Friday, 7 April 2023

Vampire the Masquerade - V5 - Session One Hundred and Thirty One - 'A Plague of Blood' (Part Eight)

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. After over four years of plotting, one of their number is now leader of the Anarch Council of the Free States and the rest have privileged places within the Anarch hierarchy.
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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. 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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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Interlude Session One - After Griffith Park
Interlude Session Two - Divide and Conquer
Interlude Session Three - On the Brink of War
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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, Two and Three
Story Twenty Eight - 'Hunters Hunted' - Part One, Two, Three, Four and Five
Story Twenty Eight - 'Hunters Hunted' - Epilogue
Solo Session - 'The Salubri Tome'
Story Twenty Nine - 'Methuselah' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five
Story Twenty Nine - 'Methuselah' - Part Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten
Story Twenty Nine - 'Methuselah' - Epilogue
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Galerie Sanguine - 'San Francisco'
'Anarchs' -  Zero, One, Two, Three and Four
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Chronicle Five - 'Blood Cults of L.A.'
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Story Thirty - 'A Plague of Blood' - Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five,
Story Thirty - 'A Plague of Blood' - Part Six and Seven
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'The Cast' - Past and Present
This Sessions PC's are...
Michael Tomassio - Toreador, 'Baron of the North East'
Dr Daniel Matthews - Banu Haqim, 'Sherlock'
Hope Romero - Gangrel, 'Census Taker'

The Storyteller
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: Hospitals
Other Possible Triggers: Blood, Disease (Plague)

Introduction
The coterie have obtained a sample of blood from a kindred who it seems has an immunity to the plague, and one that can be passed onto those who have consumed her vitae. The so-called Mistress of the Swarm, who gifted them her blood has claimed that it seems less effective against this new strain.

Dr Daniel Matthews now needs to find someone who can enhance the attributes of this vitae and hopefully formulate a cure.

Scene Thirty Two - The Oathbreakers
Luthor Hyde - City Gangrel
'The Oathbreakers' Pack
Luthor Hyde, who guided Daniel and Hope to their meeting with the Mistress of the Swarm, was waiting for them by the Gallery. He was accompanied by a woman they recognised as Scarlet Carson O'Toole, the Sabbat member supposedly taken captive by Marius, who subsequently turned out to be one of his grandechilder's own childer and a spy. There was also a girl with them whom they hadn't met before.

The girl looked like a China doll, perfect in features, though the eyes clearly showed that she was something more. The three might look like a family group out for a stroll, if not for the lateness of the hour.

Daniel was aware that Scarlet, and several other 'former' Sabbat, were now an Oratory Pack, known as 'The Oathbreakers'. Generally they were distrusted by the Anarchs, but had been given equal status by Marius to his other Oratory Packs. Moral questions apparently meant very little to 'The Wolf Spider' as most Sabbat called him.

"Do you have somewhere less public where we can talk?" asked Miss O'Toole

They were escorted to a meeting room, and politely informed that much of the rest of the gallery was warded against intruders and so it would be in their best interests to not "Wander about..."

"So..." began Scarlet. "...you require information on The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle?"

Scarlet Carson O'Toole - City Gangrel
Pack Leader of 'The Oathbreakers'
Daniel confirmed that this was so, and then the leader of 'The Oathbreakers' began to pass on what she knew.

"The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle are a dark legend even amongst the monsters of the Sabbat. Patient, yet Brutal, careful, yet capable of insane levels of collateral damage if necessary. Not for them are the raiding parties, and shovelhead onslaughts of the others, except possibly as a feint or distraction. They are dangerous in the extreme..."

"The rank and file are fairly fluid, attrition rates being especially high amongst them, but the leadership is quite stable."

"Bishop Vick is their leader. A Toreador by clan, though easily mistakeable for a Lasombra, or Tremere antitribu given his knowledge of their disciplines and rituals. An efficient leader, and fiendishly intelligent. A plan of this sophistication is certain to be his, though I doubt he handles recruitment. That would be the department of Jezebel Locke. They generally refer to her as 'Sister' but she's also a Bishop..."

