Vampire the Masquerade - V5 - Session One Hundred and Five - 'The Fiorenza Sanction' (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 chronicle is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to bring them back under Camarilla control. Over a year of plotting allowed the coterie to gain control of two North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a third. Now they are moving on to the final stage of their campaign and have their eyes on taking over the entire city, either directly or by proxy.

--------------------
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. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. 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.
---------------------
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.
---------------------
Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.' 

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

---------------------
Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.' 

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, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

---------------------
Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

Story Fourteen - 'The Rant'
Story Fifteen - 'Ties of Blood' - Part One and Two

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three

Story Eighteen - 'Inevitable Betrayals' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Story Nineteen - 'The Marius Contracts' - Part One and Two

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, 

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten

--------------------

Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park

Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer

Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War

--------------------

Chronicle Four - 'Conquest L.A.'

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part Six, and Epilogue

Story Twenty Two - 'The Unbound' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Story Twenty Three - 'The War Council' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Interlude Session - Recon

Story Twenty Four - 'Resistance' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Interlude Session - Damage Limitation

Interlude Session - The Killing Spree

Story Twenty Five - 'Personal Agendas' - Part One, Two and Three

Story Twenty Six - 'Strange Bedfellows' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six

Story Twenty Seven - 'The Fiorenza Sanction' - Part One

--------------------

The PC's

Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'

Eric Moore - Nosferatu, 'Vigilante Hacker'

The Storyteller

Garreth - Everyone else...

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers. 

There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.

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. Introductory pieces that I read to the group are in Blue. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.

Trigger Warnings for This Session: Blood (Obviously), Sex Trade, Torture

Introduction

The coteries meeting with Fiorenza Savona went fairly smoothly, though Michael has been placed in a moral quandary after the offer of a sanctioned diablerie of one of his torpid ancestors. He has asked for some time to consider the ramifications of this, which he has been given.

Storytellers Note - This session will also contain a secondary story for the character of Daniel who is attempting to redeem himself after losing control to his Beast one time too many. These are only short 'solo' sequences but will run parallel to the main storyline.

Scene Six - Mary the 'Mother'

Mary 'The Mother' - Gangrel
Bahari, Children of Ennoia

Daniel had been introduced to Mary by Marius and had been taught about the Bahari as a whole, and the beliefs of 'The Children of Ennoia' specifically. Despite what Daniel had been told, The Children accepted members from any clan, though Gangrel were by far in the majority so his induction, though unusual, was not unique. He had also noted that Mary shared the predatory aura of her sire and that neither made any attempt to conceal it within the presence of other Bahari. This made Daniel's first meeting with 'Mother' quite uncomfortable.

Mary's explanations of the Bahari's principles were quite vague. Daniel had expected this as he wasn't a true convert.

Vampire adherents of the Path of Lilith, otherwise known as the Lilin, Lilitu, or Bahari, revered the progenitor vampire as a primal entity. They believed Lilith was the first, usurped vampire, the mother who births the vitae, and that all Kindred are her children. Stagnant, patriarchal vampire society perpetuated the lie of Caine as progenitor.

The Bahari sought enlightenment through pain and conflict, turning this masochistic urge into the strength to endure and overcome. As Lilith rebelled against God’s commands and fought against her curse, her followers defeated the weaknesses and curses upon them to become something else. Some Bahari led other Kindred to enlightenment, others become perfected predators. Bahari deprecated compassion in favour of fleshly pleasure, transient love, and strict parenthood over lesser Kindred.

Lilith, the Dark Mother

As a Bahari, Daniel would be expected to fulfil the role of torturer, student, teacher, or lover to other Kindred. How each individual kindred interpreted this varied wildly, however.

'The Children of Ennoia' differed in their worship of Lilith in several ways as well as having several beliefs unique to them. As Daniel had no knowledge of either, the differences were, to him at least, largely academic.

The name Ennoia, Mary explained, meant "...the female half of God", and it was said she was a child of Lilith. It was clear to Daniel that Mary firmly believed that this was true, though he himself was dubious about the translation. Mary continued, seemingly oblivious to Daniels doubts.

"However, she was abandoned by her mother to a pack of wolves. The animals raised her to become a great predatory hunter. According to our legends Ennoia took a mate from the pack and... bore him children... and it is from them that Lupines trace their ancestry."

"Eventually, Ennoia left the wolves and travelled to the City of Enoch where she was Embraced, becoming the Gangrel Antediluvian. Obviously this is very different variant of the ancestral legends of the majority of Lupines and is a subject of much contention on the rare occasions that The Children of Ennoia's missionaries interact with werewolf packs."

Lia - Gangrel
Bahari, Children of Ennoia

Daniel was reasonably sure that the job of 'Missionary' for Mary's cult would be one that ended fairly violently.

He also learned that though many Lilitu cults were effectively matriarchal, The Children held no such restrictions upon leadership roles. Such positions were held by those who had bought the most converts into the cult with any disputes being resolved with ritual combat. 

These battles were rarely to the death, instead the victor was the one capable of inflicting the most painful and crippling wounds to their opponent, without killing them. Death taught nothing, after all.

That said, Daniel was convinced that their undisputed leader and 'Mother', was Mary as she had led them for over a century. Though Marius was certainly the eldest follower of Lilith that he was aware of within the city, Mary was indisputably the most influential. She was aided by one of her surviving childer, Esther and Esther's childe Lia. 

Given that the The Bahari believed both in siring childer and sacrifice, and that the ultimate sacrifice was the murder and diablerie of their own childe, only the most useful of her childer could hope for long un-lives.

Daniel was then introduced to Lia.

Given his skill as a surgeon and killer, the basic rituals of pain, both as torturer and tortured were a simple matter for him to pick up though he did so under the watchful eye of 'Lia', Mary's grandechilde and the Bahari Priestess given responsibility for the most junior of those inducted into the cult.

He did, however, begin to learn some very basic techniques of self-control to mitigate the raging Beast within as it reacted to the pain and the scent of blood that filled the air during The Children's even most basic rituals. Given his recent failings of willpower, even these trivial victories gave him some hope that redemption was possible.

Storytellers Note - I gave Daniel the first dot of the Bahari Loresheet 'Dangerous Reputation', however the player decided that he'd be keeping his new associations to himself for now.

Scene Seven - Carmelita

Carmelita Neillson - Toreador
Archaeologist and Archivist

Michael managed to get a brief conversation alone with Carmelita before she left with the rest of Fiorenza's party.

Michael was keen to know what her objections to the offered sanctioned diablerie were. Carmelita was a valuable ally that he didn't wish to lose, he also cared about her a great deal on a personal level.

"It's just a pity that I will never get to interview the Countess d'Adhemar. I'm sure she would have had some interesting insights into her sire Madame Guil, but I'm afraid that the Camarilla see her merely as a commodity to be traded."

"I hold no grudge against you should you accept Fiorenza's offer, after all I'd rather it was you than the other potential candidates for this 'gift'..."

Carmelita then revealed that Fiorenza had in mind several kindred from San Francisco to offer the sanctioned diablerie to should Michael refuse. One of these was the cities new Prince, Sara Anne Winder. Michael was a skilled observer of kindred behaviour and noticed many things that his allies and rivals attempted to conceal.

He was positive that behind Sara's 'cute as a button' image, hid an utterly ruthless individual. He was sure that she would jump at the chance to gain any advantage over her rivals in San Francisco.

She then began to reveal more information, that she thought might help Michael to make his decision.

Fiorenza Savona - Ventrue
Camarilla Power Broker

"I do however have a suspicion that I've yet to share with Fiorenza or anyone else for that matter...understand that what I'm about to share could get me in considerable trouble should this information come out and reveal a conflict of interest on my part...your word to keep it between us is sufficient for me...do I have it?"

Michael gave his word to Carmelita willingly. He was also one of the few kindred in L.A. who could be trusted to keep it.

