CbN003: Party Animals
General Summary
CbN002: Invitations | Session Timeline | CbN004: Debrief
January 4th 2017. The Blue Velvet.
With the Prince of the City’s piercing eyes at their back, the group heads back to the party proper. They feel as if they have succeeded at something, even if they don’t fully understand it yet. It seemed as though the most powerful Kindred in the city was mildly impressed, and more important than what was said is what wasn’t said. Liliana feels a huge weight fall off her shoulders as her secret is kept safe, for now.
The power of the command hits them and Maude sinks to their knees against their will, eyes wide in fear. An audible gasp tear through the club and cuts off all other sounds. The music stops suddenly and everyone stares at the scene.
Bronwyn, who up to this moment had shown very little emotion, even in the face of Annabelle's attire, stands up in barely restrained fury. Her eyes harshly stare into the Seneschal, fangs bared, hands in tight fists, nails digging deep enough to draw blood.
The Ventrue looks around the club, clearing his throat and taking a moment to straighten his necktie. "Can anyone see the Prince?" He asks in a firm voice, his eyes darting across the crowd, everyone knew what this meant. For Seneschal means that Alan represents the prince at any point that the Prince is not present.
"Exactly..." The Seneschal says, then he turns to Maude. "While your manners leave much to be desired, you've made your point Childe. I will be lenient towards your outburst this time since you're but a neonate. Do this job for the Camarilla, and you will have a boon from me. Understood? Good."
Maude nods stiffly as the Ventrue turns around and walks away.
Quickly, the new Coterie all gather together, Liliana making sure to grab onto a very traumatized Kim. They look at each and nod.
It’s time to get the hell out of here.
With the Prince of the City’s piercing eyes at their back, the group heads back to the party proper. They feel as if they have succeeded at something, even if they don’t fully understand it yet. It seemed as though the most powerful Kindred in the city was mildly impressed, and more important than what was said is what wasn’t said. Liliana feels a huge weight fall off her shoulders as her secret is kept safe, for now.
Announcements
After a few more minutes of mingling and dancing, attention is called to the whole room and the Prince, the Primogens and other important figures gather on the stage, about to start a big announcement. The elder vampires on the stage are:- Kevin Jackson, Prince of Chicago who stands at the center. He smiles with confidence and looks, and is younger than the people that surround him.
- Alan Sovereign, Seneschal of Chicago stands to the right of the Prince. He wears round glasses and an expensive looking white business suit.
- Critias, Primogen of the Zealots: Brujah is directly to the left side of the Prince. He wears a simple white and green toga and looks pensive.
- Annabelle, Primogen of the Roses: Toreador, stands to the right of Sovereign. She’s the beautiful woman dressed in black from before and is regarding the crowd with a smile.
- Rosa Hernandez. Primogen of the Outlanders: Clan Gangrel, is to the left of Critias and stands very still with a neutral expression.
- Jason "Son" Newberry, Primogen of the Seers: Clan Malkavian , is to the right of Annabelle. He smiles warmly, eyes looking around the room slowly.
- On the outer edges, stand Marcel, Friend of the Court and Alexa Santos, Magnus Canis
And now... you.
As Damien steps back once more, the Prince speaks again. His tone seems to shift to something a little less exciting as he expresses that there must be balance, and just as he intends to modernize, the traditions must also not be forgotten. Critias steps forward and thanks the Prince for the opportunity to have a new Coterie swear to the traditions. As Critias pulls out an old book from within the folds of his robes, the group is asked to step forward and face the crowd, their backs to the stage. As he begins to recite from the book, a supernatural energy seems to pour out of him. He asks that they repeat these words:“Today we start our Seven Labours, to strive to become Ancillae at the end of it. We swear loyalty to the Coterie, without Blood Bond or Coercion. We swear to accept a Shadow, heed their advice and accept their judgment. We swear to uphold each other to The Six Traditions , to accept judgment as Coterie. ‘The Sin of One, is the Sin of All.’ We swear loyalty to the Camarilla and its Traditions; and that when called upon we will defend and protect it against all provocations."Clementine looks around the crowd as she says the words back, wanting to judge their reactions. She notices that emotions seem to be all over the place. While some seem disgusted and others even look horrified, they all watch in awe as it’s spoken. Clementine can tell the effect coming from Critias is not normal and is causing strong emotions all over the room. Mary stares at Bronwyn , the host of the party and as she subconsciously recites the words of the Oath of Coterie, the Malkavian feels the room fade away as if she’s having a tunnel vision and can suddenly access a stream of consciousness she had never tapped into before. She feels hypnotized and can hear a voice overlapping Critias and herself:
Chad almost turns around, his eyes on Annabelle who stares right back unflinchingly with eyes that seem to transition through two very different intentions: “You are precious and beautiful. I will adore and protect you, guard you from the dangers of this world” and “You are tender and delicious. I will take and consume you, forbid you from the other dangers of this world.” To the side, not taking part in the Oath, Kim notices Annabelle’s stares as well and she follows the gaze of someone from the crowd that looks back and forth from Annabelle to Chad. A beautiful man, with long hair and glasses glares at them, jealousy boiling up and showing in his face. Maude looks behind themself and from the corner of their eye peers at Jason on the stage. They see him trying to hide a smirk as he looks at Horatio Ballard, a big man in a sleek business suit standing within the crowd. Finally, as The Oath of Coterie is concluded, the air seems charged with that same supernatural energy for a moment and then slowly fades away. None of them are really sure what they’re really swearing to or if this is normal at all. The young Kindred turn back around to face the stage as the Prince announces that the official business of the night is over and everyone is free to celebrate as they please. And as if waking from a trance, the assembly of vampires vapidly clap and shake their heads, ridding themselves of the weird remaining feelings left over by the Oath and Critias' powers.... a switch, within the White Room, opens up doors to secrets beyond...
