Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Anabelle waved to the departing kindred before standing herself. She had a room, but it could wait for the moment. No need to sully her reputation overly much in this particular tavern for the moment, or at least no more than her mere presence and dress already had.

Stepping out into the night she looked briefly for Jourdain, but quickly pushed him to the back of her mind when she could not find him. Instead she began to move through the alleys and gutters of this city, looking for the lost and forgotten that no one would care for. She could find a meal from them, and leave them to recover on their own. It was safest in terms of that masquerade that had been described to her through her travels, but also a quick and easy meal.

Spoiler

Heh, just realized that Anabelle never had the masquerade properly explained to her. I'm just going with the assumption that one of them Gangrel or someone else she ran into told her. Be a much harder play if I play a character that just eats people in public.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The nobleman had been compliant and easily swayed into a moonlight stroll. Playing upon his natural urges was child's play, and Vezina had relished properly hunting, the way Gyulu had impressed upon her.

"Don't overly indulge in your own herd," he had told her. "They need time to recover, but more importantly, you must not lose your predator's edge. There will be many a time when you cannot rely on your cultivated sources of vitae, and must hunt. In the wild, away from the prying eyes of mortal society, you may feed upon the kine freely as we did on your first night. Should you find yourself in the thick of mortal society, you must take care to not draw too much attention to yourself. Killing unnecessarily when you cannot readily hide the body is wasteful and dangerous. Take what you need, and let the effects of the kiss leave the mortals dazed and left with a curious but ultimately unimportant mystery."

Such had been Vezina's method with the nobleman and now he would wake up in the morning with a headache and a few derisive looks from passersby for his apparent weakness for the drink.

Now Vezina was in her room at the inn. She had been to the stables immediately after the feast and had taken some spare jars of her earth and hidden them inside her room under a floorboard beneath the bed. She also had more of her earth in a pouch woven into the inside of her dress. It was such a bother, this weakness of her clan, and she understood why so many of them had chosen to make permanent havens within the mountains and woods and castles of her beautiful homeland. She shared her master's anger at the Ventrue-controlled Magyar invaders, and with those in the Tzimisce Voivode who simply let Gyulu be driven from his lands.

Shapers with their Viscissitude. A discipline unique to her clan - an ability within her own blood. But Gyulu had disdained its use for a reason, and she still trusted in her Sire. Without him, she would be nothing, a mortal kine, powerless. Certainly she owed his opinion on fleshcraft some measure of respect. So she would disdain it too and focus on the call to rule, and pursuit of higher knowledge.

She had used her key to lock the door from the inside, meaning that only the innkeeper and herself would be able to steal inside. Now she merely had to feign sleep and wait to see if the innkeeper would come to collect her blood. She listened carefully while in a deep repose, her heightened senses allowing her to still hear distant conversations in the tavern room.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Laying upon the bed in her almost completely dark room, Vezina pretended to rest though her senses were on high alert. She waited for what seemed to be forever and a worry suddenly occurred to her. What if the ghoul waited till day time to take her blood and store it for his master. She knew from experience that ghouls often developed deviant tastes of their own. Even worse what if the ghoul knew she was a kindred and he planned to steal her away in the daylight. Gyulu had told her of elders so old that they could only gain sustenance from another Cainite like herself.

All these horrible thoughts quickly faded as she heard the scratch of a key being inserted into the door. The well-oiled lock gave no sound that any mortal would have heard as it was turned. She watched carefully through half-closed eyes as the innkeeper stealthily approached the bed through the darkness. He fumbled at his belt and soon produced a dagger, together with the jar in his one hand, it seemed that despite lying Jourdain had been right about this. He moved beside her and began his preparations to drain her of blood. Time seemed to move slowly as the dagger approached her throat till it was only inches away.

Spoiler

True but Anabelle still had more explained her than most Gangrel, they have a tendency to just abandon their childer after the embrace to see if they can learn to survive. Anything mentioned in the information threads except for the roads and the special disciplines you can assume to have picked up at some point. No problems with the hunt and two blood points earned.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Vezina had to steel herself for the pain that she knew would come next. The man would slit her throat, doing only what he thought would be necessary to kill a mortal woman. It would hurt, but it would not end her. Her potency came from the blood, not from the ability to breath. All she needed to do was to have the courage and self-control to let it be done, and to remain in all appearance as a dead woman. Chances were that he would keep the room locked from the outside and wait to move her body after he had prepared her blood.

She worried about how much he would take. Likely a lot, but she had just fed. She could afford to relinquish a decent quantity, and when she felt she had given enough, she could halt the flow. Gyulu had taught her to control the vitae within her. She would need to keep enough to heal, and to then feed again. Probably she would have to drain someone dry to avoid running low for a couple days. but she could manage that. She'd travel to the outskirts of London, find a mortal to feed upon and call the wolves to feed from his flesh. Not enough of her victim would be left for someone to puzzle over - the masquerade would remain safe, and her blood would hopefully be on the lips of a very influential vampire.

