sucaliaric

[sucaliaric]

21 Jun - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 We head back into Galveston to collect the artifact; we know the establishment to go to, but we do not yet know the proprietor.  Pete takes the lead, moving to the back to meet with the proprietor while Victoria and I remain in the front - I am able to watch with the werewolf paw that Dante retains.  Once inside, it is clear that we are dealing with Lady Revel; she wants us to kill the Nosferatu in order to receive the artifact - dowsing rods that will lead us directly to where Dio Giovanni works!  We must have those rods.  Lady Revel suggests that Pete invite us to join them, and I head down without waiting any further.

 Once in with Lady Revel, she and Pete continue to talk but I finally interrupt.  With the provided information, it is now clear what has transpired.  The Nosferatu was working with the newspaper writer to prepare him for the embrace, so the Ventrue wiped his memory to make him write the article with the masquerade breach.  The Ventrue planned to use him to frame Lady Revel and further his own political aims.  Giovanni wanted the dowsing rods to prevent anyone else from finding out where his base is, and Lady Revel's only interest in them was in their use as a political toy - once the information became clear, she was furious and gave the rods freely to us.  It took some time to catch Pete up on the realities of kindred politics - they are far more cutthroat than the kine.  With the rods, we are readily able to travel to the Giovanni's works.  We arrive to find a strange house; we go in to look around, and the place has many, many spirits.  The building appears to be some sort of fetter for innumerable spirits; no wonder Dio makes such use here, it has immense power for one such as him.  The spirits advise me that there are only two flesh creatures in the house, both in the basement with the entrance through the storm cellar.  We go down, and find a locked door barring our way - Pete hears the cries of his sister which has him near a frenzy looking for a way to reassure her and reach her at the same time.  It becomes clear that we will not breach this door readily.  I send Pete on a fools errand while I collect two explosives from Lady Victoria; I throw one outside to confirm the damage they are capable of and to demonstrate their lethality to the spirits of the house.  I then come back inside to express my willingness to kill the girl to get to Giovanni; sadly, Pete returns at the wrong moment and interferes.  I do finally throw the explosive, which greatly damages the door and starts some small fires - but the spirits quickly begin to repair the door and put out the fires, with Pete assisting with the largest fire.  I grow impatient.  I go upstairs - I will bring this house down in it's entirety, but out of respect for Pete I will demonstrate my powers once more to the spirits.  As I travel, one of the spirits offers to assist - so I will not need to demonstrate just yet.  I travel back down, and the spirit opens the door.  We see in front of us Dio Giovanni, holding Pete's sister with a weapon ready to kill here.  Pete and I react at nearly the same time.  Pete blinks forward and cuts off Dio's hand, while I fire a round directly into his skull.  Time seems to slow as Dio Giovanni's head explodes - followed quickly by the rest of the room.  The fiend had an explosive vial!  Pete is hit, and his sister is killed... but investigation soon shows that this was not Dio Giovanni or Pete's sister.  This was set as a trap; as we are distracted, the exit from the basement collapses as well, to trap us.  The ghosts are gleeful now - but only for now.  I direct Pete and Lady Victoria to the other end of the basement, and I call the ghosts.  I direct them to clear a path for us or I will destroy this house here and now.  They fail to believe me - I call on my aura of decay, moving quickly to avoid being caught in the deadly collapse of the house.  This has very clearly gotten the attention we needed; ghosts begin repairing the damage, but it is clear I can destroy the building far faster than they can repair it.  I advise them that they have 5 minutes to clear an exit for us before I complete my distructive efforts.  They immediately begin work, frantically clearing the exit for us.  They take a few extra minutes, but there are limits to the ability of spirits to impact the mortal world.  Before we leave, I ask the ghosts if there is anything I should be aware of outside before I move, noting that if I am surprised it could be fatal to the house.  One quickly tells me of an ambush with 4 miniguns waiting for us, and they build an alternate exit for us, asking only that I never return again.  We exit, and prepare for our attack on the ambushers...

[sucaliaric]

19 Jun - Colorado by Night - Audio Journal by Elias

 Todd has other efforts to complete, leaving Sam and I on our own.  We go to speak with Nathaniel to find out why he sent us to the clearing, and he once again speaks in cryptic circles.  He finally clarifies that the were-spiders may be helpful to us in dealing with the nexus crawler, but we will need something to barter with.  He tells us of a stone with a spider embedded in it that they will value, but tells us that for him to provide any more details we must do something for him.  He wants to speak with Sherri.  I am unclear on why he wants to speak with Sherri, but we call and she seems hesitant but willing.  I fear for her.  She heads in this direction while Sam and I travel upstairs to wait for her - but I share the senses with Nathaniel while we wait.  It soon becomes clear what his connection to Sherri is...

