “particular notoriety”?).

“What is your interest, mr… Francis? Fransua? Francisc? You have an interesting name. Is it prestation?”

[Muenster Man]

"Just Francis. I'm... " Francis pauses as he's unsure about the word 'prestation' and pretends to ignore it "mostly here as a favor to Kee. Good friend of mine and he said you might need some help. And if your friends need some help as well, then I can help a lot of people in one go. Gratitude and favors can go a lot farther than cash." Francis felt it was important he was honest about his intentions. He gambled that she'd appreciate his forthright nature, maybe it'd be a welcome change over traditional vampiric games of subterfuge.

[Artemciy]

“You are after prestation then” she smiled knowingly, amused by the charmy round-about way of the Bete. “Let’s not waste any time. The first of my friends...”

...

I'm handling this as a background mission, so what you get this time is a message from Kee, a boon (http://lamushcast.wikidot.com/camarilla-society:prestation) from miss Sims, new nosferatu contacts and a forked background mission follow-up (http://prntscr.com/64ztgi).“Gee, I’ve got a letter from miss solidarity, can tell she’s impressed from how the snide-o-meter so low. Guess being in a real fight does that to you. Too bad about the losses, but at least we know that most of them alive. We’ll need to take them out and the brave offce rat too.”

...

Tanaka came late and in a foul mood. She was silent and prone to throw daggers with her eyes.

John had a working translation by that time and began trying the invocation on her. Even grumpy she didn’t want to miss it.

“Where is Robbi by the way?”

“Oh, she is there, somewhere” T waved uncertaintly.

John could swear that wasn’t the case, he’s been moving around the ship the whole time and never seen a trace of her, but now she appeared, just strolled from another room like nobody’s business. As if that would ever be true around her exposed perfect forms.

“You should get rid of those wings, they are so gaudy, you’ll scare the folks” T noted darkly while John was repeating the mental motions for the ninth time, experimenting with the variations.

“Stop thinking about that ...” Robbi began to answer when T squealed.

“What?!” She stood there, lost, trying to catch it with her hand, to remember.

[Danteric]

As John continued to practice his newly discovered magic, he turned his head to Robbi as she casually strolled into the room, and wondered how she could just pop up at the most random of times, or what she was exactly for that matter. Was she one of the demons that contracted with him? Or just a bystander of the whole thing? He had wondered, but would wait until another time to ask. Turning back to Tanaka as they finished their quick conversation, John took a breath, not that his undead body needed it. "Alright, I think i'm ready to give this a try..Are you ready?" He asked Tanaka, as he gives a few quick glances over the thaumaturgical formula before preparing himself to attempt the spell. "Let's hope this isnt too crazy.." He said quietly, and began to focus.

Suddenly John heard a squeal from Tanaka as he performed the spell in his mind, and quickly rushed towards her, "What happened? Are you ok?" He asked, unsure what had happened to her.

[Artemciy]

"I... I can't remember. The thing I was thinking about, something I've seen in the bunker, I can't remember it!" Tanaka was wondering. John's caring attitude has turned her head from whatever sting she was going to use. "You did it, didn't you? How did you do it?" she demanded, not knowing whether she was more curious or afraid.

"The spell seems to have deprived you from the memory" Robbi observed.

"Aa-all right. Let's do it again." Tanaka blabbered. She seemed a little drunk now, but somehow brighter. "Let me think of something..."

- Tries the latest variant of the invocation again.
- Inquires more about the memory lost. (Robbi seems to know what Tanaka was thinking about).
- Change the test subject.
- Stop the experiment.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

I'm assuming Francis knows where Bonny Sims and/or the other Nosferatu are and will say this in person to them.

"Are you that eager to leave London? Would you all stay if you had friends that could protect you? No sense in leaving if we can make this city as safe as anywhere else you could go. If you wanted, I could arrange something like that for you and your friends."

Rolling Charisma+Leadership for this, although I don't know what his Charisma will be when attempting this, so I'll hold off on that until it's settled.

[Danteric]

John nodded at Tanaka as she told him to continue, and takes a few steps back and began to focus once more. Deciding to try another, more modern incantation of the spell, John began to invoke the various mystical energies required for the spell. He wondered what kind of Magic could erase whole memories from a person, and hoped the experiments could show him exactly what, but a thought in the back of his mind reminded him that Robbi seemed to know more then she was letting on, and decided he would find out at a more convenient time.

[Artemciy]

Francis' Charisma+Leadership: 5d10 vs 6 [3,10,3,10,8] = 3
Next night Francis took a detour to speak with the enterprising Nosferatu.

"Do come in!" she mused when he got right to the business. She had the time to think while showing him to the living room and offering him a drink. "Not what I'd usually offer, but it's good quality" she said as she sampled the blood. "So Kee told you about that plan to leave the city?" she asserted. "I certainly don't want to leave, but some relic down below has sealed the Underdark. 'The threat is too high' they say. Tsk. As a matter of fact, after yesterday's adventures I'm convinced it is indeed dangerous out there, those of us left on the surface will need some kind of protection, so tell me all about it!"

...

Having a better idea of what to expect John tuned his senses and there it was, the surface of Tanaka's memories just when the power he manipulated have licked them out.

"Ouch! Now I can't remember that either. And it makes me lightheaded, literally" T quipped. Her mood was swiftly improving as a curious side-effect.

((John's Occult 2d10 vs 6 [9,10] = 2))

Could it be, John thought. But it all started to make sense now, the cryptic cypher he never seen, the Thaumaturgic foundations. It looked like a fabled Inconnu's power (http://www.thesubnet.com/portal/wod/vtm20/DisciplinesCo.html#EraOfSe) to sweep the mind from a dangerous knowledge! But did that mean that Inconnu existed? Or was it a case of chicken and egg switching sides?

't was a good choice to try that on Tanaka, on anyone else I'd say John would need to raise his Dominate first for the power to work.

[Muenster Man]

Francis gratefully took the drink and tried to conceal his greedy desire for blood. These past few nights he's had so much to do, he hadn't taken the time for his own needs. He took a seat and placed his elbows on his thighs while holding the glass just below his face while looking Bonny in the eyes right before he spoke. He was certain she used some form of Obfuscate to hide her disfigurement, and he was eager to see evidence that the illusion was just that. "I'd like it if you all stayed and know some people who'd like to have you. Don't know how you all feel about the Anarchs, but they're probably in the best position to keep you safe. They've managed to work out this good middle ground with the Sabbat and Camarilla so they're not a target of either. You'd like that, right? Let me have a word with them, and I'll get them to come to a mutually beneficial relationship with you and your people. Sounds good?"

Sadly, Francis found no evidence beyond his own certainty that she was Obfuscating her face.

[Artemciy]

((Francis' Charisma+Leadership 5d10 vs 9 [4,1,8,2,4] = Botch))

"Anarchs!..."

She stood and paced nervously back and forth over the beautifully furnished room, from the shelved sport trophies to the framed certificates.

"I knew that was coming! From someone having no clue..." Francis caught a murmur.

He noticed her face changing texture. A slip of concentration?

"You don't know what your're talking about, do you? Anarchs have ties... secret ties..." she stopped to explain. "That would make any such move a defection. It isn't a fate worse than death, but..."

- Argue for her to tell more. The seal on her lips might be pried open with a reason...
- Emphasize with the political complexities she seems to be having.
- Apologize and play a naive pupil, hoping she'll educate him on the matter.
- Do something else (what do you think will work best on her?).

...

((the previous day))
((Life3, 7d10 vs 7 [8,7,8,3,10,9,9] = 6))

"Looks like you fried my brain" T laughed after a bit of a check. "Please stop doing this.
There was an old movie where they did it. It hypothesized that the memory could resurface, or am I confabulating?" she blabbered.
"Anyhow, with a bit of a chance..."

"What is a movie?" Robbi inquired.

[Danteric]

John relaxed after he had finished invoking the power, and walked back towards Tanaka, noticing she was in pain from the whole thing. "Are you alright?" He asked "I didn't think it would literally wipe your memory clean, this is some pretty dangerous stuff..But it makes me wonder what other books those were's have in that library of theirs, maybe if we scratch their back, they'll scratch ours?" He shrugged, truly curious on what other wonders of thaumaturgy the Garou may have hidden away. Figuring it had been awhile since her last feeding, and hoping the gift would allow her to heal any injuries she would've obtained from the experiments, John makes a small incision into his hand and forces some of his Vitae to flow out. John then offers his hand towards Tanaka, gesturing her to drink, "Here, this should help with the pain.." He said, as the red liquid began to pool in his hand.

Giving Tanaka 2 blood points (Unless she cannot drink any more, then only one) to heal her injuries, and hopefully started the mission to help the Garou, given John's interest in their figurative "Treasure trove" of magical knowledge.

[Muenster Man]

A look of confusion comes to Francis' face as he doesn't understand why she's so upset. He attempted to put forward a niave but curious face to Bonny Sims' reaction. "Wait, wait, wait, slow down! What's so bad about the Anarchs? I mean, they're not ideal, but the Camarilla still considers them part of the sect. Most any of us have a lot of ties, what makes theirs so bad?"

Attempting to get her to elaborate on the secret ties of the Anarchs. He also tried slipping in some obvious points about the Anarchs and vampire society in general to try and make her reframe how she considers the Anarchs. Hopefully it'll lessen the impact of whatever secret ties she's aware of, but frankly at this point in the conversation, she holds the power until she spills the beans.
Manipulation+Subterfuge [roll0]

[Artemciy]

“Look, I don’t even know if it’s true, I’m only dealing with what others told me. Whispers!

Suffice it to say, there’s a splinter group. Fanatics.

You know what we fear, hiding in the sewers were most of the world can’t touch us? The other Nosferatu!”

She sighed. “I said too much…

Mr. Francis?” she emerged from the slumber of deep thought. “I’ll take you on your offer!

This talk has convinced me that there’s just too much smoke around the matter. I’d like to see the fire behind it!

Oh, and you never told me what’s it up to you?”

Miss Sims will want the other nossies moved out of the city as before (or else protected in a different manner), but herself she would try to deal with Anarchs provided that Francis could come through with it.

BTW, the splinter sect plot was first mentioned here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?363589-Ferrum-Impressions-IC&p=18416508&highlight=nosferatu#1304) and resurfaced several times since. Congratulations with discovering it!
…

((the previous day))


maybe if we scratch their back, they'll scratch ours?

"I see now what Thursday meant. They're volatile. And doubly so around the vampires ...erm, kindred!
But some of them are just... nice!
I guess we'll need to stay on Clara's good side if you care about those books."

...

She licked her lips, eying the blood hungrily. Her body involuntarily reacted. "Mmmm, John..." she moaned painfully and catched his hand, surrendering. Sucked on the wound eagerly. He had to stop her and she wouldn't understand what's going on, fighting weakly to get it back. She was drunk with it, spaced out. He could do anything with her at that moment.

...

“So, John...” Tanaka asked the sleepy vampire. “Any particular strategy you would use if a ton of meat and claws comes your way?
Like, tomorrow?”

[Danteric]

John cringed at the thought of a werewolf attacking him directly, even his magic wouldn't help him much at that point. "I'll be honest, I would most likely run.. I'm not well trained enough in the discipline of fortitude to survive any attacks, so they'd likely rip me to shreds..." He admitted, a little upset on how easily he admitted he would run, but it was the truth. "And what about you? You'd likely have better luck then I would, probably.. But I still would be cautious if I were you.." He asked quietly.

[Artemciy]

"A silver blast to the head? Shouldn't it harm them wolves?"

((She whispered something to the side, as if talking with the wall. Entropy&Time to make a quick check of whether that would be effective against one of the Garou she have seen 7d10 vs 6 [9,6,9,2,8,1,8] = 4)).

"I have a good feeling about it.
Speaking of which, could you make some silver pellet on one of those gadgets of yours? Francis still has his backpacker."

[Danteric]

John shrugged at the question, "I suppose it's possible, and ordering a silver knife or two wouldn't be impossible I hope.." He said as he motioned towards the computer, "I hope you'll be able to take care of ordering the materials while I sleep? And by the way, did you manage to find anything about sword designs in the sabbat network from that implant you made in that bucket head?" He asked, still wanting to finish that easily concealed sword he had his mind on.

[Artemciy]

"Silver knife... Are you serious?" she was incredulous while looking at the internet shop over his shoulder. "Sorry, I should have talked with Wade sooner. I'll get him started."

[Danteric]

John shrugged again at her comment, "Well, when a werewolf gets pissed at you for firing silver bullets at it and charges at you, I'd like a back up weapon, and that's where the knife comes in, better then just punching them I suppose.." He said as he began to shamble towards his bed in preparation for the upcoming day.

[Artemciy]

"Oh. Sure. As a backup weapon it makes sence.
You want me to get the firearms?"

[Danteric]

John nodded "if you think you can, sure. Probably won't be something you can easily order on a website, but you're rather resourceful so you shouldnt have too much of a problem.. I'm not that knowledgeable on firearms, so I'll let you take your pick" he said, as he began to get comfortable on his bed, not that he would notice it as he slept.

[Muenster Man]

"My stake in this? Look, I really, really, really hate the Sabbat. Anything that puts more people and more resources into the Camarilla or the Anarchs of London is another knock against them. And since the Camarilla is currently licking their wounds and waiting for a chance to come back, that just leaves the Anarchs for now."

Francis sighs and looks a little tired. "And, I know that doesn't necessarily make sense. The Anarchs could be working with the Sabbat. They have been playing nice and all, but I don't buy it. Everyone I've met so far talks about them like they fear them. Like, one misstep and they're dead. Not like they're allies.

"And I think I've heard of these other Nosferatu you're talking about. An Anarch spoke of them like boogeymen, and is convinced they're Sabbat. Investigating them is a good idea, and if you can turn up any dirt on them, you'd probably make a lot of friends."

Francis rubs the back of his head and prepares to leave. "I'll get back to you tomorrow night. What's a good way to reach you? Same place?"

[Artemciy]

The gathered. A laughing company beside the shop. Burning eyes in the grass. The shifters knew their conspiration, a commoner would’ve had no idea of the raw destruction in just a dozen steps ready to blow.

The night was picked on the off chance that the disfigured servants of the Wyrm would choose to operate then, leaving less defended their base. Retroactive monitoring of city cameras seemed to confirm it.

“She should have died hereafter; there would have been a time for such a word” a pink-nailed girl said quietly, not turning to look at you, when coming out of a cab you joined her at the specific place. It was a place of small buildings and lonely spaces, not unlike a street were Harry Potter begins, but nobody was snuffing out the lights.

“Caldera?” you wondered if that’s was the shifter assigned to work with you. “Try not to get her killed” Clara asked.

“Call me Caldie. Or Cad” she was still lost in the mood and the raven hair was all you’ve got.

- Ask her about the plans of attack.
- Check with her whether they have a communication system in place, like that of Anarchs.
- Discuss the past events (you can always pick on the backstory that way).
- Tell her to tag along and march to the bunker.
- Remain silent.
- Else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis nods "Hey Cad. First things first, you got a system to keep us coordinated? Or is the plan for us to stick close enough together that we don't need anything like that?"

[Artemciy]

The girl has turned briefly, flashing a face dulled by an old pain. “Begone, the creature of darkness” she intoned, hiding behind a leaf-lade of wig. “Your kind won’t stop the mourning of a fool“.

[Muenster Man]

Francis raised his eyebrows and let out a low whistle. He's had no reason to breathe for years, but he did it sometimes out of habit. He did not leave, however. He merely swayed from the heels to the balls of his feet back in forth in uncomfortable silence.

Normally, he would have left it at that and kept silent. But they needed to work with her, and not communicating was ridiculous. Instead he changed his approach. His posture and face softened, and he attempted to take genuine interest.

"I'm sorry we interrupted. Who are we mourning?"

[Danteric]

John wasn't really all that surprised by Caldera's hatred towards them, the fact that two vampires and garou could be in the same room without ripping each other apart was a surprise. Crossing his arms, John stares at the Garou, "So, what's the plan of action?" He asked, and hoped it wouldn't involve charging in head on.

[Artemciy]

“You wouldn’t understand” she refused but Francis could tell that was an improvement.

In a moment she started to talk, as if reciting from a book she didn’t like. “I am to be your relay. If I’m killed, you are to disengage, for being easily mistaken with the enemy.
Our duty is to stay behind, in the outer ring of the tunnels. A bone in a snapping jaw, a trap against a trap…
The first wave is there, already. Dying… maybe. If the ward discovered by Ta-na-ka” she glanced at the which, pronouncing the unfamiliar name, “is broken or passed, we’ll hear about it.”

…

In a few minutes a faraway howl made the pedestrians look around. A cheerful company just a block away dispersed swiftly into the trees.
“It’s an Anthem of War. The ward was easy job. Let’s go” she urged, coming away from the light. Suddenly she was a bit higher, bulkier, clothes rustled against her changing skin.Examples I think related to the Glabrou form:
https://slavfolklore.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/werewolffem.jpg
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/523965737869308883/
It's a half-shift between the Homid and Crinos forms.

...

Tanaka shivered when they entered the now familiar corridors, using the structural weakness that Francis exploited the last time. The spidercat remains were gone, pehaps eaten by other things, but there was an awful drag of burnt flesh coming from the closed door. Strange wooden splinters littered the floor.

Caldera led them further through the maze of the dark underground city. You crossed past a few dumps of greenish fur, what must be the Black Spiral Dancers shredded down to sheets. "Stay here" she managed to say from the disfigured throat. Three huge forms appeared from the black, the Garou in their Crinos forms. They've been exchanging snarls, whines and shifts of stance, you've got an impression they have been talking amongst themselves.

[Muenster Man]

Soon after entering underground, Francis activated two of the signature traits of his clan: Eyes of the Beast and Feral Claws (1 bp). Even though the air hung heavy with tension, Francis was at ease. He doesn't get to use these powers as often as he'd like for fear of violating the masquerade, but while using them he feels like this is how he should always be. Like this, the darkness held no secrets and no one could deny he was a threat.

As the 3 werewolves came into view, Francis stopped still. He thought they haven't attacked us yet, so this is probably their handiwork. Still, we don't know how friendly they are. Francis nodded in their general direction. He wondered what Tanaka and John were thinking, but didn't want to take his eyes off the werewolves.

Trying to determine through body language and their noises what their intent might be, or maybe the mood of their conversation. Probably at higher difficulty since werewolves seem to act in a foreign manner, although that may be mitigated by Francis' connection to his animalistic nature.

Perception+Empathy (0 dots) [roll0]

[Artemciy]

He could almost hear them talking. Focusing on his Beast he picked on the body language with a surprising clarity.

- Thanks for coming.
- You owe us.
- How’s the hunt?
- Stragglers. Small game. Big trouble elsewhere. Who’s the strangers?
- They’re with me. Helpers.
- Sorry for your pack.
- I’m all right.
- Expecting trouble?
- Humor me.

It wasn’t as precise as that, of course. The language of the wolves left a lot to the interpretation. It was a game of accounting for every little detail, much more of a runic puzzle than that of the English. Francis didn’t have to decipher it, though, just listen to the familiar voice of his Beast. He wondered if the shifters felt bored speaking plainly, or if they kept telegraphing the hidden meanings while walking among the kine.

His observations were soon interrupted. A sound came from the south. It was like a rustle of the dirt across the old halls first, then it was like the sliding of a snake. Then the hoses appeared, as if a posessed vacuum cleaner was hiding somewhere in the dark, only half a meter huge and meaty red and brown and with the nasty teeth on the rims.

