Vampire the Masquerade V5 - Session Thirty Four - The Carmelita Situation (Part Two)

I'm currently running a Vampire the Masquerade chronicle using the 5th Edition rule-set for a small group of fellow role-players. These are the chronicles of their adventures.

Our campaign is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to search for ways to once again bring the Ivory Tower to dominance under the pretence of being disillusioned neonates looking for the freedom of the Anarch way of life. Now with a barony of their own it's time to consolidate their position and then plan their next move.

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The now obligatory warning bit - Unlike my other RPG write-ups this one will contain swearing, sexual references and other references that might offend. If you can't tell the difference between real peoples opinions and grown-ups role-playing predators who crave blood then this probably won't be for you. I've also used actual photographs to represent some characters which I'll give acknowledgements to at the end if I've any idea who they are.
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The introduction to this campaign, the first story and all the other parts can be found at the following links and are in chronological order. If you'd prefer a summary of each session rather than read everything then there's a more detailed link page HERE as well as links to the first episode of each story in the blog sidebar.
'Infiltrate LA' Chronicle
Welcome to L.A. - Introductory Session
Story One - 'Three Murders' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Interlude Session - One
Story Two - 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part One, Two, Three, and Four
Solo Session - 'The Neillson Library'
Story Two Continued- 'The Pasadena Problem' - Part Five, Six, Seven and Eight
Story Three - 'Becoming Baron' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Gather'
Story Three Continued - 'Becoming Baron' - Part Six, Seven and Eight
'Foothold LA' Chronicle
Solo Session - 'Hostile Takeover'
Story Four - 'Countdown' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Five - 'The Missing Chantry' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Solo Session - 'The Anaheim Assassination'
Story Six - 'A Meeting of Barons' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seven - 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part One

The PC's

Phil as Michael Tomassio - Toreador, Baron of Pasadena

and Hope Romero - Gangrel, Scourge

Tom as Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian, Seneschal

Dave as Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, Sheriff
Matt as Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
The NPC's
Marie - Clan Carna, Occult Advisor

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested. There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.

As I have written out introductions and dialogue for certain NPC's and some location descriptions I'll post these more or less as I wrote them so they'll be in a 'reading to the group' style and they'll also be in blue so you can tell them apart from the more traditional write-up sections and occasionally an obscure Malkavian premonition will turn up in purple. If I think something needs a bit of out of character explanation then those will get a storytellers note that will helpfully be in red. Anything covered via player handouts will also be in blue as they're written in the same style as introductions and the like. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name beneath their picture.

Introduction

Carmelita Neillson - Toreador
Archaeologist and Archivist

Michael is acting as escort for the renowned Camarilla archaeologist and archivist Carmelita Neillson as she returns several artefacts to one of her hidden libraries within Los Angeles. Things have been complicated by a group of ancestor worshipping kindred who are apparently seeking the artefacts for themselves. After a productive visit to a group calling themselves 'The Brujah Idealists' they have concluded that the stone pieces when fully assembled seem to be a map of sorts to the tomb of a torpid elder though the collection they have is incomplete.

Scene Four - Shoot-Out

Daniel, as you leave you spot one of the tailing cars occupants observing you from across the street from within a different vehicle. As he notices you observing him he turns around and reaches for something on the back seat as the man sitting beside him reaches into his jacket. The look of determination on both faces is quite obvious, it's a look you've seen before on the faces of those about to do violence.

Daniel quickly pushed Michael and Carmelita into the armoured car with one hand, drew his handgun with the other one and took quick but careful aim at the passenger in the car over the street. Using the roof to steady his arm and the armoured frame of Michael's Cadillac as a shield he put a precise grouping of bullets into the occupant reaching for what looked like a shotgun, rapidly emptying the magazine.

The minimal amount of blood spray and lower than expected levels of damage indicated to Daniel that the target was kindred. Even if he hadn't been granted Final Death by the volley he didn't appear to be in any fit condition to return fire.

The driver pushed his crippled compatriot aside and aimed a handgun back at Daniel as he switched to his secondary weapon. Seeing that there was a remote chance that the driver might get a few rounds off before Daniel dealt with him Michael yelled at them to drop their weapon.

Though normally eye contact was required for a kindred to dominate a subject, Michael was capable of utilising his own abilities through the power of his voice alone. Though kindred were more difficult to command than mere kine, Michael's force of will was stronger than that of the would-be gunman who promptly dropped the weapon.

