Darkness Unvailed

Play Date: 14 May 06

Game Date: 30 Oct 87

Our fearless heroes met up with each other outside of Corpus Christie Church to compare notes and figure out what they will do next. Some of them go find lunch and manage to completely lose control and they are faced with trying to dispose of two bodies again. They load the bodies into Jack’s van and take them to the cemetery and drop them in the crypt that they found the cell phone.

After a short debate they decide to check out the address Miss Opal gave them for Nathaniel Dubois’ old apartment. When they get there they find an old dilapidated building with no power and it doesn’t look as if it’s been occupied in months. Jack and Charles stay with the van; this isn’t a good neighbor hood. The rest go to check out the building.

They enter the building, find Dubois’ old apartment, the Dubois Designs sign is still affixed to the door. Kaspian tries to pick the locks on the door but fails. So Tina just kicks the door open noisy but efficient. The place is deserted, but they find a good stash of Liquor in the cupboards. Upon closer inspection Kaspian finds an old receipt for a liquor store just up the block. Kaspian, Tina, Jessie, & Cecelia went to the liquor store. Kaspian spoke with the clerk and asked if he had seen Nathaniel in lately, the clerk was unsure of when he had been in last. Tina persuaded the clerk to give them Nathaniel’s address after he told her that they deliver to Nathaniel fairly frequently.

They returned to the van, and told Jack and Charles they had an address for Nathaniel. Our group proceeded to the address of Nathaniel’s apartment. Finding a place to park was a complete pain, so Jack let everybody out and he circled the block a few times and found a parking place, but he stayed with the van. Tina and Charles circled around the back of the property to try to climb the fence that surrounds the property. Tina got over the fence with out a hitch but as Charles climbed the fence he was spotted by someone inside the building, who called the Police. Jack hearing the call on the scanner called Tina’s cell phone and warned them the police where on their way to check out an intruder.

In the meantime Kaspian, Jessie & Cecelia were right out front. Jessie picked the cipher lock on the gate and they gained access to the grounds. Kaspian made quick work of the front door lock, as Tina and Charles joined the others at the front of the building. Kaspian got the lock open and they all entered the building. They found Nathaniel’s apartment on the second floor. They knocked and Nathaniel opened the door and invited them into his home.

Nathaniel, who is Kaspian’s sire, told Kaspian he had been expecting him to show up at some point. Kaspian asked why he created him. Nathaniel told him that Sarah Cobbler paid him to,”pick a mortal and Embrace him/her at a specific place and time and then abandon him/her.” The characters decided to let Nathaniel live, Nathaniel being appreciative of this gesture told them he would help them all deal with the adjustment to their new existence. Nathaniel also told them who the other sires are but he didn’t know where any of them except John Harley Matheson could be found. He also did not identify who was whose sire.

One of the names that Nathaniel gave them was Lucas Gates. Kaspian used his contact in the police department and found out that Lucas Gates is wanted in Florida, Mississippi, & Louisiana and is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. He is nicknamed “The Ghost” by the FBI, because he leaves nothing at any of the crime scenes.

As they were driving Tina got a flash of absolute sadistic pleasure and when it passed she felt completely covered in filth and a keen sense of having completely violated and killed someone. They determined that this had to be blood sympathy in action. So they continued to drive around the area, they all got a flash of Predator’s Taint from down an alleyway. Jack pulled into the alley and they found an adult male in the alley. When the lights from the van hit the male he turned and snarled at our fearless group. As he turned around they saw him drop a male victim. Kaspian, Tina & Jessie get out of the van to talk with this individual; as he turns around to face them they notice he has a badge on his belt. He identifies himself as Detective Peter Lebeaux. They speak with him about Lucas Gates and impart the info that Tina has due to blood sympathy. Peter uses heightened senses and gets the impression of Gates killing a female very quickly then rapidly heads off in the direction of the old Rosewood Motel. Peter warns the characters that Lucas is extremely dangerous and evil is his middle name might be his first and last too.