“It’s a spirit” Tanaka whispered.

The shifters watched it in silence for a spell, with only the sound of Caldie clothes ripping under her swelling form to match with the patter of the limbs approaching from the south. Then one of them growled and two beasts ran to west, one to the east, leaving only Cad.

- Shoot the thing (dragon breath? silver?).
- Attack it with claws.
- Try the Thaumaturgy against it.
- Ask Cad if she knows what to do, Francis can interpret her reply.
- Retreat north.
- Use the high-tech scanner in Francis' goggles trying to judge the size and shape of the thing.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

Francis dashed towards the monstrosity. He wasn't sure what it was, but tried to see what the hose-like appendage was attached to. He swiped at the toothy tentacle, hoping to sever it.

If Francis notices that the creature is obviously very large, like, much larger than a werewolf, he'll halt the attack and try to analyze the situation.
Attack: Dexterity+Brawl+Passive Celerity [roll0]
Damage (aggro): Strength+Claws+Passive Potence [roll1] (+additional attack successes)

[Artemciy]

Tanaka felt they had no chance, but she was tempted to see more. Eyes wide and frozen, lips moving, she was locked in an attempt to do just that.Time4, 3*7d10vs7 need 8
(including the previous turns in the extending casting cause she began the casting earlier)
1) 7d10 vs 7 [4,8,2,1,3,7,3] = 1
2) 7d10 vs 7 [9,5,10,1,10,7,8] = 4
3) 7d10 vs 7 [1,4,6,5,8,1,6] = Failure
Total: 5. Failed to conjure the effect.
Francis has moved forward and slashed at the snaking limb which tried to evade but was too bulky and slow to match the Gangrel’s speed. Blood squirted from the cut, gushing around and onto the dustly floor. Cad roared a warning, biting one of the worms converging on him and slitting open a few with the claws.

The creep was slow but the large maws coordinated somehow and together were hard to avoid. The floor was becoming slippery with the succus. There was no end to the thing, Francis moved to see down the length of the corridor and in the Eyes of the Beast the carmin glow of it was a shivering mass which turned the darkness into a rusty mist.

The creep is attacking Francis. Caldie's interference raised the difficulry from 6 to 7.
5d10 vs 7 [9,9,6,5,3] = 2
5d10 vs 7 [1,4,2,2,1] = Botch
5d10 vs 7 [1,8,6,5,3] = Failure
5d10 vs 7 [1,4,4,9,8] = 1
Francis might choose to try to Dodge that and retreat.

[Danteric]

John cautiously took a few steps back, surprised by the sudden outbreak of worm-like creatures. As he watched Francis begin chopping the worms into pieces, John felt as if the situation was mostly taken care of, but he has been wrong before, so he decided it would be best to give a hand. Raising his hand towards the strange worms, John began to invoke his Thaumaturgical magic against them, hoping to drain them of whatever blood they may have inside of them, in an attempt to further disable the creature.

Sorry, was busy yesterday.

John will be using Thaumaturgy 4 against the worms, spending a willpower for a success.
[roll0]

[Muenster Man]

"Sh-!"

Francis attempted to leap back and avoid the reach of the... thing. It was more than he had anticipated, and being close to it made him anxious.

Dexterity+Athletics+Passive Celerity [roll0]

[Artemciy]

Blood flowed to John from the gaps. It wasn’t much ((2 BP)) but he could do it again.

“Back off, back off!” Tanaka cried, pulling Caldie by the claw and falling, flung by her reflexive backflip. That helped the Garou to disengage.

They had no choice but to retreat down the northern corridor from the swiftly approaching nightmare.

“Come on, think!” the witch set upon Caldie. “You know how to stop it!”
((Charisma+Leadership 3d10 vs 6 [4,6,8] = 2)).

A howl reverberated from the south. Might've been a message from those other weres.

“Need side step” Cad managed to pronounce after reverting to the half-form. She fished a mirror out of a utility belt that by some miracle survived the shift and now surfaced from under receding fur. Now she seemed to focus on that piece of glass.

Francis avoided the damage with the Dodge roll. Caldera was glazed by the maws and it doesn't heal. If John kept sucking the blood out of the creep then he's filled his pool (e.g. to 20 BP).

I'd like to call for a Self-Control roll at difficulty 4 (life-threatening situation).

Options:
- With a DC 6 Wits+Occult (John) or Wits+Investigation (Francis) roll you might tell Caldie that you'll go with her.
Tanaka's roll (Wits+Occult): 6d10 vs 6 [6,8,2,10,4,3] = 3. We kind of need simultaneous rolls to go together (quick thinking).
- Just keep the worms away and observe.
- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

By the time Tanaka had inspired an idea in Caldie, Francis was running on all fours with his eyes seemingly ablaze in a fury. Retreating had turned to sprinting away so subtly to Francis he hadn't realized the Beast was taking over in a Frenzy. He bowls past the coterie, not minding trying to dodge them, to try and find a place further back to hide.

I'm okay if I'm out for the scene. Francis hasn't necessarily found safety, but that is his goal until he calms down. If someone called out to him, he might spend a point of willpower to stop and help for a turn or two, but he likely couldn't be compelled to stay for long.

[Danteric]

John watched as the blood from the creatures flowed through the air and into his arm, his body twitching momentarily as the rush from the blood flowed through him. After drinking his fill, John felt invigorated, yet surprised at how much he managed to drink. Was this another affect from diablerizing Monty? He wondered, as he turned his attention towards the now shifting Garou. The whole thing had put him on edge, he could feel his beast roaring inside him, trying to get him to run once again, but John remained as focused as he could, somehow managing to restrain himself from fleeing. "Alright, let's go-..." He barely managed to say before he saw Francis dart away from the group, and it took him by surprise. "Francis?! Get back here!" He yelled, as the Gangrel fled, but doubted his words would reach him.

[Muenster Man]

John's words were heard by Francis, and he began to realize what was going on. The Beast had taken over. No, I'm taking control! Francis stopped and stood like a man, turning to look back at the group. His body was shaking as it barely held off the frenzying monster within.

Spending a point of willpower to stop frenzying for this and maybe one other turn.

[Artemciy]

“Can. Stuck.” Caldie jerked her head negative.

“Do it!” Tanaka barked. “I’ll help!”
((Charisma+Leadership, 3d10vs6 = 7,10,6 = 3)).

She bared her teeth, incredulous of herself, but kept at whatever she has been doing. Tanaka has pinned John’s hand to them and was locked with her, eyes shut.Entropy3+Spirit3. Having a hunch that the Were is going to slip into the Shadow, shaman tries to bend the rules of Chance and Spirit to tangle the coterie in the act and bring them along. 7d10vs7-1, +WP. 7d10 vs 6 [6,7,6,5,6,8,4] = 5. + WP = 6.
Caldie’s Gnosis roll: 7d10vs4+2 = [4,6,7,1,3,9,8] = 3
There was a moment of silence and then the changes began to hit. Like a conjurer’s trick, when you stand talking and suddenly find yourself in a different room without ever noticing. there was a cool experiment about that, but I’ve only found these simpler cases at the moment: http://youtu.be/JydLN0-ZdYs?t=56m48s - from 56:50 till 57:30; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBPG_OBgTWg The silence! It meant the worm-swarm was gone. And indeed, the corridor was empty. The pitch blackness wasn’t just a flick of obscured light, the corridor felt different, older, if that was even possible.

“Did it? How?” Cad’s voice in this form tended to snap.

Even the enhanced vision didn’t help now and Tanaka let go of the Auspex-like spell that John have taught her. Her Sight still kept her aware of the surroundings, though it was more like talking to the kidneys of a biology mannequin and not bumping into the air-hung symbols.
“With Magick!” Tanaka jumped and clapped. She was excited about being in the new place. “Where are we?! Is it the Shadow?!”

“Near Penumbra” Cad mumbled.

Francis remained close enough for Tanaka to pull him in.
Now that there's a semblance of safety I wonder if the Frenzy would let go of him.

We probably should figure what to do next, where we are, what we faced and whether we can do something with the wormly menace...
...

Francis saw the hints of roots protruding from the ceiling. There was roundness to the space now, it smelled more a cave than a box of ferrocem. There was a bugaboo wildness to the place, a sense of presence, something a prehistoric man would feel in the dark.

[Muenster Man]

Frenzies tend to last until the end of a scene, whenever you dictates that is. This seems like a good break in scenes. However, going from frenzying to being completely calm in the matter of a few seconds seems like an abuse of the rules, so I'll spend another point of willpower to calm down, and I'll probably have Francis remain very edgy for at least a few minutes.

Fighting off the Beast is exhausting work, and Francis could devote little in the way of attentional resources to realize what just happened or where exactly he is. But he could intuitively gain a sense of the place, and that sense told him this place was safe. Or at least, safer than where he was just at.

[Danteric]

John glanced around at his new surroundings, the tunnel that they were in was replaced by what seemed like a cave, and the fact it happened without him noticing, only caused John to get even more confused. "Wh-What the..?" He asked, as he watched Tanaka and the Garou's attempt at conversation. "Near Penumbra? What the heck is that?" He asked, still glancing around. John was happy they didn't have to deal with crazy vicious worms, but he couldn't help but feel that they went from the metaphorical frying pan and into the fire.

[Artemciy]

Caldie sighed and shifted homid. T saw her muscles, bones, organs change shape, her blood don the alien tinctures. John saw the dim moon of her skin, unfluffed.

“Even brought the clothes through” she brushed Tanaka’s leafy dress. Trying not to sound impressed made her pause.

“You never was in Penumbra?” Suspicion, pity and curiosity mixed in her reply. T watched her watch John, the witch never took much time reading emotions with the Life Sight, now she had no other choice but to try.
“Do you at least know what it is?” Caldera was scared by the idea of such ignorance.
“It’s… it’s like you’re in a Discworld, in two dimensions!” she was both musing and trying to explain.
“There is that infinite space above and below. The Umbra.”

...

The shaman glanced at Francis, who was struggling with something. Wildness and control were like two snakes that in colourful swirls fought about him. She wished she knew what was wrong with him.

...

"Don't have much time" Caldie observed in a voice was whisper-like and hesitant. "I need to go back."

[Danteric]

John shrugged as the Were began to question him, "I mean, I've read something similar in books, but low ranking Tremere like me never get to read the more in depth stuff, or do we usually get this close to Garou to learn more about, meetings with Garou usually dont end very well." He said as he continued to look around. "Though I must say, it is interesting..Infinite space above and below? What happens if you go too far in one direction? Surely getting lost in here definitely doesn't end well." He finished, dreading the thought of getting lost in here.

[Artemciy]

"Oh, that's a relief" she pulled a mouth corner into a smile. "At least you know about it. I see how you're not a goer, it isn't a place for you leeches. No food, no escape from the light. And if you go too far? You go insane or corrupted, just like the Garou we're fighting there. But even not going too far, some explore and still find no end to it. Weird, huh? I'll tell you a story some time. Now we better get going."

She sniffed and started to move carefully. South, if it was.

"What are you going to do?" Tanaka poked.

“That... thing... is big, but it can’t be endless. If we come from another side, I might be able to lure it away...” Suddenly she wasn't so sure.

“Can’t we lure it here, into the Umbra?” the witch asked after some thought.

“It might be stronger here. And… attract other banes. No, I’d rather do that in the Realm. With time it’ll tire and dematerialize on its own.”

“Heal these wounds at least” Tanaka noticed a blood trace, a liquid fire in her Vision.

"Can't. This thing is tainted." She was dejectedly angry.

"Let me try?"

"Humor me"

And here I thought a Life mage would fill a Healer role. The only time she had to heal is to save Katharine from decapitation :smalltongue:

Life3 7d10vs6+2-1 need 6.
1) 7d10 vs 6 [9,4,9,1,2,5,1] = Failure
2) 7d10 vs 7 [4,10,8,9,5,8,5] = 4
Total: 4

Tanaka stopped for a moment, hustling the magic with cryptic whispered words.

"Whew!" Caldie whistled. "It tingles!"

"You're gotta be kidding me" Tanaka catched up. "It's harder than I thought."

"You did good, kid. These things just won't heal, or the life would be so much easier. Who taught you that Gift?"

"I picked a few tricks from a book?"

That made the young shiftress bite her words. Maybe it reminded her in what a strange company she was.

...

"All right, we passed it" she admitted without much zeal. You could say she wasn't looking forward to whatever trick she prepared. You heard her picking the mirror from the belt. "We go back now. And lure it out."

"How do you know it's not... beneath us?" nothing could stop the young witch from showning an academic interest.

"I can peek into the Realm. Can't you?" Caldera didn't know what to believe.

"I don't know, I never tried." T said lightheartedly.

"The young and foolish..." she muttered. "Can you repeat the trick to pull all of us through?"

"Yeah..." T considered. "If you give me some time... Start doing it, whatever it is you're doing, but make it slow, okay?"

"That easy."

"Francis, John, are you ready?" Tanaka called.

- Risk staying in Umbra for some reason (scientific interest?). It's dangerous.
- Follow the Garou in her plan to defeat the monster.
- Try to learn more about what's going on. What is the shifter doing, what will she do, what will come of it? What Tanaka did? The middle of the battle is a perfect time for twenty questions, right?
- Do something else.
...

They are using you, a familiar mind-voice suddenly rumbled in John's head. Pitting you against invulnerable foe to delay the inevitable. I can protect you from the Dancers. Or. I can make them work for you. What will you rather have, this pitiful band of treacherous losers or the truly refined elite warriors and spies?

[Muenster Man]

After having no rational reason to remain in control, the Beast was unable to prevent Francis from definitively wresting the reigns of his will back into his own hands.

A little embarrassed by his loss of control, Francis remained quiet and attempted to follow the conversation. When they made a motion to move out, he finally spoke up. "When we do lure this thing, what happens then? You said luring it away, you think you can outrun that thing? That wound of yours might slow you down." Regardless of whether he go an answer or not, Francis began stretching his arms and back in preparation for whatever happened next.

[Danteric]

John cringed at the thought of getting lost in the umbra, given the explanation from the Garou, it didn't quite sound like his cup of tea. As Tanaka tried her Magic with the garou, John heard the oh so familiar voice in his head, it's soft whispering in his ears always made his hair stand on end, but it usually had a point. It's words were like honey, the temptation of power was always a weakness to him, maybe even the entire clan of Tremere. Suddenly the thoughts of having a pack of trained warriors filled his thoughts, they could undoubtedly give him the power he desired, the power to rule the war torn city, and crush any opposition against him. I'm listening.. He thought to himself, assuming the voice could hear him. And what price will his cost me? Surely you're not doing this out of the kindness of your own heart..

As Tanaka called out his name, John looked up and smiled, "Of course, let's get out of here.." He said, as the conversation continued in his mind.

[Artemciy]

“Its best to weigh the enemy more mighty than he seems“ she croaked to Francis. “I doubt it’ll outcrawl us, but when I call, the other will answer...”

"How much do you need?" she asked the witch nervously.

"A dozen?"

They stood in a semi-circle, like a team before the game.
Cad's gnosis:
1) 7d10 vs 5 [8,3,10,1,6,7,5] = 4
2) 7d10 vs 5 [6,3,5,10,8,4,4] = 4
3) 7d10 vs 5 [5,1,4,3,9,9,1] = 1
Total: 9

Tanaka's enhancement:
1) 7d10 vs 6 [3,1,6,9,7,5,9] = 3
2) 7d10 vs 6 [9,5,1,1,3,9,5] = Failure
3) 7d10 vs 7 [1,10,3,6,1,2,7] = Failure
4) 7d10 vs 7 [6,5,3,3,6,10,6] = 1
Total: 4Francis caught the changes as they went this time. The floor flattened, the smell of earth was replaced with cement dust. The colors of the dark have changed slightly.
... Then changed back.
... He couldn't move, rooted in place by some invisible force. It was like being a piece of cement hunging on a rebar, the strands of the invisible power permeated him, formed a second network of meridians in his body.

"They're stuck! Wyrm's pecker. They're stuck!" Caldie glared at the witch accusingly.

"I'm sorry, i'm sorry! I'll fix it!" she fretted.

"We have no time" Caldie cut in a dead voice. Her shoulders bulged, her head grew a beaker, a huge monstrous form she was now looming over them, the fur made her a part of the gloom. Head raised as if to lick the ceiling she started to howl, only it wasn't a sad canidae melody. A screetch and a clatter erupted from her mouth, so loud that Tanaka guarded her ears. There was a liquid darkness in this howl and a heavy metal rage and lighting among the primordial chaos and a step of Shiva on the last day.

Britni help me! Tanaka whispered getting hold of the vampires. There is time!
Trying to untangle the vampires from the Gauntlet.
Britni's Gnosis roll: 1d10 vs 8 [8] = 1. Wow, that worked. :smallamused:
Spi3+Ent3 5*7d10vs7 +1(assisted) need 7.
1) 7d10 vs 7 [4,8,1,9,7,5,7] = 3
2) 7d10 vs 7 [10,1,9,5,8,4,4] = 2
3) 7d10 vs 7 [6,2,5,7,2,4,3] = 1
4) 7d10 vs 7 [8,9,6,1,3,9,1] = 1
5) 7d10 vs 7 [5,6,4,9,4,4,3] = 1
Total: 8
+1=9. Whew.

Whatever happened, John no longer felt the shifts in perception. The solid conrete floor was a comfort under his shin.

This is when the first guests came. Like in some kind of dream, they have appeared out of thin air, stepped out from the walls, leaked through the ceiling. One of them was flashy like a deep fish, all fireflies and glow illuminating the translucent skin but hiding the huge spikes protruding from its sides. Another was some kind of bug, oogling the scene from above. There was a swarm of insects, their buzz masking the approach of the creep. The cloud of them hung in the air almost as a sentient entity.

The moment of silence have soon ended. The swarm attacked the nearest warm-blood entity. In the few extra moments of consideration that the active Focus effect have given her she came to the only solution. She ran.T's Dodge: 5d10 vs 5(6-1focus) [4,4,6,8,7] = 3;
Swarm/Murder Magath' attack: 12d10 vs 6 [6,10,9,5,5,1,1,4,9,2,3,7] = 3.
Wow! Just wow. I didn't expect she'll dodge it. :smallyuk:

...

We're partness, remember? The voice in John's head laughed. I scratch your back, you scratch mine he added, the word "scratch" was leaving flips of evil meanings in the air. Oh, I will ask you for a favor. Some day. But now it's grace of getting a free advice. Do nothing.

[Muenster Man]

The moment Tanaka freed Francis from being caught in stasis between worlds, he turned to run. For some reason, the swarm was focusing on Tanaka. That doesn't mean you're safe! he told himself. A line of over-sized blue scarab-like creatures hustled on the floor between his legs and Francis waited no more. He couldn't take a chance that these creatures would keep ignoring him. Moving forward, he realized that John appeared free from the bonds between worlds, but was otherwise motionless. Caldie was ahead of the pack running away, Tanaka barely made a getaway unscathed, and John would be eaten alive if he stayed.

Francis nearly tackles poor John, wraps a beefy arm around the blood mage, and hoists him across his right shoulder mid-stride as if he were an over-grown child. He sprinted to catch up with the group and to leave the swarm of monsters behind him. While running he mutters loud enough for John to hear "Was that the plan to get rid of the monster? Swallowing the spider to eat the fly? Let's hope this works and they don't team up."