That was the plan, anyway. It would remain to be seen if any of it would work out as she wished. She waited for the dagger to descend and steeled herself for the cut. Thankfully she had a lot of experience in being cut to draw upon. How much of her blood had spilled into the earth of that cave floor? Her cave, her earth. She felt the blade press against her skin. She must concentrate on her blood, let it flow, but not too quickly, not too much. Convince this ghoul that he'd succeeded, but don't give him everything.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Finding an old man sleeping behind a collection of homes, Anabelle grasped his neck and lifted him up. The man startled awake, eyes wide with fear but unable to make a sound. Anabelle sniffed at his breath, she had fed off a drunkard before and had no desire to feel those effects tonight.

This particular beggar was clean of alcohol, but the stench of fresh piss filled her nostrils as fear made the man empty his bladder.

Glancing down each end of the alley she was in, Anabelle saw no one, and lunged forward, plunging her fangs deep into the man's neck. As every other time, the man began to calm, even as his life essence flowed from the veins and arteries in his neck, over Anabelle's hungry lips, quenching the thirst that never truly vanished.

After taking her fill, Anabelle swept her tongue over the puncture wounds and dropped the now unconscious man back to the ground. Had she still been a God fearing Christian woman, Anabelle would have prayed in that moment. As it was, she had left that behind some years ago and simply left the man where he was before heading back towards the inn.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The knife slashed through Vezina's throat quickly and viciously, severing her wind pipe. A minor inconvenience in most respects, the feeling of the blade and her blood flowing into the vessel held to the wound, was still entirely unnerving. The ghoul worked quickly once the blood began to flow to fill the vessel in his other hand. Stopping once it was full he carefully set that vessel aside as he pulled another from beneath his robes.

Vezina had already stopped the flow of blood as he pulled the first vessel away and continued to do so as he pressed the next vessel to the wound. Her hunger was still controllable but she could still feel the beast within suddenly stirring. It seemed angry at the insult of being drained by such a lowly being more than the loss of the precious vitae.

Spoiler

That should leave you with 4 BP, and 1 lethal damage. You're also about to frenzy. You can spend WP to hold back a frenzy however for a short time however.

Making her way back to the inn through the back alleys she had found her prey in. Anabelle suddenly felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise as she caught a sudden movement from the corner of her eye. Her hand jerked the sword from it's sheath in a wide arc towards the movement only to be parried at the last second by Jourdain's hammer as he stepped into view. He merely smiled as they both dropped their weapons and said.

"I'll have to remember to make myself known before stepping out of the shadows around you. That blow looked as if it would have hurt even if I am already dead.

I wanted to apologize for earlier tonight, I wouldn't normally dominate someone I respect to lie for me. I felt it necessary this once however, hopefully I'll be able to make it up to you at some point."

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Spoiler

Spend the WP to ward off the Beast.

Despite the pain, Vezina turned her thoughts inward, violently chastising the Other within. She sympathized with the notion of allowing this cur to slit her neck and steal her vitae, but she steeled her resolve by telling her Beast that this was a grander plan. When the truth of this plot played out, this ghoul would likely die horribly at the hands of his own master.

What was important now would be to wait until the man left. She would then need to change her plans. The Beast would not let her wait long. She would instead find an occupied room and steal her way into it. She would feed hungrily and completely on the occupant she would find there, and then she would slit his neck to cover her tracks. Yes there would be a lack of blood, but it would be the murderous innkeeper's problem to explain the dead body, and she doubted he would contact the town watch -- he didn't want them unearthing the secrets he undoubtedly kept here.

How she operated from there would depend on a few things. He had likely collected her vitae because his master was present. The blood tasted best when warm. If she could confirm that Valerius had drunk of her blood, she could heal, confront him, and politely explain the affront that had been made against her person. No hard feelings, just as long as the offending ghoul was punished appropriately, and of course, promises of amiability in the nights to come.

Don't get ahead of yourself Vezina, she thought to herself. The Beast must be dominated, and sated. Let this fool go bring my precious drops to his master for drink, then I will find my own sleeper to drain. Only then must I think of my presentation.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

The ghoul seemed in no hurry to leave the room, while Vezina wrestled internally with her beast. He took the vessel and very carefully poured it into a flask which he then closed with a cork. He turned to leave but stopped and looked curiously about the room for a second before continuing on his way.

A few minutes later the beast finally receded enough that Vezina felt it was safe enough to begin the next portion of her plan, feeding. Thankfully the beast had receded completely as soon as the source of embarrassment had left the room. She could almost sense it's happiness at the impending doom of the lowly ghoul at it's own masters hands.