 Nathaniel was partnered with Mother as mortals; he is Sherri's mortal grandfather.  It is not long after Sherri arrives that the true horror becomes clear.  Nathaniel was embraced first, but could not imagine living without Mother so embraced her to keep her with him.  Mother did not want to live without Splinter, so embraced him as well - and Splinter made Sherri his ghoul so that he would not outlive his own daughter.  Sherri clearly does not want to be a part of this continuing family drama, and it is not long before Nathaniel cannot take anymore.  He tells us where to find what we need in a warehouse north of town, and flees to the basement.  We speak with Sherri, and she is comfortable heading back to shelter on her own, so Sam and I borrow Amanda's car to drive north to the warehouse.  The warehouse is fenced in with an electronic keypad to enter.  Sam uses Soaring Leap to jump the fence, doubting on my abilities to get the correct keypad entry.  The Cobweb provides - I enter the code and enter the enclosed area.  Sam leaps to the top of the building, while I enter the front door.  The front door leads to a closed in area with bars blocking further entrance.  I call to Sam, and he enters in through another window, finding a larger warehouse area.  He moves his way through the drywall into the office area and lets me in, but there seems to be nothing to find here.  Out on the warehouse floor, the pattern is hard to find - but I am able to find a concealed door in one area.  The door is linked to one of the machines nearby, which allows one to spin a wheel and drop the floor down.  Once I enter the tunnels, the door slams shut - with the darkness, I am unable to see any way to reopen it.  I am, however, able to see a glowing trail in the ceiling telling me where to go from here.  Sam calls, and I tell him how to open the door so he can join me.  Once he is with me, I let him know that I was unable to see how to open the door from this side.  He looks and is also unable to find a lever or way to open the door - we follow the trail.  We find another sideways door, which we enter - to a spider nest of some sort!  There are egg sacs, prey, and signs of extensive use as well as a collection of random artifacts, relics, and junk organized across the back.  I quickly find what we need when we hear the sound of approaching feet - many, many, many approaching feet.  I pull the shadows around myself to cloak myself, while Sam jumps to the ceiling.  There are hundreds of large spiders!  Sam begins to flee while I call out, telling them we come as friends.  My efforts do not appear to have had the desired effect - they are clearly approaching to attack.  I turn to flee, giving them a flickering glimpse of fire dancing among the webs.  They begin to panic, as Sam and I flee back the way we came.  He forces the trap door open, destroying a spring and we are in the warehouse.  He spends the time on a ward to prevent the spiders from coming any further, and we retreat to Amandas car to head back into town with our prize.  

[sucaliaric]

14 Jun - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 Once in the hotel, Pete starts to speak with the bartender when the ghoul-child makes a run for it.  Dante gives chase, and we find out that the child has gone into an elevator in the back that goes to the top floor - where the Ventrue calls home.  I go to the self-playing piano - there is a ghost actually doing the playing there.  I question the ghost, obtaining information about a church outside of town that appears to contain a cult.  This sounds like something linked to Dio Giovanni - I come closer to my prey.  I get little information of more value from the ghost, and go to tell Pete and Lady Victoria that I believe that I know where Dio Giovanni and Pete's sister are.  Pete becomes insistent for more information, before going to question the ghost.  It is not long before the ghost rises through the ceiling - the creature must be working for the Ventrue upstairs!

 I walk to the elevator, with Pete and Lady Victoria following me.  Once it opens, I enter and direct the porters to take us upstairs.  They seem hesitant at first, but quickly see the wisdom of following my directions - though they insist I remove the rounds from my weapon.  It has no impact on my abilities to fight, so I comply to avoid any further delay, and we take the elevator up.  The Ventrue provides limited information, but seems to point to a mystical church outside of town.  He is very interested in us leaving town before we cause him any problems - especially as he realizes the source of the fire that already caused so much destruction came from my actions.  The ghost plays on a nearby harp, and I make my displeasure with his actions clear as well before we move to deal with the church.  Once at the Church, Pete quickly realizes that this cult occupying the church is actually the Silver Cross Cult of Werewolf Hunters.  He enters first to have a discussion with the cult, with me entering with him and Lady Victoria keeping watch outside.  Inside, we ask to speak with the leader and Pete introduces himself.  We ask about where Dio Giovanni is, but the leader is not courteous at all.  He advises that he has a deal with Dio Giovanni to provide an artifact from Galveston to Dio in exchange for a relic that Dio will provide to add to the cult's collection.  He also has a prisoner - the newspaper writer - that he can provide to us in exchange for the artifact from Galveston.  It is very clear on sight that the writer is in bad shape, and even more clear that we will not work with these creatures.  They place themselves on our level with arrogance and expect us to run errands for them - we have no more use for them, and may as well remove the middle man.  Lady Victoria takes the writer out of the church while I collapse the building, allowing my aura of decay to engulf all within.  Pete brings the cult leader and we leave the church; I walk around it to ensure that the entire cult is deceased.  These mortals will not interfere with kindred affairs again.  We take the mortals back to the ranch.  Pete remains with the writer to question him and aid him, while I interview the cult leader and Lady Victoria prepares to run interference should Pete get curious.  The cult leader is at first unwilling to speak, but quickly understands the consequences of intractability... he readily answers my questions provide detail of the cult, the abduction of the writer, and the details of the artifact.  Pete comes in, and looks like he may interfere but I am finished so I leave Pete and Lady Victoria with the cult leader, while I head to the writer.  On entry, it is clear that Pander has no interest in speaking with the writer - Pander has killed him, with no concern and no remorse.  All that violate the masquerade must die.  Pete is surprised, but I simply acknowledge Pander and wait for him to leave.  Once Pander has left, I take my opportunity - I use my vitae to embrace a new kindred in this writer and ask the questions I need answers to.  The answers he provides are limited - he was going to be embraced by the Nosferatu, though details on the nature of the story were very limited.  It seems that he may have had his memory tampered with by the Ventrue... once we have the information we can use, I provide final death and move on.

[sucaliaric]

12 June - Colorado by Night - Audio Journal by Elias

 Sherri has discovered some details about Hannah, but right now the trail seems to run into hopeless circles.  After some discussion, we determine that we need to reach out to our Circulatory System contact, Wayne Husher and ensure he knows of the hit squad and hunter activity.  I really cannot run the risk of losing our access to the mental health facility this soon - too many plans are dependent on it.  We page Mr. Husher to meet us and rest for the day.