"I have obtained plans purported to be of that particular crypt and it looks like the cover stone supposedly covering the tomb of the Countess d'Adhemar is actually just there to conceal an entrance to a larger area. Given some information I have obtained from recently awakened Elders it seems that Madame Guil may have created it as a place where her childer or other chosen individuals could lay in torpor undisturbed. It has been hinted to me that Madam Guil's other significant childe, one Michael Unther, may also be in torpor beneath this tomb..."

"In theory that means you could, if I'm correct, still take advantage of the sanctioned nature of the diablerie but select a different candidate and no-one need ever know that the Countess survived. Of course there is a downside...given the countess's nature she would be relatively easy to mentally subdue, perhaps even be a willing participant. Your namesake, on the other hand, would fight you all the way as it's rumoured that Unther sought his sire's position when she was Justicar..."

Michael Unther - Toreador
Childe of Madame Guil

"The other difficulty is that such a tomb as this would almost certainly have significant defences both mundane and occult...and of those I have no information...archaeological digs have taught me that those who design such places can be fiendishly inventive..."

This information changed the dynamic of the situation significantly. If Carmelita was correct, Michael would certainly have to conceal the Countess in a new location if he diablerised Unthur. It also made the act easier to justify. To his knowledge Countess d'Adhemar had, by kindred standards, been a relatively benign individual. Unthur on the other hand had been renowned for his efficient but cruel punishments.

Michael was also interested in what Carmelita knew of the Sabbat. Fiorenza had spoken of them as a significant threat to Los Angeles but Michael also knew that she wasn't above using misinformation to push kindred into actions that benefitted herself.

"The Sabbat have many enemies in this city. Isaac Abrams, Gary Golden and Nines Rodriguez all have grudges against them and the Sabbat may simply be motivated by revenge against a city that's repelled them twice before. Marius has indeed provoked them recently but then he has done so before and he's not the only one. I'm concerned that Fiorenza may be exploiting a perceived paranoia about Marius for some purpose of her own...but don't quote me on that...Is he up to something? ...probably...is it something you need to be concerned about? probably not..."

Marius 'The Fixer' Walker - Gangrel
Baron of Downtown

Marius, like his sire Xaviar, was a schemer and could be ruthless, but Michael had begun to believe that he had his measure. Though he wouldn't want him as an enemy, he was sure that he could keep him at arms length. Having been on the wrong end of the schemes of 'The Fixer' several times he had become wise to many of his methods, and was aware of a number of exploitable weaknesses.

Carmelita let her information sink in for a moment before continuing.

"The pack that sought the tomb originally were destroyed except for their leader, who I believe never had any intention of diablerising the Countess. It is my opinion that her sole purpose was the destruction of the pack she led, and the Brujah cult who were also seeking the hidden tomb. My suspicions about her identity must, for now, be kept to myself. There are political considerations that may involve kindred who it would be unwise to attract the enmity of. More influential individuals than myself have fallen at her hands...I will speak no more on this subject..."

It was obvious to the Baron that Carmelita would not be budged on the matter and was sure that pushing her would gain him nothing. He diplomatically moved the conversation from specifics to more general enquiries. Though he was particularly interested in what Fiorenza had to say about the red list, or 'kindreds most wanted' as some referred to it as.

Kyoko Shinsegawa - Tremere
Potential Anathema

"The Red List is as much a political tool as anything. Kyoko Shinsegawa, a Japanese Tremere of the 10th generation, is by far the most likely candidate to replace Genina, though the reasons are not something I'm privy to. This makes the threat of including Marius a fairly idle one, I'm not sure why Fiorenza emphasised it to you as a possibility..."

Michael was reasonably sure that Fiorenzas intention had been for news of the threat to reach Marius via himself rather than one of her agents.

She then gave Michael a kiss on the cheek before leaving. It was a surprisingly tender gesture that caught him by surprise.

"...and Michael...good luck...and stay in touch..."

This meeting had given Michael much to think about. It seemed to him that Fiorenza was deliberately attempting to blackmail Marius into cooperating with some scheme or other.

Rather than pressure him directly, it looked like she was trying to feed the information to him from alternate sources so as to lend some broader credibility to the threats. This made some sense. 

Fiorenza had pressured Marius before, but had done so directly and it was obvious that as a strategy this was outliving it's usefulness. As Marius's personal and political power increased it was becoming much easier for him to weather the inconveniences thrown at him by Fiorenza. If however he thought that their was a vaster conspiracy against him then it was far more likely that he would accept any lifeline thrown to him by Miss Savona.

Though Michael grasped the strategy, he wasn't convinced that it would make that much difference. Besides which he had more pressing matters to consider.

Scene Eight - A Business Proposition

Piles of Money "Doing Nothing"

Mr Hertz had arranged to meet up with Michael to put to him "...an idea he had..."

The Nosferatu accountant was well aware of kindred etiquette and politics but when it came to business tended to get straight to the point. This time was no exception.

"We have a problem. To put it simply, the legitimate businesses we have are insufficient to launder the money from our criminal enterprises. Having piles of money doing nothing bothers me and so I have an idea that will help..."

Michael had a great deal of respect for Mr Hertz's skills in this area. He had completely reorganised 'The Apostles' gang that he had inherited from 'Roach', turning them from a minor drug gang into the dominant criminal organisation in Pasadena. His creative accounting skills had also been of great benefit to the coterie and his standard fee of two percent of the profits he generated was more than reasonable.

Lyko Wu - Ventrue
'Dragons Head' of the Blood Dragons

He also managed the accounts of Chinatowns Blood Dragons gang. The Ventrue Lyko Wu, who had been granted Chinatown as his feeding ground and controlled the Blood Dragons, ensured that Hertz's haven was well protected and also gave him access to some useful assets should he ever decide to pull in a favour or two. 

Michael was also aware that Hertz and other coterie members generally kept from him any activities that he might find it difficult to morally justify. The fact that Mr Hertz had bought this to him directly probably meant that it wasn't anything too dubious.

"How do you feel about turning the Galerie Sanguine into a multiple outlet operation?"

Michael had to admit that the idea intrigued him, so he asked the Nosferatu to elaborate.

"So we could capitalise on your newly opened Succubus Club by creating a 'Galerie Sanguine, Hollywood' and then open others in appropriately profitable areas around the city. It's really easy to launder money for art as value is entirely subjective and art disappears into private collections on a regular basis. Not to mention how easily one could make charitable donations based on whatever value we attribute to various works...of course for that to work we'd need to get a critic or two on the payroll...but that's something for the next stage of the operation...so...what do you think?"

Johnny 'Roach' West - Malkavian
Current Whereabouts Unknown

It was clear that Hertz had absolutely no appreciation of art, merely seeing it as a tradeable commodity, but his didn't concern Michael particularly. He would control that side of any expansion himself and leave Mr Hertz to deal with the mundane financial aspects.

"Is there anything else?" asked Michael.

Mr Hertz reached into his briefcase and removed a selection of random documents, scribbled drawings and notes written on a variety of different materials and in several formats. From their disorganised nature, Michael was sure they didn't originate with Hertz. They had a definite 'Roach' vibe about them. His assessment was correct.

"Roach had a plan to build a Mall. You were aware of this I gather?"

Michael nodded.

"He had acquired the land and necessary permissions..." he removed the only official looking documents from the pile. "...with some help from one of Marius's proxy companies, he also acquired some other land surrounding the proposed site. I've no idea how he managed the latter, but it's all quite official and professionally worded."

Michael perused the offered documents while Hertz continued.

Roach's Mall - Concept Drawing

"Broadly speaking, his idea of creating such a business and having kindred-friendly facilities below it is an intriguing one. I think it's something we can move forward with...if I have your permission that is?"

Seeing no immediate downsides, Michael asked if any other ideas of Roach's could be expanded upon.

"To be honest most of his other concepts either are too Malkavian for me to understand or are possibly complete bollocks..."

Roach had been a fine Seneschal, but Hertz's assessment of him was fairly accurate. For the first time in many months Michael pondered whether Johnny 'Roach' West had in fact been destroyed by The Blount Sisters or had left with the mysterious Sire who had been seeking him out.

It was possible that he'd never know.

Scene Nine - A Counter-Offer

An Invitation to Dinner...

