(IC 2) San Francisco by Night: A Requiem in Fog

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“They didn’t expect us to be alive,” Anna replied, “and we got here faster than we should have because of the helicopter, with most of the surviving Kindred loyal to d’agnostino.”

She glanced around quickly, looking at how many Kindred were nearby.

“If it had been just myself Aisling and Karl in the haven, I’m pretty sure we would have been dead, unless we could have escaped somehow,” she said.

“The Prince isn’t here,” she added, “I think we should analyze this helicopter black box and figure out where they’ve been. They must have loaded the ghouls on somewhere.”

[Daishain]

Karl adds to Anna's answer, "If I were to venture a guess, I would assume that the bulk of the Prince's remaining forces are securing wherever he has holed up. Schultz was just tasked with destroying the homes of those who'd caused him so much trouble. I can attest to Schultz not having been at Elysium at all. He and his tried and failed to take my head beforehand."

[Thundercracker]

Anna looked at their haven and how engulfed it was in flames, and wondered if they would be able to save it.

[Bennosuke]

Far off now, the high wine of sirens could be heard slowly approaching.

The other Kindred assembled for D'Agostino were beginning to collect themselves now. Beato himself approaches Lillith, Karl and Anna, the long narrow barrel of the rocket launcher slung comfortably over his shoulder. "That's your place burning, isn't it?" he asks flatly, before adding, "I don't think we can hang around here too much longer."

[Thundercracker]

“Yeah it is,” Anna said, trying to remember if she’d actually gotten around to moving anything she wanted to keep there. The ghouls were out, she hadn’t managed to get her hands on much of the weapons and hardware she’d wanted to, all of the data was backed up multiple times....

“Where are we going next?” she asked, “and what do we do about these bodies?”

[Ladorak]

'Our new Prince, whoever he may be She added the last under her breath and with considerable sarcasm 'Will have his work cut out for him tonight. This'll be the biggest cover up this town has seen since Kubrick faked the moon landing.'

[Bennosuke]

Beato shrugs, the massive piece of artillery lifting and then falling with the movement of his shoulder. He looks over his shoulder at the dark street road, where the sirens are possibly coming from and says, "I say we round up the troops, and make haste to Prince Gorman's haven in Pacific Heights. Perhaps the Prince will be in some secret hideout, but at least we can lay waste to whatever resources and allies he has guarding his estate. We can at least hurt him worse than The Sheriff was able to do your covenant tonight."

He pauses for a moment, and then with a slow realization asks, "But why was he targeting your place, and not... like, Nicholas' haven?"

Regardless of response, he will also give the gathering Kindred one last chance to gather belongings or sort out anything necessary before departing.

[Daishain]

Karl shrugs at Beato's query, not particularly caring to share more than he had to. Instead he forms up with the other kindred. If the group nears any humans, he'll ensure he remains unseen, as his torn up body would surely attract attention.

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“He probably was going to hit both, and ours was easier and faster to hit, and we caught them halfway,” Anna said.

She looked at the haven again. Maybe there was something inside which would cause problems? She wouldn’t risk her life for sure but it couldn’t hurt to do a quick once over.
“I’m going to take a look,” Anna said.

[Bennosuke]

As Anna walks closer to the haven, the heat from the fire grows more and more intense. Even from 30 yards away, it feels like Anna is standing inside an oven. The air is thick with smoke and ash, which burn her eyes. Thankfully, Anna no longer needs to breath, other than when speaking.

But the Beast in Anna's chest howls in protest as she approaches her newest Haven. It is a panicked sort of animal fear that lacks words or cohesive thought, but pounds its impulse deep in Anna's skull in an attempt to make her turn and run as fast as she can, even if it means burning Vitae to aid her flight. Anna finds every step forward becoming more and more difficult, her mind starting to justify cowardice.