As the surprised kindred looked down to locate whether his gun had ended up, Daniel's first 10mm round struck him in the temple followed moments later by the rest of the contents of the extended magazine. The high calibre rounds tore through his skull splattering it's contents all over the inside of the car.

Daniel disliked leaving spent cartridges at a potential crime scene but his first concern was protecting the baron and his guest so he swiftly slid into the drivers seat and put his foot down. He observed in his mirror that several guards had emerged from the compound they'd been visiting and hoped that they were competent enough to clean up the scene. "I'm sorry for the rough treatment Miss Neillson..." apologised Daniel as he reloaded his pistols "...but I'm afraid the manhandling was necessary given the circumstances."

Carmelita brushed off the incident and complimented him on his shooting all while sending a message on her phone. Once she had finished she spoke to them both. "I don't suppose you know any-one whose been in Los Angeles long enough to know about any ancient ancestor cults do you, because they got here quickly and well equipped if they aren't at least partially local?"

Alonzo Guillen - Nosferatu
Ancient Hollywood Warrens

Daniel considered his options. Marius was in San Diego and Pisha is meant to be a secret which didn't leave many options, perhaps Alonzo? Or if not Alonzo then Dexter, creator of the vault of records that Alonzo was currently searching through, which of course also meant Alonzo given that Dexter had met his Final Death. Pisha was of course still an option as long as Marius didn't mind her presence being known to Carmelita and of course Michael would need to come too as Carmelita's guide of choice. Perhaps both? Of course a cannibal's slaughterhouse lair and a haven within a sewer in the same day would be unlikely to overjoy Michael. Alonzo seemed the safest bet now he thought about it.

So Daniel suggested that his Nosferatu acquaintance Alonzo, currently residing within the ancient warrens below Hollywood might fit the bill. He had as far as Daniel was aware been a resident of Los Angeles for quite some time and appeared to know much of what was going on in the city despite not actually caring about the politics in any significant manner.

"Would that be an Alonzo Guillen by any chance?" enquired Carmelita. As the Banu Haqim confirmed the identity, Carmelita indicated that she'd heard of the aforementioned Nosferatu before but he hadn't been seen for at least a century and was presumed to be in torpor or have been destroyed. Daniel informed her that neither was the case and that as long as treated with respect and that his appearance was not commented on or observed too intently that he was reasonably happy to chat on a variety of subjects. It was quite obvious to both the Toreador present that Daniel quite liked Alonzo.

Scene Five - Alonzo's Lair
Conscious of the possibility that they might be still under surveillance, Daniel took a indirect route to the entrance in Hollywood he used to gain access to the sewer network near to Alonzo's underground home. The entrance was via a now disused access hatch in a sealed off back-alley storeroom and bypassed much of the messier areas they'd travelled through when they first encountered the Nosferatu of the Hollywood Warrens.

Conscious that he was guiding two Toreador, at least one of which had issues with getting dirty he took the least damp of the routes he normally used and being quite familiar with the area made swift progress. He did notice that a number of security cameras had been newly installed at several points and appeared to have been spliced into the existing power and lighting systems quite expertly.

They had however certainly been salvaged from somewhere else as they where definitely not in mint condition. The heavy gate that had been added before his last visit was already unlocked as they arrived and he noted that an unusually large rodent that was peering at him from a hole between two bricks in the wall seemed to be sitting on a key. It looked like Alonzo was expecting them.

Several sections on the approach to the haven entrance looked like they'd been recently restored in a competent manner despite using a haphazard selection of materials and several other side passages were now blocked off in a variety of ways.

The amount of vermin had increased considerably as well as very few areas were lacking at least one observing rodent. As they reached the large area before the double doors containing the trap riddled tiled section, Daniel heard the tell-tale clicks and whirrs that indicated that the devices protecting the entrance were being deactivated and the safe tiles clicked upwards slightly. Daniel indicated to Carmelita and Michael which places were safe to step upon and made his way to the doors which swung open as they approached.

Alonzo's lair was as usual a hive of activity. His laboratory area was filled with a bewildering array of pipes, flasks and networks of glass pipes leading to vats of fluid as well as to a number of newly installed spawning pools though these latter additions were currently empty and unused. Vermin of various sizes were in the cages along one side though most of these were open or unlocked, their occupants presumably quite happy where they were.