You are somewhat surprised to have your meeting with Mr Hertz interrupted as you receive a messenger from Baron Fortier bearing a written invitation to a meeting at his home. It is somewhat vague regarding his intentions. You are merely invited to his mansion in the early evening to "discuss matters of some importance."

The messenger was patiently awaiting Michael's response. "I'd be honoured to accept Baron Fortiers kind invitation." replied Michael.

Once the messenger had left, Michael asked Mr Hertz and Vin to accompany him. Just in case. Given the location to which they were heading, Vin refrained from taking his shotgun with him, but still had his trusty machete and his handgun. He also changed into some more formal clothing.  Mr Hertz always wore a suit so didn't need to change. An antique but perfectly maintained Luger was holstered under his left arm. 

A flick-knife, also an antique, was kept in his pocket. He doubted he'd need either but liked to have them with him regardless. Michael rarely carried a weapon himself and this was no exception.

Dennis 'Dion' Hart - Ghoul
Assigned to Michael by Fiorenza

Dion, a Chauffeur and ghoul provided for Michael by Fiorenza Savona, was tasked with driving them to the location. Though basically there to spy on their activities, Dion was nonetheless a useful person to have around.

Fortiers Mansion is as magnificent and imposing a sight as always, well protected by both his army of ghouls and the most state of the art technology currently available. You are allowed entry by the gate guards and a space near the front of the building is indicated.

Several subtly armoured, and very expensive vehicles are also arrayed in spaces near the entrance along with the a number of more obviously protected vehicles. The latter are those used by the army of ghouled security personnel controlled for Baron Fortier by Catherine DuBois. The rest are likely to be the personal vehicles of Fortier and his childer.

You are met at the door by Marco Joseph, Fortier's Scourge. Unusually for those in such a role, 'Joey' prefers to locate threats to the domain of his Baron through more traditional investigative means via a team of mortal and ghoul detectives, and investigators. You are also aware that he is nonetheless well versed in the use of firearms as well as being a formidable hand to hand combatant when the need arises.

Marco 'Joey' Joseph - Gangrel
Sweeper for Baron Fortier

You are escorted through the spacious structure by Joseph and two security guards who drop into place behind your party after you enter. Eventually you reach a meeting room deep within the mansion, it's door is also flanked by a pair of security guards. 

The security personnel operating within the mansion are far less subtle with their armour and armament, though all are well dressed and handsome, their skills as enactors of Fortiers will, are well known and respected by the other Barons. After all, no-one wants a heavily armoured army of ghouls kicking down their haven door in the middle of the day.

Fortier's main meeting area where you have met him previously was effectively a throne room. This area is far more like a standard, though still luxurious, place of business. Fortier is seated at the head of the table, Catherine Du Bois is seated on his right. Elena and Mariel are nowhere to be seen. As you enter, Louis walks over to you and extends his hand for you to shake...

"I'm pleased that you chose to accept my invitation..." He said, as if them refusing was actually an option they may have considered. "Do you require refreshments before we begin? I can offer you sustenance from bottle or vein, depending upon your preferences..."

Louis Fortier - Ventrue
Baron of West Los Angeles

All present politely turned down the offer, having already ensured that they were well fed while preparing for this meeting.

"The first matter is something I wished to raise with you personally. It regards the visit of several Camarilla luminaries to your club in Hollywood. Is this something that needs to be shared with the council, or a personal matter that you have resolved satisfactorily"

The kindred rumour mill being what it was made it inevitable that someone would have noticed Fiorenza's visit and Michael had already prepared a response should such a question be asked. In kindred society it paid to be one step ahead.

"It was, in fact, a personal matter. But it is one that I'm willing to share with you."

Michael could tell that Louis was intrigued, so he prepared himself to embed his lies in enough truth to be plausible. The Baron of West L.A. was arguably the most powerful of the cities leaders and so once he was convinced, any others that discovered the visit would be sure to follow Baron Fortier's lead. 

"As you are no doubt aware I am of Helena's line, but even that is insufficient in order to gain permission to open a franchise of The Succubus Club. One needs to ingratiate themselves with those with the appropriate influence and unfortunately, in this case, that meant dealing with the Camarilla. 

Helena - Toreador Methuselah
Succubus Club Founder

That also meant that I found myself in the unenviable position of having to play the gracious host to some of those from the Ivory Tower who deemed themselves significant. With the club now open, and approval gained, It's unlikely that I will be burdened with such visits in future. However that is something I cannot promise, though you have my word that such visits would never compromise the Anarch Free States."

Fortier seemed to be convinced though Michael wasn't one hundred percent sure, though the Barons subsequent reply did reassure him.

"I was hoping it was something along those lines. I see no need to burden the others with such a matter especially one that may be easily misinterpreted by those ignorant of the difficulties that come with commitments to family. Fortunately no others are aware of the visit, with the exception of Isaac who informed myself, and it was his opinion that you would have a reasonable explanation. I'm glad that he was correct." 

"Though kindred other than Isaac have some business interests within Hollywood, myself included, there are no agents of other baronies anywhere within. If Isaac says that the matter is between myself, him and your own inner circle then you can be sure that this is no idle claim. Within Hollywood his influence is absolute."

Isaac Abrams - Toreador
Baron of Hollywood

Michael's empathy picked up that Louis was still dubious about his story but not enough to make an issue of it. He was, however, completely sure that only he and Isaac knew of the visit. Though Michael was aware that Christopher Houghton probably knew if Isaac did.

"The second matter involves a group of Unbound ghouls who call themselves the Young Bloods. It is my understanding that you are aware of some of their activities and have been 'encouraged' to deal with them on another's behalf?"

Michael simply nodded in reply, and Louis continued.

"The Circulatory System have their own political agenda. Though I understand the necessity of such an organisation as theirs, I disapprove of many of their methods. Blood Dolls are a convenience for those of our kind, but even cattle deserve a certain measure of care over their wellbeing."

Vin, who was himself heavily involved in the sex trade, agreed with Louis's assessment. 

Though the industry itself was notorious for the high toll it took upon those with which it traded, he always made sure that his girls were as safe as possible given their environment.

"That aside, I also suspect that given this gangs proximity to San Jose and therefore San Francisco, that your recent visitor may also have offered to involve themselves in a potential plan against these ghouls, am I correct?"

Marcelina Black - Ventrue
The Circulatory System, L.A. 'Farm'

Michael saw no need to lie about this. Though a rarity in dealings between kindred, honesty was actually the best policy in this case.

"In return for my hospitality, a modest amount of resources were promised should I desire them." replied Michael. "But in all honesty, this wouldn't be my preference. The Systems help is also full of restrictions that favour them, but they are also closely tied with the Camarilla so that is to be expected..."

Baron Fortier turned briefly towards Catherine before continuing.

"I have a third option for you that involves neither the Camarilla nor the Circulatory System. I suggest that I sponsor and support your campaign against these so-called 'Young Bloods'."

"The Anarch Free States can deal with it's own problems without the need of external influencers or other 'Fixers'....are you interested in my offer?"

Michael certainly was, though didn't want to look to keen. "What are you offering, exactly?" he asked.

"My own Scourge would be placed at your disposal for both reconnaissance and as support during the actual assault and a significant quantity of Catherine's security would be available as back-up and for 'mopping-up' purposes. I am also willing to assist with any financial burdens that the operation may incur as well as the offering of favours that it is within my power to grant in order to encourage others to assist you..."

Catherine DuBois - Ventrue
Childe and Mistress of Baron Fortier

At the mention of financial assistance, Michael instinctively turned to Mr Hertz. From the grin on his face it was obvious that he was already making mental calculations about how they could profit from Louis's involvement. However, Hertz was also aware that Catherine DuBois had a mind like a steel trap, so he'd need to be careful.

"One presumed you'd already have had the outline of a plan though I was surprised that your tactical advisor Daniel is not with you..."

Michael admitted that Daniel had thrown himself into more humanitarian activities of late. Though he gave no further explanation, Louis intuitively grasped the problem.

"The unlife of a kindred can take it's toll on even the strongest of us. Small compromise's inevitably lead to larger ones and the Beast's whispers can break down the inhibitions of even the most devout of individuals. Has he sought out the assistance of his original employer, Marius?"