(OOC: Please give me a perception roll, as well as a willpower roll. I won't make you roll breaking point to enter the house, but the WP roll will affect how long Anna can stay in the haven before fleeing out of Beast fueled terror)

[Bennosuke]

Anna presses forward. The heat from the fire continues to become more intense, making her skin feel like shriveling parchment paper. As she approaches she is better able to survey the damage to her newest haven. To her surprise, the front door to the house has been unbreached, the newest installed security apparently having held. There is evidence that Schultz' thugs had even tried to break the door down, but had been unable to pass the newest steel strip lattice that had been bolted over the wood. The fiberglass windows had also held.

In a moment of clarity, Anna was almost certain that Schultz' men had been unable to break into their house, and Anna had to stifle a mad triumphant laugh. However, now that she was so close to the fire, she could feel her willpower shrinking against the growing heat of the fire. Maybe Anna could hold the Beast at bay for a minute at most, but after that, she thinks she might lose control.

[Thundercracker]

With authorities approaching, Anna saw no reason to stay near the burning haven. She trotted back to the others, trying to jot look like she was fleeing the flames, with marginal success.

“It looked like they tried to get in, but couldn’t, so decided to burn it down,” Anna said.

She looked around for Julian.

[Bennosuke]

Julian had joined the other gathered Kindred who were surrounding themselves around Frank Beato. Once everyone was together, the Invictus hand of D'Agostino began to speak, "We don't have much time before the Kine get here, but I say we make good on our plan to storm Gorman's haven before the end of the night. We've done good so far, and I see a few lucky souls had the pleasure of ending The Sheriff." Beato grinned as this last statement was met with a round of applause. "So let's get the **** out of here. We can use a few of Nicholas D'Agostino's cars, and there's a back driveway on the property that should allow us to avoid direct run ins with the police coming here. Any last questions?"

[Bennosuke]

The pack of Kindred follow Frank Beato back through D'Agostino's property, the massive iron gate closing behind them. Following a well lit path through the manicured garden, Beato leads his militia to a car garage, about the size of a small airplane hanger. The garage is filled with several black luxury sedans, as well as three plateless black vans. Beato helps direct the Kindred into the various vans, which quickly exit the garage and then D'Agostino's property through a back entrance and onto a main city street somehow outside of the Seacliff Manor neighborhood, perfectly avoiding the approaching firetrucks, ambulances and police cars.

On the road, Anna finds herself seated next to Julian, who gives her a small grin and wordlessly hands her a heavy combat knife.

The vans wind their way through the busy streets of San Francisco, massive hulls bouncing hard with every hill like some terribly designed roller coaster.

Prince Gorman's haven is located in the Pacific Heights, the most luxurious and expensive neighborhood in San Francisco, and a bastion of Elder Invictus havens. As its name implies, Pacific Heights is located at the top of a hill East of Seacliff Manor by only ten to fifteen minutes. The hill is well forested, clearly breaking with the otherwise urban environments of San Francisco, and the roads that wind their way up it are narrow and shaded. The massive estates that sprout out of the hill are well hidden by shrubbery covered fences, and rows of tall trees that help maintain an air of privacy and exclusivity.

Prince Gorman's Haven is of course located near the top of Pacific Heights hill. The vans stop at the top of the mesa, parking in front of a castle like structure protected by a rather gothic looking wrought iron fence. Through the gates you can see a long a well manicured garden spreading out in front of the tall brick building. Strangely, the space seems completely abandoned. No lights shine from the haven's windows, nor from the tall lamps that line the garden. No security patrols the perimeter, despite there being a clear post at the property's gates, this two appearing abandoned. Not only this, but it seems like the entire neighborhood has gone dark, like the power has been cut. Not even the streetlamps seem to be running.

The kindred file out of the vans, huddled in groups, holding their weapons close to their chests. Once everyone has exited the vans, Beato says, "Everyone be very very careful. This feels like a trap. Spread out, and lets storm Gorman's haven."

[Ladorak]

'Might as well have a giant neon sign labelled Trap' She muttered to herself. In a louder voice she added 'Should those of us with some gift for Obfuscation scout ahead?