'Eula' Alonzo's Guardian

Some attempt had also been made to organise his personal library as there were a variety of mismatched yet sturdy shelves near the still overcrowded desk. As they moved forward, the tentacled monstrosity in the central pit began to take an interest as several suckered limbs extended in their direction. "Calm down Eula, It's only Daniel and some guests." shouted Alonzo as the creature withdrew it's limbs and once again sank below the water. "My apologies. She's getting used to Daniel but she's very protective if strangers approach."

Alonzo had briefly met Michael when he'd first encountered the coterie but Daniel reintroduced him anyway before moving onto Carmelita. "How interesting..." Alonzo seemed quite genuine in his reaction "...I've heard of you of course. Dexter refers to you frequently in his notes he was a big fan of your work as both archivist and archaeologist and I've become somewhat of one too through his writings. How can I help?" Between them they explained the situation to him regarding the stone artefacts, the group who seemed quite keen to obtain them as well as the conclusions made by the Brujah Idealists with whom they'd discussed the matter.

On observing the stones for himself he begged their leave while he consulted a tome he was sure contained relevant information, before returning several minutes later, book in hand. He'd also bought with him several notebooks that Daniel knew he had been using for his own notes.

The drawing within one of Dexter's volumes showed an incomplete tile almost identical in shape and style to the pieces they had though was significantly more complete. Unfortunately the sketch contained very little in the way of actual writing as this was a fairly crude representation overall.

He spoke of an ancestor worshipping cult within Los Angeles that mainly consisted of Brujah whose leader had convinced them that an ancient creature was buried underneath it and that these pieces were the key. Alonzo however was reasonably sure that this story had been extrapolated and exaggerated over the years and may have simply been a tale to tie the cult to him.

Though he didn't dispute the possibility of a kindred in torpor beneath LA, he was sure given the age of the city and that of the developments within that any torpid kindred would be no more than a couple of centuries old at least. He also added his doubts that the artefact was Brujah in origin as the language was flowery and poetic yet also had religious overtones. In his opinion that meant Toreador or Lasombra if the buried creature existed at all.

Carmelita had shown considerable interest in the Nosferatu as he'd been speaking and hinted that she'd quite like to interview him at some point before she left the city. Though he wasn't completely against the idea he pointed out that there wasn't enough time left to do so this evening if he was also to look into the location of the cult they were being stalked by. Agreeing that there was a time and a place for such things she asked if Alonzo had anything approaching a phone-line within his home.

Daniel was about to inform her that Alonzo was lacking any means of communication when the Nosferatu unexpectedly gestured to a corner in which an old rotary dial phone sat on a table. "Mitnick wired it in. He assures me that despite the age of the device itself the network he's connected it through is quite secure, apparently he decided I'd be happier with something 'retro'. He's utilised the technology you acquired for him that he'd lost so he seemed confident in it's use." With a shrug Carmelita began to dial.

Once her call was complete, Carmelita let them know that she had arranged for some accommodation at Hallowbrook via Victoria and that she'd also be keeping the artefacts with her. Both Daniel and Michael agreed that Marius's home was amongst the most secure places in Los Angeles so both Miss Neillson and her possessions would be safe there. With only a couple of hours of night remaining it was decided to give their thanks to Alonzo and then deliver Carmelita to Hallowbrook Apartments along with her case.

Scene Six - Rumours

Victoria was ready to meet them as Carmelita was both an important guest and was also no doubt paying well for the services Marius provided given that Fiorenza was probably footing the bill. As Carmelita was escorted to the executive elevator Daniel asked for a moment of Victoria's time.

Without really acknowledging him at all she went over to the security office door, used a pass card to unlock the heavy duty security door and ushered the two armed observers within outside. Given that she was waiting in the doorway tapping one foot he correctly presumed that he was been invited in to talk.

The security office is a state of the art affair, with recording facilities attached to high definition monitors showing multiple views from high end security cameras.

Victoria Anne - Ghoul of Marius
Personal Assistant and Mass Murderer

Daniel observed the overlapping views of the outside of the building, the public areas and all the significant internal corridors and access points. He was also aware that the private area's were not being observed from this station but as the Banu Haqim knew that an entire floor of security split Marius's own quarters and that of his inner circle from the rest of the building he was sure that such things would be handled from there.

Storytellers Note - Daniel's player habitually notes the security precautions of any location he visits and he and his character have notes on most havens or vampire meeting locations he has been to 'just in case'.

Easing into his own concerns via other matters he first spoke about the dangers they'd encountered during their escorting of Carmelita and if any problems had been observed by herself. "Three Brujah neonates were observing Hallowbrook." Stated Victoria somewhat matter of factly "They are no longer an issue."