 Day sleep has been... unusual... for me today.  The cobweb advised me, "Elias ELIAS....The new Nos knows! So if or when you can't nexus crawl your way out of a wet paper bag from all the confusion...Seek him out, he lives and learns under the Old Town Library."  The message seems clear but lacks context.  Perhaps, as before, all will become clear in time.  I meet the coterie at Raising Caines, and Sam orders a meal which I watch interestedly as he consumes it.  When it becomes clear that Husher will not be contacting us, I ask Todd for a ride to the Old Town Library; Sam is curious on why I would go to a Library, but clearly it would be for a book!  Any fool can tell that...  We travel to the library, and I ask Sam to find War and Peace for me, while I slip away to the basement.  Todd follows me, and declines to fetch Sam when I find a door that clearly has someone on the other side.  I knock and say hello, but get no response.  I go ahead and enter...  This room is crowded with books and research.  The Nosferatu inside holds a finger up, and then turns and introduces himself as Nathaniel.  He seems surprised that I came in uninvited, but he is not hostile.  He is abreast of most current events, but does not seem to know where Husher is - only that Husher has not yet fallen victim to the hunters.  When I ask about finding a solution to our Nexus Crawler challenge, he says that he will provide clues, for a price.  First, of course, he wants to test us.  What is it with random tests from people?  The more they know, the more they want to test us.  He guides me to go to a clearing to see what I find.  I wander out, and Sam, Todd, and I discuss the situation.  It sounds like we will be going to the clearing.  The drive to the clearing is relatively calm - although Todd may be getting hungry, as he seems irritable tonight.  Once we park and walk the remainder of the way upstream, we find a corpse.  This female hiker was killed and drained of blood.  As we explore, I receive a sudden vision - one chasing the woman into a trap held by two others.  They share the blood of the kill.  The vision ends, and it is clear that kindred must be responsible.  We take the time to clean up evidence of the masquerade violation, and head back to the parking lot - where we find a ticket to a local museum that specializes in native tribe history, fables, and lifestyles.  We go, and Todd readily allows us entry, where Sam goes absolutely giddy with information - running back and forth like a bull at a rodeo!  He finds information leading us to believe that the killers were not, in fact, kindred - but were were-spiders of some sort. They also most likely live in the sewers under Old Fort Collins - a sewer system no longer connected to the current Fort Collins, but one that the Nosferatu is familiar with.  We travel to the park to look for the entrance, and find another corpse in the process.  The killing must be stopped before mortal authorities get involved.  It becomes clear that we are unlikely to find an entrance this way, so we go so that Sam can search archival records for a map.  Todd asks about what buildings might still be connected to the old sewers, and I start rattling from my memory of our time in Old Fort Collins - but they ignore me and Sam finds an entrance at the University.  We go there, and travel down...  Sam leads the way, tracing the tunnels to the river.  There are unrecognizable markings on the ceiling, and the tunnels converge with many other tunnels in the process until we find a grate leading out into a cliff face.  I start to move through when we hear sounds from deeper in the tunnels - someone is calling for help!  I rush to aid them, and we find two cocoons, one still struggling.  I take Sam's knife and cut the figure free - the man was out on a picnic with his wife and kids when three ruffians attacked them.  He quickly lost consciousness and woke up here... I go to try and free what must be his wife, but it is clear she is dead.  Something seems to have liquefied her insides...  I free the man sufficiently for him to walk, and we travel out through the grate.  He drove to a nearby parking lot, and is very concerned for his children which I assure him we will work to locate and free.  We walk to his vehicle, where it becomes clear that his children are safe!  Relief is palpable; the man gives us a ride back to the Silver Bath, and we go our separate ways for another day sleep.

[sucaliaric]

31 May - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 Per Pander's request, we travel to Galveston on our stolen Ironclad.  There has been a masquerade breach published in the newspaper and we are to find the writer to obtain more detailed information to try and control the breach.  Once in town, we scout the newspaper office and get some more detail on the writer, before going to a nearby pub to collect more information.  Initially, information is limited - but there is a ghost playing with the card shuffler which opens up a new avenue of approach.  Pete helps me pressure the owner to look at the shuffler behind closed doors, where I am able to speak with the ghost and get more information about the writer.  The Ventrue that styles himself as prince has been looking as well...  we travel to the writer's house next.  As we approach, it is clear that someone is in an upstairs bedroom - but they move so quickly one would question if they were ever there.  Pete goes and throws a flashbang, and I wander around to the rear entrance to enter the building.  A cursory search shows nothing of value, and heading upstairs shows the bedroom in question is locked.

 I open the door, enter, and close it, taking some time to examine the room.  There is no sign of anyone in the room... I must prepare myself for a long wait here.  I move the bed to block the door, uncovering a child hiding under it with obfuscate.  I speak with her, while Pete attempts to gain entry.  He will interfere with my questioning - he has too soft a heart to do what needs to be done, seeing the good in everyone.  The girl is a ghoul of the Ventrue, and when the writer disappeared before a scheduled meeting he sent her to find information.  We travel to the hotel that the Ventrue owns, with Pete and Lady Victoria standing between myself and the ghoul-child.  They believe that she will cooperate willingly, and are unwilling to risk her coming to harm...