[Bennosuke]

Frank Beato shrugged. He was no longer carrying the massive rocket launcher, but now instead was hefting a long fireman's ax. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt," he says grinning. The look in his eyes were hungry, excited, with the confident light of a predator on the hunt. Then he adds, "but I wouldn't be fooled. If Gorman or his people are here, they have to know we are coming, and probably know we're here now."

The gathered Kindred were beginning to spread out, cautiously exploring the gated perimeter of the compound.

[Thundercracker]

Anna took the knife with gratitude.

“Any advice?” she asked Julian.

[Daishain]

Karl states dryly, "My talents for such are better developed than most. Might I borrow a few explosives? I could drop a few at the feet of anyone I find waiting in ambush, though don't expect me to try that with the Prince."

[Bennosuke]

Lillith listened to Anna as she spoke to the Kindred known as Julian. He was rather unassuming in height and build, but he moved with a certain predatory grace that made him either a Gangrel, or a maybe a Daeva in her mind. He had dark curly hair, cold blue eyes and tan skin that maybe was handsome when rosy with the false life of Vitae. He had on a dark grey double breasted suit of an unattractive build, though it was clear from how he moved that there was armor hidden beneath it, and he spoke to Anna with a familiarity that hinted at a shared Covenant, or perhaps a shared lineage.

"This definitely is not what it seems," Julain says coldly to Anna, "Look closely, use all your senses. There isn't just a lack of living beings on that property, there's death." The words were perhaps overly melodramatic, but sure enough, now that Julian was speaking, Anna could smell the distant but potent aroma of spilled blood. Kine had been slayed on the property tonight, perhaps recently. "I don't know if that means someone got here before us, but I don't like it."

Nearby, Karl was speaking in a low voice with Beato. The massive vampire looked down on Karl, and with a grin, reaching into his jacket, and pulled out two dark green grenades in one massive hand. Beato handed them over furtively and gave Karl a wink, "Don't let the others know I'm sharing. Not enough to go around, if you know what I mean. But I suppose you deserve it after what Schultz did to you." Despite the Vitae's preternatural ability to stitch Karl's corpse back together, the Shadow was still an unsightly mess of torn up flesh.

[Daishain]

Karl nods and quickly stows the grenades, "My thanks, I should get back here, call, or set off some kind of signal inside of five minutes. If we have not done so by that point, I suggest assuming we've been taken and proceeding as you see fit."

Turning to Anna, he nods, "Are you ready? Just take it slow and careful. Finding out about any traps or enemy forces is the objective, not engagement. Run if something happens, preferably leading pursuit to this welcoming party."

Karl moves towards the manor, adopting a stance that makes him seem to blend into the shadows even before he activates one of his blood gifts, vanishing entirely like a ghost. He'll stay generally near Anna, making careful use of environmental cues to let her know his rough position and alert her to anything of note.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Forgot to ask, if anyone had a silenced gun, Karl would have asked to borrow that as well. There might be a scuffle in spite of precautions after all.

Wits+Stealth (5d10)[3][9][9][5][4](30)
ten again (5d10)[2][3][2][10][7](24)
And for good measure, spending a vitae to activate Cloak of Night. Karl vanishes completely for the rest of the scene, traceable only through secondary signs of passage like brushing past leaves. Spotting him takes an extended contested wits+composure roll which takes a full minute.

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

Anna nodded and moved closer to the gate, activating her meager obfuscate skills and trying to hear anything in or around the mansion. She wouldn’t cross the threshold, leaving the deeper scouting to Karl.

Spoiler

Show

activate obfuscate and auspex.
Stealth + dex + obfuscate: (5d10)[3][4][4][7][10](28)
Auspex + wits + composure: (7d10)[9][3][8][2][7][1][2](32)
10 again: (12d10)[7][1][2][1][3][2][8][6][5][2][3][8](48)

[Bennosuke]

Karl feels his entire body go cold, go small, becoming the veritable shadows of the night as he disappears from all sight and senses. He sticks close to Anna, who activates Face in the Crowd, to blend in with the other nearby Kindred.