Daniel noted the slight lightening of mood that seemed to accompany Victoria's involvement in any act of brutal violence so imagined that the three observers were dead, had been brutally tortured or more than likely both. "Your new Idealist friends also required our services to clean up a mess outside their home." There was a significant pause."You?" Daniel admitted that he'd been forced to pacify two targets in order to protect Carmelita and had unfortunately had to leave before cleaning up as he normally did.

Yukio Hayashi - Ghoul of Marius
Enforcer and Assassin

"One kindred had met his final death, the other was in torpor and met his own final death during the clean-up process. Yukio was moderately impressed with your shot grouping given the range and the difficult angle." Daniel accepted the half compliment with a nod of the head. "Several of the targets had pieces of stone tablet upon their person, wrapped in red material. We have left these in Carmelita's quarters." She then changed tack. "The countess has an account with us of course but we'll probably pass the costs incurred onto Carmelita as it's her operation after all. Was that all you wished to discuss?"

Daniel wasn't quite sure whether to be impressed or terrified at the casual ease with which Victoria spoke of killing three kindred and cleaning up after the final deaths of five. Temporarily banishing the thought from his mind, Daniel then asked about his enquiry relating to the rumour of a Banu Haqim matching his description in LA which had caused him so much trouble before the application of counter intelligence had shed doubt upon it's veracity. "Oh, that...I managed to sort through Marius's own notes and cross referenced with various sources including your interesting new friend Alonzo. It seems the information came from within the Fortier's household." Several of the Fortier's were on Daniel's suspect list so this wasn't as big a surprise as it might have been. "I'm afraid that still leaves you with a significant number of possibilities but it's as much as we can ascertain currently."

Baron Fortier's Mistresses - Catherine Du Bois, Elena Gutierrez and Mariel St John

Daniel was well aware that she wasn't going to take the risks associated with digging into the affairs of the favoured of Louis Fortier, Baron of West Los Angeles without payment in boons or resources that were out of his ability to pay at the current time. Beside's which, it was more than enough to begin with. He thanked her for her time and then left before he wore out his welcome as he'd put considerable effort into getting back into her good graces and had no intention of screwing it up again if he could avoid it.

It was too late to do anything else before the morning forced him into slumber so he returned to his Haven.

Scene Seven - Return to Alonzo's Lair

Keith Chang - Ghoul of Daniel
Former Vigilante

Daniel tasked his ghoul Keith with returning to the airfield from which they'd picked up Carmelita and seeing if he could obtain any security footage that might identify their pursuers. He also reminded him not to kill any-one as the operator was a kindred who would be murderously upset if he did so.

Meeting Michael at the gallery he drove him to collect Carmelita for their return trip to the Nosferatu Warrens beneath Hollywood. On their way they discussed the problem at hand in some detail. They concluded that if the Brujah of this ancestor cult had indeed been on the lookout for pieces of the stone tablet then connecting the theft from the museum to Carmelita's visit wouldn't have been very hard. It was therefore theorised that they had been waiting her return to make their move which smacked of long term planning. Given the size of the individual pieces and based on what Daniel had related about the discovery of several more on those of the cult that had met their final deaths, Michael was sure they were missing at least half a dozen pieces, maybe more.

Carmelita joined them, eager to continue to unravel the mystery of the stone tablet and the tomb to which it allegedly held the location of. She seemed to have been provided for by Marius's organisation and had apparently also had access to 'refreshments' as she showed no signs of hunger or the need to feed before continuing. Daniel had bought along a smaller cooler containing several blood bags as a gift for Alonzo as despite their friendship not being based on boons he still wanted to show his gratitude for his help.

Alonzo had confirmed what he had initially only been vaguely aware of, namely that a small group of kindred were indeed looking for a tomb of a vampire elder supposedly concealed within Los Angeles.

Supposedly this secret had been engraved into a stone tablet and the pieces shared amongst several of the torpid kindred's trusted childer and allies. Alonzo was also now sure of his theory that the concealment method was a bit elaborate for the normally fairly pragmatic Brujah so it might well not be a Brujah Elder, he was more edging towards one of clan Toreador. He also wasn't convinced that this torpid Toreador could be more than a couple of centuries old.

He did have another intriguing theory which was validated by the information that many of the group had a piece of stone tablet wrapped in red material on their person. The pieces would in his opinion have no doubt over the years gained symbolic status so each member of the group having a single piece on their person as 'good luck talismans' when engaged in certain activities would fit with what Alonzo knows of a cults thinking. Perhaps they were even an indicator of rank.