"Sister Locke, is an excellent recruiter to the cause. Charisma, manipulation, sex, whatever it takes, then she worms her way into their minds and makes them believe that her desires are theirs. It takes an incredible force of will to do that to even a single individual. Locke can do it pretty much on demand and on mass. She's also a Toreador antitribu, though she had a Malkavian confidante for a while. She learned all they had to teach, then ate their soul...she wasn't particularly sane before, the diablerie has made things significantly worse..."

Sister Maladie - Banu Haqim antitribu
"Then there's Brother Kanker. He's a Paladin, entrusted with protecting Sabbat leaders from Final Death. Bishop's aren't generally considered important enough to get one as protector, though it does happen occasionally, which goes to show how highly thought of Vick and Locke are. He is, to utilise an overused term, a killing machine. Even if you can hurt him, he wont care. He feeds upon the pain like it's vitae and takes great pleasure in destroying any kindred not of the Sabbat. There's none of the usual Sabbat habit of 'playing with his food', he just destroys..."

"Sister Maladie is another of their favoured killers. Not toe to toe like Kanker. She's a 'poison coated knife in the back' kind of girl. She likes to watch and learn, then strike. Patient assassins are rare in the Sabbat and though not exactly respected, she is feared. She's also what mortal profilers would call a 'Family Annihilator'. Not her own 'family' of course. The Vinculum takes care of that impulse, so she's transferred those urges to the loved one of their targets. She's been known to cause such mayhem that her victim has nothing left to lose when she comes for them, and they're almost grateful for their end...at least it's quick. she's usually tired of the game by then..."

"There's one exception to this methodology. Sometimes she creates a family of her own, just so she can tear it apart...anyway...if she knows your coming then protect your loved ones, because she'll make them suffer, and watch you suffer through what she's done to them..."

Serpents of the Light
Bloodline Symbol
"The final core pack member is the appropriately named Brother Serpentine. A Serpent of the Light, A Setite, sorry 'Ministry' antitribu effectively. Manipulation by seduction is the usual tool of choice for the Serpents of the Light, so he pairs well with Locke. They like to play a dangerous game of attack and counterattack against their rivals, usually with mortal pawns. Members of that bloodline wield weapons of addiction and decay. They are expert at discovering a target's weakness and using that tool – be it drugs, sex, power, or whatever – to gain control of the target or targets."

"These pair relish the opportunity to bring down a Prince or Baron's city from the inside out, like any dedicated Sabbat. A Serpent set loose in a major metropolis can magnify the drug-trade substantially, entice many innocent victims into prostitution and much more. They prefer to operate behind the scenes, extending their control through human, ghoul and Kindred underlings, without becoming an obvious target themselves. Rooting out a Serpent of the Light from a city is much like peeling an onion - you must slice away many layers before you get to the core...and that core is inevitably rotten..."

'Max' - Gangrel
Sweeper for the North East Baronies
Hope and Daniel exchanged a knowing look that Scarlet picked up upon. Daniel explained that he,  Hope and one of the Baronies sweepers known as Max, had likely encountered this 'Sister Maladie'. He then relayed to her their encounter in the sewers, where they came across members of the swarm who were hunting someone. He also shared the opinion of Max that their prey had tried to lead them into a trap.

Storytellers Note - That event happened in Scene Ten of a Story that can be found HERE.

"There has been mention of a Brother Cor." added Daniel. "Is that name also familiar?"

"No idea. Must be someone new..." was the reply

Hope stayed quiet, making mental notes about the warriors of this group and how she might best deal with them. Daniel, meanwhile, had some theories that he chose to share.

"The people smuggling operations we've encountered might easily have been masterminded by this 'Brother Serpentine' as they seemed to have many of the hallmarks that you've attributed to him. If it was him, then he's already removed anything that might have connected himself to them. If there were any clues left, then we certainly didn't find them." He continued. "He and the other Sabbat didn't pop their heads up at all during the clean-up. It was all go-betweens and expendable assets."

Miss O'Toole made no comment on this theory and it was quite obvious that she now intended to leave.

"You now have all the information that I have to share. Do with it what you will..." she said, and then she and her companions began to leave.