Time to Party
As the crowd scatters and goes back to mingling and dancing, the new Coterie splits as well. Chad, Clem and Liliana go to speak to Marcel about what just happened. He tells them that from now on he’ll be their “Shadow”, which means he’ll be responsible for the upbringing of the Coterie and would have to see that they learn and protect the Traditions of the Camarilla. He says he’ll explain all these traditions in detail at a later time, after the party. When they ask about the Seven Labours, he tells them it’s an old test meant to challenge new Coteries to adhere to the Traditions. He also admits that no other Coterie has gone through this in a long time and apparently Critias seems to have a hidden reason for making them go through this that Marcel doesn’t know about. As the three of them start to head off, Marcel approaches Liliana and asks for another moment of her time. He leads her to a more private area to ask how she feels and apologize for the situation she has found herself in. "We both know you've been dealt a shitty hand, and you know nothing of ... this." Marcel says, gesturing around the room. "But it need not be so dreadful, Childe. Even if you have been thrown out, abandoned, and left without guidance, I'm here to help. You reach out to me when you have a question or need help. Fear not the snakes, or even worry about the one who embraced you; you come to me and we'll do what you need, what you want of this world." But despite his comforting words, Liliana grows more distrustful and thinks: “First I’ll kill McTavish and then you, asshole.” She sees Marcel’s smile for what it is, a farce. The words might seem sweet and the offer, while at least half truthful, the other half she wasn’t so sure about. Whatever his plans were, it’d not be good for her, she’s certain.White Room
Mary looks for Bronwyn the moment the group splits. She’s unable to find the Malkavian Master of Elysium but instead, finds something else. There’s a hallway that leads into a bright corridor with a white door at the end and at the top of the door a sign reads “The White Room”. After making sure no one is looking and as stealthy as possible, Mary decides to follow her gut and goes to open the door. Slowly and silently, she closes the door behind her and the sound of the party is immediately deafened. Now she finds a serene and tranquil space, with clean lines and stylish décor. The walls are painted in a crisp, pure white that gives a sense of openness. Blue accents are scattered throughout the room, most notably on the big cushioned seats spread around the space. There’s are a few small waterfalls positioned against one of the walls that lead to a beautiful white fountain, the sound of water flowing gently to create a calming atmosphere that is complemented with the sound of soft, tranquil music and what seems to be chimes and nature, coming from what she can only assume are speakers. Mary feels an unexplainable sense of calm invade her as she looks around the room, but she knows she has little time before someone else might come inside. She searches thoroughly for any secret, any hidden entry that might lead her to something else. She finds a hidden switch under a statuette of a white dove that opens a secret entryway behind a bookshelf, but as she glances at the waterfalls she notices one of them is different from the rest. She leaves the switch for now and heads towards the fountain. She finds a golden bowl nearby and curiously places it underneath the waterfall, stopping the flow of water and almost instantly a corridor opens on the far side of the White Room. The new entrance has a long corridor that is brightly lit and pure white as well. She can see dozens of paintings covering both sides of its walls though she can’t really see details from this distance. As she strains her ears she can barely hear the sound of voices coming from near the end of it. She glances back at the previous entryway she found. It’s small, cushioned and very dark-- seems like the space between walls that only someone as small and thin as Mary could comfortably go through. It feels oddly inviting.White Rabbit
Maude noticed Mary stepping away from the group and followed her with their gaze. They took note as she turned towards a hallway and disappeared from view. A minute or so goes by with Mary not coming back and curiosity wins, so Maude follows. They enter the White Room just as a door to the left is softly closing shut while on the far right there’s another door that’s still open, leading to a white corridor.Another brick in the wall