[sucaliaric]

19 May - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 We have returned to Louisville, but something is amiss.  We hunt for one of the Nosferatu spies, but he is not where we expect.  We track down a plot of the Nosferatu working with another kindred to blackmail one of my ghouls, the mayor.  I must address this at once.  I go to the mayor - the weasel attempts some level of excuse, and how he intended to tell me.  They are threatening his family - perhaps I need to force him to kill them so that he recognizes where his loyalties should be.  For now, I will deal with the blackmailers.

 The trail leads back to the Nos warehouse; we identify a street urchin used as a courier and a spy, who guides is to where a fence is known to buy from the younger criminal element.  It is late - they know little of value other than the fact that the fence worked with the other kindred to get incriminating video of the mayor with a hooker.  This is the blackmail evidence that they plan to use.  With Wrench, we set up a trap to meet with the fence, ready to kill him if needed.  We meet - he is expecting us, and wishes to talk...

[sucaliaric]

17 May - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 As we awake from another day of sleep, the Nosferatu advises that the information he collected seems to indicate that we need to retrieve the jewel from the birdman to lure Dio in for our actions.  We already have guidance on where to find the birdman from Pander, and now we have no other avenues of approach.  Zambi suggests releasing the staff to create another hole in the shroud on our way in to distract the wolves, but accepts my suggestion that we wait until we are on our way out to avoid drawing attention too early.  We travel, and eventually find a herd of buffalo with a couple that seem... more... than they should.  There is some conflict, and the smarter buffalo are killed - I thought that they may be kin to the wolves, but it seems I was wrong.

 A shot rings out; Dante is hit.  Pete goes insane with rage, while Zambi looks for the source and starts climbing - the shot came from the birdman, hidden in the hills.  I speak with the birdman and convince him to come down - but Zambi is on a single-minded quest.  I call out and tell Zambi that as one of the spirits, I insist that he desist and return.  Zambi and Pete are in shock - the birdman comes down, and we find that he is a kindred that has been cursed.  He cannot take the jewel off, and it causes him to constantly relive the death of his family.  The buffalo were his ghouls, and he shot Dante in revenge.  I am able to use my blood to heal Dante, which helps to calm Pete, and I take the jewel from the birdman.  Zambi needs clarification.  I tell him of being trapped in the catacombs - I have not been free long enough, a millennia of torment lives with me.  The story is painful; I tell him some of what I remember from life in the wraithlands.  I also explain that what the staff wants will eventually lead to the destruction of all life on the planet, which will then mean the death of all spirits - our worlds live in a symbiotic relationship that requires a certain level of balance.  Zambi goes to speak privately with the staff; he is in visible shock, and gets more distressed as the conversation continues.  Finally, without warning, Zambi stakes himself on the staff!  I rush to take the staff so that I can destroy it, but it escapes me.  Zambi lays in torpor, and the rest of us remain in shock...

[sucaliaric]

12 May - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 After our discovery of Sundervere, our following night is more pedestrian.  The bishop advises that his speakeasy and bootlegger businesses have been hit - the delivery of alcohol has been stopped and police have raided the speakeasies.  He wishes for us to find out why and address the issue.  I am... displeased.  Why would my ghouls allow this without notifying me?  As we leave the bishop, I call my federal contact; he is not aware of any federal activity in Louisville, claiming that he is not involved in this mess.  I then call the chief of police, who states that he did not realize I had interest and he had been given targets by the mayor.  When I speak with the mayor, he is also unaware of my interest but he received direction from the governor.  This is... concerning.

 We take the Phantom to Frankfort, driving to the governor's house.  I knock and speak with a guard - the governor is in Tennessee and the lieutenant governor is currently in charge.  We move from there to the lieutenant governor - but another servant answers, stating that they do not know where the lieutenant governor is, but the secretary of state should.  I am once again getting annoyed... we travel to the secretary of state, and after some discussion they provide the information we need.  I am getting further annoyed by the minute - I finally wipe this worm's memory of all information it has ever known.  Perhaps an overreaction - but the kine must know who is in charge.  Finally, we find the lieutenant governor at an "undisclosed location."  I make my irritation clear - he states that funding came from the Dried Tears Society out of Cincinnati to raid specific speakeasy locations, some of which were in Louisville.  This points directly to the Camarilla - they will learn not to interfere with us.  After some discussion, he chooses to cease operations against the speakeasy locations.  On our way out, I advise him to speak with the secretary of state if he wishes to see the possible consequences if I must come back.  We then make our way to Cincinnati.  In Cincinnati, we find the exchange to the Dried Tears Society, but it turns out to be a dead end.  As we move back to the car, we are greeted by a Camarilla welcoming group.  They offer threats - I give them the opportunity to guide us to their boss, which they decline.  Laymik and I kill them, with Laymik diablerizing one.  The one that survives our initial attack gives us directions to a Nosferatu that they are associated with; we usher in final death and move to see the Nosferatu.  Once we arrive, the Nosferatu has limited helpful information, including directions for some Camarilla spies in Louisville, in exchange for my guarantee that he will never see us again.  I fulfil my promise, and after diablerizing him we travel back home.

[sucaliaric]

10 May - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 We make the decision to travel to Galveston to track down Pete's sister, the Giovanni, and leads to take from there.  The travel goes swiftly, and we are able to take an ironclad across the bay.  I have never been in an ironclad before - and the crew from this one seemed very distressed when we took it off of the wharf that they had it at.  Once in Galveston, Pete goes to visit his family while I travel to the Giovanni's church to see what I find.  Once at the church, I see that it is being used to funnel spirits across the desert; over the course of the night we find the same evidence at the area where Pete's family was at... his family has been slaughtered, and it appears that Dio Giovanni is responsible.