Alice Menard AKA Cherubim - Brujah
'The Oathbreakers' Pack
Daniel had some more questions, but as he moved to intercept them, the childlike figure of Cherubim stepped between him and them and smiled sweetly. "You've had enough of our time...so I imagine you'll want to get out of our way now..."

Deciding that forcing the issue would create more problems than it would solve, Daniel stepped aside.

A few moments later a car arrived to pick up the three, and from the scratches around the lock, Daniel was reasonably sure that it had been recently stolen.

Daniel turned to Hope. "So what did you think?"

"I think you were about to get your ass kicked by a six-year old..." quipped Hope.

Daniel chose to ignore the comment. "That's not what I meant as you are well aware..."

"I think that we have at least two pretty dangerous kindred to deal with who aren't going down without a fight, and several others who will be busy trying to outwit us in the meantime."

Daniel agreed, but also had another issue. "Scarlet meant what she said about Sister Maladie, so we're going to need to protect anyone we give a shit about whose vulnerable in any way. Mortals, ghouls, kindred acquaintances...everyone, basically..."

Hope agreed, and the pair briefly separated in order to pass the word to all that might be affected. Humanity was difficult for most kindred to maintain, and little bought the beast to the surface as quickly as the loss of a mortal touchstone.

Interlude - Reunion
Grafton - Brujah
Ally of Theodore Bell
Grafton hated waiting.

Over a century of unlife had, if anything, made him even more impatient. Besides which he had his eye on a replacement for his blood doll. The current one was getting a bit clingy and beginning to cramp his style, and he needed to start working on the new candidate. If he had to wait for this contact much longer, the potential blood doll's shift at the club would be over, and he'd have to wait until tomorrow to make his move, and he fucking hated waiting.

To add to his irritation, the kindred drug dealer that they used for their profitable little sideline, had decided to use an Oratory Pack as an intermediary. This was becoming increasingly common as kindred who would happily fuck over a rival were a bit more careful about pissing off an organisation with several hundred Gangrel in it. Especially as they seemed to have adopted an 'all for one, one for all' policy, which meant that making an enemy of one came with a whole heap of trouble. Plus Gangrel were, in his experience at least, the very definition of pragmatism, and so the chance of getting a fair fight from one, unless you were another Gangrel, was basically non-existent. After careful consideration he decided that he fucking hated Gangrel as well.

His internal monologue was interrupted by a nudge in the ribs from one of his partners in crime. "Grafton! The bastards have finally turned up..."

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Florence 'Fox' Mercado - Gangrel
Childe of Marius Walker
It couldn't fucking be. He had to be seeing things. No, that was definitely her. Blood doll number twenty something. Three? Was standing in front of an armoured car, gun in hand, asking where the payment for the merchandise was. This was going to get awkward. Still, she'd never been that smart. He'd talk his way out of it.

"Floella? It's great to see you. You just disappeared that night. I spent months looking for you, but you'd vanished. You got the gift anyway, I guess. Shame it wasn't me who embraced you. I'd planned to do it the very night you went missing..." 

She seemed to be smiling, so he relaxed a little, apparently unlife hadn't made her any smarter. He'd drop a few names into the conversation, just to show her what she'd missed out on, then he could get out of here with the heroin that funded the mundane pleasures that made eternity tolerable. Theodore Bell may have been a legend, but fame by proxy wasn't very profitable. Hopefully he'd still have time to drop in on the bitch at the club.

"I was just saying to Theodore. You know? Theo Bell. Yep, that Theo Bell, That when we're in L.A. we should show the locals how Killa-B and his posse, party..."

The conversation was abruptly ended as a burst of armour piercing rounds punched holes in his body armour, travelled through his heart, and continued out through his back. "You couldn't even remember my name, you fucker...." said Florence, as she moved closer. This time she aimed carefully at his forehead and fired a second controlled burst that vaporised his skull. Yukio had taught her well.

Yukio Hayashi - Ancient Ghoul, Assassin and Enforcer

While the other Gangrel covered Grafton's allies with their own weapons, she loaded a new, full magazine, and aimed the fully-loaded SMG at the crotch area of the Brujah who looked most afraid for his continued existence. "So tell me about this trip to L.A..." she asked.