Jack knows that the Old Rosewood has been converted into apartments, and that this a very dangerous place to go at anytime, but lately the drug dealers have really been infesting the area.

Jack gets a hold of one of his contact in the gangs and places an order for firepower. After, a stop at an all night pawn shop for brass knuckles for Tina and Jessie. Jessie makes a run into Walgreens and buys 8 1 quart glass bottles and a terry cloth towel; she also bought herself a Louisville slugger baseball bat.

While Jessie was shopping Jack’s buddies came through with shotguns some incendiary rounds and a couple of flash bang grenades. Tina & Kaspian took some of the liquor from Nathaniel’s old apartment. So the group makes some Molotov Cocktails and arms themselves for the confrontation to come. Jack text messages Alexander to let him know they have found Lucas Gates in the old Rosewood. Alexander texts back that there is an open Blood hunt on Gates declared by Prince Vidal. And to let him know what happens with Gates.

So the characters enter the Rosewood’s front door. They find three thugs at the back door, guarding the stairway going to the basement. After a brief struggle: one of the thugs is thrown through a wall, one of them has his jugular ripped out, the third one peed his pants and fled down the stairs and the one with his jugular ripped out was thrown at him they both landed in a heap at the base of the steps. Two more thugs attempt to stop our wonderful heroes, but they are flat out intimidated by the guy with blood all over him from ripping out the jugular, Kaspian. So one of them asked where Gates is and they are told that he might be in the building but not for sure. As they head back up the stairs a very emaciated female approaches Charles and tells him Gates is on the 4^th floor.

After finding several people living in the building families and the some others just living in the apartments. The characters get to the fourth floor. Tina purposely tries to activate blood sympathy with Gates, she gets a flash of the door to 4D and also the fact that the room has lots of gasoline in containers, and a somehow sadistic pleasure over the inferno that IS gonna happen. Tina tells the rest that he’s in 4D and no fire or spark gasoline is present so be careful. Tina has stated her intention is to beat the crap out of Gates.

They enter 4D and find no one in there. However, Lucas says from the shadow in the corner, “this place is a tinderbox,” and you can hear a Zippo lighter snapping open and closed. Tina attempts to punch Lucas in the face and completely misses him but gets her brass knuckles semi embedded in the wall where he was just standing. Lucas just laughs at her. He picks up one of the gas cans and starts spilling it around the room

Charles is guarding the stairway Jack heads down the stairs and notifies the residents of the building to get out due to a potential fire problem up on 4^th floor. He gets everyone out then positions himself outside the windows of the 4D watching them from the ground with a shotgun loaded with incendiary rounds.

Tina again attempts to punch Lucas she grazes him in the shoulder. He drops the gas can & snaps open the Zippo and lights it. Kaspian flees in complete fear of the fire. Just as Kaspian flees 8 thugs are coming up the stairs at Charles. Kaspian in a complete fear frenzy plows through the 8 thugs and bodies and body part go flying over the railings and through walls on his way out of the building. Tina being ever perceptive realizes that Lucas is just barely keeping his fear of the flame in check.

Lucas drops the lit lighter and jumps through one of the windows, Jack aims and fires catching Lucas in the abdomen with the round and igniting the jacket he is wearing. As Lucas hits the ground he rolls with it putting out the flames but he is motionless in the ground.

Jessie makes an awesome grab for the lighter as it is falling to the gasoline soaked floor. She catches and closes the lighter before it can ignite the gasoline all over the floor. Tina being just thoroughly pissed jumps out the window after Lucas. When she gets to the bottom in a complete fit of rage she attacks Lucas thoroughly draining him of his vitae.

“As the last of his blood trickles away down your throat, you feel the taste of ash in your mouth. You know from talking with Father John that it is possible to consume a vampire’s soul, but did a monster like Gates even have one? And then you feel it. You don’t know if you’d call it a soul, exactly, but everything that Gates was, everything that defined him, the strength of will that drove him and the desperate, depraved desire for bloodshed that led him to murder you and God knows how many women, slides into you like the blade of his knife. You consume it, you swallow it, and you draw power from it. You feel your Embrace again, the pain of the murder and the violation of his fangs in your neck…but this time, you feel what he felt. You feel the near-orgasmic pleasure at ending a life, at watching a woman twist in pain beneath you. The part of you that is still you, still Tina, recoils from that, trying to latch onto the years you’ve spent fighting against this sort of horror, fighting to empower yourself.”