When Michael didn't answer, Mr Hertz interjected. "I believe that Dr Matthews had been in touch with the Baron of Downtown in order to ensure that his medical credentials are up to date in order for him to be able to continue with his trade during this transitional period, it being Marius who originally provided them. It's possible that he also offered him additional aid of which we are not aware. They do, as I understand it, have a fairly long-standing working relationship."

Roxanne Weaver - Ghoul
CEO of Aegis Acquisitions

Louis and Catherine seemed to accept this explanation. Vin was aware that Catherine DuBois and Marius had some shared interests in the world of people trafficking, so an outright lie about him and Daniel reconnecting would have been easily uncovered. Fortier then replied.

"Despite his many, many faults, Marius can be trusted to keep his word which is why it's so difficult to get a definitive answer from him. If he says he'll help then he will, if you can pay the price that is. His current obsession is the Sabbat. In a week, a month, or a year it'll be something else."

"It's why his empire is structured like a business, and why he recruits notable kindred, or mortals that can be groomed for a role. If Aegis relied on his own attention span to maintain it, it'd fall apart very quickly indeed."

Michael agreed with Louis's assessment. Marius's tendency to get bored was a weakness that he himself had exploited more than once. Louis and  Louis then made clear that his intentions towards the Young Bloods.

"It is my intention to give these enemies no quarter. We must ensure that no vengeance seeking survivor manages to revitalise or recreate this threat. In short, they all must die and any prisoners be extracted from their clutches. This is not optional.

Though he had become more pragmatic of late, both Vin and Hertz were concerned that Michael might baulk at the prospect of such a massacre. They needn't have worried. 

Mariel St. John - Ventrue
Adopted Childe of Baron Fortier

"This enemy grows stronger with each kindred captive, and must be stopped sooner, rather than later. They have shown no mercy to those they enslaved so deserve none in return."

Michael decided to broach the subject of Mariel's absence but it was clear that this was not a topic that Louis was willing to discuss.

"Mariel is currently occupied with another matter. It is a subject that I may share with you at a later date. However it is not a conversation I wish to have now..."

It was obvious to all present that pressing this point was unlikely to be well received.

"Is there anything else I can assist you with..." asked Fortier

Surprisingly it was Vin who answered. "I think we need to do some planning first, then perhaps Michael can get back in touch?" The coterie left with a burner phone and the contact details for Louis Fortier's Scourge, Joseph Marco. Now they just needed to work out what exactly the Baron of West L.A. hoped to gain from supporting them.

Michael decided that his priority list for Eric might need to change. It was becoming more important for him to need to know exactly what Mariel was up to.

Interlude - The Water Rats

Velvet Velour's contact list included some of Hollywood's top stylists, hairdressers and makeup artists. 

Harvey Caplan - Ventrue
Baron of the South Coast

All her clubs acts were given the full benefits of these associations which in turn made Club Vesuvius all the more popular due to the beauty of it's dancers. Currently these contacts were working on a far different subject, and this one was considerably less cooperative.

One of the tasks on the 'to-do' list given to her by her Baron, Isaac Abrams was to gain him access to the docks but without having to deal directly with the domains own Baron. Unfortunately for Velvet, she only had one connection with the kindred of this area and that was the leader of a coterie of kindred who assisted Harvey Caplan in controlling the dockyards.

Shantelle, who led the gang formally known as 'The Rats', but due to their dockyard association were now generally referred to as 'The Water Rats', had visited Velvet's club once after running some errand for her Baron Harvey and had quite obviously been captivated by the dancer. Velvet on the other hand had no shortage of far more interesting suitors and had no desire to spend time with a kindred who she had described as "...completely unsophisticated, extremely dull and in need of a good wash..."

It was this last issue that Velvet was attempting to resolve.

"If we're going to get to know one another better then we need to do something about your...unique sense of style...It would also help if I could see what you actually look like under all the dirt..." 

Shantelle - Before and After Velvet Velour's 'Makeover'

If she was going to sacrifice an evening of her time just so Isaac could get his way then at least she could make Shantelle look the part. She had also decided that the shopping trip that she'd be demanding from Isaac as compensation for her lost night would have a great deal of noughts on the receipt.

Shantelle - About to ruin some assholes night...

By the end of the evening, Velvet was surprised to admit that she'd actually quite enjoyed herself. Shantelle's directness was a refreshing change from the toadying sycophants she was used to dealing with. Even the barfight that she'd started was exhilarating in it's own way. Luckily VV had enough influence to smooth over the event with the clubs owners. 

She also found it amusing that the three men that the Gangrel neonate had beaten into a pulp would likely think twice before slapping a young lady on the rear and then getting aggressive when she protested. Once they got out of hospital that is.

"So what do you really want?" asked Shantelle, as the pair relaxed in the dancers private rooms above Club Vesuvius, after feeding on several of Velvets blood dolls.

"Am I really that transparent?" replied Velvet.

Velvet Velour - Toreador
Owner of Club Vesuvius

Shantelle shrugged before replying. "It's just the way these things work. A Toreador with your power and influence doesn't just pluck some scruffy Gangrel from the crowd and do a Pygmalion on them."

"Not that I haven't appreciated the chance to play dress-up, even if I did get some of those assholes blood on the dress...anyway, I figure I owe you for the evening even if you had an ulterior motive."

Velvet found her honesty and pragmatism quite endearing and so responded in kind.

"As long as it doesn't hurt anyone in my pack, or screw things up for Harvey then that shouldn't be a problem..." said the Gangrel after considering Velvet's request for a moment. "...and perhaps we can do this again next time you need a favour?"

"I'd like that." replied VV, and surprised herself when she realised that she actually meant it.

After Shantelle had left, Velvet contemplated her next objective. She'd deliberately left Marius to last as what Isaac required from him was no small request. She knew that her influence was only a small part of the leverage that Isaac was using to make Downtowns Baron comply, yet still it felt like she'd been given an impossible task.

Still, she loved Isaac like a father and would do everything she could to help him.

To be Continued in 'The Fiorenza Sanction' (Part Three) 

Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”

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 Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Lia is Shelly D'inferno, Carmelita Neillson is Salma Hayek, Fiorenza Savona is Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Unthur is Maximilian Schell, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Kyoko Shinsegawa is Kiki Sukezane, Lyko Wu is David E Collier, Johnny 'Roach' West is Kurt Cobain, Dennis 'Dion' Hart is Clark Gregg, Louis Fortier is Eduardo Verastegui, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman, Marcelina Black is Carrie Anne Moss, Catherine DuBois is Margot Robbie, Roxanne Weaver is Gina Torres, Mariel St. John is Kate Moss, Harvey Caplan is Harvey Keitel and Shantelle is Marsha Thomason.

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.

Vampire the Masquerade - V5 - Session One Hundred and Four - 'The Fiorenza Sanction' (Part One)

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 chronicle is set in Los Angeles and features a small group of Camarilla agents sent into the 'Free States' to bring them back under Camarilla control. Over a year of plotting allowed the coterie to gain control of two North-Eastern Baronies and a large part of a third. Now they are moving on to the final stage of their campaign and have their eyes on taking over the entire city, either directly or by proxy.

--------------------
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. There are however a list of potential triggers listed before the introduction. 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.
---------------------
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.
---------------------
Chronicle One - 'Infiltrate L.A.' 

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

---------------------
Chronicle Two - 'Foothold L.A.' 

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, Two and Three
Story Eight - 'The Blount Sisters' - Part One and Two
Story Nine - 'Blood Money' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six
Story Ten - 'Anathema' - Part One and Two
Story Eleven - 'Predators and Prey' aka 'The Blount Sisters' - Part Three
Story Twelve - 'Aftermath' - Part One and Two
Story Thirteen - 'The Messiah Complex' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

---------------------
Chronicle Three - 'Incursion L.A.'