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Victoria Anezka - Ancient Ghoul
Psychotic Personal Assistant
"His execution had already been arranged. Remember? and was to be done after he was no longer of use, and at a time when one of his own people would be presumed responsible..."

Florence nodded, and briefly regretted her actions. Yukio was a stone-cold killer, but Victoria was scary as fuck, and she hated having to be this close to her. She had no idea how her sire put up with her, let alone why he fucked her.

Victoria touched Florence's cheek almost tenderly. 'Fox' tried to pull away, but the ancient ghouls living flesh now seemed bound to her undead form. A moment later the long dead pain receptors within the Gangrel's nervous system all awakened simultaneously. She found herself paralysed as the pain levels began to increase steadily.

"You can't fall unconscious, and you can't die, and I can increase the magnitude of this sensation indefinitely..." stated Victoria, almost conversationally. "...Marius would not wish me to destroy you, however it's important that you understand that my requests are not to be interpreted creatively. You haven't earned that right, yet..."


Fortunately the pain-wracked Neonate had some information that might get her back in the psycho-bitch's good books. Struggling to find her voice through the waves of agony, she managed to spit out the words. "We don't need Grafton to get to Theo Bell. Killa-B will be coming to us..."

'Nines' Rodriguez - Brujah
Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Really? Please elaborate." The pain subsided enough to enable her to speak more clearly.

"Yep, Really. He's been asked to liaise between the Camarilla and The Free States about this blood plague and the likelihood of it becoming a wider threat. Theo's going to making the arrangements through someone called 'Nines'. You know who that is, I'm hoping. An exact time hasn't been agreed on, but he's definitely coming."

Victoria smiled, which was somehow more disturbing on her than the anger had been. "Fine. I'll pass the good news onto Marius and be selective about the 'how'. Now go find Yukio. I believe she has some more training in mind for you. Hopefully it'll be in the area of not going off script..." Florence felt a brief sensation, like needles being pulled from her flesh, and then the pain was gone. Victoria didn't say anything else, and Florence left quickly. At least Yukio had a sense of humour. She wondered briefly if her sire was fucking her too, then decided she didn't care. She'd had her revenge, and that was all that really mattered.

Victoria reached for one of the the three encrypted burner phones she carried and began to send some messages. 

First Marius would need to know about L.A. Then she'd need to arrange for Theo to find out that his ally Grafton had been supplying heroin to the very communities that he was supposedly defending, actually no, he'd almost certainly find that out himself. Instead she'd need to ensure that the trail of clues led to the Ventrue who had hired them for the initial job, as he knew nothing about their broader aims. Hopefully it would be enough to keep Theo from looking too deeply into other potential reasons for the final death of his ally.

And Miss Mercado would need to watch her step, or her next lesson would have to be more...educational...

Scene Thirty Three - Waste Not, Want Not
Daniel had made arrangements, through the usual channels, to visit Pisha. She was an expert on the occult, and despite an unfortunate need to consume flesh, as well as drink blood, Daniel considered her to be a reliable source of information.

Aegis Medical, a division of Aegis Acquisitions
The Aegis Haematology and Bacteriology Research Centre was no longer a building site and had expanded significantly from the two functional buildings that existed there on their last visit.

It now consisted of several large linked buildings with a number of smaller facilities scattered around its exterior. There was a security barrier across the entrance, next to a solid looking building manned by a couple of security guards.

As they drove next to the window they saw a bored looking, balding man in a uniform with the logo of Mercury Security Solutions on it in several locations.

"Is this a scheduled appointment?" He asked

Daniel explained that he had a meeting at the waste recycling facility.
 
"...and your associate?"

"She carries stuff..." replied Daniel.

"Please show me your medical identification and look at the camera for me." He indicated a small camera lens in a box in one corner. It looked fairly mundane.

After about thirty seconds he handed Daniel a laminated ID card, with his picture on it, his official title, a number of allowed guests which matched the number of his companions, and a grid of letters which seemed to indicate he had 'Level B, C and D' clearance, but not 'A'. "There you go Dr Matthews. Please keep that with you at all times." "Are you aware of our clearance level protocols?"