 With the information that we have now, we go to the Nosferatu to find out more details.  The information we are able to obtain is minimal, but it seems that we have a new path forward.  The next step to finding Dio Giovanni and Pete's sire, who is now working with Giovanni, is to find the birdman and take the jewel from him.  It also becomes very clear that Dio and Pete's sire are working with the wolves, and Dio Giovanni hopes to control the spirit eater to enhance his own powers.

[sucaliaric]

08 May - Colorado by Night - Audio Journal by Elias

 The days have been very confusing lately - everything running together.  The past, future, and present becoming one swirling blur that defies efforts of understanding.  As I meet with the coterie, Sam tells that he has been asked to pick up something from the strip club that has been abandoned.  I hesitate to put into my journal why it was abandoned... what timeline is this?  Regardless, we travel to investigate with Todd following on his bike.  Once there, it is clear that the place is being watched - crime tape covers the entrance and standing guard is a police officer.  I approach to speak with him, and we engage in a pleasant conversation about the increasing crime rates in the area.  I mention that our bar, which offers a generous support for our law enforcement friends, was recently vandalized and I believe that the vandals were likely related to the repair shop just the other side of the river, which he appeared to find interesting.  

 After some discussion, I realize that Sam may need help inside.  The kind officer agrees to allow me entrance if I bring him a memento from inside; once inside, I find Sam stumbling around, lost in a search.  He finally tells me he's looking for the floor safe he's practically standing on... I suppose that it is always possible that he is blind.  He is clearly deficient in some way - once I point out the obvious safe, I move on and find a flyer to provide to the officer outside.  I move outside, and walk with the officer back to his car to hide the flyer.  On the way, he makes mention of how much he would appreciate a slice of pizza from the shop we are going by, which I am readily able to provide before I make my way back to our vehicle for the trip back home.  On the trip back home, Sam and I are having an animated discussion when his phone chimes.  He glances at it and shows it to me; I glance at it and shrug.  Clearly it isn't important if he isn't reading it.  He looks at me again, seemingly surprised by my reaction.  We're being followed?  Why didn't he just say so?  I look and am able to see the vehicle following us, and Sam starts to threaten me with night school for some reason.  We eventually pull over to speak with those that are following us in a more populated area.  It turns out to be anarchs from Detroit, wanting to meet with us - we set up a meeting in the park, supposedly to talk to us about some sort of hit squad ready to target us if we don't work to stabilize our domain and make peace with the wolves.  We will see how the meeting goes...

[sucaliaric]

05 May - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 The drivel on the plane bores me.  The flight is dull, as one would hope - until lightning strikes the plane.  The woman watching the artifact takes it in stride, while the man with the artifact is clearly panicked.  At my direction, the pilot assists the man with his exit from the plane - forcefully.  The woman indicates she will not leave without the artifact.  I direct the pilot to glide the plane down as smoothly as possible, and make the woman remember evicting the artifact from the plane; with a panicked scream, she jumps to follow the artifact.

 The pilot glides us to a water landing in a lake near, and I radio to the Louisville police department on the way down to advise them of where we will be.  I expect we will need backup shortly - that lightning strike was not random, and the woman’s fanaticism points to something else.  This artifact is unusual.  We land, and I tell the pilot to swim to short, after which I dive to retrieve the artifact.  Wrench comes rapidly, having used his mastery of protean to retain a swimming form.  We make it to short, and Wrench takes Laymik in the car to return to the bishop while I wait for the police with the pilot.  The police arrive, we discuss the path forward, with the police hearing that all cargo in the plane is now at the bottom of the lake.  That should throw interest in the artifact off while we take it to the bishop; I hitch a ride into town and meet Wrench and Laymik to advise the bishop of the events of the night.  The bishop is pleased - he was going to have us steal the artifact once it was in Louisville, but this is even better.  We now have the artifact and everyone else believes it is lost.  Laymik reads the inscriptions - a powerful kindred is contained within.  Could this be Sundervere?  We work to open the sarcophagus... as soon as the lid is off we are attacked by snakes from within!  They attack and then leave, but not before Wrench and I get a taste of the blood.  We store some, and Laymik confirms... we have found Sundervere!  This will be an excellent opportunity for us...

[sucaliaric]

28 April - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 The bishop is angry.  We have failed in our game of rugby, for Laymik gave final death to one of our opponents.  The bishop takes Laymik's sword and removes his hand.  Laymik accepts the punishment as his due, although I do not believe he understands yet why his actions are an issue for the pack.  The bishop directs us to go to Nashville; there is an artifact that is to come to our university, and we are directed to ensure that it arrives safely.  The kindred of Nashville do not know we are coming, and Nashville is primarily controlled by Camarilla - so we must make every effort to ensure that our nature remains hidden.  We take the Phantom - Wrench can drive it quite well, it is well equipped for our needs, and has excellent driving capabilities.

 The drive goes relatively smoothly; we stop at the Nashville University and go to the dean’s office to discuss the artifact.  When we arrive, it is clear that the dean is not present.  I make clear to the servant that I have no interest or care in what challenges they may face, I expect to speak with the person in charge within 20 minutes.  It takes slightly over 20 minutes for the next person to arrive - they should count their luck that we are to keep a low profile, or I would demonstrate my annoyance at length.  I expect to see the artifact, but it is not at the university any longer... it is at the airport preparing for transport.  The lackey makes a call to stall the flight, and we make expeditious travel to the airport.  Wrench outdoes himself this time, but clearly the kine is terrified - he practically kisses the ground when we arrive at the airport.  We see the artifact - Laymik seems to lose track of where we are, but Wrench readily reminds him.  I tell the kine that I will fly with the artifact, while Wrench and Laymik return to my car to follow on the ground.