Not sure if a dodge roll is necessary since they seem to be focusing on Tanaka, but Francis and John are the last ones to leave the area so they might attack us next.
Dodge: Athletics+Dexterity+Passive Celerity [roll0]
Also, I'm not sure if running was also Caldie's plan, but I'm assuming that's what she would have done, she just did it quicker than Tanaka since T had to get us unstuck from between dimensions.

[Artemciy]

Caldera was quick to follow when the movement began. She jogged south, glancing back to the approaching carpet of vacuum-worms. Her plan was working! That’s when the bug jumped her. One moment it was on the ceiling, another he was on top of the were, burrowing into her will all those unnatural appendages, claws, suckers, sharp legs. She managed to kick him away, sending him flying farther south, but she wouldn’t stand. The glowing spire-thing reached her from the north and was weakly pushed away with her hind paw.
bug’s tackle, 5d10 vs 7 [2,3,8,10,4] = 2;
Cad's soak: 6d10 vs 6 [9,6,9,4,10,4] = 4. Damage: 1, aggravated.
bug’s vs. knockback, 6d10 vs 6 [8,4,4,2,8,7] = 3
Cad’s vs. knockback, 6d10 vs 6 [1,8,3,5,2,9] = 1
Tanaka more sensed than seen these events. She changed direction suddenly, turning back but not into the thick of the swarm. She had to do something. Moving and never standing still she fired thrice into the bug. As if having eyes on its back it jumped to the left, trying to avoid the blast. It still grazed him but some have pierced Caldera' skin. Then another one and the third, making him roll across the wall and fall.Sorry for not telling the prepared effects in advance. She has the SLE Sight, basic Luck and Focus as a combined effect pretty much always, it allows her to alternate between the SLE+luck/Focus feats, and for this night she has prepared the Point of Impact effect, one she used in the first serious shootout, the one were we captured Katharine. She had the Heightened Senses effect but let it go to make space for other spells just in case. That’s why she has only the SLE to see in the dark. The Point of Inpact effect is harder to use without having the normal sight, instead of seeing where all the bullets are gonna hit she only see the points where they’re gonna damage her semi-living target, but it is still very helpful.
Shooting Thriple threat, silver load, at the bug 5+1(Point of Impact)d10vs6+1(moving and under attack)-1(Point of Impact)
Attack 6d10vs6 [8,1,7,8,4,5] = 2; damage 8+1d10vs6 [10,1,1,2,3,10,8,4,10] = 2; soak 4d10vs6 [9,9,7,5] = 3; damage 0.
Attack 6d10vs6 [2,8,10,1,2,7] = 2; damage 8+1d10vs6 [7,3,6,5,8,7,2,1,3] = 3; soak 4d10vs6 [9,8,4,5] = 2; damage 1.
Attack 6d10vs6 [2,9,5,6,7,2] = 3; damage 8+2d10vs6 [3,7,10,5,4,3,7,10,5,6] = 5; soak 4d10vs6 [6,7,1,6] = 2; damage 3.
Total damage: 4, lethal.

The swarm attacking Tanaka. 12-2(moving to avoid)d10vs6.
Attack 10d10vs6 [4,10,9,7,3,5,10,10,5,1] = 4; damage 1+3d10vs6 [10,1,4,7] = 1; soak 2d10vs6 [2,3] = Failure; damage 1, lethal.
We have those basic options:
- Try to save Caldera. Francis would need to let John move on its own and carry Caldera instead. Tanaka will have to focus on her healing, because the were has a silver poisoning now. John might guess that we are unlikely to succeed there unless he helps.
- Flee (Tanaka might need convincing).
- Fight, but let Caldera die. Not much point in this, but it might be a most likely outcome.
- Do something else?

[Danteric]

As John was swept up by Francis, he was more concerned with the conversation with the demon in his head then what was transpiring around him. As the battle raged on, he gave into the demons whispering, and let's it get its way. Fine! He thought, if we're partners, get us out of here, and hold up your side of the bargain.. He thought, as the chaos raged around them, only partially aware of the scenario. He didn't want to meet final death from the attacking spirits, and figured there was no other way to get out of this mess.

[Muenster Man]

"Well that's just great!" Francis violently sets down John and dashes towards Caldera. The oversized and wounded wolf was larger than Francis. If he was still human, such a feat would have been unthinkable, but he knew it was at least plausible he could carry Caldera on his back. How fast he could move, however, could become an issue.

Okay, pulling out all the stops for this one. First, he'll spend a point of blood to buff his Strength to 6 (7 with passive Potence) for the scene (-1 bp). Then, going to use the lifting/breaking rules as a substitute for exceeding the max carrying capacity rules, which means I'll roll Willpower vs. 9 each round to keep it up. Each success effectively increases Strength by 1 for the round. Finally, I'll spend a point of willpower for an automatic success for the willpower roll (-1 willpower). Success or fail, Francis' face will look something like this: :smallfurious:

Willpower vs. 9 [roll0] +1 automatic success

He'll begin trying to run with her as soon as he can

[Artemciy]

Spike’s Attack 6d10vs6 [6,8,1,10,9,9] = 4; Dodge 3d10vs5 [10,7,8] = 3; damage 4+3d10vs6 [2,9,1,2,7,6,8] = 3; soak 2d10vs6 [5,10] = 1; damage 2, lethal.
Swarm’s Attack 12d10vs6 [10,7,9,5,5,1,6,1,7,1,8,10] = 4; Dodge 3d10vs6 [6,10,3] = 2; damage 1+3d10vs6 [4,2,8,4] = 1; soak 2d10vs6 [3,8] = 1; damage 0.As Francis switfly moved the wounded shifter away the spiked glowing thing that had a problem attacking a downed target have found one which was much easier to handle. It ran towards the witch, lightning arcs bowing between it’s spires. Disoriented a bit, Tanaka switched Sight for Focus at the last moment. That gave her plenty of time to think but did nothing to speed her escape from the path of the coming urchin. The needles pierced her hand, tearing the flesh.

...

“SCRAM!” she bellowed, throwing her other hand out. The word carried unnaturally, changing the very air around her.She’ve spent Willpower and a point of Quintessence to create a ward against Wyrm creatures.
7d10 vs 5 [5,10,4,8,9,1,9] + 1WP = 5.
With just the five successes I guess it’s a rather weak ward (potency 1), though it might be possible for her to further maintain it.The gnats assaulting her began to burn. The flying comets, they’ve littered the floor. The majority of the scarabs retreated though, dancing around some invisible border. The spike-thing was burning too, the magnium bonfire surpassing the glow of its marks. It made no sound.Spike’s Attack 4d10vs6 [4,10,2,8] = 2; Dodge 3d10vs6 [5,2,3] = Failure; damage 4+1d10vs6 [2,3,10,6,4] = 2; soak 2d10vs6 [9,3] = 1; damage 1.
Attack 5d10vs6 [10,2,1,4,6] = 1; Dodge 3d10vs5 [5,4,2] = 1.The bug-thing recovered from its tumble and leaped at its assailant. Only the supernormal agility of her magically enhanced mind allowed her to tear from the star and move in time to avoid that jounce. So instead of her the burning urching took the majority of the impact. Slimy limbs retracted it bounced on whatever spikes left and vanished.

...

You can walk the voice humored John. No harm will come to you except by accident. But leash your womble John knew the demon was talking about the ghoul. If we loose this battle there might be no Dancers left here for you to play with.

...

"Wait!" Caldera gnarled, recovering herself. She was grateful to Francis for taking her out of the tight spot but there was no time for pleasantries. As soon as he took her down she started again to spew that ghastly song that seemed to draw the monsters.

Much to his chagrin two weres materialised in just a few yards. Francis recognised the deformed battle-forms of Black Spiral Dancers.

One of the spirits dematerialized, another is wounded, Tanaka is safe from the swarm inside the warded space. She will probably spend the next turn healing herself.
Options:
- (Francis) Attack the Dancers while they are still looking around (dragon breah, silver buckshot or claws).
- (John) Order Tanaka and Francis not to attack unless attacked.
- Do something else.

[Danteric]

John listened to the voice in his head, and raised his hand into the air, "Everybody stop!" He yelled, causing his voice to echo through out the cave, hopefully not drawing even more attention then they already had. "Tanaka, Francis, just stop." He demanded, as the two spiral dancers materialized before them. John stared at the creatures while remaining completely still, every muscle in his body was completely stiff as he waited for any more words from the voices in his head. Deep down he expected the black garou to rip him to shreds in a moment, and could only hope he didn't make the wrong decision.

[Muenster Man]

Francis had readied his shotgun loaded with silver buckshot and was ready to fire when he heard John.

He turned to John and looked incredulous. "Are you kidding me?!"

[Danteric]

John shook his head, still nervous around the two newly arrived shifters. "I dont think you'll do to well against them, just...Talk." He said, as he continued to look at the Spiral dancers, trying to buy time for whatever reason. Well? He thought, You said you'd get them to work for me, get them to NOT tear us into little shreds., he finished, hoping he didn't just risk their lives on a random voice in his head.

[Artemciy]

Gray fur with purple stripes pointed at your relay. “It’s her!” he grunted in High Tongue which to all but Francis was no more verbal than just a bark. Caldera threw anguish and rage glances at the vampires. “Help!” she roared when the first attack probed her. Purple stripes was kicking at her shins while the red-furred beast with bald spots of melted glass tried to flank her.Attack 7d10vs6 [3,10,6,5,6,10,5] = 4; Dodge 6d10vs6 [7,10,10,8,1,1] = 2; damage 7+3d10vs6 [9,8,3,2,5,9,5,10,2,6] = 5; soak 6d10vs6 [6,3,8,1,6,2] = 2; damage 3, bashing.
Attack 7d10vs6 [6,9,4,1,4,9,2] = 2; Dodge 5d10vs6 [6,5,2,2,1] = Failure; damage 7+1d10vs6 [1,1,4,8,1,3,8,8] = Failure.
Tanaka fell to her knees and hugged herself fetal, trying to heal fast.Life3, she’s cutting a corner by jump-starting the healing but not waiting for it to finish, e.g. regeneration (http://prntscr.com/68zsg7; http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-11-scientists-key-broken-hearts.html): 7d10 vs 6 [8,10,4,3,3,3,2] = 2. Will heal 2 levels of lethal damage in the next four turns.
Life3, next turn she tunes her body to be much tougher (Organic Resilience), 7d10 vs 6 [7,2,8,2,7,9,7] need 3 = 5.
The bug have ceased to burn and was crawling backwards across the wall.

A third figure appeared after the werewolves. Familiar Tremere garb, the orthodox rectangles on his pronounced beak, a richly sewn cloak of blood and quirky smile, he was the picture of a warlock.
“I greet the fellow kindred” he hailed John with a token tilt of head. “Please tell me you’re not with these… animalistic fanatics?”

[Danteric]

John was surprised by the arrival of the cloaked man, "Two of them are allies of mine.." He said, unsure of how to react against the possible Elder Tremere. "Are you the one responsible for all of this..?" He asked, motioning towards the wanton destruction that continued around the room.

[Artemciy]

T glanced around in wonder, trying to make sense of the tangle of Fate and of the fighting feras. She began to rise, made an O of her mouth.

Caldie jumped east, towards the talking vampires. The move was loosy, she favored a leg, fell.
((Attack 7d10vs6 [5,3,6,5,2,7,7] = 3; Dodge 4d10vs6 [8,4,7,10] = 3.))
But purple-stripes skive have missed her.

The swarm switched to Francis, scarabs were trying to bite through his wordly hide.
((Attack 12d10vs7 [2,7,4,6,9,2,2,4,9,2,6,7] = 4; Dodge 6d10vs6 [5,5,5,8,1,3] = Failure; damage 1+3d10vs6 [2,6,8,7] = 3; soak 4d10vs6 [2,9,9,9] = 3; damage 0.))

A blue aurora appeared from the southern corridor and drifted sulkly towards the mishmash.

"I’m afraid it’s you who is responsible then. This is a place of our business concerns and your ‘allies’ are invading on an important operation, doing untold amount of damage" the indignity of it made him squeak. "I suggest you convince them to withdraw" he offered, regaining some of his keenness.

[Danteric]

John didn't want to admit it, but the man was right, they had barged into the cave and began to attack, abeit with a good reason, but now they were injured, and staying any longer would be suicide. Glancing towards his injured allies, John swallowed his pride and figured their survival was a priority, and given the garous injuries, she wouldn't last much longer either. "Fine.." He mumbled, "We need to retreat" he said to the others, "staying here any longer would be suicide.." He motioned to Francis, "Get Tanaka out of here, I'll be right behind you.." He finished, he was unsure if Francis would listen or care at this point, but he could only hope for everyone's escape.

Turning his attention back to the hooded figure, he began to speak "And what kind of important business could you be performing here that involves deadly werewolves and vacuum cleaners from hell?" He asked rather bluntly, trying to buy time for the others to escape.

[Artemciy]

“Vacuum cleaners from hell! Heh-heh-heh” Tremere snickered.

Ignoring the talking vampires the purple stripes jumped, claws up.

The bug reached the ceiling and was waiting for Tanaka to leave the ward.

The aurora crackled. It promised nothing good.

The threads weaved and weaved, doing their thing of drowning the watcher in branching, exponential complexity. Any fate-watcher should know not to look too deep, not to follow the hope of finding that overlooked path, that funny road which will set the things straight. It is a forest of which there is no exit once you loose the fringe.
Tanaka glanced at the Sketch’s frozen fire, the glimmer of forces which her mind or magick somehow translated into a set of perceptions and captured before the lazy pace of her quickened thoughts.

She was screwed.

And she threw a fit.

Or rather the ward. It was a whisp of a thought from just a few stickjawed seconds ago. To move the ward, to fry the Caldie’s attackers with it’s feeble power. She did it, disturbing the bindings, switching the axle. Connection theory came handy, the thing was hurtling towards the flailing wolf. But even as she did it she knew it wasn’t enough. That’s when a portal appeared. And she screamed.

…

“Kill them and be gone” a man was saying.

His buddy brushed the witch’s nose with her own shotgun. The cold metal sent unpleasant shivers of fear down her spine. Her guts turned. “What happened?” she asked the stars. A leaf of grass tickled her.

“Don’t you want this piece?” he ignored her question.

“Maybe. What about the leeches?” the first man answered. Francis could see him, red stripe over the head, well-sculpted, weapon ready. “Want to shag them too?” His voice thick with sarcasm.

“Right. Disincentive, all green” shotgan moved away from her face. Chest-haired, well endowed, its owner moved to where John lay. Tanaka wondered if she should be excited.

Red stipe stepped toward Francis, raised the muzzle...

- Kill the bastard.
- Starts? Trees? Pretend this is not happening.
- Wait Wait Wait Wait! Try to talk them down.
- Do something else.

[Artemciy]

Curiosity killed the cat.

Red stripe, hearing John speak, glanced his way instead of blowing Francis brains all over the green. Or maybe he was just full of himself and was looking for some fun.

“Your partner’s a bunch of crap” he heard the pointy head telling to Greasy. “He’ll take your liver for breakfast and your sweets for the rest of it. Don’t you see the evil glint? Your only chance to kill is now, while we’re there for dad.”
((John’s Dominate 6d10 vs 3 [7,9,9,8,4,8] = 6))

Some squeaked how he always heard things wrong, but he never heard no else, they were just making fun of him.

Bam! A shotgun blast staggered him.
((Attack 5d10vs6 [1,8,6,8,9] = 3; damage 8+2d10vs6 [7,5,10,7,6,8,7,9,5,1] = 6; soak 4d10vs6 [9,1,3,10] = 1; damage 5, lethal))

It took only a second for him to shed the human skin. Regeneration will now kick in…

“You had it coming, Stripes!” The Greasy advanced slowly, grinning. Like a toy soldier he had his weapon on the hip. Bam!
((Attack 4d10vs6 [3,9,4,2] = 1; Dodge 5d10vs8 [1,9,2,3,9] = 1))
The blast went wide, rapping from the trees, whooshing through the foliage.

What was going on? Tanaka felt like the battered gates of hell. Shouldn’t she be healing herself or something? She didn’t like the monster.

- "help tanaka and francis up" as planned.
- Vanish from sight (Obfuscate 1).
- Cheer your champion.
- Check yourself for weapons (John will find his silver knife).
- Attack the unharmed fera.
- Do somethine else.

[Danteric]

John let out a smirk as he watched the were suddenly turn on each other, he didn't expect the ploy to actually work, but he was glad to know it was possible to do in the future. As the two were distracted, John quickly crawled over towards Tanaka and Francis, hopefully getting their attention. As he crawled up to Tanaka, he noticed the various injuries around her, and assumed they were from the earlier attack. "Come on, we gotta go before one of them wins, I doubt my trick will work twice.." He whispered, as he motioned the others to get up, and hopefully get out of whatever situation they were in.

[Artemciy]

John came around when her captore discarded the empty weapon and turned into a giant red-furred monster she have remembered from somehwere. His wounded accomplice didn’t look that good, he hopped on all three. Then he did something, inhaled and a cloud of noxious fumes enveloped Greasy. It had that construction site smell about it.

“What a ride!” she smiled to John helping her to her feet. Not too steady, she circled the dancing werewolves, doing those funny Jack Sparrow balancing motions in the air, like saying “just wait, it’ll be all right”. From the look of it she was angling to recover her gun.

Caldie was lying in the grass a couple yards far, Tanaka noticed her with the still functioning Sight although she couldn’t quite make out her form behind the grass.

[Muenster Man]

Francis kept low while trying to get a view of the rapidly changing situation. There was a body in the grass with a familiar scent. Keeping his head ducked and trying not to draw attention, he grabs what he's certain is Caldera and begins pulling her away from the scene. Her presence alone virtually ensured their safety amongst the the non-corrupted werewolves. It would have been a shame to survive this and then cut down by supposed 'friendlies' immediately after.

As he approaches Tanaka and John, he says "We're leaving. Now."

[Artemciy]

Good thing was, Tanaka recovered her weapon. She dived for it clumsy-drunk, her body turning itself out from the swift movement. But she was hobbling after Francis and John now, clutching the thing to her chest. Desperate screams followed them from the glade.

The forest was old and stately, there was no trace of human hand in sight. The moon winked at them through the trees.

“You know what? Whoever wins this fight will probably go after as” the witch mused aloud, her shaking hand reloading the Triple Threat. Somewhere safe, she wanted to be. Warm and cosy and with a soft blues. This forest was nice, but… Probably just the backlash she thought, netting herself in healing webs.

“We could stop in a while, I’ll treat the shifter some. She doesn’t look good” she proposed after a bit of a walk.

[Muenster Man]

A little wild-eyed, Francis nods and sets down Caldera. "It's probably not a matter of 'if' but 'when' the winner comes to get us. You do what you can, I'll try to set up an ambush if anyone comes up on us. Call out when you're ready to head out, I'll be nearby."

Francis doubled back a couple dozen meters moving similar to a gorilla: shoulders low and hands occasionally working to propel himself forward. He looked around and saw a good spot. A ditch behind a fallen log would provide good cover, but leaving it quickly without making a sound could be difficult.

