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

[Thundercracker]

“I’m good,” Anna said, “busy, just wanted to check in and see how you’re feeling.”

[Bennosuke]

“Oh, I’m just fine,” Celestine responds, though her voice is hard and a little strained, “Did I hear that you will be joining us for dinner tomorrow night?” (OOC: I believe we are on Friday, but if not just assume she refers to the appropriate night). “It would be lovely to have you and share a meal.” The words sound forced and mechanical coming from Anna’s new Ghoul. It was unlikely the woman had burned through her new Vitae in the same way that Gabrielle had, but The Blood could be quiet addictive, and there was no telling hw badly it would affect Celestine.

She adds, “And Katie told me that you have been spending time with her. I appreciate how you have been looking out for our family dear. Thank you.” The way this is said is wholly different; Celestine’s voice suddenly dropping into a relaxed earnest tone.

[Daishain]

"If you mean this gift from Nicholas, it presents a great opportunity. You have not met Schultz yet, but he is a monster even amongst monsters, and has been a threat and a thorn in our side." Karl's voice grows ice cold and his eyes harden as he continues, "The man threatened the last of my living kin on this earth not long ago. It would not do to strike at the Sheriff directly, that would only incur the Prince's ire. But finding some manner of leverage over him should be possible, given access to his haven. With sufficient leverage, we can act to ensure he never bothers us again

[Erulasto]

"I have only met Schultz in passing. During my announcement by the Prince. But even then, I did not enjoy the presence of either." Aisling says with a shudder. "I will do what I can to ensure we are safe from their wickedness."

[Thundercracker]

Anna Wu

“I will try, auntie,” she said, “you’re the only family I will ever have.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, “are you keeping busy during the day?”

If the answer is anything but completely swamped with activity:
“I might have a job opportunity for you soon, if you’re getting bored,” Anna said, “something to help people, and keep you from going stir crazy, and make a bit of money as well. We can talk later if you’re interested, I’m almost at my destination. Let me know, love you! Oh, if you need _something_, text me and I’ll make an extra effort to stop by for dinner. Bye!”

Anna rolled up at the haven and entered the code to unlock the door before entering.

“I’m back,” she announced, “and I have some information. Did I miss anything?”

[Bennosuke]

“I will try, auntie,” she said, “you’re the only family I will ever have.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, “are you keeping busy during the day?”

There is a pause before Aunt Celestine responds to the question. When she does speak up, her voice is low and rushed. "Oh, I'm fine. Things are great!" she says with forced words. Perhaps there was pain behind the woman's voice, or maybe just anxiety, but it was clear that the ghoul was holding back.

If the answer is anything but completely swamped with activity:
“I might have a job opportunity for you soon, if you’re getting bored,” Anna said, “something to help people, and keep you from going stir crazy, and make a bit of money as well. We can talk later if you’re interested, I’m almost at my destination. Let me know, love you! Oh, if you need _something_, text me and I’ll make an extra effort to stop by for dinner. Bye!”

Celestine responds, "That would be good. I would like to know... more." As Anna rushes off the phone, she adds, "I'll see you Saturday dear."

[Erulasto]

"Would you like my help now in looking into this?" Aisling asks Karl, after a moments consideration.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

When was Aisling supposed to meet Alejandro at the Crone gathering?

[Daishain]

"I would like to look into it tonight yes, and I would appreciate your support. I would not however expect excitement if I were you, all I have in mind is observation for now."

[Thundercracker]

Anna

“You want to bug the place?” Anna asked, “I spoke with someone, apparently the Sheriff has been known to tamper with evidence in this fashion in the past... are you sure bugging is all we should be doing?”

[Daishain]

"No, but whatever we do, I want to be very sure that we get it right. A mistake here could easily spell doom for us all."

[Thundercracker]

Anna

“I agree, we should be prepared, find out if there are any back doors, escape hatches, that sort of thing,” Anna said, “we should at least know the layout before we go in. Do you think you’ll be okay if you go inside by yourself? Honestly I think I’ll only get us caught.”

[Daishain]

"You proved quite capable at the bar, don't be afraid to trust the instincts that got you in and out of that place unscathed. But I am glad you're showing caution here."

"Lets leave the question of who goes in for later, once we've assessed the haven's weak points we can start planning an infiltration. It may even be a shapeshifter whose skills are most suited to part of that task." Karl looks at Aisling with this last.

[Erulasto]

"I have fed recently, so I can take the shape of bird or beast easily." Aisling says with a small, toothy smile. "Just tell me what it is that you wish for me to do. I do not have much experience with...I believe Bernardo called it a stake-out."