Without even waiting for a reply, he began to explain. From his tone they imagined that he'd given the following monologue many times.

"Level D, covers all public areas, including reception and the canteens, and restrooms. Level C is for qualified staff and visitors only and allows access to their own rest and recreational facilities as well as the research library and observation areas. Level B allows access to all other research areas, that are not currently classified as potentially dangerous. Please ensure that your associate stays with you at all times to prevent any issues with security."

Daniel asked about Level 'A'.

"Level A? Those are special project areas and are carefully controlled. To access those you need to be accompanied by someone with appropriate clearance. Waste disposal is a Level B area, except for quarantine, which is A."

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The facility was busy but not crowded and waste disposal had its own carpark. Three spaces were reserved for staff and a large area had been allocated as for the use of disposal vehicles only. There were several empty spaces for visitors.

As before, an intercom at the door was the only contact with those inside. This presumably kept Pisha's haven below it more secure but without drawing any suspicions. After all, if anywhere was going to be secure, it was waste disposal facility in a hospital that dealt with infectious diseases and blood disorders.

As with their previous visit, two women and a man were the only staff within the facilities reception. 

The man was wearing a generic security guards uniform with a Mercury Security Solutions logo on one shoulder. It seemed that security was still a concern as the guards armament consisted of a Glock handgun, a 'Tonfa' style baton, and a taser as well as cans of mace, pepper spray and tear gas. 

Nikita Taylor - Ghoul of Pisha
The taller of the two ladies addressed them as they entered. "Miss Pisha is expecting you. The layout is the same, head down the corridor to the stairs to the basement area, then to the lift at the end of that room, and hit the button for the sub basement..."

Nikita, Pisha's ghoul, nodded at them as they entered the Nagaraja's lair but continued with her task. She was currently cleaning, repairing and organising a selection of antique medical tools. Many looked like museum pieces.

Daniel noted that one of the devices was an Osteotome, from about 1830, it had a spike, which, once driven into the patient’s skull, anchored the device so the doctor could saw through the bone using the crank. That turned the small saw-toothed blade, something like a mini-chainsaw. He decided not to think too much on why Pisha, or her ghoul for that matter, would be interested in such an item.

Pisha's lab was empty of 'projects' and she herself was sitting casually in her office reading a strange looking book. A book that Daniel recognised as one of those he retrieved for the Salubri who helped to partially restore his humanity. Unsurprisingly, it was the most disturbing of the three as it was bound in what Daniel was sure was human skin, and had an intricate lock fastening a band of dark metal which kept the book closed. The lock was lying on her desk.

Storytellers Note - The story mentioned in the above paragraph, can be found HERE.

"How can I assist, the agents of the Arbiter?" She asked, barely even looking up. Daniel briefly considered not mentioning the tome, but eventually his curiosity got the better of him. "This? A Salubri named Kalpini traded it to me in exchange for a locket from my collection. As the artefact could only be opened by one of her clan it was of limited use to me. All things considered it was a fair exchange..."

Kalpini - Salubri 'Healer'
Daniel then changed subject to the matter that had bought them here. Namely the samples of Vitae acquired from Tilly Kelly, leader of the underground kindred known as The Swarm.

"Exactly what materials do you have? Please be specific..." 

Daniel proceeded to itemise what they had, while Hope made a brief attempt to look interested, and then promptly gave up once it became apparent that most the words they were using were Latin.

"We'll need some mundane technological assistance initially. Give me a moment to change and I'll accompany you to viral research..." concluded Pisha.

Pisha emerged a few minutes later. The dark patterns on her skin were absent and she was now 'Blushed' and could more easily pass as a human, her clothing was also now far more traditional in nature and she had an identification card on a lanyard. It had her picture in one corner and the name on it was 'Dr Pamela Isha'. Pisha noticed them both scrutinising her identification and explained it's origin.

Pisha - Nagaraja, Before and After 'Cleaning Up'

"The name? Marius thought it was funny...though my spurious identity is qualified in a great many areas which makes navigating the facility above far simpler..."