Dexterity+Stealth/Survival (lowest of the 2)+Passive Celerity
[roll0]

[Artemciy]

“It’s amazing what these beasts can do” Tanaka was saying, sitting across the wolf. Dark patches of fur clouded the gray. The large body wasn’t attractive like a dog’s, it was wild and feral. Or maybe she didn’t get that kind of allure. She touched, let her hand sink. Softer than it looked.
“Changing their body with just a thought. Growing. Shrinking. Such potential. They could’ve be nigh invulnerable with that power…”
She allowed her mind to slide, to be lost in the woods of the sprawled body. There was no witch in that moment, no forest, only the filaments and chemicals, a world withing a world.
Strangely, there wasn’t a lot of wounds. The cuts weren’t that deep, bloodflow adequate, bones have already mended themselves, yet the body refused to click on some basic level.
The witch prayed to the gods of entropy for some insight.
((Ent2, 6d10 vs 6 [2,7,1,6,5,4] = 1. Heh, close call))
And had a sudden notion to look closely at the spirit. Maybe there was a parasite or something, sucking on her soul?...
Shifting gears she examined the spirit-lane, becoming aware of quite the audience around but refusing to make herself distracted. Examined that curious connection that sews the body to things ephemeral.
Yiip! There was some damage here. Demon wounds have left a lasting impact, a rotten mark that didn’t want to go. And she traced a burning, feverish area to a coupe of pellets stuck in the tendrons of the shifter’s back.

“Say, John” she remembered suddenly. “What was cooking with that Trickster spirit before… I don’t remember… before we’ve got here?”

Tanaka started with what she knew best, making the flesh move, knit and reknit itself, pushing the buckshot away and out of the system. Then she used both her life and her spirit aptitude to shut the strange and complex allergic reaction that the metal have triggered. She moved to the demon wounds then. More a shaman’s work. Reminded her of that time when she treaded spidercat gore, unharmed.
Life3, Spirit3, 12*6d10vs6, need 8 per level of aggravated damage.
1) 6d10 vs 6 [1,10,8,1,2,6] = 1
2) 6d10 vs 6 [8,9,8,1,7,9] = 4
3) 6d10 vs 6 [1,3,1,1,5,6] = Failure
4) 6d10 vs 7 [8,10,4,7,5,7] = 4
5) 6d10 vs 7 [4,5,7,2,10,3] = 2
6) 6d10 vs 7 [4,9,10,9,2,3] = 3
7) 6d10 vs 7 [2,2,9,7,9,9] = 4
8) 6d10 vs 7 [10,10,8,3,5,1] = 2
9) 6d10 vs 7 [8,5,2,1,9,2] = 1
10) 6d10 vs 7 [2,8,4,3,6,6] = 1
11) 6d10 vs 7 [6,6,10,2,2,2] = 1
12) 6d10 vs 7 [3,9,7,1,6,6] = 1
Total: 24, three levels of aggravated damage will be healed.

[Danteric]

John watched as Tanaka performed her magic on the Were, then shrugged as she asked him the question, "You mean the man in the robe? I don't know, I was kind of hoping you might've known, I thought it may have been a trick by those corrupted garou, but I couldn't say for sure.." He said as he scratched his head. "And as for how we got here, I dont know...One moment we're in that cave, and the next we're out here, and about to get our heads blasted in. It's a good thing my trick worked on one of them, or we might not be having this conversation.." He said rather depressingly, thinking on how easily they could've been done in. "What about you? What did both of you see?" He asked, trying to piece together everything that had happened.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka tried to think of what could happen. Her memory turned a pocker face. Then Caldie stirred.

She raised and jumped away in one motion.

“Uhm. Feeling better?” T asked the bared teeth.

That’s when the Stripes showed up. He was quiet while walking through the woods. Now the bulk of him has jumped into the little clearing, leaving a stream of blood droples in the air.

[Muenster Man]

He's alone. And wounded. Good. Francis leapt from his place of hiding and jabbed with his claw at the hopefully unsuspecting Stripes.

Attack: Dexterity+Brawl+Passive Celerity [roll0]
Damage: Strength(buffed)+Claw+Passive Potence [roll1] + additional attack roll successes

[Artemciy]

Even wounded the beast was formidable. It landed where the witch and the healed wolf has been, slashing at the girl even before he hit the ground.
The healer jumped away and tumbled down, but she managed to snatch the bumstick which her bodicon held on a stripe of fresh leaves.
((Attack 7d10vs6 [4,5,10,6,1,8,5] = 2; Dodge 5d10vs5 [9,10,1,3,8] = 2.))

The beast snarled its contempt and that’s when Francis got it from behind. The slash rendered new holes in it’s flesh. Blood sprayer. And yet the monster hardly seemed to notice.
((Soak 7d10 vs 6 [9,8,6,9,6,2,8] = 6.))

It turned, sweeping his left and immediately rending from bottom up with his right.
The Garou easily dodged the first but he simply couldn’t block the huge paw, it came through, sending the torn vampire into the trees.
((Attack 7d10vs6 [7,9,1,9,10,9,1] = 3; Dodge 9d10vs6 [4,1,4,4,5,2,4,8,3] = Failure; damage 6+2d10vs6 [4,6,8,2,8,9,6,8] = 6; soak 4d10vs6 [3,4,5,2] = Failure; damage 6.))

The wolf jumped, biting the shifter on the shoulder, but screaming, he shook her away.
((Attack 6d10vs6 [5,6,7,6,10,7] = 5; damage 3+4d10vs6 [3,2,9,2,1,2,7] = 1; soak 7d10vs6 [2,10,10,7,6,7,9] = 6; damage 0.))

I thought Francis might want to Dodge the incoming attack (though maybe I was wrong, probably shouldn't count Dodge unless you tell me). Anyway, falling a niner was a total surpise. Like, "Eh, he'll probably dodge that. What?!"

Going to wait for John a while before continuing the fight.

[Danteric]

Damn! It found us! Thought John, his mind racing from the sudden ambush from the Garou. Hoping he could give the others an advantage during the fight, John clapped his hands together and began to focus, calling upon the spirits of the Earth and forcing them to obey his will. John then lays his hands on the ground, and began to invoke his Koldunic Sorcery in an attempt to bind the Garou in place, hopefully making it an easier target, before it slashed them all into shreds.

Spending a blood point and activating Koldunic Sorcery level 1
[roll0]

[Muenster Man]

Francis hardly knew what to think as he went crashing through tree limbs and into the ground. He raised his head feebly and looked at his chest. His shirt and jacket were in tatters; a slight gust of wind looked like it could finish them off. But the real horror was what his lack of clothing revealed: bone, blood, and flesh rended away in a grisly mess. Several ribs were completely missing. What would have been his abs were flayed and hung loose. Was that his spine he could see?

He thought the fight with Monty would have been the most difficult fight of his life. This encounter with a werewolf, wounded no less, was far worse. Shaking, he props himself up and pulls out his shotgun. Pull yourself together! You've still got two hands and silver buckshot. Let's see how bad he is after eating this!

Francis forces his body to cooperate, steps in to get a clear shot, grits his teeth, aims at the beast, and fires.

Will obviously need to spend a point of willpower to function for the round while trying to ignore wounds.
Dexterity+Firearms+Passive Celerity [roll0]
Damage: Shotgun damage [roll1] + additional attack roll successes

Dodge roll, if necessary: Dex+Athl+Pass Celerity [roll2]
Feel free to include in penalties to the dodge roll you think necessary. Willpower is powerful, but I don't know if it can completely ignore a wound like that when trying to avoid an attack

[Artemciy]

The mound summoned by the blood magic took the huge beast only as high as its knees. It roared its frustration, trying to escape.
((9d10 vs 6 [8,7,1,3,6,10,4,7,6] = 5))
The supernal strength shattered even the earth spirit’s hold. Releasing its second feet the beast turned its burning eyes back to its enemies. The witch was closest. The striped shifter made a step todards her… and fell, his life finally extinguished by Francis' shot.

T squeaked, scrambling away, but the fight was already over. The body contracted, absorbed the fur, changed. The now familiar man was lying face down, sharing his blood with the green.

[QUOTE]Nice RP!
BTW, the Stripes was functioning on Rage alone and had a silver poisoning, he was pretty much dead when he entered the camp. For his last breath he did a hell of a damage, I'm impressed with how it played out.

Let's suppose that Francis will be healed one way or another (might OOC it).
I suggest we get on with talking and deciding what to do next.

And congratulations with downing the beasts. :smallbiggrin:

[Danteric]

John let out a sigh of relief as the shambled were dropped before the coterie, and despite the fact Francis had an extremely large chunk taken out of his abdomen, they were still in one piece, figuratively speaking. "I dont know about the rest of you, but we should get out of here before more come looking for their buddies. We can go back to the Haven, get Caldera and Francis patched up, and work on our next move.." Said John, as he motioned to give Francis a hand walking. "Barely escaped that with the skin of out teeth..." He mumbled as he waited for the others.

[Artemciy]

"Where are we?! What's going on?!"
Caldera shifted to her human liking. T never tired to gawk at her changing the form, but the wolf hardly noticed the oogling. The lightnings in her eyes were directed at the coterie.

"I don't remember much. Do you?" the witch asked right back.

"I... I... Yes! I was fighting him" she pointed at Stripes. "Then a hole appeared. Then it... exploded...
Then I was here."
She sniffed the air. "This is weird."

"All right, why don't you circle around or something while I see to Francis?
Maybe we'll have a minute or two as not to leave him as it is?" she glanced from Cad to John.

"I'll keep my eyes open" she-wolf sniffed noncommittaly.
"What are you going to do?"

T shrugged and went to the Gangrel. "We better not move him" she thought aloud. Even the idea alone of treating these wounds gave her a perspiration.
"Don't worry, we'll fix you up!" she reassured the vampire. "Does it hurt?"

Live3 12*7d10vs5. Going to take a couple of minues.
1) 7d10 vs 5 [9,4,1,7,3,10,2] = 2
2) 7d10 vs 5 [7,10,4,5,1,7,7] = 4
3) 7d10 vs 5 [8,2,6,10,6,1,3] = 3
4) 7d10 vs 5 [5,8,2,8,3,4,5] = 4
5) 7d10 vs 5 [10,2,3,2,4,10,5] = 3
6) 7d10 vs 5 [1,4,5,5,7,4,2] = 2
7) 7d10 vs 5 [3,6,5,10,9,10,2] = 5
8) 7d10 vs 5 [6,6,4,9,8,10,8] = 6
9) 7d10 vs 5 [5,6,10,6,2,10,8] = 6
10) 7d10 vs 5 [9,6,4,9,9,3,7] = 5
11) 7d10 vs 5 [7,4,10,10,9,4,8] = 5
12) 7d10 vs 5 [7,1,3,10,5,9,1] = 2
Total: 47, five levels of aggravated damage healed. One level remains.

"Is that what you've been doing to me?" the shiftress asked somewhere in the middle of the process.

"Yup! You had some silver in you!"

Cad whistled. "Thanks, I guess.
I don't think we're anywhere near the city..." she glanced at John.

[Muenster Man]

Francis limped forward slowly, using his shotgun like an octogenarian would use a cane for support. He limped, stumbled, and fell a few times. His movement was like molasses. He didn't look at the group. Didn't ask if they were okay. Didn't accept John's hand in help. He knelt in front of the dead werewolf hungrily. It's been so long since he's had a good meal. The only thing that gave him pause, the only thing that could was Tanaka healing his wounds.

I've waited long enough, I can wait a few seconds more. He let his flesh reknit itself back together, bone seemed to grow like tree branches, and his skin stretched tightly back together. A deep gash remained, but it was nothing serious. Francis nods and smiles, and mumbles an exasperated 'thank you'. Then, face like a zombie, Francis' falls upon the dead beast and begins draining it.

[Artemciy]

"There was a moment out there when I thought you betrayed us..." Caldera said, looking at the feeding vampire coldly.

8 BP (20 one gets from one fully intact :smalltongue:) and Potence +1 while he has any of them.
He feels like on m-th and jumpy.

[Danteric]

John shook his head after the were spoke, "No, we made a deal, so i'm going to see it through." He said, leaving out the part about the voices offering him power over the shadow dancers, and his thoughts on taking control of the city. "Besides, I dont really want to piss off an entire pack of Garou, would be much better to be on friendly relations, no?" He said, as he glanced over towards Francis as he drained the corpse. "Well, I guess we need to find some shelter, i'm sure you already know what the sun does to my complexion.." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Dont suppose you have any ideas?" He asked the Were.

[Muenster Man]

Francis pulled himself away from the corpse. He felt so energetic he shook his head and jumped in place before settling down.

"What? youmeanwhen I... attacked vacuum-tentacle thing andthenranlikeacat?" Francis had very noticeable difficulty controlling the pacing of his speech. "No, no, nononono, that wasn't betrayal. THAT'S..." his index finger shakes slowly and knowingly "... weakness." His hand makes it up to the back of his neck and begins scratching until he remembers he still has claws. "That's a part of me I still don't control. I'll do better. In the future."

"Actually, I already have. Pulled your butt out of the fire. Twice. We're in this together, I don't back out of agreements like that."

To John's query, Francis looked up at the night sky then his eyes fell around the forest. Signs of civilization often were not hard to find. The distant glow of light pollution, the sound of engines chugging along a highway, even a simple trail had to lead somewhere.

Francis will look to see if there is any indication of civilization or shelter they can find.
Perception+Survival (-2 difficulty for hearing tasks) [roll0]

[Artemciy]

“Then I will attribute your reluctance to strike the enemy to the carefulness in facing the unknown.

Don’t count me ungrateful. My life you saved and proved yourself a friend. I should be glad and singing joys to Earth and Moon of this, but hour is darkened by greater loss, a battle lost before it’s even won, and not even that.”

She fell silent, pondering the fate of her bretheren.

Francis ran up the near highest tree, light as a monkey and making effortless leaps. The night revealed no traces of men. He looked up, as if to reassure himself in finding satellights which his keen sight could easily spot among the stars. The sky was different and chaste, the constellations familiar but wrong, twisted.

“I’ll scout around” he heard Caldera reply to John from below. “What do you need, a cover from the sun? I’ll find you”. She turned into a wolf and was gone.

Tanaka is busy scratching her jaw from the ground :smalltongue:, so I didn't voiced her in this post.

[Muenster Man]

Francis climbed back down looking jittery and at a loss for words. He looked John in the eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but paused, and then swallowed whatever he was about to say. Shaking his head, he finally stammered something out. "I-I don't know. I just don't! No cities. No cars. The sky! Would you look at the sky?! It's wrong. Don't know what it is, it's just wrong! It's like... " Francis looks around for a prop. He finds the gory tatters of his clothes.

"It's like this! This is our home, where we're from." He places two bits of his shirt back over his body to where they were roughly supposed to be. "THAT'S... where we're supposed to be but this, this is... " Francis turns the two pieces of cloth in an attempt to make them appear flat but at an odd angle. The analogy quickly falls apart when the pieces of cloth merely flop over, and Francis forgot that he couldn't just work a fulcrum and hope the rest of the cloth retain its shape. He leans his chest back like in a game of limbo so that gravity would not be such a harsh mistress and to get the pieces to fall flat. ... where... we're at. This is dumb. He throws away the two tattered strips of shirt. "But the sky is the same, but different. Arranged different. You get me?"

Francis paces while snapping his fingers as an anxious tic. "But let's be real now. Okay? Sunlight. Who's afraid of it? Tanaka? No. Caldera? Not really. Me? Well, actually, yeah, but that's not important. I got an hidey hole I can make anywhere. You? John, let's be real now. You're screwed. We need to find shelter. Make shelter. Caldera's looking. You wanna put all your eggs in one basket. What if she doesn't find anything? Sun comes up, BAM! Ashes. I'll literally dig a hole and bury you. But we need a plan. Before anything, we need to figure out what's happening. What happened. When we're getting home. IF we're getting home."

[Artemciy]

Like Tarsan the Gangrel jumped down from tree to tree, till he was on the ground and delivering his speech. Most of his clothes have fallen off, leaving only a token shirt which like a spencer jacket graced his chips. Caldera, then Francis. We’re burning through garbs like nuts, Tanaka wondered, checking her own dress. Not that she wasn’t intrigued.

A Kerry red deer (http://www.paulslyerphotography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/deer4.jpg) passed in like a fifty yards. He glanced at the source of the strange sounds. Francis seemed to look at ten things at a time, his mind was finding analogies and discarding them at a pace faster than his speech. It would’ve been tedious if he wasn’t running ahead of his mind. That’s how he noticed the animal through a gap in the trees.

The auburn animal was like a rusty sword. It's antlers covered in the tiniest fur which asked to be touched. There was no fear, only a solemn and lenient curiosity about it. They've looked at each other for what seemed like long, till the wild life continued on its course.

Wow! The shifter's blood can really come through to some vampires. :smallbiggrin:
I see how it's addictive when one's normally a composed.

A peek of wildlife, I hope you don't mind.

...

Caldera returned empty-handed. She haven’t found any kind of shelter for the vampires. The dawn was approaching.
- Perhaps she was looking in the wrong place? Tell the Garou to look for natural shelter, a hollow, a huge fallen log, a steep hill. [Survival DC 6, control]
- Join the search. [Survival DC 8, control]
- Tell Tanaka to find some kind of cover for John. [Wits DC 6, control]
- Do something else.

You can roll anywhere (like http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm) and if you've got a success then you might describe the results.
Francis was fidgety, the shifter’s blood asked him to do something, to run somewhere. It was nigh impossible to just sit there and wait. Maybe it reminded him of Arthur’s “runs”. How was he killing the time?
Tanaka was getting hungry. She day-dreamed of ways to find food and examined the shifter's corpse.
Once she tried animating it ((Life3, Ent3, 7d10 vs 8 [10,4,4,4,1,3,4] = Failure)). Some time later she tried to absorb some of that flesh through her skin ((7d10 vs 8 [7,7,5,1,4,3,9] = Failure)) but was a bit too revulsed to give it more guile. At least she sated one of her hungers, she no longer wanted to experiment.

[Muenster Man]

Francis looked at the majestic deer in awe. His attentional resources were so devoted to watching the deer, it overrode any mania he may have had as if he were a Toreador. As it left, his naturally predatory instincts intruded his thought process.

"What an amazing creature." He said slowly. It was the first time his speech pacing had slowed. "It would make a decent meal, if, you know, we actually ate flesh. Oh wait, sorry Tanaka. We don't all eat the same way. I think it's gone now. If I had been thinking, you'd have some venison. Raw. But, you know, better than nothing."

I really appreciated the introduction of the deer. It added a naturalist aspect to the scene, which helps immerse us into the environment of the forest.
Instead of chasing after the deer, Francis returned to his earlier anxious mannerisms. "Okay, John. You're going to die. But that's okay. Because Caldera is out there going go find something to save you. Save your life! So, you're not going to die! And you two will prove that we can live together. In harmony. Vampire and werewolf! No, no, no. Wait, not that. She's probably just repaying us for saving her life. Damn. But wait! I can help. Give me..." He looks to the sky. "An hour! Just an hour! I'll find you a hole. And bury you! You'll be safe. Two heads are better. Better than... twoheadsarebetterthanone! Improve your chances! I need you, you need me! We all live!"

Before John could respond, Francis frantically began running into the forest to find a suitable spot to begin digging away with his bare hands. A ditch or drop-off would be preferable. It would really help if I knew which way the sun was rising. No it doesn't, he'll be underground! None of it matters! But it would help if nature had done half the work.

Trying to find a suitable spot to begin digging a hole to bury John in and then an actual roll to make the hole. Preferably somewhere the soil is soft, or there's already an indentation in the earth. Unless Francis finds a man-made shelter or a convenient cave, he's convinced digging a hole is the best option. I think he still has his claws, which would likely decrease the difficulty of digging a hole. If he doesn't, he will spend another blood point to grow them back.
Perception+Survival [roll0]
Stamina+Strength(still buffed, I think)+Passive Potence [roll1]

If you feel that enough time has passed for his blood buff to have worn off, take off either the last die or one success, whichever you think is appropriate for the digging roll. The buff (and his claws) should really only last for one scene. If you think it's appropriate either of the two abilities have worn off, that's fine, but Francis will regrow his claws as stated above.