Anna also activates her Auspex, letting the Beast take over her senses for a moment to assist her in her search of the perimeter.

Spoiler: OOC: Resolving dice rolls

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Ok, so neither of you needed to roll to activate your Obfuscate, though I suppose Karl's Stealth roll doesn't hurt.

Anna's Auspex roll should have been Wits+ Empathy + Auspex, but she gets two successes regardless. Anna can ask a single question of the Beast (the storyteller), pertaining to danger or weakness.

Nearby a female Kindred with ebony skin and a pistol in one hand calls out, "The gate's unlocked!" Sure enough, the tall wrought iron gate has been pushed open to allow access onto the property.

[Ladorak]

Using her own mystic skill Lilith follows in Anna's wake. She hangs back from the gates, they feel... portentous.

[Bennosuke]

Anna can feel as the Beast takes over her body momentarily, her body momentarily rushing to the iron fence, growling as she presses her face as far through the bars as it will go so that she can sniff wildly at the air.

The momentarily loss of control passes, as the Beast scuttles back into the back of Anna's mind whimpering. "No prey," it whimpers in a voice oh so similar to Anna's, "just a single powerful predator."


(OOC: Sorry Ladorak, to be clear, is Lillith activating a Discipline here?)

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“There’s only one powerful Kindred inside, could be the prince, but why would he be alone?” Anna said.

[Bennosuke]

Julian grins at Anna, though there is no humor in his tight lipped smile. "Only one way to find out," he says dryly before bending down and hurtling up and over the likely thirty feet tall fence in a single jump. He landed on all fours like a cat, and in a burst of speed blurred off into the shadows of the garden, becoming practically invisible.

[Thundercracker]

Anna moves cautiously, looking to get through the gate and around the side of the building. She tried to find a way up to the roof or a way to scale the side of the structure, to find an entrance aside from the front and back doors.

[Bennosuke]

Anna can see that the wrought iron fence remains uniformly high around the entire perimeter. The only way in or out is the front gate which was previously noticed to be open. Interestingly, there is no back gate, no driveway, and nowhere to park a car.

If Anna wished to avoid the front entrance, she could climb the fence with a Str + Athletics-1 roll, using her arms to pull her way up the tall fence poles, and her feet to prevent herself from sliding down. As previously mentioned, the fence is very tall, and along the sides of the property is very close to archaic brick structure. If she wished, rather than shimming down to the other side, from the top of the fence she could try jumping, with at Dex + Athletics +1 roll to land on the roof of either the West or East wing of the house. The West wing has a steepled roof a flat facade and windows at every floor, while the East Wing has a leveled roof with small balconies on the second and third window, held up by round roman columns.

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

Anna pointed out the possible entrance points to Lilith, and hopefully Karl and Julian assuming they were still nearby.

“This is ridiculous,” she said, “who knows what death traps he’s got set up inside. I say we burn the place down and ambush whoever comes running out.”

[Daishain]

A whisper of wind that sounds suspiciously like Karl's voice reaches Anna, "Artillery or a bomber would be more like it, but agreed. We need to be sure it is the Prince within though. It could easily be a decoy of some kind, with the real Gorman long gone and waiting for us to destroy the evidence that he's not dead."

"As to why he might actually be here, I have a theory, but I'll need to see what happened to the others here to confirm it."

Karl proceeds through the gate, watching carefully for anything that might be a trap. Once satisfied, he'll move on through and indicate that it is safe, or not. He'll proceed around and then to the building in a similar fashion, watching for anything out of place.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Investigation roll is for the slaughterhouse scene that I suspect is coming up. Looking to determine the general causes of death, whether the dead did it to each other, whether it was a single powerful being (aka the prince), or some other group.
Wits+Composure roll (5d10)[4][9][6][5][3](27)
Intelligence+Investigation (10d10)[8][10][3][5][8][4][6][4][2][9](59)
ten again (5d10)[4][6][5][9][9](33)