As they walked to the other laboratory buildings, Pisha asked them if they'd made any other pertinent discoveries. Given how busy they had been, this was going to take some time to explain.

Interlude - Killa-B
Theodore 'Killa-B' Bell - Brujah
Anarch, Formerly Camarilla
"You want to run that by me again?" growled Theodore 'Killa-B' Bell, Notorious former Archon and the kindred almost single-handily responsible for the majority of the Brujah Clan abandoning the Camarilla in favour of the Anarchs.

As the only neonate in Theo's crew, Duante had been given the unenviable task of telling Theo that his friend was gone, and why. "Grafton got whacked. He was doing some side-deal and got lit up by some freelancer. It was a hit, but we've no idea who put out the contract, but it looks like it was okayed from up on high. Some-one didn't want no new dealer sliding into their smack business."

"Fucking heroin? He was dealing heroin and I'm just finding this out now. Who the fuck else knew and who the fuck else was involved?" 

Duante hoped the question was rhetorical, cuz he had no fucking clue. Judging from the silence, Theo was expecting an answer, and Duante had none to give.

"Fine..." spat Theo when no reply was forthcoming. "...I'll find out myself..."

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Theo Bell had been involved in Camarilla politics at the highest level for nigh on a century before finally getting sick of their shit, and so could see through kindred bullshit at a hundred yards. Unfortunately, the gist of what he had been told was turning out to be true, itself a rarity in kindred circles, which ironically made Theo even more suspicious about the veracity of what he was hearing.

Some Brujah 'Friends' of Theodore Bell...
The rival dealer, a Ventrue as it turned out, was keen to placate the angry Brujah that turned up at his club with half a dozen equally upset fellow clan members at his back. They were well aware of what happened to the last Ventrue who pissed off Theo, and were understandably keen to avoid a dragonsbreath round to the face.

He had told Theo that Grafton had been getting 'product' shipped to him whenever the crew stopped anywhere for more than few months, muscling out any local dealers, making one or two big sales and then blowing the profits on partying and hookers. To make matters worse, Theo's people usually made their havens in the poorer communities of his own people, so Grafton had mainly been selling to them. Given that Grafton had been dropping the name of Theo as a deterrent to getting fucked with, his rival had intercepted the latest shipment and contracted out the meeting to an Oratory Pack who were to warn Grafton off. He admitted that finding someone who was willing to take on the job had been tricky as no-one really wanted to risk making an enemy of the legendary Theo Bell.


The Ventrue was also quick to point out that any of his drugs that found their way into the slums was the locals doing, not his. He also claimed not to have put out a contract on Grafton. Theo believed him. He'd been too scared to lie convincingly, even if the bastard had wanted to. Obviously the Oratory bastards had taken the drug deal job so as to facilitate the assassination.

Clearly Grafton deserved what he fucking got. In fact, had he found out earlier, Theo would have blown his head off himself. Even so, something about this stank, and once this 'plague' business was sorted, he'd get back to cracking heads until he found out exactly what that was.

Scene Thirty Four - Root Causes
Daniel had been explaining what they had discovered to Pisha, and had been doing so in a fairly systematic fashion, and had now reached the part about the laboratory that he and Hope had discovered.

The Plaguebearers Laboratory
Storytellers Note - The lab was discovered in Scene Twenty Three of this story HERE.

There was a vague hint of irritation to her tone after Daniel informed here that they had destroyed the laboratory. Evidently she'd have preferred that they hadn't put it to the torch.

"The fire was unfortunate. Reverse engineering is so much simpler when you have access to the equipment used to create a thing. I hope you at least took pictures and catalogued the items there before you destroyed everything?"

In fact, Daniel had taken extensive pictures and notes, and this information seemed to placate Pisha somewhat. After a little while longer he mentioned that they may have found the Brotherhoods base of operations.

"When did you discover this information?" she asked. Daniel informed her that it had been several nights ago. Again, this revelation didn't please Pisha.

"A pity. We could have learned much, but given your intensive investigations up to this point, it's likely that they know that you know about them and have already made their escape. Unless they had a great deal of equipment to move? Perhaps then they might still be there, but I doubt that will be true for more than another night. This enemy has proven to be more sophisticated than the average Sabbat pack..."