[Danteric]

John shrugged as Francis seemed to jump around the place, barely able to keep up with the mans own words. Something with the Garou blood? He wondered. John didn't like that Francis pointed out his impending Final Death if they were unable to find a shelter, but he couldn't argue, he knew it was true. Pacing back and forth, John tried to figure out something as Francis darted around the area in search of a shelter, but eventually turned to Tanaka as she finished experimenting on the Garou. "Maybe you can use your tricks to conveniently find an area to hide? I'll hide in whatever Francis is digging if I have to.." He said, starting to get a little desperate for his unlife. John eventually came up to Francis, and began assisting him in digging the hole, hopefully making it big enough for him to fit in, and deep enough for it to be sun proof. John didn't like the thought of sleeping in the ground, but he wanted to live. He needed to live.

[Artemciy]

“Aw!
I’ll have to come searching for roots!” T cried back, horrified and indignant, when Francis mentioned the deer.

He chattered about digging a hole.

She wanted to help but it was an end of a long night. “Oh, you’ll do all right” she replied to John and lied down. The forest bed wasn’t near as soft and thick as a meadow’s. She was tempted to shoot herself down, but conscience got to her first. So she gathered branches from the alder underbrush and shaped them into a solid cloth, just like her dress only simpler and not enhanced with life.

“Here” she showed John her creation. “This’ll keep you from being all smurfed in the earth. It will even offer a token protection from the sun. Don’t worry, I’ll cover you with something more solid once you’re asleep.”

Francis still had the claws and boosts, so no extra spendings.

Thus ended the night.

XP +1. On to the brave new world. :smallsmile:
…

The day went uneventful. Caldera was wary, but forthcoming. After they’ve turned turns taking a nap they’ve encountered a man. With a goat skin coat and leather loincloth, stone axe and bow he looked quite prehistoric. Caldera tried to speak with him but couldn’t understand any of his cries. He ran away, scared. They rounded him and T took a hair out of his slumbering body.

Waking, you found yourself in the middle of an endless forest.


http://cs625323.vk.me/v625323541/14a77/JV50dti6stU.jpg

- Travel south-east, hoping to find the city of London there.
- Follow the hunter’s hair. (Tanaka will track him with magic).
- [Charisma DC 6] Talking with Caldera you discover she can find a caern in the Umbra. That usually works, though Umbral travel is always risky. Caldera and Tanaka phase you into the Umbra and together you quest for the caern.

...

It was an early evening, just after the sunset. Francis have emerged from the earth into the warm breeze, his body glistened with the juies of the soil, his hair tangling from misrepair.

Tanaka was easy to find, her steady hearbeat would carry for miles. She capped, curled up, in the fern. John he couldn’t find, Tremere was practicing the Obfuscation.

…

They stopped after a long run trhough the woods. It was a game.

“Not bad for a bi” Caldera breathed heavily, looking just like the next homo sapiens now. “You can be fast”.

“Damn, I need a smoke” she shifted uncomfortably. Something nagged at her.

“So why London?” she shot. “I mean… I’ve read the file. Your little group flew overseas like coals to Newcastle, borrowing trouble. There are two predominating theories and both involve a big hat. One’s that somebody’ve sent you to mess with things and the other that somebody’s after you for messing with things.”

[Muenster Man]

The run had burned off some excess energy. He had also recognized how bizarre he acted the previous night, and aimed to revert back to his usual disposition. He was still more talkative and on edge than usual, however.

Francis shrugged his shoulders to Caldera's inquiry. "Your guess is as good as ours. We came from the States, and back there it was a little crowded for our kind. Heard that London would be more accommodating to fresh blood. Vacancies, apparently. Didn't really believe it, but looking back they probably needed more bodies to fight the Sabbat. Don't know why we were singled out, but we were attacked within the night of getting there. The only thing I can figure is we were new. Beyond that? Beats me."

Thinking of his past reminded him of his old Brujah mentor, Jacob. Bastard. Probably still waltzing around Chicago like a rooster, except no one pays him any attention.

Gritting his teeth and looking around at every minor sound in the spooky forest, Francis asks the obvious question. "Speaking of London, where are we?! We need to get back! You mentioned a guy in goat skins and with a stone axe speaking a language you don't know? That's crazy! There's no way we're anywhere near London. I don't even know if we're in Britain! You did something!" He accused both Tanaka and Caldera, not exactly sure who it was or if it was both. "We were running. You did something. We went somewhere else, then came here, right?! Undo it, take us back!" Francis' attempts to keep his composure began to fail.

Trying to get an explanation from them as to what happened, and any possible solutions they might have. He's acting a little aggressive. He won't attack, of course. But he is on edge.
Charisma [roll0]

[Artemciy]

"A little crowded, huh?" Caldera wondered if that was a hint towards the second version. He covered for it, though. Changed the subject.

"No!" she shrugged, letting her hands shape a fir before falling back to where her hips reflected the moon. "I didn't, I wish I could. Here's your pointy head, an expert on all things magical" she turned to the witch. "What's your take on that?"

"Uhm. I haven't really looked into that..." Tanaka admitted softly. She was drowsy but in a kind of hugging mood and was battling with the desire to go and hug everybody.

"Then do! Move heaven and earth, break the spear but find the answer!" Caldera imposed.

"Well, I might have had an idea" the witch admitted, a little scared. "Remember you said something about the portal?"

"So. What about it?" Caldera urged her.

"Uhm. Could've been that somebody was trying to come through and his spell highwired" she delivered.

"His? Could've been?" the Garou was critical.

Somehow T didn't want to hug her anymore. "Eew. I'm not your magical expert, I'm just a wannabe. Go pester John" she moaned, Japanese-like, glancing to where he stood, invisible to the rest of them. Turning her back on the shiftress she began to look for little stones and fling them into a tree.

Caldera stepped back to Francis, turning alongside him and with her hand on a chin doing the thinking. "This place is different, that much is clear. We're together in this, cheers to the Dunkirk spirit: I'm in no hurry to be lost in the woods. Still, it's tempting to look for a nearest Caern..."

[Danteric]

John had crawled out of his hole in the ground rather early, he wasn't sure if it was because of his anxiousness to get out of the dirt, of the fear of getting caught in the rays of the sun, but one thing was for sure, he had always woken up as soon as the sun went down. Doing his best to clean off the various twigs, dirt, and bugs off of his clothes, John noticed the others were either still sleeping or were preoccupied with other things. Sitting down nearby, John began to practice his new Discipline, Obfuscate. Was it something he had picked up from the Diablerie of Monty? He wasn't sure, but it almost felt like second nature to him. John watched as the others started becoming active and discussing their plans. When Tanaka motioned towards his general location, John's veil fell, allowing the others to see him. Raising his hands into the air, he shrugged, "I might be good with magic, but I have no idea on what happened." He said, honestly unsure about what had happened the night before. "As for Caldera's idea, it could be a good idea to find a Caern, but those are usually guarded by more Garou, aren't they? Sure, you're on good terms with us at the moment, Caldera, but the rest of likely aren't. Cant say I want to be cut to shreds.." He stated rather bluntly, but it was the truth. "But...If you think you could get them NOT to give me a first class tour of my bowels, I say we can give it a try.." He said, scratching his head. Turning back to Tanaka, John remembered her somehow healing Francis's wounds, "Hey Tanaka? Could you take a look at this burn I got a few days ago? I haven't had a chance to heal it, and you seem alot better at it.." He asked, hoping for the best.

[Artemciy]

T came to him slowly, unbuttoned him and took away any clothes that may obscure the wound. Then she urged him down and standing on her knees began to lick the blackened skin. Her tongue worked slowy and methodically. In almost a lazy fashion it got over every inch of the damaged flesh.

“Licking your wounds?” the shiftress noticed sultry.

…

“Are you prepared?”
Despite their reluctance, vampires decided to venture with the werewolf. Tanaka suspected it was as much from curiosity as from any measure of safety that the contact with the powerful beast could provide.

It still didn’t sit well with her how easily they could have shift their bodies. A frail woman first, then a moment of violent, eerily quiet change and a machine of death and destruction was hulking a meter above, clicking its fangs. Caldera claimed it was a Celestine’s gift, that ability. Or a curse, T thought.
Now she asked for a moment of piece to prepare her spells. One important piece was en enhancement that allowed them to be sucked together into the Umbra after Cad. She didn’t want to be stuck in the Gauntlet like earlier that day, when she experiemented with side-stepping herself. If Caldie didn’t help her she would’ve been still stuck inbetwixt, or worse. Werewolf told her about predators looking for the fly caught in the Weaver’s net, sharking on the easy prey.

Once she slipped in her magic. The wind laughed and cried. Vampires looked about in wonder.

“Yes” she nodded, “don’t make it slow this time.”
((other active effects are the usual SLE+Focus, Dexterity enhancement and an experimental spell: http://prntscr.com/6axfb7))

…

They were in the shadow forest. “The wood was there so long it left an imprint” Caldera explained.
The trees swayed without a wind.
Touching one T discovered she could pass right through. There was no sound other than of their footsteps, muffled by the soft earth.
A hare sprang from under the roots and ran away. Cad followed it with her eyes for quite some time.

They traveled through the night. Sometimes the spirits harrased them.
Spacemen tried to pin Francis with lasers while he closed the distance, jumping and rolling through the beams-maze. Their sleek suits torn and bloody now quivered in the wind. When he glanced back he saw the corpses devoured by strange and comic things, like in David Bowie’s Labyrinth.
Hands raised from under the soil and tried to drown them. He cut and ripped away quite a few, loosing the track of time.
A dragon flew by.

When John told her she laughed.
“These might be as much from your perception as the Bane’s true form. One can never tell. Maybe we’ve met some crazed explorers. More likely is that our unconsciousness allowed the ephemera to take on these forms.

Mind you, they’re real! Here and now, they are what you saw.
But was it you or something else that gave them shape? That’s a flame war I wouldn’t touch with a stick.”

…

Pines changed into oaks. Oaks gave way to plains.

“Look! Standing stones!” Francis pointed.

“We’ve found it!” Caldera whispered. Her eyes glared in wonder, taking in the primeval landscape.

The circle was discernible on the horizon. Round hills protected it.
There was a strange phenomena about, like a blue rainbow descending from the moon.

…

John had to be buried. The shallow grave was standing ready amidst the grass. Tanaka was absorbing the leafs of the nearest poplar shrub through her skin. She would pick a leaf, squeeze it in the small fist, then go for more. The soft meadow filled her with dreamy thoughts.

- [Social DC 6] Opinion for Tanaka and Caldie to stay. The Garou might have noticed them or scout around their domain, it's best to have they daywalkers in tow.
- Send Caldera to scout ahead and make contact with the Garou, if they are about. Garou alone ought to make the best first impression.
- Send both Caldera and Tanaka out. If something happens, they might need each other to survive and besides, the local shifters are better to get used to one of our own, not to mention she'd keep an eye on the were.
- [Wits+Occult DC 6] Knowing Tanaka's fey powers, tell her to perform an augury or explore the spirit-scape.
- Do something else.

...

Tanaka took a patch from her dress and put it over her eyes. It turned black. Britni, her glass, was nowhere to be seen.

[Muenster Man]

Francis hung back a little, thinking about what could await them on the other side. Maybe they'd get lucky, and it'll be clear. Or maybe they'd stumble on a pack of werewolves? Or maybe they'll emerge in full daylight? It was easy to lose track of time, and he wasn't convinced time ran parallel to their home world. Caldera could scout, but he doesn't entirely trust her yet. Tanaka could keep an eye on her, but that had it's own risks. Do we really want to put all of our eggs in one basket? If something happens to them, we're stuck. But he had become weary from effort in the last night and the lure of inaction was strong. Waiting was the more comfortable option.

"It's best if you two go on ahead and scout it out" he addresses Tanaka and Caldera. "We need to know if our kind is even welcome on the other side. I'll keep John safe in the meantime."

[Artemciy]

You woke to a small delegation. An elderly woman with wrinkle volleys on the vixenly-scrawny face, and the swirling lines of bright paint didn’t made her any less mean. A young men in his twenties with rather scared-big eyes. And a scarred tough warrior with a face of a man who reached the second part of his life. The males were shaved, with faces more brutal and down-to-earth than your average city-dweller. The trio towered above, making you wonder if something was wrong with your height.

They wore the white and green feathers of a huge bird. The young one had a large hand-made knife in a scabbard on his hip. The handle was polished with use and looked authentic.

The woman barked something, pointing at you with the green knob of her stick. Caldera replied in barks and whines of her own. The hag examined both John and Francis, tsk-ing and bumping them with the staff. Then, apparently satisfied with the long faces, she withdrew and walked away, towards the faraway building. The stone roundhouse stood where Francis remembered seeing the standing stones from the shadow of the Umbra and indeed, with closer inspection the chalk monoliths could be seen protruding from it like some sort of carcas from a rotting flesh.

The older man gave you a look, said a few words to the youngster and followed the crone. Tanaka tiptoed while waving at them cheerfully. It was a little bit theatrical since they weren’t that far. But then, she still wore that black patch around her eyes… Caldera was throwing daggers at her. The witch gave John and Francis a hug. “We had some real food, can you believe it?!
Caldie, you tell the story, I need a nap” she said, finding a soft place and curling up.

Caldera was rather short on details. Kept thinking of something, looking away.
“We scouted the valley. The empty field around the caern is trapped…
So we went from the other side, where the barrows are. There we encountered ancestral spirits, apparently guarding the place. Friendlies. They’ve mentioned that an Ostrige spirit might know something, he can be found in the Frozen Claw caern.
Also they’ve mentioned the local Theurge. It seems...”

Something broke in her military manner of speaking, some fascination leaked up.
“It seems this is a time before Christ! Not even close!”
She didn’t know whether to be amazed or indignant and stole a glance to where T slept.
“Anyway” the shiftress regained some of her steel. “We’ve found the Theurge, who happened also to be the Eldress of this group. I told her of our predicatement and she promised that if we help her to… to steal metal weapons from the human settlement north-west, that she’ll point us in the right direction.
This kin here”, she nodded at the stranger who watched the alien language being used with some suspicion, “will show us where the settlement is”.

A bonfire could now be seen, beyound the borderline of the barrows. Small figures were sitting or dancing. Strange roundhouses, like a pointy wizard hats, where behind them, glued together in unorderly clusters.

Pressed Caldera and Tanaka for some details and then...
- Followed the young "kin" to the human camp [control, I'm ready to give the context and history details OOC].
- Asked Caldera to lead you to the Frozen Claw caern, where the Ostrige spirit is said to dwell.
- Feed on the youngster and leave him behind. He'll only slow us down and why waste a good meal?
- Kill Caldera, she's behaving suspiciously, preemptive strike is the best line of defence.
- Split up. Send Caldie after the Ostrige. Need no werewolves around while we reign chaos on prehistoric men.
- Do something else.

[Danteric]

John was completely struck with confusion upon his awakening, between the tribesman less then friendly greeting, and the explanation given by Caldera, he didn't even know what was going on anymore. "Before Christ?!" He asked, "When we went searching for this Caern, I knew we wouldn't exactly wind up back in London, but I wasn't expecting to go back in time!" Said John, clearly disturbed by the outcome. "What if we step on a butterfly and the whole world as we know it changes! But...Ugh, I suppose our only way back is by helping these tribesman." He grumbles, as he motions for the small boy to lead on. He didn't like the situation they got stuck into, and would much rather be back into his original time line, but he was here now, and doing these tribesman the favor was their only way out.

[Artemciy]

"We didn't went back yesterday" Caldera moored darkly. "It was the bunker's blast that sent us here.
I know only one person abusing the time around here" she suggested.

So we're going to steal the weapons as per the Garou tribe's request.
I'll be writing it up later unless Muenster Man beats me to it.

...

“They’ve pulled an Obi One on us, these ghostly, flasing, bright… somethings that live in the barrows. Caldera was scared sh-teless, I tell you. Walking up to have a look around and then - bam!!! They’re all around. You want to see her growel? Take her to one of these.”
Tanaka blabbered like nobody’s business, happily stretching after the nap. One wonders how she managed that after just some twenty minutes of sleep. She fettled the patch over her eyes and looked around. One wonders about that, too.
“Wow!” she flashed her hand to her mouth. “That’s BRILLIANT!” She obviously thought of something.

“Maybe I should tell what you do in your free time” Caldera threatened vindictivly.

“You should get more sleep, Caldie. Your mood will improve!” T proposed after a moment of shocked silence.

“So they’ve got it pretty much cozy out there” she returned to describing the tribal settlement. “But Caldera must have had told you. Did she?” T glanced.
“They’ve got wardrobes and beds and kind of toilets too! They live in comfort.
Women to the left, men to the right” she yawned. “And they brew the damnedest cool herbal tea. You got that home?”

“Hmph” was Caldera’s only answer.

...

They followed the kin, grim and scarse for words. Nobody even thought to learning the language of the native.

Tanaka was cooking something, often falling behind. Into the second hour of the march she motioned John aside to let him experience the spell. He got the idea she didn’t want Caldie to know. Then she did the same take-aside thig with Francis.
When she touched, a peculiar sense of disorientation would hunt their senses until a moment later they found themselves in the same space but permeated with the beams of sunlight.

http://oconnorpg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/trees-2.jpg
Looking down, they didn’t see their flesh or indeed Tanaka or anyone else. Only her pulse on the hand and a cool breeze reminded them that they were somewhere else.
((T would explain that the spell allows them to see into the past day, experiencing the other half of the world without being endangered by the sunlight)).

...

Another night was spent travelling. What remained of it, you used to scout around the camp. Partholonians, Caldera said these people called themselves. You haven't seen much of them at first, only the two watchmen. Was it a trick of light or were their faces blue?! They were easily as large as the kinman, wore skins, a middle-sized swords, round shields with the sun and knifes in leather scabbards. Everything was quiet and you decided to approach the round tents from the side where the wild horses weren't hastily picketed, when a horn blazed. Suddenly people began to arrive from the shelters, sleepy but weapons drawn and looking for trouble. There were solid bronze swords, bows with stone-headed arrows nicked, flint daggers drawn. You were fast enough to get the hell away, into the mists, before anyone noticed you.

A dozen span later you were preparing for your slumber, leaving the expropriation for the other night.
XP +1. What did you do before the light?

[Muenster Man]

After being told where they were, when they were, Francis' eyes lit up in fury. "We're... what?! I... " Francis bit his tongue in silence while John and Caldera ignored him.

After several minutes, Francis managed to calm down. "This, this whole thing, it's my fault. If I had been better, If I had been stronger, I'd have murdered that abomination instead of running from it. Then we wouldn't have had to use this... time... magic to be trapped here."

He ran his fingers through his hair, trying not to dwell on past failures but on future potential. With magic like this, is there really a difference? he thought sardonically. "But at least there's hope of a return. The task is simple and the reward is great. Good enough incentive for me. Just, don't bother me in the meantime."

He thought back to the humiliating encounter with the wounded werewolves, whose blood still flowed through his veins. He remembered the angle his blow took as it connected through the shifter's flesh. How it failed to cripple his opponent. How it left him open to a counterattack. Francis went through the motions in his head of how he would go through with that scenario again. He thought of the fanged tentacle abomination, the one he wounded but barely hindered. The apendage was thick and resilient, but a strike relying on muscle strength from his arms, chest and torso could have rendered it useless where the simple haymaker-styled blow relying merely on leverage and the weight of his arm he used failed to sever the damned thing. No more wild blows. You're not some gang-banger in a bar fight. No more swings that hope to knock out your opponent in a single blow, and then not expecting a counterattack. You can't treat all of your opponents like you did when you were human. You've gotten better, but so have your opponents. And still, that's why your boxing career tanked!