The Dark Corridor it is. A few moments earlier, Mary had looked at the golden bowl near to overflowing, heard the soft voices coming from far beyond the bright corridors and decided to ignore it all and instead go inside the small opening of The Dark Corridor. She closes the opening tightly behind her and starts to make her way down the dark, tight space, moving slowly. As she traverses blindly, she notices small rays of light cutting through the darkness sporadically. With stlight delight, she sees that these are small holes against the wall that allows her to see into the party, past the walls. She spends a while peeking through the holes as the party goes on but sees nothing of interest through most of them. It is when she’s about to head back that she peeks through one last hole and spots something dangerous. On the other side of the wall, she can see two figures seated on an alcove: Bronwyn stares coldly at the party from afar and Jason smiles at the patrons as they dance. The Primogen leans towards Bronwyn and starts talking, his outward demeanor seems calm and pleasant, completely at odds with his words and tone."Enough of the soft gloves child, I call upon you to uncover and kill every single one of the fucking Shadows that play at the outskirts of our city." He smiles and winks at Clementine as she stands alone by the dance floor, "Especially that bitch of a spy. She, I will personally rip out her throat and consume. The rest of the cattle might think of her as harmless, or a pawn to be used in their schemes, but I know her for what she is, I know them for what they are. A rot; to be cut, flayed and made to face the burning sun. The time is coming, when I call, you will answer." His eyes burn with passion for a moment, but then he shakes his head slightly and turns to Bronwyn once more. His voice turns soft, calm and soothing, “but tell me Childe, what ails you? Have you done as we set for you and practiced vulnerability? You must always remember that honesty is not only kindness, but also the best way to get what you want out of people…”Mary recoils from the swinging psychopathic mood displayed by the Malkavian Primogen and from the knowledge she now holds of the danger one of her Coterie members is in. As quickly as she can she scurries back the way she came, suddenly realizing that she had been spying on a very private conversation between the two most powerful Malkavians in the city, a clan famous for their abilities of perception. As she should know, being a part of it.
What lies in a Seer's Closet
The White Corridor it is. Maude quickly makes up their mind and heads towards the white corridor just as the door is starting to close. They make their way down the bright, eerie space, moving slowly as they stare at the paintings. The paintings are close together and extend all the way across the corridor until it cuts sharply to the left. From a quick glance, Maude notices there’s a hidden message among the seemingly unconnected paintings, but can’t quite piece it all together. The story of Oedipus is presented in the paintings, but with genders swapped: A female figure kills her mother and marries her own father. Not wanting to be idle for too long, Maude moves on to the end of the hallway. As they turn around the corner, they see a locked door with metal bars blocking the way forward. Looking past that there’s only darkness and voices echoing in the space.A scared voice says,Knock knock knock knock-knock. Knock Knock. Maude interrupts the voices and knocks on the iron bars with a melodic rhythm. There’s a pregnant silence as nothing moves and the voices quiet. And after what seems like an eternity, the voices can be heard again, this time in whispers.
"We gotta run, we gotta go. They're going to come for us! Oh Dear God, the monsters are coming." A calm voice answers,
"Easy, we're prey. It's all just settled, why fight it? Just let it happen..." An angry voice exclaims,
"NO! Do not give up, we can bring them down. Next time he comes for us, we gang up on him, right? we jump him, kill the bastard." A happy voice intercedes,
"Stop it! Don't you see? The kiss is wonderful if you just let it be so! It's great, why fight it? or be sad about it? or be apathetic about it? enjoy it!!!" A scared voice murmurs,
"More and more of us will come, more and more of us will be prey! Oh dear God." The calm voice says,
"Everyone just has a turn, whether your new or just out of the Closet." TThe angry voice yells,
"That's it! The closet! We can destroy it no?! It's ... it's some gate. It leads somewhere, if we can brake it, maybe we can fuck with them! PAYBACK BITCH." The happy voice laughs,
"HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa!!"
The scared voice says,Maude hears steps coming their way. They think to run away for a moment, but curiosity defeats carefulness and they summon a cloak of shadows to hide their presence. They stand very still, appearing to have disappeared for most people that’d look and hoping to fool whoever is coming. Knock knock knock knock-knock. Knock Knock. They hear the answer against the iron bars, coming from the other side. A face becomes visible through the metal bars, while everything else remains in darkness. "Who goes there... hello?" The face is of a gaunt man of first nation descent. He has glazed, haunted eyes. "Master Bronwyn? Is that you? Are you back for more...?" He doesn’t seem to notice Maude; only silence follows his questions. After a moment, the man squints his eyes and steps back and then the same voices come back, but this time Maude can see the source of them. They come directly from the man, all of them do.