Jack contacts Alexander and let him know that Lucas is dead and what proof is Vidal gonna need to prove that Gates is toast. Alexander tells Jack he will get back to him on that, but pictures will be a must.

Just to be safe Cecelia helps Tina through covering up the tracks that he has been bitten by a Vampire they get a shard of wood and stake him and then wrap up the body in some old curtains and move body to van. Alexander calls Jack and tells him Vidal wants to see the body. Jack informs Alexander that they have found two more of Sarah’s experiment and they will bring them with as well.

Our illustrious heroes are now enroute to Vidal’s with the body of Lucas in the back of Jack’s van.

To Be Continued……..

Play Date: 02 Apr 06

Game Date: 29 Oct 87

We open with our heroes meeting with Father John at Corpus Christie Church. They wanted to see if he could identify any of the names they seem to be remembering upon waking each evening. He told them how to find Miss Opal. They have also spent quite a bit of time learning about the condition they find themselves.

Father John and others have been helpful to them in learning about their own makeup. They also found two others that have no clue what happened or how they came to be vampires. Tina Baker & Cecelia Harrigan Our heroes have befriended them and helped them out as much as possible. They have been introduced to Father John and Father John advised them to get them to Vidal soon, but Vidal is busy right now with Andrea and trying to find out what the scene at Corpus Christie was all about. The group agreed that they should do so, when he isn’t so busy.

They are learning about the various talents that seem to be inherent to each of their make up. Like Jack & Charles being able to meld with the earth in the first night.  After meeting with Father John our gang of adventurers decide to split up to search for more information.

Jack & Charles went to the Zoo to talk with the wolves to see if they can find out if the myth of werewolves is real or just a myth. The wolves at the Zoo didn’t know. So Jack & Charles set out to the northwest of the city where they found a fox and talked with him about the rumor. The fox wasn’t really helpful, but he did tell them to beware of the east cause “sharpteeth” live there.

Tina, Cecelia, Edward, & Kaspian went to talk with Miss Opal. They learned where Nathaniel Dubois used to live and are going to check it out. Since that is one of the names that more than one of them seem to remember from what can only be the night of their transformation into the creatures they are now.

To Be Continued….

New Orleans
Game Date: 18 Oct 87
Chronicle: TBA
Play Date: 05 Mar 06

We pick up with the players at Corpus Christie Church talking with Father John & Antoine Savoy. Savoyexplains the Kindred Traditions, clans, covenants, Elysium, and what sites are included in Elysium in New Orleans. He answers questions they have. He gives them a map with Elysium sites and other places of interest to Kindred. Savoy also explains Sire/Childe Bond and how it seems to work. Jack adds to info since he knows who his sire is and what that feeling was like.

They left the church in search of their sires through the use of the Sire/Childe Bond. They started out by just cruising up and down the streets of the French Quarter. Kapian & Charles get some weird feelings so they stop out front of the Twilight club. Charles finds a handwritten copy of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island” on one of the book shelves and sits down to peruse the book. Jack & Kaspian “eavesdropped” on four vampires in the back rear corner in an agitated debate. They heard there was some kind of trouble at Corpus Christie Church. They quickly leave the Twilight Club, when they get into Jack’s van they hear the S.W.A.T. team being dispatched to Corpus Christie Church.

While enroute to the church they all get an overwhelming desire to get there ASAP. They arrived to a complete Police blockade. They mingle with the rest of the on-lookers. They notice Vidal, Savoy, Alexander & a female standing across the street from them. Vidal motions for them to join him. He explains that Father John is presumably inside the church, but won’t answer repeated calls to come out.