You shut your mouth!

It's the truth. Ignore it, and you'll continue to be weak.

I am not weak! I'm stronger then-

-Then what?! A werewolf? A Sabbat elder? Arthur? Keep convincing yourself you're the top dog in town, and you'll keep getting outclassed. Until you realize that, until you stop being content with yourself, you will be weak.

I'll make myself stronger!

Then stop thinking it and do it!

Francis took on a dark, determined look as he practiced taking consistent, precise blows that few mortals could hope to achieve. Fighting invisible opponents, ducking, jabbing, weaving, dancing back and forth. Long ago, he lost his drive as a fighter. He rested and became content on his natural talents as his career took a backseat to the concerns of life. He hadn't trained like this since he was a hungry competitor more than 20 years ago, and now he doesn't have the limitation of aerobic respiration to slow him down.

Going to try spending 3xp to learn Brawl 4 (1/2 cost). Is it possible to spend a point of temporary willpower to help ensure that he gets this? When trying to write for Francis, I realized he'd be furious with his lack of progress with the brawl skill since he'd become a vampire, and the past events would be a huge wake-up call for him. And he wouldn't be angry with just the past few attempts represented by rolls, I don't think that skill has improved in more than 10 years for him. 'Evolve or die' is the motto Francis has taken to heart.

-------

Caldera, John, and Tanaka had grown more than a little worried at Francis' silent training regiment as they made the long walk. Sometimes, he'd pummel a tree, and they'd hear a crack. Was it his fist or the wood? They couldn't be sure. Quietly, she pulled John aside and tested the spell on him. It worked, and she gambled that she could interrupt Francis and show him something strange and wonderful. Francis slowed his movements at her approach.

"Yeah?" he asked, inquiring about the somewhat mischievous look on her face. His she touched, and he saw a blinding fear. Or light. It was the same. Until it wasn't. The two separated and the fear of viewing sunlight subsided to the background while he briefly remembered what it was like to be human. It triggered something in his memories, associated past emotions he experienced when he was still human. Desire, laughter, warmth, jealousy, but most of all: energy. His vampiric form lent itself to a form of natural lethargy and caution. In recent night, he fought it, but fighting it used to not be necessary, energetic action was natural.

As the vision receded, Francis looked at Tanaka strangely. "Thanks." He truly meant it, and he attempted to channel those energies into further improving himself as if he didn't have all of eternity to do so. He didn't think he could hold onto the influence of those memories for long, and wanted to capitalize on them while he could.

---------

Francis continued to train by himself the next night. Their guide motioned to them to quiet and settle down and hide. They had reached their target. Francis stopped and took notice. How many were there? How many metal weapons? Had they made armor? He wanted to gather as much useful data before attempting the theft the next night.

Perception+Alertness [roll0]

[Artemciy]

Tanaka was pulled by Francis’ speech. Did he just blamed himself for what happened? Did he suggest that this fling back in time was intentional? She opened her mouth to object, to say something, but did she really knew any better? It was possible that the accident was… not so coincidental as she thought. And yet again, it was possible that a slightest change of events would’ve sent them down another road.
More reason to keep at it, she thought, deciding she’ll need even more time for theoretical study.

...

"You're welcome" T chirped happily, having shown him the freshly baked effect.
"You want to look around like that, let me know anytime".

…

It was hard to judge things precisely in the morning mist. Francis figured the site was old, either a permanent camp or used year to year when tribes passed this way. Recon there was about twenty of them, unless there was another camp on the opposite slope of the hill. What was they doing here? His gut told him it was no wandering gatherers, more like a war party. There was about fourty horses stationed nearby, but he could swear he heard the whiny equine-speak to the side. Maybe they put a part of the animals to graze on the grass? If his calculations were anywhere near, it was a hell of a load to crook.

[Danteric]

As they wandered towards the encampment, John began thinking on their current situation. At first he thought they were simply brought to another place in England, but as it turns out, they were brought to a whole new time. The complications of such an act would have given John a headache, if he could still get one. He feared the complications that might happen if they muddled with the past, what if they killed an ancestor of his, and ended up wiping his whole family tree from existence, would he just vanish? John did his best to dismiss the thoughts for now, and hoped for the best as he passed his hand through his hair in an attempt to get the remaining twigs and dirt out. It was then that Tanaka had approached him and offered out her hand. Curious to what she wanted, John passed his hand towards her, and as soon as their hands made contact, John's whole world shifted.

What John saw left him speechless, it was a sight he had not seen in a very, very long time. The bright sun shining in the sky, its beams of normally deadly light harmlessly diffused through the foliage of the canopy of trees that surrounded him. At this point, John would be running for his life as he was reduced to ashes, but now he felt calm and at peace with his self. The sight of the sun nearly brought tears to his eyes as its warmth sunk deep into his body, and reminded him what it was to be Human once again. John wanted to enjoy the sight for longer, but was quickly snapped back to reality.

"Thanks.." He said quietly to Tanaka, as he watched her venture over towards Francis, likely showing him the same image no doubt. As they continued their journey through the forest, John began to wonder how they were going to even manage stealing all of these weapons, let alone carrying them back to the village. As they scouted out the area, John shrugged, "So, who has an idea?" He asked quietly, trying to figure out a plan.

[Artemciy]

“This is worse than I thought” Caldera admitted after barking a few with the kin.
“Lothario asks for the hand of a princess and king gives him three impossible tasks...”

“I’m going to walk right in, anyways” Tanaka shot. “My tummy is getting hungry and I won’t sit there all day gnawing fingers!”

“Are you brave or stupid?” the shiftress admonished.

“Huuungreeee” T tried to get a hold of her ears.

[Muenster Man]

"If we can manage it, using those horses as pack animals to carry the goods would make things a lot easier" Francis suggested. "That's a big 'if,' though. Too many of them to sneak around undetected, too few to walk in a crowd."

"Tanaka can take care of herself. I'm worried about being able to mingle in the camp. It looks like they're prepping for war. We can use that, if we want. Actually, mercenaries are still a thing in this time, right? It wasn't just families and clans fighting each other... John, if someone gives us any trouble, could you 'convince' them we're trustworthy? Another thing, I see about forty horses, but I think I hear more behind the hill. If this is the main camp, those horses might not be so guarded."

[Artemciy]

After a day in the woods the evening came. The mist hasn't settled yet and the air was clear. The sea was hidden by the hills and no longer reflected the sun.

Caldera met you and told that T was still mingling with the locals. Your party have approached the camp and the kin, Pedér, talked with the watchmen. They've led you to a fading fire, in a small field close to a dozen horses, who snorted and drummed, looking at you with wide eyes. "The ruse worked" Caldera explained after talking with the kin in the wolf language of hers. "They've noticed we're like Tanaka, small, so Pedér told them we've missed each other."

A native, azure and painted like the rest of them, came with T, saying something. She nodded and when he asked she nodded again. So she sat with you by the waning fire. You were alone in their camp, now all you needed was the weapons. Caldera reminded you that only the metal was important.

- Start a fight and disarm or knock them out one by one. Let them bring the weapons to us!
- Learn a few words from Pedér to use with Dominate and talk the patrolling guards into sleep. [control]
- Sneak on the watchmen and choke them unconscious. [control]
- Scour the tents, using your supernatural ears to avoid anyone who isn't asleep. [control]
- Wait for the mists to settle before doing anything of the above. [control]
- Find some cloth for the weapons and prepare the horses first. [control]
- Do something else.

Please try to describe the whole plan instead of just a small piece, e.g. chain the actions together. Options marked as "control" feel free to describe to their conclusion as if you were GMing/controlling the scene.

[Danteric]

John sat near the campfire with the others, despite at a more comfortable distance from the open flame. He tried to come up with a plan for them to make off with the weapons without being caught, but with the amount of guards here, that would be much easier said then done, given the language barrier. It was then it occurred to John, if he could learn even the basics of their language, he would be able to dominate the Guard's into submission. Turning towards Caldera and Tanaka, John began to speak "Do you think you could translate for me? It'd be helpful to learn a few words of their language, if you know what I mean.." He said, hoping they'd get the hint.

"Sure!" Tanaka chirped, and began to work on teaching John a few rudimentary words of the tribesmans language, not enough to hold a conversation, but enough to get his words across for his plan to work. It had taken a little while to learn the few words, and how to pronounce them properly, but John had gotten the hang of it eventually. "Alright, our best bet is to wait until the mists settles over the settlement" He whispered to the others, "Then i'll try to convince the guard's to take a nap, that'll take one problem away hopefully."

It took only an hour for the mists to settle on the encampment, wrapping around the buildings and Earth like a ghostly blanket. Using this as his opportunity to move forward, John eventually made his way across the camp, scouting out the locations of the guard's and other civilians with his Auspex, hoping to find an opening to enact his plan. Waiting patiently for the first guard to make his way closer to them, John motioned for him to come forward, and caught a glimpse of his eyes as he approached, and began to speak their archaic language the best he could, "You tired, you should Sleep." He said, trying to make it sound as authentic as possible. If successful, John would continue to quietly make his way around camp, attempting to Dominate the guards into submission before giving the signal for the rest of the plan to commence, the retrieval of the weapons, and hopefully a way home.

Tried to string things together without railroading the results, after all this could end horribly for John :smallbiggrin:
Feel free to roll the Dominate rolls and such as required, tried my best to keep everything chained together, so let me know how it turned out.

[Artemciy]

The watchmen has been put to rest, Caldera did tucket them near the fire, just two tired bouncing boys resting their legs. Though the one with the leather cap been falling to the side and T was covertly putting him back with a stick ((thinking a comic rogue here, http://youtu.be/V3lTUGv3G6Y?t=48m46s, http://youtu.be/V3lTUGv3G6Y?t=50m02s)).

The party discussed the next step in hushed whispers when voices came, followed by more men. They were naked, smelled of the sea and carried a shrilling pig, which they swiftly killed and prepared for roasting, putting it over another fire some thirteen yards away. Women has been sent for more wood. They served the men drinks, some herbal concoction that Tanaka explained not to be spirits. The owls glanced your way now and then, when there was a gap in the mist, but left you alone.

- Wait a few hours, hoping for the night party to retire.
- [Dominate DC 4, control] Stalk them one by one and tell them that they are sleepy and should hit the sack sometime soon.
- [Wits+Computer DC 7, control] Use the Francis' goggles attachment to see through the tent walls and detect all the bronze weapons in the camp.
- [Expression DC 6, control] Distract the all-nighters while someone else steals the bronze swords.
- [Dexterity+Stealth DC 6, 4 if using the goggles, control] Go through the camp, sneaking into the tents and stealing bronze weapons.

- [Wits+Occult DC 7] Follow that hunch (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?387196-Ferrum-Impressions-OOC-2&p=18912648#465) of Francis to find the shaman's tent.

- [Dexterity+Stealth DC 7] And knock her out, quietly toting her out of the camp. She might know something useful.
- [Conscience DC 5] Or suck her dry, lest she helps them track you when you try to escape.
- [Wits DC 7] Or turn her to John, a native shaman ghoul could be useful.

- Do something else.

[Muenster Man]

He toggled the device in his glasses for different viewing settings. An option to highlight specific substances and densities through other objects was present. Francis began searching through the program to see if it would give him the information he needed.
Wits+Computer [roll0]

As he did so, Francis whispered in John's ear about his suspicions from earlier. "When we got here, they knew, even when they shouldn't have. There's some kind of alarm that gets triggered, lets someone know about intruders. I'm sure of it. Let me scout out the place, find out where or what it is."
Wits+Occult [roll1]
Sorry I'm not using more control to describe the scene. This is about all the time I have right now.

[Artemciy]

Making a good radar is as much about math and heuristics as about the sensitivity. Early scientists were able to detect submarines exact location with the most primitive binary sensors. Statistics isn’t only good for big lies and politics, you know. A few decades later a plane could make friend from foe by the number of rotations the air-suctioning fan made. Add a bit sensitivity and you could “see” what things are made of and glimpse underground, all that - right from the space. Or "see" the cancer cells in the body.

The math in Francis’ glass was good, as good as their CPU power and vampire ingenuity allowed. It has made a three-dimensional map of the surroundings in a hundred yards enclosure and helpfully highlighted both the two-legged material and the souls of bronze. The battle-tested HUD even predicted the native’s movements, showing their anxiety index plus past and future awareness cones with barely perceptible flashes of color, with apparent accounting for the mist. No doubt the kindred customers of the soft were big fans of the haze.

It got some using too, but after a while the Gangrel felt comfortable enough orienting in the enhanced space.

[Muenster Man]

He wandered around the camp, examining tents. Most had fallen asleep, including those 'convinced' by John. This left Francis relatively free to find the source of the magical alarm. Many tents were covered on all sides with heavy cloth to protect from the elements. The sight of his goggles revealed that only about half of them were occupied. Adorned with dyes and paints, each looked unique. Some were simplistic, like one featuring green bands across beige backgrounds. Others had painted prey animals, rabbits, deer, and horses, sometimes accompanied by trophy furs. Another had a simplistic drawing of a group of people, most likely a family. There were three adults, and seven children. At least, that's what their heights implied.

Then, he saw one truly unique. Or really, it smelled unique. Fragrant burning herbs wafted from a small opening at the top of the circular tent. The imagery it was adorned with stood out. A bestial figure seemed to be devouring several people while a radiant sun shone above it. Sprirals, and feathers, and checkerboard patterns covered it enough that the base of the fabric couldn't be seen. Francis' goggles revealed that a figure was sitting alone inside of it, hands moving slowly over something not registering with his enhanced sight. She's the one. Something about her made Francis a little jittery, and he wanted to pass the responsibility of dealing with her to someone else in the group.

As he was walking back, he nearly forgot their objective until the overlayed vision showed him where the bronze weapons were. A medium-sized, currently unoccupied tent housed what looked to be about a dozen or more bits of metal. Some seemed longer, like they were shortswords fashioned entirely out of bronze. Others looked like they were spear tips, but the vision from his goggles didn't tell him if they were attached to anything. There may have also been two bundles of bronze arrowheads, but he didn't stay to examine, as a woman holding a cup approached. Francis looked nonchalant and continued his stride. She made explicit notice of him, raising an eyebrow and stared so that he would notice. Is she flirting with me? Well, I am still half-naked The two passed without incident.

He saw John conversing with one of men still up, and that man slowly staggered off and Francis took his spot. He motioned for Tanaka to join and Caldera appeared behind him without invitation. Under his breath, Francis pointed out where he thought the magician contributing to the security was at. "I know where a stockpile of weapons are. And I also know where the source of magic that detected us before we should have been. I don't know how to deal with her, but I know I can nab those weapons. John, do you want to take the lead on taking care of her?"

[Artemciy]

Looks like we were in luck with the camp underpopulated. Then again, if the owners of the empty tents has been away with their weapons somewhere then how could we fulfill our mission? We could only hope that the Garou elder wouldn’t know better and accept the priceless stockpile. It was time to move the things.

Francis quietly visited the tents in search for a sack or a cloth. He found one wrapped around old bones, a man of smaller build and auburn mane was hugging it in the sleep. There was the skull, the cannon bones and all the rest of them to make any closet guest proud, although while the Gangrel was freeing carefully the bright material from its load he got a hunch that some of them bones didn’t match.

Next thing you know, he was sneaking around, snapping swords from under their noses. Crafty sharp pieces, he had almost ten of them in a bundle under his hand and a wooden basket with the rest from the treasure pile. Did he take with him the jadeite hand-axe, a beautifully polished piece, at that juncture? I don’t remember.

The camp was mostly quiet by that time. Even the snorting seemed to be muffled by the mists. The stars were never to be seen.

Orkneys braved the barley stores. Tanaka joined them in helping herself to the roastbeef.

Francis emerged, fully loaded, into that night and...- [Wits+Survival DC 7] Trying not to leave any prints, hid for the day in the passage grave a few hundred meters north.
- Told Caldera and Tanaka to transport the party into Penumbra, that strange reflection-kind-of place. Then move until the signs of morning, hopefully even reaching the cairn before dawn.
- Led them mounted on the wild horses, speeding away on four legs. ((If you take that route, then do tell whether you lead the angry tribe to the Garou doorstep or do something to avoid it)).
- Did something else.

Note: Space has been left in the story for John to decide about the shaman.

[Danteric]

John watched as Francis made his way around the various locations around the camp, quietly picking up the various swords that littered the area. The thought of Francis's earlier comment on an alarm system crossed his mind, and had him thinking. If the other tribe knew of the Caern, John doubted it wouldn't be too far a stretch if they had magic on their side. "Usually they have a leader for this kind of thing..A shaman maybe?" He mumbled to himself as he looked around the camp. In the various books he read, Shaman's generally stayed in a place that would stand out, and sure enough he located a tent decorated with various animal skins and skulls. Making his way over to the Tent, John peaked inside to see the Shaman sleeping on a bundle of furs with various occult objects laying around the area. The smell of burning incense quickly filled his nose, and almost caused him to recoil from the sheer overwhelming scent. Slowly creeping into the tent, an idea came to mind, a Shaman in this era could be extremely useful, and another ghoul to use never hurt. As he made his way to the man, John made a small slit on his wrist, causing a small trickle of blood to form. Ever since his diablerie of Monty, John noticed his blood had changed, clearly much more potent then it was before. As he finally crept up to the man, John hovered his hand over the Shaman, and lets the few drops of precious Vitae fall into the unconscious mans mouth, likely damning the man to the fate of being a Ghoul. Once finished, John quickly exits the Tent, and waits back near the fire for Francis to return with the weapons.

[Artemciy]

There was a commotion from the Shaman’s tent, pottery clanked, a throaty cry. Then this same voice was speaking to himself, shooting questions nobody could answer. It was kind of scared, the voice, and we felt for it too, wondering what John did.

But maybe Francis and Tanaka could see exactly what was going on. If they looked.

They might have seen the elderly woman Francis saw vanishing, disappearing from that space. Only the sleeper remained, an apprentice or maybe a patient. The man was in a rush of activity now, looking through powders, bones, roots and stones and all the other strange things in a futile attempt to understand what’s going on, to find the source of the sweetest poison that he felt in his mouth.

John told us to gather our things and retreat through the Fade. That brought Tanaka from her gastronomic endeavours, but not quite. She had to cut a sizeable chunk of meat first and put some spell on it.

“May you never rot until in me you trot!” she has proclaimed her curse, gesturing dramatically.

“Shhh!” Caldera whispered. “You’ll wake them!”

Whistling, T danced to the group and deposited the chunk to Francis’ bag of swords. She’s such a dolt.

“You ready?” Caldera was jumpy.

“Mhm-uhm” the witch shook her head frantically. Her hair a raven wing over the damask gleam of dying fire. “It’s complicated, I need a few minutes to adjust the spell… And I need your blood!” she added, fishing in the basket and sticking a bronze spearhead in Cad’s arm. “And yours!” Even with her blinds she knew where Francis’ hand was. “And yours!” she pricked John. “Ouch!” she cut herself. Pedér wasn’t at all happy too, but Caldie seemed to convince him even though she herself was ready to blow star destroyers from the sky.