Spoiler

No problems with the hunt, even if you heal yourself first. 2 BP.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

With a smirk Anabelle sheathed her blade. "I'm not used to city life... nor being around kindred and kine. Animals and beasts were my satiation," she said, leaning against the wall of a nearby building, though her hand never strayed far from the hilt of her blade. Her eyes never stayed on Jourdain long.

"I'm sure you had your reasons. I'm still new to politics, and I think I've done well in avoiding them thus far. Alas I living by myself was starting to become a bore, and now I think I'll be getting in far over my head. It is good to know I have at least one friend in these walls," she continued, wiping at her mouth and checking her hand to ensure no blood was left. Content she looked back to the knight.

"But what brings you this far north? Last I saw you, you were dispensing justice. Does the same bring you here?"

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

With the unpredictable Beast relenting as soon as the minion retreated from the room, Vezina was able to adjust her plans. She took only a small amount of blood from the sleeping noble in the room next to her, deciding to heal herself.

She draped her cloak over her face and then peered out into the tavern, trying to locate the innkeeper so as to see where he was and if he was indeed serving anyone. Her eyes scanned the room for new and unfamiliar Cainites who might fit Valerius' description. If there was no sign of the innkeeper she would use her superior senses of hearing and smell to parse out his relative location before returning to her room to await him. If he was serving someone her blood, she would simply recognize who it was and then leave back for the room as well. In either case, it would simply be a cloaked stranger peeking for a moment into the main tavern room before departing. She could rely on hearing from then on to follow the movement below. With enough concentration she wouldn't have to show her face and would be able to tell if the innkeeper was coming towards her.

When and if he did, she would return to her room and await him, by lying down, her dagger gripped tightly in her hand, hidden in the folds of the bed. When he came close, but before he could recognize that she no longer had a slit throat she would open her eyes and place her own dagger at his neck, making a shushing gesture with her finger in front of her lips.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Descending the stair case Vezina catches the ghoul now cloaked against the night air hurrying out the front door of the inn. The inn is relatively quiet now with only one or two late merchants taking meals before retiring to their rooms. None of them are Cainites however, carefully listening to the ghouls steps she soon hears hoof beats as he leaves the inn. Presumably he is taking the blood directly to Valerius, or perhaps something else is afoot.

Spoiler

I have 5 BP and 3 WP, no damage now. Hopefully that's correct.

"I'm 62 all told and it was getting difficult to avoid questions about my youthful appearance within the order. I thought a change in scenery and a new identity would alleviate that. I was embraced here in London so it seemed a logical choice to return here. Faking your own death can be quite a pain you hopefully won't have to worry about.

Unfortunately I have only a few allies or clan mates to depend on here so I'm trying to keep a low profile. Brujah draw less attention here than my clan would and I can fake being one easily enough. I doubt if you'll end up too far over your head, unless you try to take on elders or ancillae alone. Your clan isn't expected to deal in politics either, so as long as you don't break one of the traditions you should be fine."

Jourdain says tucking the war hammer into it's sling and leaning back against the wall.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Very well, then I have time to go bring myself to another inn, Vezina thought upon seeing the ghoul leave the building. She went straight away back to the room, gathered her earth and other belongings and then headed out to the stables where she sought her horse. She would take the animal and lead it away from the inn, crossing the streets until she found another establishment further into the city. She put her horse into the stable personally, and then went about ordering a suitable room. She wanted a place that she could theoretically lie low for the following day. She made no pretense about wanting a fine room - she simply wanted a room where she would not be disturbed by sun or mortal.

Spoiler

Use Dominate if necessary to ensure that she not be disturbed. Capping off her wish to be left alone with a stern 'Obey' to the owner of the establishment.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

"Well, I'm sure I'm not too difficult to find. You can count on me to have your back for what ever that is worth. You helped me all those years ago, I'll do what I can to help you here. Besides... if I'm going to much around in a city, good to know someone who knows the ropes," Anabelle said with a short laugh.

She pushed herself off the wall and looked down the street towards the inn where she had purchased a room. She frowned as she noticed the innkeeper leaving atop a horse, and another figure departing shortly after.

"I think Vezina is making her move," Anabelle said softly, tracing the movements of both figures before they left her sight.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

It takes a few minutes to rouse the innkeeper but he gladly accepts Vezina's coin for a room. It's not nearly as well appointed as the previous inn but it is fitted with heavy shutters and dark curtains on the window and bed. The door comes with a bar to be placed across ensuring Vezina will be safe from attack and sunlight for the coming day.

------

Jourdain watches as the innkeeper leaves on horseback hurriedly and bites his lip in thought before pushing off the wall.