[sucaliaric]

26 April - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 As I wander the ranch, I see that Zambi has released more of the spiritual energy on the mortals.  The ghouls are becoming less human and more monster as time goes on - one chases down an animal that Pete summoned and begins to eat it raw.  I am concerned that Pander is not taking the results of Zambi's work more seriously, but the time has not yet come to take action.  We go to meet with Pander.

 We find Pander apparently possessed by Zambi's staff.  It sends us after the birdman with the albatross around his neck - this makes little sense to me.  As we leave the building, it begins to collapse... something is attacking!  I look for Pander while Pete and Zambi counter the thing that is attacking.  Pander has been staked and is clearly in torpor - I take him to my room and remove the stake... we will need to find a way to bring him back.  We make plans to go to Galveston to look for a solution.  As the night comes to a close, Pete comes to me... we speak of our past and how we can come together as a coterie.  I believe that the level of trust is improving; Pete is still far to close and trusting with Zambi, but we will see how the future develops.

[sucaliaric]

21 April - Sharpening the Sword - Journal Entry by John

 The bishop has called Laymik and I into a meeting; we will be engaging in a game of Sabbat Rugby with the neighboring pack for prestige.  The bishop joins us in sharing vitae, tells us where the game will start and where the goals are, and we begin to plan.  I call one of my servants and give directions to provide a tank from the nearby Fort Knox for our use.  This will provide us a secure transport for moving the ball in the game.  Laymik rides the outside of the tank as we roll to the starting point and meet the official.  We discuss with the official - final death is strongly discouraged, as it will cause our bishop to owe a boon to the other pack.  I attempt to make this clear to Laymik - no final death, no diablerie.  As always, it is hard to tell if he understands.  He has moved further from human understanding than any that I have met before, having no interest in the cattle one way or another.  He fervently believes that all kindred have stolen vitae from Caine, and it must be returned to Caine, with Diablerie being the chief method of consolidation.  Failed opportunities at diablerie seem almost painful to him...

 The ball is placed and the game begins.  I immediately pounce on the ball and drain it - the kine will be too difficult to control with a competing pack to contend with.  One of the other pack attempts to pounce as well and grabs a leg.  Laymik appears behind the remaining of the other pack, and cuts it's legs off.  Excellent!  He appears to have gotten the point on avoiding diablerie and final death of our opponents.  I make eye contact and cause the one near me to forget the game, remembering only a roaring flame at his goal; Laymik then pounces on him, attempting to cut his legs off as well.  This is good; he will not interfere.  I grab the ball, and then notice the first one that Laymik attacked had crawled to the tank and leaked corrosive vitae on the treads.  This will drastically slow my progress; in my anger I take that one and throw him into his ally.  Something changes; Laymik takes control and drains the legless one dry, diablerizing him.  I cannot allow this to continue; the penalty for ignoring our rules can be extremely severe, and Laymik is too valuable to sacrifice now.  I move quickly, taking control of the tank and unloading the belt of ammunition into Laymik and his prey... the damage is devastating, and both are clearly in torpor now.  I inquire with the referee, but I must still get the ball to our goal before time expires to win the match.  I pour Laymik and the ball into the tank, driving to the goal to win the contest.  Afterwards, I make use of a new Ritae that I have learned... it works!  I am able to pull Laymik out of torpor.  Now we wait to see how the bishop will react...

[sucaliaric]

19 April - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 We see Zambi again tonight; Pete immediately confronts him regarding the impact on Dante.  Pete is extremely irate, and seems to want Dante to remain unchanged forever; this confuses me - do we not all change over time regardless of anything else?  Stasis is impossible... but Pete is too angry to listen, only wishing to berate Zambi.  Eventually Zambi agrees to help restore Dante, mollifying Pete.  With Pete as angry as he is, and with his lack of medical skills and talent, he misses that Zambi merely smears blood onto Dante and licks the wound to temporarily hide the impact.  Pete once again fully trusts Zambi, and has an extreme distrust to me - ironic, as I make it a habit to avoid lies.  In any case, Pete will surely not believe me if I bring up the deception, so I will stay out of it for now.  Zambi's increased reliance on his staff coupled with his thrill at the idea of metamorphesis remind me of some lessons I learned as a fledgeling in Erciyes more than a thousand years ago.  If I hope to continue my studies here, I must find a way to slow the progress Zambi is making in his efforts - he invites not just the wraiths on the other side of the shroud with my brothers but also chaos and death from beyond the shroud.