T lotused, raising the spear over her head and singing one note in a surprising, impossible and chilling bass. What we remembered next came in flashes. The mist dispersed, the camp turned to just a couple of different, simpler tents and then was gone. A forest replaced the clearing. There mist was back, thick, all-consuming. The trees changed, grew larger, turned into huge trunks meters wide, lost above. Then her voice shrieked and teared the sky. You were in Umbra once again, in familiar grass, under familiar sky.

“What did you do?!” Cad interrogated.

“Sent us to Umbra” T went all innocent.

“But what I saw… the sky, the trees...”

“A side-effect!” T waved her hand, dismissively.

We marched south through the shifting landscape, sometimes bleaky, sometimes a yellow submarine. Hand-horned children followed us once, asking questions that nobody could answer. Then there was a ship, huge, several skyscrapers large, which was nothing more than a scaled up copy of a leather currach. It was our landmark for more than a hour while we skipped though the shore.

…

The crooked eldress accepted the weapons. Caldera said they were offerings to some spirit, but later she admitted that Garou tried to slow down the onset of the civilisation.

We hardly had enough time to find a safe place to rest. Caldie said that T was food-hunting the whole day. She was around when the old woman called Cad to kick around.

The shiftress came out boiling, but all she told the vampires when the setting sun released them into the world was that they were to travel to a different caern.

…

We traveled the moon bridge. It was like a moon glade to us. Shifting and rippling under the wind, a patch of light over invisible sky on which we trod carefully, glancing at the abyss of forests far below.

The path led us to another set of standing stones. Standing, that is, unless you call them something else for sticking out of a floating meadow. Crows looked at you from the tops with green burning eyes. Caldera wouldn’t let T perform her magic there, she vanished and after a few minutes of silence you wondered if you were left alone.

Tanaka suddenly vanished too and we have found her standing two dozen yard back on the very border of the bridge, gaping her mouth in the failing attempt to breath. She staggered back and crawled to to solid ground. We learned she tried to glance to the other side but the spell failed. She nearly fell into the sky.

That's when the spiders appeared. Head-sized, mushy things with crystal-sharp legs and the familiar red glint in their eyes, they crawled over the edge of the meadow, coming to us under the curtain of grass. "Wyrm-spawn!" T gasped.

Glancing over the bridge for a way of retreat we found out that iron-clad figures appeared.

http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/castlevania/images/6/63/Jailer.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width/640?cb=20130725124117

Wyrm spiders attacking Francis, hidden by the grass:
Attack 4d10vs6 [9,6,6,3] = 3; Dodge 9d10vs7 [1,6,9,2,3,6,8,3,2] = 1; damage 1+2d10vs6 [4,4,8] = 1; soak 3d10vs6 [9,6,3] = 2; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [1,7,1,5] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [5,7,2,3] = 1; Dodge 9d10vs7 [3,10,6,9,7,7,5,8,9] = 6.
Total damage: 0.

Attacking John:
Attack 4d10vs6 [4,1,8,2] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [1,8,3,1] = Failure.
Total damage: 0.

Attacking Tanaka:
Attack 4d10vs6 [2,2,5,10] = 1; Dodge 5d10vs6 [8,2,8,3,7] = 3.
Attack 4d10vs6 [7,8,1,8] = 2; Dodge 5d10vs6 [3,6,5,2,6] = 2.
Attack 4d10vs6 [7,4,6,4] = 2; Dodge 5d10vs6 [5,8,6,10,1] = 2.
Total damage: 0.

[Danteric]

John watched as Tanaka scrambled backwards from the bridge, "What's wron-.." John said, but was unable to finish his sentence before Tanaka mentioned the arrival of Wyrm-spawn. At first John didn't know what she meant, but quickly came to realize when a group of strangely misshapen spider creature began crawling over the ledge, and using the grass as a cover. "Oh you've got to be kidding me.." John said, as he pulled out his silver knife. Suddenly a spider launched itself from the grass and towards John, causing him to duck in cover as it sailed over his head, and landed back into the cover of the grass. Glancing back to Tanaka, he knew getting caught here would be the end. Glancing across the Bridge, John saw what he assumed to be giant iron golems slowly approaching them, and then he began to worry. "Tanaka, get us out of here!" He yelled, hoping his ghoul could get them out in time. Attempting to buy Tanaka some time to prepare the spell, John began swinging his knife around, hoping to catch one of the spiders before it jumped at him.

John will attempt to attack the nearby spiders, but considering they are using a cover of sorts so i'm unsure of the difficulty, or if I can attack at all, i'll let you do the rolls.

[Artemciy]

((Attack 4d10vs7 [8,6,4,5] = 2; damage 3+1d10vs6 [1,7,9,3] = 1; soak 1d10vs6 [2] = Failure; damage 1.
BTW, parrying with a knife probably a good idea there))

John hunted the little scrumpers by the grass which resisted the trampling. I mean, the real grass would flatten under the weight but this one remained taut. He nicked one. Now only a few dozens more cuts to go.

"I need time!" T cried back, frantically kicking off. "And quiet!" The buggers kept coming at her while John was hunting the spares. The bloodied spear-head would've come in handy now but it was in the bottom of a river somewhere far far away.

T's Focus effect makes it possible for her to work on the spell while keeping the spiders at bay, but barely. It's much more risky that way.
There is an option in sight to make her safer from the spiders. Will you figure out what it is?

[Muenster Man]

Francis makes his way to the spiders swarming Tanaka and quickly reaches into the grass and begins flinging the abominations dozens of meters near the giant metal men. As he did so, the wyrm-spawn became more agitated and doubled their focus on him. He had to step nimbly across the bridge to avoid their bites when he could, but throwing his hand on their legs made it somewhat inevitable that at least one could get a bite in. If he was lucky, they'd shift their interest to the brutes. If he was less lucky, the spiders would at least focus more on him than on Tanaka.

This is really just a shot in the dark, but I'm hoping that the armored brutes and the spiders don't particularly like each other. But the primary goal is to take the heat off Tanaka. Also, I'm assuming Francis has the arm strength to fling them far enough, the variable is mostly about the accuracy of his grabs and throws. I'm directing all of the ones attacking Tanaka to Francis for this round.

Edit: Screwed up syntax for part of this.
Grabs (split dice pool): Dexterity+Brawl+Passive Celerity [roll0] [rollv]5d10[rollv]
Throws: Dexterity+Passive Celerity [rollv]7d10[rollv] [roll1]

Wyrm Spawn attacks (x6)
Attack [roll2] Dodge: (Automatic failure for grabbing)
Damage [roll3]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]
Attack [roll4] Dodge: Dex+Athl+Celerity (diff 7)[roll5]
Damage [roll6]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]
Attack [roll7] Dodge: Dex+Athl+Celerity (diff 7)[roll8]
Damage [roll9]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]
Attack [roll10] Dodge: Dex+Athl+Celerity (diff 7)[roll11]
Damage [roll12]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]
Attack [roll13] Dodge: Dex+Athl+Celerity (diff 7)[roll14]
Damage [roll15]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]
Attack [roll16] Dodge: Dex+Athl+Celerity (diff 7)[roll17]
Damage [roll18]+additional success dice Soak: Stam+Fort [rollv]4d10[rollv]

[Muenster Man]

Messed up syntax for second grab/throw and all soak rolls.
Grab: [roll0]
Throw: [roll1]

Rolls against Francis to attack were at difficulty 4, since he's starting to get surrounded.
Attack 1: 0 damage + [roll2] Soak [roll3]
Attack 2: Failure vs. Dodge
Attack 3: Failure vs. Dodge
Attack 4: Failure vs. Dodge
Attack 5: Failure vs. Dodge
Attack 6: Failure vs. Dodge

Total damage: 0

The wyrm-spiders lunged and swarmed at Francis, but he nimbly stepped out of the way of most of their bites. In a way, Francis was far more elegant than his burly frame would imply. One critter he got a hold of sunk it's fangs into his flesh as he pulled his arm back to throw, but he didn't even feel it. His flesh was hard and deadened enough to ignore the insignificant wound. As he threw, their trajectory gave him hope that his throws were on target, but he didn't have time to confirm the accuracy, as there were still many wyrm-spawn to contend with.

[Danteric]

John slowly made his way over to Tanaka as he defended himself from the various spider-like creatures. She said she needed time and quiet to cast the spell, so that's what he planned on doing. "Is there anywhere you can go..?" He asked, glancing around the area, "Maybe climb ontop of those stones? Might not keep them away, but it might help.." He hoped as he continued swinging wildly at the incoming spiders.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka knew she couldn’t do it. They’ll be stuck in the Gauntlet and then dead. Not that she really knew, she wasn’t wearing any of these effects. No, she just lost heart.

So she planned to brave the bridge, to run through the mob of ironclad aliens, where she hoped for more peace while maintaining the distance. As she told us later, running, plain right leg to left leg running, is much easier to cast with than trying not to get bitten by the scary things in the grass. So… if you’re a magic user and you aren’t ready - run.

But John stopped her on the brink of that choice. She had to pull herself back, convince herself not to do it. When she nodded, he lifted her to the stone.

Armored stormed the glade by then, throating battle cries, swinging weapons.

Moon watched the fight impassively from the strangely still sky and echoing it was the glint of the crows eye.

T squeaked, watching in horror as one of the armored abominations put his hammer to the stone. It proved to be a decent defense, spiders have left her alone somehow and the bane’s hammer, though bashing clouds of chalk dust from the monolith, wouldn’t topple it yet.

She was completely helpless, watching the decimation around the vampires and not finding a spell that would do something without it being too risky or too long.

Turn 3.
Spiders attacking Francis.
Attack 4d10vs6 [5,5,1,10] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [5,5,6,7] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [5,8] = 1; soak 4d10vs6 [4,2,4,10] = 1; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [2,9,8,6] = 3; damage 1+2d10vs6 [5,3,6] = 1; soak 4d10vs6 [6,10,7,3] = 3; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [10,10,4,7] = 3; damage 1+2d10vs6 [1,8,2] = Failure.
Total damage: 0.

Spiders attacking John.
Attack 4d10vs6 [9,7,4,10] = 3; damage 1+2d10vs6 [3,10,1] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [9,2,2,1] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [5,10,4,6] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [9,9] = 2; soak 3d10vs6 [6,3,9] = 2; damage 0.
Total damage: 0.

Turn 4.
Spiders attacking Francis.
Attack 4d10vs6 [10,5,4,8] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [4,6] = 1; soak 4d10vs6 [7,10,8,9] = 4; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [3,1,10,6] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [9] = 1; soak 4d10vs6 [10,6,8,1] = 2; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [9,5,3,2] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [6] = 1; soak 4d10vs6 [3,8,4,2] = 1; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [10,2,9,5] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [9,9] = 2; soak 4d10vs6 [1,6,10,3] = 1; damage 1.
Attack 4d10vs6 [5,7,8,1] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [5] = Failure.
Total damage: 1, lethal.

Spiders attacking John.
Attack 4d10vs6 [1,7,3,10] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [5] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [3,2,2,1] = Botch.
Attack 4d10vs6 [2,10,10,2] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [9,9] = 2; soak 3d10vs6 [4,8,7] = 2; damage 0.
Total damage: 0. One spider was deflected into the abyss.

Horror attacking the stone.
Attack 5d10vs6 [1,5,4,3,10] = Failure.

Horrors attacking Francis. Only two of them, since there’s a limited space on the bridge. I’m assuming Francis is near the glade’s entrance.
Attack 5d10vs6 [4,2,4,10,8] = 2; damage 5+1d10vs6 [7,6,4,8,2,9] = 4; soak 4d10vs6 [3,9,4,6] = 2; damage 2.
Attack 5d10vs6 [5,2,9,8,4] = 2; damage 5+1d10vs6 [6,2,10,2,9,8] = 4; soak 4d10vs6 [6,3,3,1] = Failure; damage 4.
Total damage: 6, lethal.

Francis is crippled.

[Danteric]

John was quickly being overwhelmed by onslaught of various spiders that lurked in the grass, he may have been able to avoid the first few, but knew it was only a matter of time before he was caught. Hoping to keep himself defended, John began to focus his blood to flow through his body, and into his limbs, reinforcing his muscles and reflexes to better defend himself against the attacks. Raising his dagger into a defensive stance, John prepared to try and parry the spiders that came at him, and hoped for the best.


Sorry for the short post, trying to get something up before I go to bed for work. John is spending 3 blood points on raising dexterity to 5, then 1 point to raise Stamina to 3. The rest of his turn will be attempting to Parry the spiders attacks.

[Muenster Man]

This isn't helping! Francis thought as the spiders and brutes continued, unabated. Trying to buy time, Francis attempted to step out of the way of each attacker, but clearly he was out of his comfort zone. He didn't even realize the massive horrors had gotten in range until they were in the middle of swinging their tree-trunk arms.

Turn 3 vs. Spiders
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Turn 4 vs. Spiders
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]

Turn 4 vs. Horrors
[roll9]
[roll10]

[Artemciy]

Now and then I came to observe how our little company lacked what one might call a sound tactical mind. Terms like regroup and retreat where unknown to us, when faced with a stronger force we had no plan or idea.

Were I a handler of our little group, would I have fared better?

The armored assailants kept tanking us, swinging from the sides and squatting into a spiked iron ball when they felt threatened.

Tanaka tried a random spell, a double-phased effect first part of which directed the magic user towards the second.

- Use koldunic sorcery.
- Grab Tanaka and jump down.
- Tell the party to run through the horrors to the free part of the brige.
- (Default) Keep parrying the spiders, trying to send them flying down.
- Sneak attack on the one trying to demolish the stone on top of which Tanaka is perched.
- Do something else.
- Jumps down.
- Rolls between the armored humanoins till he's behind them.
- Falls back into the meadow, angling to the border of it, where he could push the enemies down the sky.
- (Default) Attacks the nearest figure, trying to keep them away from the meadow and to push it off the bridge (DC +2).
- Does something else.

[Muenster Man]

Surrounded and wounded on three sides with his back facing the drop-off, he was out of options. It was hell just trying to stand up. The heel of his foot hung off the edge of the bridge, and the safety of the unknown below felt far more welcoming than the hostile creatures in front of him. His blood quickly worked to heal himself as he turned to wildly fling his battered body off the edge.

Francis will spend a point of willpower to move for the turn and a point of blood to start the healing process. The first option is fairly obvious: using a point of blood each turn to heal himself until he hits the ground, hoping he survives the fall. I'm thinking of the second option, and I'll ask about it in the OOC thread in a bit.

[Danteric]

It was slow and steady, but John eventually realized he was being overwhelmed by the spiders. When John turned to Francis to ask for help, that's when he seen the Gangrel leap off the edge. "Oh you've got to be kidding me.." He said, as he watched Francis vanish into the dark abyss. John knew that their bodies could survive the fall, probably, but the pain wasn't something he was looking for. Glancing up at Tanaka, his mind began to race, Could he just leave her behind? She was a Ghoul, his tool to use and abandon like so many other vampires did before him, survival of the fittest, right? However deep down John knew he couldn't just leave her to her fate, having grown attached to her company over his unlife. Doing the only thing he could think of to help her survive, John clasps his hands together and began to focus on the Earth around him, trying to force the Earth around the iron golem attacking the Stone Tanaka was currently standing on. "Run Tanaka!" He cried out, hoping his voice would reach her. Hoping the spell would work, John turns to the nearby ledge and shudders, leaping off the edge wasn't something he wanted to do, but eventually he would be overwhelmed, and he didn't want to be caught by the Iron Golems. Breaking into an full on sprint, John approached the ledge and jumped, making a futile attempt to leap across the entire chasm. John knew it was pointless, and that he'd fall into the abyss below, but it was better then dealing with the swarming enemies that waited above.

Spending a blood point for Koldunic Sorcery, targeting the Iron Golem attacking the rocks, [roll0]
Also going to make an attempt to leap across the chasm, although i'm sure its highly unlikely, otherwise he'll leap into the pit.

[Artemciy]

Francis’ 5 XP on Protean 4; 2d10vs6+1(less XP)-1(practice); 2d10 vs 6 [2,7] = 1.
Protean = 4, temporary WP -1 = ? (can't figure the WP encoding on your character sheet).
That’s when it came to be our favorite tale. A young cub would come to dine with us and Tanaka would ask: “You know the story when Francis jumped into the abyss?”

Too bad Caldera wasn’t with us or it could’ve become one of her stories too.

Where were I?
Oh. So here we are, not knowing what to do, assailed from all sides with these monsters who looked like afro-american football team with spikes and armed. Around us the night sky like some dark sea and we on an island in the middle of nowhere and the only way out - the ripple of a moon which is the Garou strange magic, the Moon Bridge - the only way out, I say, crawling with those freaks.

Oh, yes... He lurched. Right from where he was fooling around with pointy things, all in the hieroglyphs drawn with blood. He just stepped off the cliff.

John saw him leaving the spot and with a cry “Tanaka, run!” he jumps right after.

Well, the witch would’ve probably followed, to boot, but she was also a ghoul and if you know what that means, the master’s words have nearly a magical effect on these suckers, so when she heard “run” she ran, but not before finishing her spell.

Now, as I’ve been telling you before, it was not her usual spell. She didn’t know what will it do but only pointed her finger at the nearest freak, accusingly, and let the fate find it’s own rote. And what do you know? The armored hoodoo vanished.

With a pained heart, for she longed to follow the vampires, the witch jumped off… the stone and jumped around in fear of the spiders, facing the clanking platoon pouring into the glade.

Spider-like critters attacking Tanaka:
Attack 4d10vs6 [2,9,10,8] = 3; damage 1+2d10vs6 [9,8,9] = 3; soak 2d10vs6 [1,1] = Botch; damage 3.
Attack 4d10vs6 [8,8,6,1] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [4,8] = 1; soak 2d10vs6 [4,8] = 1; damage 0.
Attack 4d10vs6 [10,1,10,2] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [4] = Failure.
Attack 4d10vs6 [7,4,5,8] = 2; damage 1+1d10vs6 [10,10] = 2; soak 2d10vs6 [5,6] = 1; damage 1.
Attack 4d10vs6 [1,3,7,10] = 1; damage 1+0d10vs6 [7] = 1; soak 2d10vs6 [3,2] = Failure; damage 1.
Attack 4d10vs6 [7,9,3,7] = 3; damage 1+2d10vs6 [2,3,9] = 1; soak 2d10vs6 [2,7] = 1; damage 0.
Total damage: 5, lethal. Ouch.

So John's off the hanging meadow, falling into the night. It seems there are forests and planes deep below him.
Francis is not far, in his flying form, the raven.
What will Francis do next turn, if anything? Will he follow John or stay behind or?

[Muenster Man]

It happened nearly on instinct. Black feathers beat against the wind as he slowed his descent. But there was still the crushing pain that wracked his whole body; he was still severely injured after all. His blood worked to heal his new form as best it could, giving him enough ability to not crash on the ground. But he still didn't have full control. He glanced up, looking at the rest of the group. He saw what looked to be John fall and soon move past him on his descent. And then Tanaka.

Can she even survive this?! He thought frantically to himself. Francis continued healing as best he could while trying to keep track of the coterie, particularly Tanaka.

[Artemciy]

That nasty bite. The spider-thing nicked a vein and T was losing blood like a torn tire. She wouldn’t even remember how she went over the edge. “It was kind of automatic”.

What was curious is the lack of motion. The down-below was so far that we wouldn’t register its approach.

It was hard to breath, the air choked her, she wouldn’t risk anything but her simplest healing spell.

Good thing was, with Focus still functioning she had twice the time to think. Bad thing… there’s little in useful thinking when you’re falling from God only knows where.