Story Fourteen - 'The Rant'
Story Fifteen - 'Ties of Blood' - Part One and Two

Solo Session - 'A Gathering of Roses'

Story Sixteen - 'The Southern Solution' - Part One, Two and Three
Story Seventeen - 'The Baker Disappearance' - Part One, Two and Three

Story Eighteen - 'Inevitable Betrayals' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Story Nineteen - 'The Marius Contracts' - Part One and Two

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, 

Story Twenty - 'The MacNeil Protocols' - Part Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten

--------------------

Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park

Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer

Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War

--------------------

Chronicle Four - 'Conquest L.A.'

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five

Story Twenty One - 'Veni, Vidi, Victor' - Part Six, and Epilogue

Story Twenty Two - 'The Unbound' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Story Twenty Three - 'The War Council' - Part One, Two, Three and Four

Interlude Session - Recon

Story Twenty Four - 'Resistance' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five

Interlude Session - Damage Limitation

Interlude Session - The Killing Spree

Story Twenty Five - 'Personal Agendas' - Part One, Two and Three

Story Twenty Six - 'Strange Bedfellows' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six

--------------------

The PC's

Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Vincent 'Vin' Ghast - Brujah, 'Constable'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Fixer'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'
Mr Hertz - Nosferatu, 'Seneschal'

Eric Moore - Nosferatu, 'Vigilante Hacker'

The Storyteller

Garreth - Everyone else...

The player characters stats and backgrounds can be found HERE should any-one be interested, but be warned that the page is usually several stories ahead of the most recent write-up and may contain some spoilers. 

There's also some minor 'house-rules' HERE that have occurred as we went along.

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. Introductory pieces that I read to the group are in Blue. Where particular NPC's have a mention in a faction profile you will be able to reach it by clicking on their name or faction beneath their picture.

Trigger Warnings for This Session: Blood (Obviously).

Introduction

In the absence of Daniel, Michael has recruited a Nosferatu Hacker to provide the coterie with an information retrieval specialist. Though his methods were very different to those of Daniel, the results would, hopefully, be equivalent.

Meanwhile, Mr Hertz and Vin have successfully assisted Hank in his efforts to begin restoring the Crypts Sons and have negotiated a ceasefire of sorts with his rival Priss.

Storytellers Note - This session will also contain a secondary story for the character of Daniel who is attempting to redeem himself after losing control to his Beast one time too many. These are only short 'solo' sequences but will run parallel to the main storyline.

Scene One - The Fiorenza Visit

Fiorenza Savona - Ventrue
Camarilla Power Broker

Fiorenza Savona and her entourage are scheduled to arrive in L.A. to meet with you tomorrow evening. You are to be expected to provide a location for the meeting as well as it's security though she is certain to have her own 'people' with her. 

One of those accompanying her is Carmelita Neillson, a Camarilla associated archaeologist and historian who has her own bodyguard, another is Fiorenza's long-time assistant Miss Myra Ross, a Malkavian who you presumed was a Ventrue until enquiries informed you otherwise and finally she will almost certainly have her own ghouls with her for personal protection.

Fiorenza's guards never number less than four, but she rarely brings more than six so you have a ball-park figure for the number of individuals in the entourage.

The other issue is that the likelihood of her visit being noticed by the cities Anarchs is fairly high given the large kindred population of the city, especially if she has to travel far. It would therefore be wise to have a plausible explanation for the meeting should news of it leak out. Additionally, the Sabbat are still a threat and Fiorenza would be considered a significant trophy for them.

Mr Hertz has advised the rest of the coterie that Hollywood Burbank Airport is the closest legitimate landing strip to their chosen meeting place. It was just inside Burbank but was also very close to their own borders. As Baron Anatos didn't really patrol her territory, they could easily use this facility either with or without permission.

The Succubus Club
Security Room

The fact that Fiorenza was making a personal visit must mean that she deemed the coteries mission to be important enough to warrant her presence. That, or she had news of such importance that it couldn't be trusted to go-betweens and messengers.

Michael had decided to station his new recruit, Eric, in the clubs security office to monitor everything from there. The thought of what he might say if allowed into Fiorenza's presence hardly bore consideration. Politically savvy he was not.

Hope had been given perimeter patrol duties, while Vin would look after internal security. Mr Hertz was also to be present in the meeting itself as Michael had begun to find his financial advice to be invaluable. He also had a ruthless streak which Michael lacked, that enabled him to see avenues of advancement which might have eluded his far more idealistic Baron.

Abasi Khalil - Ghoul
Bodyguard to Carmelita Neillson

Though Michael had provided his visitors an escort, they had their own vehicles awaiting them at the airport. They had also somehow managed to completely bypass security and had complete runway access. Michael decided it was best not to ask how this had been achieved. As expected, Fiorenza was accompanied by her assistant Myra Ross and the archivist and archaeologist Carmelita Neillson. Her security contingent consisted of five of her ghouls and Carmelita's own bodyguard, driver and pilot Abasi Khalil.

As they drove to Michael's Succubus Club in Hollywood, he phoned ahead to ensure that refreshments had been prepared as per his specifications. Blood wine had been purchased via the Blood Sommelier Leanna and Vin had provided a number of ladies from his various brothels to act as blood dolls should such be required.

Only Carmelita's ghoul entered the meeting room with the kindred members of Fiorenza's entourage. The rest waited outside. Michael's offer of refreshments was politely rebuked, with the exception of Carmelita who helped herself to a glass of 'wine'.

The first question seemed innocuous enough though still had an edge to it.

"Your normally ever present bodyguard and tactical advisor appears to be absent. Is this something we need to be concerned about?"

Scene Two - 'Need to Know'

Mr Hertz had already mentioned to Michael that Daniel's absence from the security detail might be noticed and the Baron had already prepared a response.

Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim
Surgeon and Former Assassin

"Daniel has been throwing himself into his humanitarian efforts. He is a doctor by trade and inclination and expressed his desire to put more effort into this aspect of his unlife. It does one good to keep in touch with our human sides, don't you think?"

Michael was well aware that Fiorenza believed that the key to Kindred longevity lay in the manipulation of the living and so hoped that she would believe this half-truth. He was reasonably happy that she had accepted his claim as she moved onto her next concern.

"Though Vannevar's plan was ultimately doomed to failure, I have however placed significance importance with those of note within the Camarilla on the subtle approach. Manipulation over military might as it were, it is therefore of import for me to know exactly what you are capable of achieving, within your new position as arbiter of this Anarch Council?"

Vannevar Thomas - Ventrue
Former Prince of San Francisco

Michael first thanked her for her appreciation of the nuanced approach before moving onto a more confrontational aspect of their recent achievement in undermining former Prince Vannevar Thomas.

"I'll get to that in a moment..." he began. "...but first we need to discuss Vannevars revelation to all present that I was an agent of the Camarilla. Information that should never have been in his hands, regardless of how implausible the claim seemed. An implausibility based in no small part on precautions I'd put in place specifically to undermine any such claim by an enemy."

Fiorenza indicated that Michael should continue

"This has significantly undermined my ability to subtly nudge the Anarch Council to adopt policies more in line with those of the Camarilla. Any such suggestion now brings to the minds of those present the claims made against me and subsequently puts me under closer scrutiny than is desirable. This raises significant doubts for me about what is shared with you via your agents. Who knows what might find it's way to those opposed to our goals or myself personally?" Vin was paying particular interest at this point. Despite Michael's assurances and justifications for his actions, Vin was still suspicious that his Baron was dangerously close to 'going native', if he hadn't already.

Sara Winder - Ventrue
Prince of San Francisco

Before Michael could continue, Fiorenza interrupted him. "You're beginning to labour the point, which is a conversational habit I have no time to indulge. I can however, help you with this particular issue." 

"I have influence with the Prince and Primogen of San Francisco and other significant kindred. I can use this influence to undermine the former Prince and any propaganda that he may have spread. His credibility had already been reduced as a result of concessions that you forced upon him at the summit which ended the Camarilla invasion, this makes it relatively simple to establish the idea that he was attempting to find excuses for his own part in the plans abject failure."

Michael decided that continuing along this line of debate would gain him nothing so decided to answer her original question. He also noticed that he was being carefully observed by Vin, no doubt due to the Brujah's doubts about his commitment to the Camarilla.