[Bennosuke]

The Cotiere drives out to the Marin Headlands (OOC: How many cars and who is driving please?). The drive across the towering and brightly lit Golden Gate Bridge is easy with little traffic. However, the act of leaving the confines of the city is unsettling, watching as the protective bars of the sky scrapers and tightly packed apartment buildings gives way to narrow roads running through winding hillsides.

Headlights become the only illumination (not that the Kindred need it) as the Cotiere exits the highway and pulls onto a narrow two lane, two direction road. From this side of the bridge, the night sky is much more visible. Though the drive is scenic, there are few trees or even green grasses. Instead, this area is somewhere between marsh and desert. The road passes under a long tunnel, before climbing up a series of hills and then finally plummeting into the valley of the Marin Headlands.

Now the Cotiere are the only ones on the abandoned roads. Stopping to view, the road winds down into a squat valley populated by a number of randomly placed cabins and trailers. Each cabin is maybe no more than a thousand square feet, wood paneled and protected by a redwood fence. One of these, if not many of them were supposedly owned by The Sheriff of San Francisco, and this territory was his.

(OOC: Everyone, please give me a perception roll at -3, and tell me what the next move is. )

[Daishain]

Driving an old Enterprise rental car with more than a little stench of cigarette smoke filling the cabin, Karl finds a place to park well away from the territory and kills the engine. He observes the area carefully as he gets out and starts retrieving the gear he brought, "Make sure to pay attention, no doubt Schultz has many eyes watching this place. He seems to like using ghouls, who should not be that difficult to avoid, but that's no reason for a lack of caution."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Resolve+composure-3 (2d10)[8][5](13)
ten again (2d10)[2][6](8)
Phew

[Erulasto]

Aisling rode with Karl in the back of his rental car silently staring out the window at the street lights flashing by. Lost in thought, it took her several moments to realize they had finally parked. Finally slipping out of the car, Aisling gave him a firm nod at his instructions.

Allowing her glacial blue eyes to sweep out across the approach, she tried to envision places where it would be easy to enter and where the best vantage points may be.

As she did so, Aisling began to call upon the power of her vitae, preparing to shift forms when she was called upon to do so.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Resolve 2 + Composure 3 - 3 Penalty

(2D10)[7]

[Thundercracker]

Anna relied on her Kindred augmented senses, not just sight, but sound and smell as well, as she exited the car and scanned the area.

[Bennosuke]

Perhaps it was the sea salt and roaring tides from the coastline nearby, or just the anxiety regarding the serious nature of breaking into the territory of The Sheriff, but neither Karl nor Aisling noticed anything particularly significant as they stepped out of the ashy rental car and surveyed the area.

But Anna saw things differently. First off, she picked up on the smell of spilled blood. The stench was old and far away, but it was as if thousands of feasts had occurred in this area. This was definitely vampire territory.

Then it was the sound of movement coming from the farthest cabin, where two beat up pickup trucks were parked. The lights were on in that cabin, and Anna could hear the rustling of fabric and the beating of mortal hearts. Maybe three of them from that far cabin. There was also a heartbeat coming from one of the closer cabins, where the lights were off, though there wasn't much else coming from that direction.

Then Anna's eyes focused on the security cameras. They were small things, no bigger than a computer mouse, rectangular and black. There was one above every cabin entrance, and several installed in the low barren trees that loomed over the valley. This place was incredibly secure, and it would be difficult though maybe not impossible to infiltrate.

(OOC: For Anna's exceptional success she gets +4 on any stealth roll and can give Aisling and Karl a +2 for the same to avoid detection. This counterbalances the territory's Safe Place at dots 4, which will act as a modifier of -4 for the same stealth roll. I am ignoring the distance rules for Kindred senses given Anna's impressive exceptional success.)

[Thundercracker]

"We shouldn't get any closer," Anna said.

She quickly communicated what she observed about the place.

"Can your obfuscate hide you from the cameras?" she asked Karl.

"Maybe if you turn into a small animal, you could get closer without a problem," Anna said to Aisling, "I have no idea if you can do that or not.."

"Honestly Karl, I think it might be a good idea to set up a camera with a zoom, from far away, where we can observe and see if we can pick out any patterns," she continued, "this place is pretty secure, so charging in without a plan might be a bad idea, one because we might get killed, and two because our quarry might get away and then we will be killed."

"One more thing we might want to think about is calling in some help," she added.