Alonzo Guillen - Nosferatu Elder
Swarm of Rats

After a further discussion they concluded between them that some kindred had seemingly convinced this misguided group of ancestor worshippers to assist in the search for a tomb of some Toreador within torpor by persuading them that it was in fact a far more ancient Brujah. Why they had gone to such lengths to gain knowledge of this location was however still a mystery.

His final piece of information was however the most use to them at the current time as he had discovered for them the place that he believed this group were now based at. Alonzo had approached the area himself via the underground sewer network that riddled Los Angeles and had used his vermin to scout the area to confirm. Unfortunately this building was within the Barony of the Angels. an area held by many gangs and currently the location of many conflicts as the Crypt's Sons reclaimed territory recently lost.

Interlude - The Barony of the Angels

'Hank' Boyd - Brujah
Crypt's Sons Baron

Typically neutral ground between the Baronies of Los Angeles, the so called 'Barony of the Angels' is home to about a dozen gangs at any one time though the number fluctuates wildly as gangs are destroyed, disperse or are absorbed into the forces of others. The area is currently in a state of flux as those groups who moved into the turf of the Crypt's Sons are now retreating back to reclaim territory abandoned after their land grabs.

The location given to them by Alonzo was a well constructed stone building that may once have been a church or temple but had at some point in the past been converted into a hostel of sorts. Alonzo's spies have observed several individuals in leather jackets standing casually by the entrance and others near side entrances.

Alonzo has however avoided sending his spies within in case they aroused suspicion amongst the kindred within and without causing them to vacate or increase their defences in anticipation.

Scene Seven (Continued) - Return to Alonzo's Lair

Daniel and Michael both suggested that this perhaps wasn't the best location for Carmelita to accompany them to as it was probably going to require some application of force to get the information and items they required.

In fact Michael assured her that he himself wouldn't be making the trip either but would instead be sending two of his most trusted operatives. Given the circumstances he would also have liked to send Vin but he needed at least one of his people to ensure the security of his own domain and Vin's increasing infamy made him most effective in that role.

It was suggested that Carmelita occupy her time by interviewing Alonzo as she'd wished to do on her previous visit. Seeing the wisdom in the suggestion she agreed leaving the rest of the coterie to prepare for the assault upon the deceived Brujah's headquarters. Alonzo assured Carmelita that she would be perfectly safe within his haven as none could approach without his army of vermin noticing and reporting the fact to him, also there was his guardian 'Eula'. As if responding to her name a mass of tentacles emerged from the pit surrounding a gaping maw containing a myriad of razor sharp teeth. The creature then rotated in her watery home and turned her attention pointedly towards the entrance.

Now Daniel just needed to find Hope so they could arm themselves and prepare.

To be Continued in 'The Carmelita Situation' - Part Three

In Conclusion

I like to do a round-up of how the session went in these features but if you couldn't give a shit what I think then feel free to skip this bit...

Michael and Daniel as characters make a good team as one is a champion diplomat and the other has a plan to kill most people that they meet. This is useful as they are the players that can attend with the most regularity so the fact that stuff can be accomplished with just the two of them is useful. I tend to write plot-lines for the different characters in an open ended manner anyway so if a player can't make a few sessions I just move his plots aside and move the others forward.

So Daniel's player once again managed to casually end an armed conflict while looking cool. Of course that's his skill set so deliberately upping the difficulty so he fails is something I avoid doing except when absolutely necessary. Every now and again an important NPC might survive against the odds...but that's how you get interesting arch enemies, lol.

Acknowledgements
I've used pictures of real people to represent some of the characters and art for others so in no particular order Michael Tomassio is represented by the actor Matt Bomer, Johnny 'Roach' West is quite obviously Kurt Cobain, 'Vin' is the actor Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Greene, Carmelita Neillson is Salma Hayek, Victoria is Lilith May, Catherine Du Bois is Margot Robbie, Elena Gutierrez is Emmanuelle Vaugier, Mariel St. John is Kate Moss, Keith Chang is Daniel Dae Kim and 'Hank' Boyd is Michael Clarke Duncan. Everything else is from vampire related folders and searches and is as far as I know is all of the 'fair use' variety. If there's something that you feel should be attributed to some-one then feel free to let me know and I'll happily add an acknowledgement...

Thoughts and comments are (as usual) most welcome.