"My position as Arbiter allows me to influence which Council matters are given priority and which are skimmed over. It also allows me to tip the balance in the favour of ideas which further our goals for the city, rather than strengthen the Anarchs. As with any system, some rules can be bent, others broken, and I can decide which. We even managed to curtail some of Marius's activities by forcing the title of Baron upon him, and you know how much he hates titles."

Both Michael and Vin noticed that Fiorenza was amused at the the thought of an inconvenienced Marius. The mention of his name had also seemingly prompted a change of subject.

"How is your current relationship with Marius and his psychotic ghoul?" enquired Fiorenza.

Scene Three - Kicking the Hornets Nest

Marius Walker - Gangrel Baron of Downtown

Michael paused for a moment before replying. "Mr Hertz has some suspicions that he may or may not be ready to share..."

The Nosferatu tipped his hat in greeting before beginning.

"It's difficult to tie the threads together currently but several of his identifiable schemes seem to have a theme behind them. He has supported Gangrel with whom he has had no previous connections, withdrew deep cover agents from within the Sabbat and assisted with the formation of several new Gangrel Packs. He's also drawing significant resources to him, many of which were previously under the control of other members of his clan who have been destroyed."

"All these things seem to indicate an individual attempting to unite many disparate elements under one banner, though for what purpose I cannot yet deduce."

Lucinde - Ventrue
Justicar and Red Alastor

Fiorenza nodded in return before replying. "I may be able to shed some light on those activities but firstly we need to discuss some of the more dangerous consequences of his scheming."

Michael was well aware that Marius was dangerous, but his schemes also tended to have safety precautions 'built in', so any unplanned consequences were of interest to him. Especially if he could use them to strengthen his own position.

"A concern has been raised by certain intelligence gathering operatives about Marius 'kicking the hornets nest' as you might say, of the Sabbat. As the source of this intelligence was Lucinde, Justicar of Clan Ventrue and Red Alastor of the Camarilla, it would be political suicide for us to ignore. Myra has more information on this weighty issue..."

Myra Ross speaks "His grandechilde, leader of one of Xaviar's packs, one Meredith Lang, left the Sabbat who she had successfully infiltrated and monitored for Xaviar for many years, and presumably for Marius since Xaviar's destruction. On her way to meet with her grandesire she used her knowledge of the local Sabbat leaders and her pack accounted for a Priscus, two Archbishops, several Bishops and a dozen of their Templar bodyguards.

Meanwhile 'Vein', another completely amoral grandechilde of Marius used the confusion Meredith had created to assassinate one of their Cardinals. In short, it is our belief that he is deliberately provoking the Sabbat and subsequently drawing them to L.A. Of concern to us is the amount of Camarilla domains they may rampage through on the way to this city."

"Talk amongst the Justicars has once more turned to Blood Hunts and The Red List..."

Meredith Lang - Gangrel, Pack Leader of Ennoia's Hunters, 'Ex' Sabbat

"One also might ask oneself the question, during the Sabbat disruption of your recent negotiations, whether Marius looked surprised about the attack?"

As Michael had spent most of the battle within the warehouse, he deferred to Vin for a reply.

Consuela Martinez - Lasombra
Leader of the 'The Killing Spree'

"Not really..." stated Vin after some consideration. "...but then he rarely does, does he? Though he was certainly not expecting to be fighting a member of Clan Lasombra as he was completely unprepared to do so as far as I could tell."

"Later, he voiced his doubts that the kindred he destroyed was Consuela Maria Martinez, something about her 'tasting wrong'. I guess if anyone could tell, it would be him."

Fiorenza thanked Vin for his input with a respectful tone that she rarely used with the other members of the coterie. Possibly her close association with his sire played some part in that. Desdemona Moore was definitely a kindred you didn't want to give an excuse to become an enemy.

"You said you could shed some light on Marius's scheming?" prompted Mr Hertz

"What do you know of Xaviar, former Justicar of Clan Gangrel?" she promptly countered.

Michael was aware that it was Xaviar who had effectively removed Clan Gangrel from the Camarilla and was therefore, in no small part, responsible for how many of them were now Anarchs, he also knew that he had, by all accounts, been destroyed. Michael also had it on good authority that Xaviar had used Marius for one suicidal job after another, while simultaneously blocking any chances for his advancement within the Camarilla so as to not lose control of such a useful asset. He relayed this general information to Fiorenza.

Myra Ross - Malkavian
Seneschal to Fiorenza Savona

Fiorenza once more indicated that Myra should speak. She seemed to be a repository of knowledge on a variety of subjects.

"When Marius's Sire Xaviar was destroyed, Marius would have been one of the few kindred with even the vaguest idea of the former Justicars global activities."

"Xaviar had been coordinating packs of Gangrel who stood by his cause. He insisted that they remain mobile, for a moving vampire would be a harder meal for the Antediluvians than one who remains in the city, and he periodically required them to provide 'scouting reports' of territory through which they have recently passed. Slowly, Xaviar was amassing an enormous database of supernatural activity. Of course, most believed that this database was only in his head; Xaviar would not know a computer if an enemy dropped one on him. They were however, not entirely correct. Xaviar may have had no such capabilities, but he had many followers who did."

"Xaviar's legacy is a worldwide organisation of Gangrel packs, information to rival a Neillson library and a collection of both vampiric and supernatural artefacts. Marius is, in theory, the inheritor of this legacy and he would certainly attempt to control it through his own bloodline when possible, or when not, by making the benefits of working with him outweigh any negatives."

"This, combined with his interference in the Sabbat's activities indicates a grand scheme, decades in the planning...or more worryingly, he's just gone insane...either way, he's only one or two wrong moves away from Lucinde adding him to the Red List."

Genina, The Red Poet - Samedi
Anathema

"Thanks to her recent capture of Genina, the so-called 'Red Poet', in San Francisco, there's now a vacancy...there are seven candidates to potentially fill the gap currently, in order to bring the total Anathema to thirteen once more, Marius would make the total candidates eight...currently he's not very high in that list, though that is something that could easily change..."

She then reeled off the current list of potentials. These were Adonai, Enkidu, Jayne Jonestown, Kyoko Shinsegawa, Madame Guil, Marius Walker, Sullivan Dane and Takuma Sononda. Some of these names were familiar to the coterie, others were not. But as this was an issue that was significantly 'above their pay grade', they simply acknowledged the information and remained silent.

Fiorenza then took over the conversation once more. "Back to the subject of the Sabbat...it seems that Desdemona Moore, sire of Vin..." She acknowledged Vin as she spoke his name "...is still concerned about her childe, who may well also be within this city. She was to the Sabbat, what Vin is to the Anarch's though few are privy to that secret. We know that Mr Ghast has been putting some effort into finding his 'sister of the blood' but has, as far as we know, had little in the way of success..."

Vin's own investigations had given him the location of an old underground 'safe house' where she may have gone to ground. This had been based off of street level enquiries made by his vast network of informants amongst those who lived on the streets of the city, cross-referenced with information obtained from the Toreador Madams known as 'The Blossoms'.

'The Blossoms' - In Control of Downtown's Sex Trade

Unfortunately this location was beneath an area close to the borders between the Baronies of Hollywood, West L.A. and Downtown. Being underground made it difficult to narrow down which Baron's territory this place fell under so Vin had held off from investigating, until he had a firm idea of whose permission he would need, that is.  "That's a fair assessment." replied Vin but didn't elaborate.

Fiorenza continued "...this particular situation can't be placed at Marius's door. However if he was indeed drawing certain Sabbat to the city for some nefarious purpose, it would certainly have been something he would have attempted to use for his own benefit if he was aware of it."

Desdemona 'Demonmaw' Moore - Praetor of the Camarilla

"We believe that Georgiana was simply discovered and forced to withdraw herself on short notice. Her last contact with Desdemona had her infiltrating a group of Brujah sympathetic to some of the Sabbat's aims within L.A. They had located an Elder's tomb who they intended to unearth and for their strongest member to diablerize. It now seems likely that this was the resting place of the Countess d'Adhemar. Their connection to those kindred in your account of Brujah ancestor worshippers seeking the same tomb is unknown. Could these ancestor worshippers and Sabbat sympathisers in fact been one and the same or separate offshoots of a single group? Who knows?"