 We meet with Pander; he is shocked at the betrayal we discovered, and is angry.  One of his couriers has also been killed, and his efforts are not going well.  He asks us to investigate the death of the courier, telling us what direction to move in.  He has two items from the location as clues - one of them seems to hold particular interest to Pete.  This is unusual, and has brought forth an unusual level of dedication from Pete.  He denies any particular interest, and seems to not be inclined to share any information that he may be concealing.  We move on, riding to the courier.  Once there, we investigate the area... there are no clues or information here...  Pete suddenly rides away, towards a nearby mesa.  I ride after him, readily catching up - he seems to have seen something.  He searches the base of the mesa, and I begin climbing to the top.  It is not long before the entire coterie is climbing the mesa, where we find on a ledge a strange lens and signs of someone camping here.  Pete examines the lens closely, as does Zambi.  I continue the climb to the top of the mesa.  At the top, a circle of line river stones sits... this is out of place.  Some occult ritual was performed here.  I begin breaking the circle apart, throwing the stones as far as I can to split them up and break any lingering magic.  As I work, Pete arrives to the top of the mesa with me.  He asks what I found, and clearly does not believe that I simply found a circle of stones.  He is unusually irate; something about our task bothers him.  Zambi and Lady Victoria join us, and I consult with Zambi regarding the stones.  This seems to infuriate Pete further - he asks why I did not tell him that they were used for occult purposes...  I do not know how to tell him that I did not know and was not sure.  Zambi confirms that the stones were used in a ritual similar to his voodoo... Zambi panics and runs.  The stones created a doorway for a spirit eater, which terrifies Zambi.  I can now see the trail of the spirit eater; at this point we split up.  Zambi is rushing back to camp, preparing for the inevitable werewolf assault on our base of operations with the support of the spirit eater.  Pete insists that there must be more to find from the corpse of the courier.  Lady Victoria and I pursue the spirit eater as long as we can, until we finally return to the ranch for the day sleep.

[sucaliaric]

17 April - Colorado by Night - Audio Journal by Elias

 We provided the bleeding Garou to the dragon kin; they seemed pleased, but apparently this was simply a test.  Sam requested a guard for Sherri, and the lead Garou gave us a package to deliver to an address for a key to the door - they indicated this was the task Splinter completed each month.  I feel we are being given the run around, but Todd is very clear on our path forward.  We rest for the night, and reconvene the following day.  This gives me the opportunity to feed and recover from the fight to recover Sherri; the beast nearly consumed me with rage as the events of the night unfolded, and even the fire did not effect it.  It is good to reach balance with the beast again, and prepare for the next steps in this strange task - I have confidence that it will only get more strange.  We make the drive to retrieve the key - it is on the other side of Denver, nearly 3 hours by car.  Todd drives us, and we make fast time until we find the address.  An aged trailer home in poor repair sits in front of us; Todd and Sam are concerned as always, but we are where we belong.  I walk up and knock - an old voice inquires if we are Splinter, and I make it clear that we are replacing Splinter.  The door opens, and the old man in front of me looks near death.  He invites us in, and Sam and I enter and make small talk - Sam seems to be very interested in this old man, and the package from the wolves appears to contain a number of off-brand snacks and candies similar to what Little Debbie offers.  I am unsure of why this is a valuable drop - the old man is thrilled with the offerings, and intends to offer the food to children of the area.  I never would have expected this level of community care for the neighborhood from the Garou - perhaps they are better creatures than I thought.  The old man offers us our payment - he opens a KFC bucket and pulls out a bone wrapped in kite string.  What sort of key is this?  I use my senses to sense the unseen, and it is very clear that the old man has powerful magic and the chicken bone is magical as well.  Sam continues to make small talk, and begins to act very strangely.  He is suddenly very eager to leave - he seems almost afraid of the kind old man... We make our leave, and I advise Todd of what happened.  Sam must have said something as well, because Todd is very ready to leave now - we make the trip back to Fort Collins and plan to visit the playground in the park to speak with Reggie and the squirrel-child to see what our next steps are.  The trip to the playground goes without issue; Reggie seems surprised and delighted that we made it this far.  He uses the key to draw a door in the air, then unlock and open the door.  This is... incredible.  It looks like an alternate path into the magical world that these creatures call home; for this trip Reggie says that we have to go to a goblin and pick up some meat pies to take to the council.  Reggie warns that I should bring more than one, as the council will fight over just one.  Todd states that he and Sam will come with me this time, so I speak to the squirrel-child and I believe that he may have agreed not to damage the car... we will see.  "Pookanese" is very hard to decipher sometimes.  We walk through the door, and begin to head towards the "Dark Forest".  This area is less bright and cheerful than the previous direction, but it is still very clearly more in tune with the realities of time than the outside world.  Sam asks if we have entered into my mind - I am unsure if he is serious or not, but such is usually the case with Sam.  We approach a split in the road, and Todd asks which way from here - I choose but as we walk, a living tree of some sort seems to come from nowhere in the fork.  It asks what we are doing here - a reasonable question when strangers enter your home.  I advise that we are visiting the goblin king to retrieve meat pies for the council, but he does not seem to be accepting of that.  Apparently, the goblin bakes the pies for him - I invite him to travel with us, which he agrees to do.  Sam and Todd seem to be uncomfortable; true, our new friend did nearly stake us with his fingers when we approached, but they should really be more understanding of how the future will play out... or the past?  Nevertheless, we are peacefully walking through the forest in a relatively marshy area when Todd decides to go swimming! Without warning, he dives into the water, and a few moments later I see a giant eel following him.  How foolish can he be?  Does he not realize that this forest could have dangerous creatures in it?    I ask our tree-friend to help Todd, and his fingers once again grow into giant spears, piercing the eel and killing it instantly.  Todd seems to have tired of swimming, as he comes out and we continue our journey.  Before long we see the village - but our ally is unable to enter the village for some reason, stating that it is not allowed.  I tell him I will retrieve his pies for him, and confidently walk into the village, looking for the goblin baker.  It is not long before I spy the hut - the cook is home and baking even now!  I approach and knock, waiting for a response.  A voice askes what I am here for, and I tell him that I am here to pick up four pies for the tree and for the council.  The voice says he only has two, and I should come back tomorrow.  I tell him I will take the two for now, and our ally will pick the remaining two up tomorrow - but he says our ally will kill him on his way to get ingredients!  He apparently goes to the town to pick up the meat, and our ally does not usually let him by.  I am sure that this must be a misunderstanding, but I tell him I can work it out.  He then asks for a leaf or branch from our friend, so I return to ask.    Once back, I realize - we never asked our ally his name!  I ask, and he does not seem to remember having a name.  I tell him I will call him Groot, and ask about the leaf or branch.  Groot is not willing to allow that, as he believes that the goblin cook will use it to hurt him.  Why would anyone hurt a forest spirit such as this, when it is so friendly?  I go to confront the goblin as the monster it is; after some discussion, I do get two of the pies and I let Groot know that he will need to let the goblin chef by tomorrow to get more ingredients, and then Groot will receive a meat pie for his troubles.  Todd, Sam, and I return to the council - they feast on the pies with great enjoyment, and our task is done.