"What was that?! Oh they've come for us again... oh no, oh dear God." The calm voice murmurs,
"Shhh, be quiet. Better to just let it happen this time." The angry voice whispers harshly,
"Shut the fuck up, this is boys. We grab them when they come." The happy voice says,
"Oh fuck, I can't wait."
In a scared voice he asks,The moment the figure steps far enough away and the voices seem faint, Maude dashes away, their powers of invisibility breaking.
"Where is The Guardsman? What is happening?! Oh, dear God." In a calm voice he answers,
"Nothing is happening, calm down." In an angry voice he yells,
"HE'S GONE! HAHAHA! NOW WE RULE! BURN IT ALL!." Happily
He moans
Big Social Encounter
On the other side of the White Room, the party is in full swing. Chad dances and mingles with some vampires while Liliana stays near him. Clementine however stands away from the crowd and observes the two of them with a bit of a smile. She sees someone approaching her from the corner of her eye. It’s the Primogen of the Malkavian, Jason Newberry, who cordially introduces himself and offers his assistance for anything she might need. She respectfully answers his questions but quickly grows suspicious of his true intentions, expertly deviating any of his questioning to safer topics and playing innocent if the moment demands it. He leaves her to be after the conversation goes nowhere, just as Maude exits the White Room. Maude notices with an expert perception that once he turns around, he is unable to hide a smirk for but a moment before going back to his usual pleasant smile. A spectacled man with long hair approaches Chad in between songs and aggressively turns him around to face him. He introduces himself as Bret Stryker and insults Chad, calling him “son of a whore” and exclaiming that he does not belong in this city to which Chad acts very calming and simply tells him that his new crew is what he should be judged for. Stryker smiles, about to say something nasty but he gets a notification on his phone. His face transforms immediately from confidence to complete horror as his phone starts playing a recording of his own voice yelling desperately: "ANNABELLE PLEASE, PLEASE I WILL BE GOOD, TAKE ME BACK MY QUEEN!" Chad looks confused but amused as Mary smiles and puts down her phone, having just hacked Stryker. The rest of the patrons look amused and have second hand embarrassment, some even telling the horrified Toreador that he needs to let Annabelle go. Liliana is just coming back from an attempt to speak to Bronwyn to see all that is happening and goes directly to Stryker. She basically tackles him and forcefully dances with him, spinning him around and making him lose his balance. “Thank you for the dance!” she says as Bret falls to the ground, glasses falling off his face and breaking, hair in complete disarray. He stands up, the promise of violence in his eyes but another Kindred holds him back, “Stop, you fool! You want to die tonight, too? Enough!” And with that he’s led away. As all of this is going down, Kim notices a hooded figure approaching the group silently. She walks towards them, catching the vampire off guard. It’s the same hooded Nosferatu the group had seen speaking to the Prince earlier and he turns towards her with angry eyes and in a terrifying voice proceeds to threaten and scare Kim to her core before leaving her there on shaky legs as he walks away. After the brief assist during the Stryker situation, Mary heads toward Bronwyn and makes a very good and lasting impression on her. They have a moment that’s hard to explain for any non-seer, as most of their exchange happens silently within their heads and through stares. In the end, Mary walks away with one new piece of knowledge: Bronwyn is not complicit in Jason’s plans but rather, she’s a victim. While Maude stares at Jason and is about to go to him, they’re approached by Alan Sovereign, who introduces himself as the Seneschal, or the right hand of the Prince. He tells Maude that he has very high expectations of the coterie, then proceeds to pry into their business, but Maude manages to avoid the Ventrue’s attempt at getting any substantial information. Undeterred, the Seneschal steers the conversation with Maude toward the Second Inquisition. He informs them they have been seen operating in the Back of Yards. He commands Maude to go investigate this situation but the Malkavian is hungry and exhausted after all of tonight’s activities and exclaims, louder than intended “Why should I do as you say!?” Their Beast has taken over, making Maude stand tall, towering over the Ventrue. With cold and hard eyes, the Seneschal seems to also lose his cool and loudly and with supernatural authority exclaims,"KNEEL CHILD!"
OK! GO GO GO!
And so, having successfully survived their first social encounter, the Coterie walk away from the party, to the applause and laughter of the crowd. They made a huge impression that night. The last thing they saw as they drove away, was the figure of Balthazar, hitting a fancy looking black sedan with a baseball bat. "Not our problem, not our scene..." Chad said, as they all shook and suddenly felt safe, driving away from the den of monsters.
Report Date
12 Oct 2022