Daniel and Hope were forced to agree. Once they had dealt with this evenings business, then they would need to look into the suspected enemy base as a matter of urgency.

The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle
"You've apparently been very busy. Was there anything else?"

There pair relayed some other information. The fact that the plague may have had it's origins in Paris, the 'rotting thing' that had apparently took more time to realise that it had been destroyed than Hope would have liked, and the involvement of the Sabbat Pack known as The Brotherhood of the Ninth Circle.

Pisha seemed to only responded to one of the additional pieces of information, and that was the name of the Sabbat Pack, but made no actual comment. Daniel hoped that she merely recognised the name, and that there wasn't a more sinister connection. Pisha wasn't the sort of creature that one wanted as an enemy.

Pisha guided them to one of the main buildings which also had a security post at its entrance. The guards didn't even ask for the newcomers ID's and barely even looked at Pisha's. Evidently they either know her face, or in Daniel's opinion at least, weren't great at their jobs.

Eventually they found themselves at a pair of double doors, next to which a was a man sitting at a desk. He was the first guard they'd encountered so far who looked like he might actually be dangerous. His uniform was neat, his hair cut in military fashion and he wore his gun like someone who not only knows how to use it, but would be more than happy to do so. To one side of his station was a locked cabinet containing several sealed suits with rebreather style masks, and another containing several loaded military shotguns and boxes of ammunition.

The Nagaraja Symbol
He acknowledged your guide "Dr Isha. Good to see you again." Then promptly unlocked the cabinet and retrieved an appropriate amount of protective clothing, before gesturing to a doorway opposite. "There's a place for you to change in there..." Daniel noticed a slightly odd tattoo on his neck which, after a little research, he discovered was a symbol sometimes used to represent the Nagaraja bloodline of which Pisha was a member. It made sense to him that Pisha would have her own people in useful positions around the hospital. In her position, he'd have done exactly the same.

The changing room had six cubicles within that could be sealed for privacy with a plastic curtain. Lockers lined the far wall, presumably for personal belongings and there were a pair of showers in one corner. It was basic, but clean and functional, and was exactly the sort of thing that Daniel would have expected to find in a facility that needed quarantine protocols.

They were first required to navigate a pair of sealed doors, which acted as an airlock of sorts. Before they entered the laboratory, Pisha spoke to them all.

"Blood bonds and the process of creating ghouls can sometimes have a negative effect on creative thought, and come with other complications. Therefore the scientists inside are exactly what they appear to be, though they have had some implanted directives, for ours and there safety, of course. Therefore if you can avoid any supernatural elements to any questions then that would be preferable."

"Marius would be less than happy if we had to...retire...any of them..."

Marius Walker, Gangrel, 'Pack Leader of The Oratory'

The facility was a wet dream of researchers everywhere.

The area was spacious, well lit, air conditioned and seemed to be equipped with every state of the art piece of medical research equipment available. Three doors in the far wall were individually labelled with the legends, 'Quarantined samples', 'incubation' and 'storage'. Another door off to one side seemed to be a simple restroom of sorts. There was also a surgical room, which seemed out of place, possibly this area had been designed for multiple types of research.


The lab was inhabited by four scientists in lab coats and two junior looking individuals, one male and one female, in basic 'scrubs'. All carried on with their work with the exception of a woman, about forty years of age, maybe a little older, who turned to greet them as you entered.

"Pamela. How nice to see you. Do you have something new for us? We're making precious little progress so far. If I didn't know better I'd think this virus was fighting us back." she smiles, but it's not particularly cheery. It's clear that her failures are weighing heavily upon her.

Dr Tasmin Jane - Mortal
Medical Expert, Aegis Medical
Pisha gestures in your direction and then addresses the woman, whose name badge identifies her as Dr Tasmin Jane.

Daniel knew the name. Dr Tasmin Jane was a leading authority in the field of viral mutations, credited with quantifying several protocols for evaluating data on pathogen evolutions and predicting the possible variations that might occur. Her secondary area of expertise was haematology, so Daniel could understand why she'd be heading the team doing the investigations. According to her bio, she was also a former Marine core medic, so definitely had practical knowledge to match the theoretical. None of the others names rang a bell to him.