Scene Four - Bloodlines

Fiorenza reclined in her chair and her body language indicated to Michael that she was about to share something of considerable importance. He wasn't disappointed.

Carmelita Neillson - Toreador
Archaeologist and Archivist

"We have become concerned that amongst these Sabbat might be individuals with a low enough generation to counter some of your coteries more subtle defensive options such as Domination and supernatural levels of Presence. The Justicars have therefore empowered me to authorize Michael to commit a sanctioned diablerie of the Countess d'Adhemar should he wish to do so. Carmelita isn't particularly happy about this but the Countess would have little to no information of value to the Camarilla. Of course if you have no desire to take up our generous offer then we can certainly find a kindred who would...though we will give you a few nights to consider the ramifications before making the offer to another..."

Michael detected the subtle threat in the offer. If he didn't accept then the dubious honour would go to another, who then, by definition, would become a threat to Michael's own position in Fiorenza's plan for the city. Nonetheless, he had no intention of being bullied into a decision which had such serious ramifications. He also had no desire to alienate Carmelita. 

"I'll take the time you have offered to fully think this through." Michael replied, though he was already attempting to justify to himself why the answer should be yes. The Toreador could trace his bloodline back to Helena herself, and he had to admit that his list of kindred ancestors contained no small amount of power obsessed and utterly ruthless individuals. 

Salvador Garcia - Brujah
Anarch Revolutionary

Of course, he thought, his reasons would be different than those others. This was not some petty grab at power but rather a selfless sacrificing of his humanity for the greater good of the city.

Storytellers Note - Michael's player does an excellent job of roleplaying his characters attempts to convince himself of the good in even his most unsavoury of actions.

"Of course..." replied Fiorenza. "...you may take a reasonable amount of time to come to a decision. You are the first kindred to which we have made this offer. We will not select another candidate unless you refuse..."

Michael's internal monologue of justifications for committing the act of diablerie were interrupted by Fiorenza's next revelation.

"So, other than Marius, and the Sabbat there is a third and a fourth issue that we need to discuss. The fourth I will leave to Carmelita, the third is Salvador Garcia..."

"I'm sure a kindred of your intelligence would have suspected that an alliance between Gloria Martinez and Allison Maller would intrigue their mutual sire. You also must have suspected that as soon as Jesus Ramirez was outed from El Hermandad that he headed straight back to the welcoming arms of Salvador..."

Given the coteries involvement in the events that led to the ousting of Ramirez, this could cause them some problems. It's unlikely that his assessment of the situation in L.A. would have painted any of them in a particularly positive light.

Gloria Martinez, Baron of El Hermandad and Allison Maller, Baron of Anaheim

"...Well, he's on his way back to Los Angeles, Salvador that is, of Ramirez we've heard nothing. His third surviving childe, Carlyle has also left Chicago, no doubt a family reunion is on the cards in the near future. This could disrupt your plan to manipulate this 'new' Anarch Council. Should Salvador get a seat at that table he can leverage his reputation to considerable effect, even working through Gloria and Allison he can impose his will."

Jesus Ramirez - Ventrue
Advisor to Salvador Garcia

"Arbiter is not a permanent position and Garcia would make an extremely attractive prospect to many in The Free States...not to mention he can pull in favours from half of the kindred revolutionaries on the planet and not a small amount of mortal equivalents..."

Michael was aware of the philosophies of Salvador Garcia having looked into them when researching the Anarch Free States. He was also sure that he could convince Garcia of the benefits of the changes made in Anarch Los Angeles over the last few years. If he could make an ally of Garcia, his position could be made more secure, not less. Of course if Ramirez wasn't around, that left the position of Garcia's advisor open. This was a position Michael would be happy to fill.

"Killing him isn't an option then?" queried Vin. No-one was sure whether the statement was an attempt at humour or not. With Vin it was sometimes hard to tell.

Mr Hertz had his own input.

"The consequences of discovery would make Garcia's assassination far too risky. Carlyle on the other hand had many enemies in Chicago. Should he be killed, suspicion would fall upon Sheriff Damien, or one of his Hounds. In fact he even had enemies amongst the Chicago Anarchs. I seem to recall that a Brujah named 'Gengis' particularly disliked him."

Though Michael was uncomfortable with the open discussion of destroying kindred in cold blood, he himself hadn't suggested any such thing. This, as far as he was concerned, freed him from any burden of guilt should such an act be committed.

Sheriff Damien and 'Gengis' - Chicago Brujah, Enemies of Carlyle

Fiorenza seemed content to leave such decisions in the hands of the coterie. It was then Carmelita's turn to speak.

"It has come to our attention that a kindred of significant influence has had his hand in the development of Los Angeles for quite some time. He has the advantage of both age, generation and lineage. Someone...older...is looking for an individual who matches this profile, broadly speaking, so if you have, or in the future obtain, any information on this individual it needs to be reported to us immediately. Ancient debts have been called in and extremely powerful kindred are...quite keen...that this situation be resolved to the elder ones satisfaction...it is also possible that the Sabbat are aware of this kindred of influence and are certain to be interested in diablerising them."

Christopher Houghton - Toreador
Methuselah

Michael was sure that Carmelita was referring to Christopher Houghton, who he also suspected was the Sire of Isaac Abrams, Baron of Hollywood. This was a piece of knowledge he had no intention of sharing and so decided that deflection was his best option.

"I've encountered several elder kindred within this city but they are all known to you."

Michael had decided that his best chance for hiding the truth about Christopher would be diversion, rather than an outright lie.

"Louis Fortier, Marius Walker, the Nosferatu Alonzo Guillen are all kindred with several centuries of unlife but none had a hand in shaping this city until relatively recently. There are other elders of course, but none would be considered either old enough or powerful enough to be the individual that you're seeking. I'll keep my eye out, of course, and should I find out anything of use I'll let you know as soon as is possible, but as it currently stands I have no information to share."

All present seemed satisfied with his answer, though Michael got the impression that Myra Ross had her doubts. Something about the way she stared at him made him uncomfortable, as if she wasn't so much looking at him, but through him.

Marcelina Black - Ventrue
The Circulatory System, L.A. 'Farm'

"Before we leave, is there anything I can do to assist you?" asked Miss Savona, catching Michael completely by surprise.

"Actually..." replied Michael. "...what do you know about The Young Bloods?"

Michael explained that the Circulatory System had offered to assist them in the rescue of several kindred held as prisoners by the gang of Unbound Ghouls and added his suspicion that they intended to ransom them back to their sires or other interested parties.

"Pressuring the Circulatory System to back off would be a political nightmare." admitted Fiorenza, in a surprisingly piece of honesty. Given the amount of elder Ventrue who relied upon the System to supply their rarefied tastes in vessels, this was hardly a surprise.

"I can however reduce your need to include The System in any rescue operation by offering any help that allows you to justify a solo attempt upon this gang. I am willing to facilitate a moderate expenditure of resources should you require them."

Michael gave his thanks, and with the meeting apparently over, arranged to escort his guests back to the airport.

"Well that went well." said Mr Hertz

Michael agreed, but privately he wasn't quite as sure as he made it seem. He had a nagging feeling that he'd missed something. Something important...

Interlude - Appetites

Isaac Abrams - Toreador
Baron of Hollywood

Velvet moved along the rows of men and women, making her selections as she went. "This young lady, this handsome gentleman, maybe...no...I think not, but this one will do perfectly..."

Isaac Abrams, Baron of Hollywood, had given his adopted childe a number of tasks to perform, each of which was a small part of a much grander scheme of which VV was only partially aware. She had obtained information on Salavador Garcia from Velme, now she had to gain access to the LAX airport which was within the domain of Louis Fortier.

She had arranged a party for some significant Hollywood dignitaries and had contacted Catherine about providing some additional recreational opportunities for her guests. Hopefully this would make her meeting with Fortier's most favoured childe and mistress seem more natural.