[sucaliaric]

12 April - Pander's Posse - Oral History by Doc

 We wake up for the evening to find that Zambi has left.  No doubt he is working towards his own goals - though he will have quite the surprise from Pete when he returns.  The sharks were able to bring Dante with Lady Victoria, and Pete has learned that the pup is infected the same way the ghouls are.  I feel that Pete only narrowly avoided going into a frenzy when hearing about it, which is for the best.  I have little time or patience for cleaning up the messes of other licks, even one as young as Pete who should still know better.  I also still have concerns over the level of trust Pete has with our newest supposed ally.  I question her loyalties, but none of the others will hear of it.  It is possible that I am mistaken - time will tell.

 We head towards where Dio Giovanni should be; the church has large gathering out front, likely to cause us issues so we begin to search for alternate entrances while my pets begin to scout on their own.  While wandering, a kine interrupts us attempting to sell us a paper.  I have no patience for it, and clearly Pete does not care for the interruption but Lady Victoria apparently sees some value in offering money for support.  I glance at the paper... this is no normal paper.  It says they know we are here, they are watching, and they hope that we try something.  I advise the others, and we eventually decide to go for the more direct route I recommended earlier.  I take the lead as we walk towards the front entrance of the church like we belong.  Two larger kine confront us; I attempt to suggest that they may not wish to interfere, but they seem to be unusually dense, even for the kine.  I trust my skills, and as I prepare to clear our path Lady Victoria motions to Pete and I... two of the buildings behind us have snipers in them.  I am out of patience for the delays, wishing only to ensure the demise of Dio Giovanni.  My pets have found 3 vampires performing ceremonies in the basement, so time is of the essence.  I tell the others to wait here, while I deal with the snipers.  I place myself between the two buildings and allow my aura to do the work... wood near me begins to rot and crumble, until at last the buildings collapse on themselves.  I cross the street, ignoring the destruction, to deal with the dense kine.  My coterie appears horrified - something about the kine within the building, and burning down the city.  Enough of this - those gathering in front of the church have retreated inside, with the dense two, saying something about an earthquake.  We make our way to the side door, which is unguarded and open, and move to the basement of the church.  I make quick work of the first locked door, which I then close and barricade to prevent any surprises from behind us.  The next locked door is warded, or so Pete says.  Lady Victoria vomits acidic vitae - I have never seen that from her before.  The wyrm taint is causing more impact to the coterie; I hope that it does not overwhelm them.  The acidic vitae burns a hole in the door, which I am able to expand to allow us through without breaking the ward.  Looking at my pet behind the ornate doors ahead of us, it seems that the vampires within are planning to ambush us.  Pete suggest we detonate dynamite to distract them before we go in to finish the job - I slip the door open, he throws the dynamite, and I hold the door against the explosion.  That was an impressive explosion; Pete seems to have disappeared with Dante, but Lady Victoria and I are still here.  Going in, the room has collapsed - there is no way to tell who the shattered bodies inside belonged to.  We search, and I find a fetter.  I begin to summon the linked wraith, and Pete returns while I work.  Once the wraith appears, it reveals that this was intended as a trap to kill us while Dio most likely is working to raid the ranch... the wraith does not provide any details on how Dio knew of our coming assault... we leave and head back toward our own spy.  Lady Victoria and Pete appear distraught by the growing fire; it seems it will be expanding to consume much of the city.  Such is a consequence of the kine interfering in kindred affairs.  We make our way on...  Our little spy is hiding something; Pete has asked questions, but she is being evasive to the point where even Pete and Lady Victoria are catching that something is amiss.  Pete is disinclined to allow me to investigate to discover the truth, but Lady Victoria gives me a look and asks Pete for assistance with a walk.  As soon as they leave, I catch the deceptive lick and pin her against the wall.  She plays at ignorance, and then plays at being unsure on who to trust but eventually the truth comes out.  Her sire embraced her and sent her to the ranch as a spy, and she told Dio that we were coming to prepare the ambush.  Dio is on his way to the ranch to destroy it.  My next action takes her by surprise - though I am unsure of why.  She could not expect such a level of treachery to go without penalty, surely she would not expect my mercy.  With swift action, I break a chair and stake her.  Once she is immobilized, I drain her essence to enhance my own... this is an act I would not normally condone, but the risks of otherwise are simply to high at the moment.  I complete my task before Pete and Lady Victoria return; Pete is horrified, but I believe that Lady Victoria approves... we begin our trek back to the ranch, but as we approach a figure appears on the horizon - a shifted Garou with two pistols...