"This is Dr Matthews and his team." began Pisha. "They work for Aegis medical and have recovered some unusual samples from a crime scene that also involved several plague victims. I'm afraid I can give you no further information, as with the other samples you've received, we'd like you to look at them without any preconceived biases. I'm sure you understand?"

Daniel could tell from the expression on the woman's face that though she understood, she wasn't happy about having information withheld from her.

He had taken the precaution of transferring the samples to containers that more closely matched what a medical professional might expect to be handed. He imagined that handing her a toy baby bottle filled with kindred blood, or one of the dirty hypodermic needles he'd been forced to use to gather samples from the Sabbat laboratory, might have raised a few questions.

The Blood Plague
The doctor seemed keen to explore these new options. "We'll get onto these straight away. Can I call in additional personnel?" Pisha, nodded. "Only those on the approved list. Do you have an estimate on when we might see some useful data?" The doctor shook her head before answering. "I'll work day and night if I have to..."

"Have you learned anything yet that might be helpful?" Asked Daniel.

Though disappointed in their lack of a cure, Tasmin seemed keen to discuss their few successes.

"The virus is quite unique. It mutates rapidly in response to any traditional vaccine, and, to state the mechanisms simply, draws energy from cells within the blood. Its basically a vampire..." She smiled after this last comment. Had she been aware of her audiences true nature's she might have reacted differently. "The virus also has a strange reaction to oxygen exposure. Within the host body it has very different properties to when it's removed. Why this should be has eluded us."

The Vector - Kill or Cure?
All of the kindred present made the connection to kindred vitae. When within a vampire's own body, blood became vitae and acted as fuel for their continued existence as well as their supernatural abilities, Once outside of their bodies, however, vitae soon became indistinguishable from it's state before consumption.

Daniel began to suspect that the plague was intrinsically linked to the 'Vector' mentioned in the notes they'd discovered in their investigations. It was his theory that this mysterious individual could influence their vitae even while separated from their own body, and that somehow they were not only the source of the plague, but that they had some measure of control over it.

If he was correct, then the destruction of the Vector would weaken the disease, and perhaps destroy it altogether. 

He decided to share this theory with Hope as soon as possible. He knew that a solution to their problem, based around brutally destroying something, would appeal to her far more than the sneaking about and investigation that had been their focus so far.

That's if there was anything left to find that is...


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Storytellers Conclusions
I sometimes 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....

So...unless I write some other stuff, the players have basically been everywhere that I wrote in conjunction with this story, with the exception of the location they know of to have been the base of their prey some time in the recent past. For some reason they seem reticent to go there, so I have decided that if...hypothetically...their foe had an evil plan about to be implemented, it's going to just happen and instead of pre-empting it, they'll have to deal with the fallout of it...

...unfortunately for them, we'll have completed that session before this write-up appears, so this isn't exactly a spoiler, lol.

Song Lyrics
Also, the quote in the header is from the following song, should any-one be interested.


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Further 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 Matt Bomer, Johnny 'Roach' West is Kurt Kobain, Vincent 'Vin' Ghast is Scott Adkins, Dr Daniel Matthews is Mads Mikkelsen, Hope Romero is Deborah Ann Woll, Marie is Eva Green, Mr Hertz is Charles Dance, Sofia Rivera is Eliza Dushku, Luthor Hyde is Tommy Flanagan, Scarlet Carson O'Toole is Natalya Rudakova, Sister Maladie is Sheila Vand, 'Max' is Milla Jovovich, Cherubim is Isabelle Fuhrman, Grafton is John Boyega, Florence 'Fox' Mercado is Camila Fox, Yukio Hayashi is Jamie Chung, Victoria Anezka is Lilith May, Armando 'Nines' Rodrigues is Luis Carazo, Nikita Taylor is Evan Rachel Wood, Pisha is both Ambre Vourvahis and a Cosplayer who unfortunately I didn't remember the name of, Marius Walker is Tony Curran and Dr Tasmin Jane is Tamara Taylor.

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.
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