Catherine DuBois's stable of stunning debauched beauties of both sexes were each capable of providing entertainment on a level of excitement that only the very wealthy and very bizarre could appreciate. Velvet didn't entirely approve, but she did understand.

They acted as blood dolls, entertainment for Fortier's guests and enabled Catherine to ingratiate herself with societies elite. Politicians, celebrities, millionaires and a few billionaires all had Catherine's number to hand and were more than willing to repay her hospitality with any favours she required in return.

Catherine DuBois - Ventrue
Childe and Mistress of Baron Fortier

Once Velvet had played out the ruse for long enough, she subtly manipulated the conversation to her true objective.

"I have another small favour to ask, but it's somewhat personal."

Intrigued, Catherine asked her to continue.

VV explained that she had a surprise visitor arranged for Isaac and that she would, at some time in the future, need access to an airport facility in order to facilitate the arrangements.

"I'm honoured that you'd ask my assistance..." replied Catherine. "...but why not simply ask Louis?"

Velvet had suspected that this might be the response and had already prepared for the eventuality.

"Because dearest..." lied Velvet, as she moved an imaginary piece of hair from Catherine's forehead. "...despite being hundreds of years old, they're still men and the chances of Louis not blabbing about it to Isaac are too high for me to risk ruining the surprise..."

Velvet continued. "Like you Catherine, I find myself responsible for keeping the home fires burning for my Baron. I thought if anyone would understand my needs it would be you..."

It was immediately obvious to Velvet that Catherine believed her completely, but what she had said had mainly been plausible, because the latter statement was, for the most part, true. In that moment she felt a kinship to Catherine and manipulating her was something that she felt slightly guilty about.

Velvet Velour - Toreador, Owner of Club Vesuvius

Even as lacking in empathy as she was reputed to be, Catherine detected the change in Velvets mood. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine." replied Velvet, gaining control of her emotions once more. "Is there anything I can do to thank you for your help?"

"I'm sure between us we can come up with something..." answered Catherine.

Scene Five - Resurrection

Daniel had accepted Marius's offer to attempt to teach him how to control his urge for kindred vitae after he, once more, failed to resist the temptation to commit the act of Diablerie. Though Marius was vague about the origins of these skills and esoteric disciplines, the Banu Haqim was far too desperate to ask too many questions. At least for now.

Daniel's first day of training with Marius was more like a history lesson than the passing on of any practical skills. He was taught the history of the discipline he was to learn and some of it's origins.

"No bloodline possesses an affinity for Bardo, and it requires strict self-discipline and meditation. A Kindred's development in this discipline is, unfortunately, limited by what remains of their Humanity."

Marius Walker - Serial Diablerist

This concerned Daniel as one of his problems was that his humanity had been eroded severely by the multiple acts of diablerie he had committed. It also begged the question of how exactly Marius used these abilities as he committed diablerie almost as a matter of course.

Marius continued. "Although it teaches control over certain aspects of the undead condition, the Discipline of Bardo is not related to the mystical state of Golconda; while the Golconda is a realization and acceptance of the vampiric nature, Bardo is based in denial. The Children of Osiris denied the Beast within them by intensely concentrating on their Humanity and their state of death. Thus, if one of it's users was to give up his meditations and discipline, he would be once again assailed by his Beast."

Daniel wasn't put off by this as he had figured that his redemption would be something requiring continual work. Not something for which there was a quick fix.

The Children of Osiris

"Hierarchy usually comes in levels of respect, gained through degree of adherence to the discipline of Bardo. However, attainment of the discipline is never forced. It must be balanced and learned by example in an effort to have a pure existence in their most impure form. The Children put forth no illusions about themselves. As a child develops, they gain a sense of vision and penitence, and often become perfectionists."

Daniel was slightly confused as Marius bounced between describing the Children of Osiris in both current and past tenses, but the desire to achieve perfection was something he understood perfectly. Though it once more piqued his curiosity about how exactly Marius was achieving the necessary 'purity' to utilise these techniques.

"The Children of Osiris were founded by Osiris, the 'Resurrected King'", Marius explained, though it was clear that he didn't believe that they still existed. "Those who are an authority on the Children of Osiris do believe the remaining children exist in secret, under the direction of a kindred called Khetamon, the 'Grand Undying King'". 

Kindred Destruction

Marius seemed positive that this kindred had been destroyed as well. The disciplines attributed to these individuals had led some, Marius included, to believe that either one or both were Caitiff, albeit ancient ones.

Marius taught him that all their members come from other clans, or were Caitiffs as the Children of Osiris were not a unique Clan. This meant that there were hardly any neonates in their ranks. It was also true that few elders joined, as the Children require a kindred to still value a high level of Humanity. 

He also revealed that their arch-nemeses were the Followers of Set, who now called themselves The Ministry

"Sometime around 4000 BCE, the Founder of the Children, Osiris, went on a spiritual journey, likely to India, to investigate deep mystical enlightenment and practice ancient methods of meditation. He was compelled to take control over the "Beast" within, as he did not accept his Embrace well. It took him a millennium to develop and master this control, which became a new Discipline, known as Bardo." 

"After gaining mastery of Bardo, Osiris preached this newfound way to other Kindred, thus forming the Children of Osiris bloodline. Osiris granted his Children knowledge of Bardo, a discipline very difficult to master, whose secrets are never shared with outsiders."

Marius laughed at the irony of his last statement. It was also obvious that he had no intention of telling you how he learned what he's teaching you. At least, not yet.

'Mary' - Gangrel
Bahari, 'The Chosen of Ennoia'

"Because Bardo gives a vampire a sense of humanity, it is greatly looked down upon by most vampire clans, especially the Followers of Set, as they called themselves before they rebranded themselves as 'The Ministry', who despise the thought of 'preserving humanity'. The Children, in return, viewed the Followers as utter evil that needed to be destroyed. Their legends state that Set once tore Osiris apart and the Children used Bardo to restore Osiris to unlife. However, Osiris' "rebirth" came at the cost of sterility - Osiris returned unable to sire childer or create ghouls. His Children pay homage to their Founder's change by refraining from the Embrace, instead taking in Caitiff and other castaways to expand their numbers."

Marius didn't seem to show any scorn when relaying the tale. The doctor presumed that he's seen enough in his six centuries of unlife to know that the tale could actually be true. However unlikely it sounded.

He then informed Daniel that tomorrow evening he would introduce him to 'Mary' who would initiate him in the Bahari's methods of discipline through pain. Suddenly it became clear. Marius had obviously invented some other ways of achieving the necessary focus, undoubtedly based around the Bahari's principles that greater levels of insight could be achieved through the application of pain.

The next few nights were certainly going to be interesting...

Storytellers Note - I had agreed with Daniel's player that rather than gain XP during his separate story arc that he would instead gain abilities relating to his quest for redemption. First, Daniel gained a specialty in the Occult skill, namely Kindred Religions.

To be Continued in 'The Fiorenza Sanction' (Part Two) 

Acknowledgements
“Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, and are used with permission. All rights reserved.”

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 Matt Bomer, 'Vin' is Scott Adkins, Dr Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope is Deborah Ann Woll, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Fiorenza Savona is Jamie Lee Curtis, Abasi Khalil is Zeeko Zaki, Vannevar Thomas is Bryan Dechart, Sara Anne Winder is Saoirse Ronan, Marius Walker is Tony Curran, Lucinde is Charlize Theron, Meredith Lang is Jaime Murray, Consuela Marie Martinez is Aubrey Plaza, Myra Ross is Mandy Moore, The Blossoms are Alyssa Milano, Rose McGowan and Holly Marie Combs, Desdemona Moore is Amanda Donohoe, Carmelita Neillson is Salma Hayek, Salvador Garcia is Antonio Banderas, Gloria Martinez is Ariadne Artiles, Allison Maller is Chloe Grace-Moretz, Jesus Ramirez is Javier Bardem, Marcelina Black is Carrie Anne Moss, Isaac Abrams is Gary Oldman and Catherine DuBois is Margot Robbie

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.