[Bennosuke]

Anna did her best to approach unseen. She could see every camera, and was confident in her ability to move between the gaps in their coverage. Gaining proximity, she was able to peer into the closer hut, where there was a single heartbeat. Using her binoculars, Anna can see through the tinted window where a massive man appears to be sleeping in a chair. The light of a computer screen illuminates his face in an odd blue shade. He has thinning waves of hair and a round flabby face with an upturned nose and wormy lips. There is something piglike in the man's chubby features. Now that she is closer, Anna can hear the man's throaty choked snores.

[Erulasto]

Now was the time.

Calling on the power of the vitae, Aisling willed her body to shift and to change into the form of a crow. When the process was complete, she fluttered her wings experimentally before taking to the sky.

Her path would have her circling the residence several times, always on the lookout, before whispering down and settling on a the roof of the hut that Anna was watching.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Spending two blood points to take on an animal form.

Wits 4 + Composure 3

(7d10)[5][9][9][4][9][5][6](47)

Perception to see if Aisling can find any small nooks or holes that she’d be able to squeeze through in one form or another.

[Bennosuke]

Aisling burns vitae to fuel her desired transformation. The Beast simultaneously growls with deepening hunger, as it revels in the supernatural exaltation of Aisling's Protean abilities. In some way, this animal skin is more natural to the Gangrel than her human costume, and taking flight is like returning to a womb long forgotten.

Winds ripple through Aisling's feathers as she wings up and up and up, till she is above the cluster of cabins looking down. The crow's eyes are sharper, and Aisling begins to survey her quarry as she circles. After much study, she believes she has found several landing spots she could land to allow her to peer into the cabins without tripping any of the cameras.

(OOC: Aisling will still need to make a stealth roll to land without setting off the security, but she gets an additional +1 to the roll now. Aisling's blood pool is now 5)

[Bennosuke]

Karl is able to follow Anna's path through the valley to the cabin with the sleeping ghoul. He immediately recognizes the man as the pig-faced ghoul from the car with the shotgun. He can also see that there is a back entrance to the cabin, and hanging on a peg is a ring of keys.

[Erulasto]

Patience.

Between the missed freedom of flight, and the desire to keep from announcing their presences, Aisling circled a few more times before finally coming in low.

With wings flapping swiftly to slow her approach, she descended towards one of the most prominent landing spots she had found.

When her claws found purchase, her head cocked to the side curiously as she looked into the nearby window.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Dexterity 3 + Stealth 3 + 1 Bonus (2 Move Silent Specialization?)
(7d10)[7][6][9][7][8][9][7](53) + (2d10)[4][8](12)

[Bennosuke]

Powerful wings ease Aisling down to a wooden fence railing that lines a back porch to the far cabin. Raptor claws silent grip the smooth wooden cylinder, allowing Aisling to peer into the well lit cabin.

A man paces back and forth in what looks like a living room. The man is dressed in a heavy grey jumpsuit and has long greasy hair. Aisling would recognize this man as Schultz, the Sheriff of San Francisco. In one corner of the room stand two ghouls, who watch the man nervously. He seems to be saying something to the ghouls, but Aisling cannot hear anything.

[Daishain]

Karl whispers to Anna, "It looks like this has been set up as a security booth of sorts. Unless I miss my guess, the pig is supposed to be watching the cameras. We might be able to turn that system off from here, but that one must not wake."

Karl double checks to be certain the approach to the hut is safe.

[Bennosuke]

Karl sees that the entrance to the cabin has a camera over it, and he notes motion sensors and a number of lights rigged to the building's wooden front porch.

[Thundercracker]

Anna

“What if we could tap into the feeds somehow? Then we could watch and listen from far away, without getting caught,” Anna asked, “if we shut the system down and anyone finds out, they will know this place isn’t safe.”

[Erulasto]

Peering at Schultz and the ghouls for several long moments, Aisling flutters her wings nervously. The Sheriff was…scary. Much like the Prince himself. For a moment, the Gangrel wondered what they were thinking. It was like poking a hibernating bear with a sharp stick.

Maybe she could provide a distraction? If she tripped some motion sensors as a bird…maybe scavenging for garbage or trinkets…they wouldn’t think much of other alerts that Karl or Anna may trigger.

[Bennosuke]

Moving cautiously, Karl cases the small building. He finds several windows, and while many open from the inside, there is one around the back that looks into the Kitchen and appears to have a simple sliding mechanism. Karl can probably get it open, but it is tight, and wriggling through it without making much noise or setting off the motion sensors will be very difficult (OOC: Dex+Larceny -3).

*****************************************

Try as Aisling might, and perhaps hampered by her crow's vision, Aisling is not able to find any clear entrance into the cabin that won't go unnoticed.