Now, some would say that people die in the air out of fear alone. My opinion? That’s bullsh-te. Crap they tell themselves in order not to imagine the fall, all the gritty-nitty details of your face being smashed and all the bones chewed by the welcoming earth. What? You don’t believe me? Go asks the ghosts, homo f-cking sapiens.

So. We were falling. Or flying, like some of us. John was shouting oldenly, invoking some ancient power like the real thing.

Did Tanaka cast a “wild” spell again? Nah… she was too broad. At least she figured that in Umbra - the rules are different. Or, she likes to tell me, it’s her Space-sense screamed that something was off.

What she did in the end was some craziness that shifted time and space in ways even mine not-quite-limited-by-human-notions mind can’t find the end from the beginning of.

It took us closer to each other and our progression through space harder, like if we somehow moved through more draft than was possible.

John told us that his spell wouldn’t work. At first. But when everything kept changing around as, turning red and sinister until with terrible speed we were approaching the bleaky-dark substance below, when we was that close the earth have finally answered him and he felt turning into a stone.

It was that half-stoned merge that splashed against the bloody soup and went deep beneath it’s cursed surface, closely followed by T’s flailing body.

She tried to swim back desperately, but her Space-sense, the only Sight she was using that day, told her precisely the horrible truth. The substance was sucking them in. With last bits of her thrashing consciousness she managed to bespell herself into not drowning. Her insides revolted from the sticky liquid in the lungs. They were getting deeper and deeper and when between the frantic attempts to survive she cast her Sense down she couldn’t feel the below.

T’s regeneration: 7d10 vs 6 [3,9,9,8,5,5,3] = 3
Space-time distortion to slow down the fall:
1) 8d10 vs 7 [8,6,10,2,7,8,6,1] = 3
2) 8d10 vs 7 [1,10,6,7,3,4,5,9] = 2
3) 8d10 vs 7 [7,5,8,2,9,2,4,5] = 3
4) 8d10 vs 7 [3,3,1,10,3,2,7,2] = 1
5) 8d10 vs 7 [9,3,10,7,9,5,7,8] = 6
6) 8d10 vs 7 [9,4,7,3,5,8,1,7] = 3
7) 8d10 vs 7 [1,2,6,1,4,1,9,7] = Failure
8) 8d10 vs 8 [2,8,7,10,6,7,10,9] = 4
Total: 22.
John’s XP roll: 2d10 vs 6 [7,7] = 2 - he mastered the second level of Koldunic Sorcery.

Splash rolls. (The damage decreased by T’s spell)
Tanaka: damage 6+0d10vs6 [5,9,6,7,4,1] = 2; soak 2d10vs6 [2,2] = Failure; damage 2, bashing.
John: damage 6+0d10vs6 [5,7,9,7,10,4] = 4; soak 8d10vs6 [4,3,6,6,3,3,5,9] = 3; damage 1, bashing.

T’s breath spell: 7d10 vs 8 [6,5,2,6,1,9,9] = 1.
Then a better one, trying to survive on Life and Spirit magic alone:
1) 7d10 vs 7 [7,1,5,7,9,7,6] = 3
2) 7d10 vs 7 [8,6,6,6,2,5,2] = 1
3) 7d10 vs 7 [1,4,5,5,7,9,8] = 2
Total: 6
She'll keep working on it while they drown.

A big question to Muenster Man again:
would Francis follow them into the depths or will he scour the surface of the red ocean?
(following's preferred and defaults).

[Muenster Man]

The brief moment of delighted jubilation was gone; Francis saw John and Tanaka plummet to their apparent dooms and could scarcely keep up. He angled his avian body downwards and let his wings glide him down but it wasn't fast enough. Tanaka was hardly a speck in his vision and he couldn't see John anymore. Pulling in his wings, he entered into a controlled free-fall. Fast enough to make up the distance, but with enough wing control that he could exit when he needed to. Of course, he wasn't sure what he was going to do when he reached them, but he would think of something.

Circling them on his approach, he called to announce his presence, but he only let out a loud, gutturral "CAW CAW CAW!" audible over the heavy sound of wind resistance going past their ears. Seeing something resembling ground below, Francis angled around the two and planned to return to his humanoid form while flying mostly horizontally and catching the two before hitting the ground. This is gonna work! he thought while flying back to the two. His size grew, as did his wind resistance. Immediately, he knew he had misjudged his timing, and this was before he realized they were falling into a dark red, unnatural ocean.

"Oh sh-!" is what Tanaka and John hear as he careens overhead flailing wildly into the liquid with the rest of them. Struggling all he could, Francis couldn't make his way out of the seeming trap.

[Danteric]

After falling for possibly hundreds of feet, you'd think one would be prepared for the final impact with the ground, but you never do, and John learned that the hard way. After falling through the air like a rag doll, John finally impacted with the liquid ocean below them, doing a belly flop so hard that it would make the most jaded person cringe. John tried to thrash around in the strange liquid, trying his best to escape his watery fate, but after seeing Tanaka sink into the depths, and his new stone body dragging him down, he knew it was a futile struggle. Sinking into the depths, John feared what would happen to them. Would they be stuck in the Umbra until the end of time? The thoughts scared him, but now there was no escape, and only time could tell what would happen next.

[Artemciy]

For this time to pass - that’s all Tanaka wanted. Her struggle for survival soon turned into despair.

The vampires felt it, too. Thoughts of hatred and domination rided John almost like if the Voice have returned. Only it was his own.

Francis experienced anger like none other, turning on that blasted pool, on the people he followed, on himself.

Motility gripped them and stayed, when the black soot let go of their smurfed forms and they were falling again into the gloom which even the moon's orange face (https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f8/8b/51/f88b51623e275e204480804335bcf178.jpg) won't penetrate.

It had its uses, cooled the head better than the freezing touch of the air. Almost lazily, Tanaka healed and rewound her drop-curbing spells.

John was first to burst through atmosphere. He was alone. Only minutes later had he noticed others following hid descent from the sky.

They fell like ancient meteors and looked for each other among the dark mists which hid the rockly landscape.

It was dawn when their grime faces turned in search of the approaching sun but it wouldn't penetrate the amaranth murk.

XP +1, and a bonus XP to Francis for very solid RP. Tanaka also gets a point of "Arcane Experience" which I'm tracking separately.

NB: We're not getting the usual daily WP while we're in that place or below. :smallmad:
Also, passing into this gloomy place involved a shift of consciousness, we ough to RP it until we leave. Personally, I much prefer the lighter places, but we keep getting into the darker ones. Hopefully we'll turn it into a dark humor, Sheogorath style.

I'm assuming we all survived the fall though John and Tanaka had to heal a lot. John will probably loose at least 3 BP on healing and will have the Wounded HP status.
Also I'm assuming they've found each other after the final fall, given the vampire's supernatural senses and T's ability to feel the vampire's location.- (default) Ignoring the danger of the sun, take time for his ghoul to fully heal him.
- Attempt to hide from the overgworn lamp in the sky. (Please state your approach and what abilities to roll).
- Discuss what happened, flying his theories by the rest of the party.
- Do something else- Take sustenance from John's ghoul.
- Try to find a spot to earth meld. (Will be rolled, also a self-controll roll to curb the need for blood).
- Blame someone for bringing them here.
- Form a plan.
- Do something else.- Find a way to clean herself.
- Freeze in catatonic denial.
- Make a sassy comment.
- Check if her living dress could be made to absorb the gore for some sustenance.
- See if the Quintessence is simpler to find and absorb in this place.
- Reflect on the "wild" spell she did earlier.
- Something else.

[Danteric]

After what seemed like hours of struggling, John finally gave up on fighting his way out of the liquid as he plummeted into the dark abyss. He felt as if he would go crazy due to the sensory deprivation that was so intense, even his enhanced senses didn't help. John wondered what happened to the others, was Tanaka safe? Did Francis manage to get away? All of these thoughts filled his head, and that's when the whispered began.

"It's your fault you're in this mess.." The voice said in his ear, in a voice that scarily resembled his own. "If you weren't so weak, none of this wouldn't have happened. Why dont you just give in and let me have some fun?" The voice teased.

"What? No! Shut up!" He yelled in his head, trying to silence the whispers, "It's not my fault, I tried.." He pleaded.

"Oh please, you stood by and watched as Francis got mauled by those spiders, worried about yourself when Tanaka was attacked by the golems. You're weak, John." The voice continued to whisper, "Just let go, and everything will be so much easier.."

"Easier? No, I doubt that, why would yo-.." He tried to say, but was cut off by the voice before he could finish. "Because you are weak!" It yelled, "You have all this power, the power of an elder coursing through your veins! And what do you do? You play house with a Ghoul and a beast. You should have just listened to that Warlock in the cave, the voices in your head, you could RULE London, yet you seem to be compliant in being a slave to the camarilla dogs, to your Humanity." The voice raged, slowly getting louder, "But dont fret! Just give yourself over to me, and I could make you a King, More then anything Monty could ever dream of, more then Mithras could ever accomplish, all you have to do is give in.." The voice urged, playing on John's greed.

John wanted to retort to the voice, but it had a point, he was weak, unable to defend himself, let alone his allies. He almost wanted to give in, let whatever voices in his head take control and make him a King, but before he could do anything, the voices stopped, and John noticed he was suddenly plummeting towards the ground. After a moment of screaming, John made impact with the ground, nearly leaving a crater where he landed. "Ugh..." He said, as he slowly pulled himself up. As he stood up, he felt a sharp pain run through his chest, and lifts up his shirt, only to reveal one of his ribs poking through the skin. "Damnit..." He said, as he tried to regain his senses. Looking up, he noticed Tanaka plummet from the sky, and lands rather harshly onto the ground not to far away.

Struggling to make his way over to where Tanaka landed, he began to wonder just where were they, were they still in the Umbra? And what were those voices? John figured these question's were unlikely to get an answer. After meeting up with Tanaka, John help's her get back to her feet, and seen that she was just as worse for wear. "Well, if we made it here, maybe Francis did too.." John said to his Ghoul, using each other as a crutch to look around the area. "What the heck happened.." He asked Tanaka, trying to figure out what just happened to them, "Are we still in the Umbra? And I think the sun is coming up, we need to hide, and quick.." He said, glancing around the area, "I dont care if I have to sleep in a hole again."

John began surveying the nearby landscape, hopefully finding anything they could use as a shelter, perhaps they could find some native Flora, and make a canopy, or a ridge to bury a hole into. He needed somewhere to hide, and soon, otherwise being stuck in the Umbra would be the least of their problems.

John would search for Francis, if he landed nearby, then look for anything they could use as a shelter, maybe digging a hole, or making a temporary shelter.
Perception+Survival [roll0]

[Artemciy]

T cried in pain when John raised her on her feet. John heard her bones moving, reknitting themselves. A sound that’ll make your skin crawl. She blinked at his question and only minutes later her eyes shown a sign of comprehension. “Something to think about, eh?” she smiled weakly.

…

There was something primal in the muck-covered vampires basking in the dark glow of the sun seeping through the mists.

Their indian-calm faces hid the emotions swirling inside, inspiring Tanaka to take heart.

“In the land of death you look deadly” she approved.

Slower than usual, for they too were shaken by the events transpired, the curse-bearers set to find a place that would bear them through the day. It was harder than usual. Even Francis was checked by the stony face of the earth here.

His control slipping, he grabbed the girl, roughly sinking his fangs in the soft skin still covered with the mysterious oily film though which they have drown.

John thought better than checking him, he feared the Gangrel was ready to break. But after a while his hand was on the Francis’ shoulder. “We’ll need her walk” he reminded. A hint of jealousy might have been hiding in his voice.

The bliss of the embrace relieved some of her pain, though. She would sunk to the ground, curling in a ball and not thinking at all, regeneration spells taking their toll on her bod.

The ball of fire that wakes you in the morning glanced then through a gap in the mist, illuminating the little group of stragglers that we were. It made them raise their hands in fear, but there was no sign of Uriel’s curse on their husks.

Surprise, surprise! The sun doesn't harm you in that place.

Tanaka would try to answer John's question a while later, after she recovers a bit.

Francis +3 BP. If you want to play your characters differently, feel free to rewrite this part.
...

She was knocked over her head too much to recognize the full significance of what just happened. Besides, it was just one strange thing too many.

Keeping herself in order was the first thing. Gradually, her restorative powers has kicked in. Her dress was absorbing the grime and even the spiritual energy of the world, a rare treat for her lately, was now seeping through the bodycon. At that rate I’ll be producing Tass in no time she mused. For all the dreariness of this blighted place she felt more powerful here than ever. It was a strange space, to be invigorated physically, to feel the Avatar taking full breath and yet to be a bottomless pit of darkness and despair, only waiting for somebody to fill the goblets of hate.

“We’re in the low Umbra” she dropped, rising to her feet. “Probably it’s Horizon”. Didn’t even had to stretch her magical muscle to guess, her Dreamspeaker experience seeping through the cracked folds of her cover. “Quite a place”.

What was it? Oh! The spell. She had an idea to investigate one that the wild magic shown her. Frowning she pointed a finger at John and, POP!, he was gone. A finger at Francis and, POP!, a chunk disappeared from a nearby cliff and Francis was behind her, a claw to her neck. “Wow, that was fast” she drawled, mordant.

John was suddenly there again. Was he seeing things?!
The piece of rock exploded, showering them with gravel.

“Guess what. I can hurl you forward in time.” Tanaka laughed, long, loud and hysterical.

Note: Francis don't have to spend a BP for that claw RP.

[Danteric]

John was taken off guard by Tanaka's sudden spell, vanishing for a moment and reappearing a few moments later. Glancing back at Tanaka after he reappeared, he raised his eyebrows, "Oh sure, NOW you decide to tell us you can send us back.." He said, letting out a sigh as he wobbled towards the others in pain. John wanted to heal his injuries, but decided preserving his blood would be better at the moment. "Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go back before those spiders attack again, or worse.." He said to Tanaka, shivering at the thought of another attack. "We might not get away this time."

Sorry for short post, just trying to get something up before I go to work.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka was looking around, fascinated by the little bits of the evident scenery as if there was something special about it besides the dramatic lighting.

"Go back?" she raised a brow, "what do you mean?".

Noticing his pain at last she began to think of a healing spell.

NP, it's kind of talk time, anyways.
Will you explain her what you mean?
Or do you want me to skip some of it assuming he did?

[Danteric]

John shrugged at Tanaka, "You know, go back to London, in our original time?" He said, "Unless you had something else you wanted to do, I dont care where we go as long as we get out of the Umbra, this place is far to crazy for my liking.." He said, still glancing around nervously for any signs of another spider attack.

[Artemciy]

Tanaka turned away, thinking, and forgot all about John's pitiful state. She did museful passes with her hands and muttered as was her custom, perhaps exploring some unknown fissures of the theory that Maris was hammering into her frivolous frame, or maybe conversing with a host of spirits that was behind her magics. "It's reasonable" she drawled at length, "that you would ask of me to get you out of this place, as a student of both spirit and continuum. I can't fullfill your request though, right now. But the spell I've discovered can be used to ease our passage. Perhaps I can extend it, to send you ahead for a span longer than just a few seconds..."

John affirmed that she've been thinking in the right direction then.
But she wasn't so sure and set out to experiment.

Once, when she was lost in concentration, the mists flashed with a web of blue lightning, piercing them as far as an eye could see. T only frowned at that.

She took his hand and warned that it'll take a few minutes. The contact sent a jolt through her and reminded of his wounds, which promptly began to heal but not before a finger was smeared in his blood.

"This place is filled with primal energy" she murmured, "and for the time being deserted. Good site to test such spells".

It didn't work at first, making the worry a visitor on her usually careless brow. Was she piercing the continuum right?

Then it worked, John vanished. His clothes fell to the ground, empty.

T fished the muddy monocle from the compartment hidden behind the upper rim of her dress, it was counting seconds for her. She saw the ripples of continuum with her Sight, grimaced and began to walk somewhere, glowering. "I know what you're getting for Christmas. I have felt your presents" she said, strangely.

John appeared, minutes later, two dozen yards farther in that direction. Francis heard him curse. Coming closer they saw him waist-deep in the rocky face of the earth.

"Sorry, silly of me not to think about the curvature" she observed. "Which is rather odd, by the way. One can tell we're not on any kind of a planet. Good thing, too, or you'd be deep under."

"It's no good" she admitted a while later, "I don't have that kind of control yet to properly account for the spatial shift.
Unless..."

She had an idea to make herself into a sort of a beacon, maintaining a second spell at all times that will tune the first spell to hurl the vampires pricisely towards her so that they wouldn't slide into some space unknown or occupied.

Some notes:
She's making baby steps yet, discovering magics that other mages first try under a tutelage or have already mastered, so you can see her making mistakes.
She's not good enough yet to send any material components forward in time with these custom effects, so Francis will either have to part with his goggles or use one of his Protean forms which absorbs them into his being.

Tanaka isn't sure how long will it take for her to leave this place. She is moderately confident that she'll survive and find the way home, but it may take a long time.
Options:
- Use short jumps, like half an hour. More practice for her and best chance to help if this world happens to be not as deserted as it appears, but more practice also means more risks if something with her magic goes wrong.
- Tell her to send you into the future in short spans, like every other day. Even though it's dangerous, you want to track her progress.
- Tell her to send you into a moderately far future, like a month from now or a year. Next time you'll see her you want to be on your favorite planet and with plenty of snacks around.
- As John said, all you want is to be back in London. She should stop wasting your time and deliver.
- Do something else.
Defaulted to "deliver".
...

She produced a little bone from her hand. "It is a vial to hold your blood, so that my spells could find you when you are no longer there", she explained, touching both kindred with it. It wasn't hard to wait, the lethargy of the day was seizing the vampires and robbing them of thought even if the sun left them unharmed. "I will remember that place" Tanaka uttered, before sending them on. "Perhaps one day we'll return better prepared, to explore the neither realms. Or perhaps in the future it will be no more".

...

Bam!

We ended all in a heap, tangled, on the cold and rough stones of the floor. The air was dump and smelled of hay and human waste. A heavy and crude iron door barred the exit from the small cell. There was no windows, a rusty bed bared its carcass which hung from the wall. There was a wooden bucked on its pair.

Tanaka struggled to crawl from the mess but then thought better of it and relaxed, giggling. She was older a few years, smelled of liliacs and no longer weared the blindfold. Her body curved noticeably under the familiar dress now tinted a deep watermellon. Her grown hair was pink and green and a maroon glint in her eye. She stroked the drab wall with naked feet.

[Danteric]

Waking up in the small dank Cell, John tried to sit up, but was quickly reminded of his broken rib and various bruises. "Ow...Oh god, where are we?" He asked, glancing around the room. "Dont tell me this is our first night in London all over again, Dammit Tanaka where are we?" He asked, looking around the small room. "Though atleast on the bright side we dont have to worry about the sun I guess.." Said John, trying to lighten the mood on their new situation. "So, any plans on getting out of here?" He asked, as he made himself comfortable in the corner, and began to tend to his wounds.

Spending 2 blood to bring my health up to Hurt.

[Muenster Man]

For the third time since entering London, Francis' worst fear was realized: he was caged yet again.

No, no, no, no, no! Where... what? What is this place?

Frantically, Francis turns to John and Tanaka. "Crap! This is worse! Let's go back to whatever that place... wait, no. Don't do that. But, uh, this is bad."

He walks towards the door and presses his face against the edge and says "Hey! Is anyone there!?" As he does so, he tries pulling the door open on the off chance that it's unlocked.