"Odd, Valerius is pretty regular about his nightly visits here. It also seems as though my clan mate won't be arriving tonight, I hope she's found a suitable resting place for the day. Speaking of which we should probably get in doors if we want to avoid the same problems. I'll be glad of a dependable sword arm if I am in need of aid, though to be honest I just like having someone around who won't stab me in the back like my clan would."

Leading the way back to the inn and towards the rooms over the stables he says.

"Despite the smell and shoddy furniture, the stable rooms are in truth much safer. If you go decide to go exploring without a guide there are a few dangerous areas to avoid. Any forested areas are likely to harbor the few Lupines in the city and avoid Lion's Gate outside the walls to the west. I don't know what's going on there but there have been disappearances of Cainite's in the village. Rest well."

He adds before entering his own room located beside Anabelle's. Her own room has a badly worn bed and straw mattress, the door is secured by a bar and the lack of windows makes it relatively safe. The smell from the stables below while bothersome is bearable. Soon after they have entered there rooms and secured them for the day the sun begins to rise and they sleep the day away.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Vezina was pleased with her new accommodations and positioned herself so that there was no chance of the hated sun's rays touching her body. She made sure as well that the bar was fully in place before allowing herself to fall into the repose of death during the day, awaiting what the next dusk would bring.

If she awoke with no ill effects and in the same surroundings, Vezina's first intention was to hunt, this time stalking the streets for a person unlikely to be missed for the next few hours and stealing some blood from them. Then she would head back to that original inn and confront the ghoul innkeeper.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

"Gotten a preference to stabbing in the front myself. Call it fool's honour, but I've seen that those wielding daggers in the dark often have to watch out for steel at their own backs. I like knowing everyone behind me has the same goals in mind and my life doesn't interfere with that... well unlife I suppose," Anabelle said as she walked through the inn to her room with Jourdain.

As she stopped at her own door she smiled and looked up at the old knight.

"I'll see you in the dusk," she said, before slipping inside and casually sliding the bolt closed. Looking around the worn room, she toed the bedding cautiously before shrugging; she'd slept on worse. She settled onto the bed and closed her eyes, slipping away from the world.

 

[dmronny]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Spoiler

Vezina gets 2 BP and nothing goes wrong. If Anabelle hunts she gets 1 BP and nothing goes wrong. Everyone spends one blood point to awaken. Vezina 6/14 BP, 4/4 WP. Anabelle 6 or 7/15 BP, 4/4 WP.

A light rain has fallen throughout the day and the muddy streets are slick with ice and mud. The Cainites rise with the setting sun and after taking care of any hunting return to the inn to see what the new night may bring. The inn is relatively quiet this evening though a few servants busy themselves with cleaning and the few customers. The innkeeper is nowhere to be seen upon entering and no one seems to know his whereabouts. Jourdain isn't in his room if Anabelle knocks though she does hear someone walking through the hall shortly before she leaves for the night.

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Returning to the inn after a quick hunt and feed on one of the lonesome beggars of the city Anabelle moved to Jourdain's room. She quietly knocked on the door, but not hearing any reply she remembered the movement she had heard earlier.

Forcing a sigh through lungs that no longer worked of their own accord Anabelle stepped out from the inn once more. It was time to see what this city had to offer, and perhaps see what Vezina was plotting. She started making her way in the general direction she had seen her fellow Cainite moving the night before.

Spoiler

If I spend and gain 1 blood point, shouldn't that still leave me with 8?

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

With the innkeeper not in sight and no sign of Valerius, Vezina scowled and turned from the inn, deciding to wander the streets of London and see if she could not find signs of other Cainites. She hadn't gone more than 20 yards from the door before seeing Annabelle walking out onto the street not far from her. She raised her hand in greeting, before casually strolling up besides the Gangrel.

"Lovely night for a walk, isn't it, cousin of my blood?" Vezina said, with a touch of sarcasm as she neatly avoided a puddle of slushy ice, lifting the front of her dress up a few inches to keep the green hems from getting too splashed with mud. The night was cold and Vezina draped an embroidered scarf across her face to mask the fact that her breaths - when she remembered to breath - caused no cloud of warm vapor in the air.

"I had been hoping to present myself tonight to the good Valerius, but neither he nor his ghoul seem to be present." She nodded towards the front door of the inn where she had just been. "Did your old friend, Jourdain, the Brujah, mention any other venue to which the kindred of this city flock? An Elysium, perhaps?"

 

[Sinfulwolf]

Re: Chapter 1: The Road Not Taken

Anabelle watched Vizina approach, her lips curling with mirth at the other woman attempting to keep her dress dry.

"No more than a Scottish mist," Anabelle said holding her hand out to catch a some of the drops falling all around her. She didn't care about her clothing nearly as much, her boots and cloak already caked in mud from moving around the city.

"Jourdain isn't around for the moment, nor did he mention anything of another flocking place. Perhaps we should look for another of us, and get guidance,"