Our ever zealous group decides to get inside & help Father John. Vidal sends Alexander with them, and advises them to clean up any signs of vampiric activity.

They meet no resistance getting into the church. Might that be because of Vidal’s influence with the police department? The back door of the church is unlocked, when they enter here are obvious signs of a struggle. They find Father John unresponsive at the bottom of the basement stairs. As they continue their search they find several pews overturned in the sanctuary and the font at back of church shoved over and water running down the center aisle. They also notice a black woman who stands up and starts to move towards them.

As she gets closer to Alexander, Jack & Kaspian: Kaspian makes quick work of putting his fear down, Jack struggles a bit with his fear but he doesn’t retreat. Alexander attempts to talk with the woman, Andrea, she just stares “vacantly” at him. Charles moves closer and fights with his fear. Talons appear from Alexander’s fingertips and he lunges at Andrea. She nonchalantly throws him almost to the communion rail, seemingly effortlessly. Charles steps in to try to subdue Andrea. After a short battle Charles and Alexander get her subdued. While this brawl was going on Jack & Kaspian go to retrieve Father John from the foot of the stairs. Alexander calls Vidal to let him know situation is under control & for assistance getting out of the building. Vidal tells him he can’t help them out, but let’s Alexander know it’s going to be tough getting out ‘cause the building is surrounded.

Jack calls Mack from the Crescent City Knights, street gang, asking if he can arrange a diversion in the area of Corpus Christie Church. Mack says, “No problem & you owe me Jack!” The diversion is in the form of tear gas grenades being shot into the mass of cops out front of the church. In the ensuing panic the group makes their escape. In the process, unknown to our erstwhile group Jack is spotted fleeing with Father John in a fireman’s carry by a member of the press who snaps a couple of pictures. They get to Alexander’s car and start heading to the mansion Vidal uses as his offices. While enroute Alexander starts to question Andrea. She tells him that Sarah Cobbler was behind the siring of our characters & two others. She realizes Edward isn’t with them and asks if they searched the church thoroughly; they did but didn’t find anyone but Father John & her. Alexander let’s Jack, Kaspian, Charles, and Andrea out of the car to go find Edward. Also, telling them to meet him the following night at the cemetery where Jack got the phone call from Marie. He says he can stall Vidal but not indefinitely.

They find Edward in the aforementioned cemetery and head to the waterfront to an abandoned ship that Andrea knows about for the day…
To be continued…

Setting: New Orleans
Game Date: 15 Oct 87
Chronicle: TBA
Play date: 19 Feb 06

We open with our Characters in Louis Armstrong Park; they feel as if something is terribly wrong. The streetlights seem hollow & pale; they are suffering from a hunger they can’t quite figure out. They do know that even their favorite foods don’t sound good to satiate this hunger.

They each realize they are not alone as they look around they see each other. They seem to be drawn to each other. After the introductions are over they hear some partygoers coming from the direction of the French Quarter. As the partiers get closer they seem drawn to the body heat, the sound of heartbeats. Watching the jugular pound with the blood pumping through.

One of them is unable to resist the urge to attack; the others casually grab their prey and feed. We end up with two unconscious victims and one dead body. Fortunately, along comes Father John Morrow he gets them to walk away, he makes scene look like a routine homicide. He gets them to follow him down the street to his church.

Father John explains to them some of their new life, or is it unlife? Then the sheriff, Alexander, arrives and Father John advises them to just cooperate and follow direction as in the long run it will be better for them.

Alexander gets them to get into his car and he drives them to a mansion in the Garden District. He escorts them to a rear door and locks them in the basement to wait for their audience with Prince Vidal. Fortunately, this is a windowless room since they fell into a deep slumber.

Shortly after they awake the next evening, Alexander arrives to escort them to the main floor of the mansion where they meet Prince Vidal. He tells them he will take their confession(s) now. Our really confused players confess to Vidal things they did in their mortal life but they are too ashamed to confess what happened in the Park. Vidal advises them to return to the Park, which he believes to be the site of their Embrace, because maybe through meditation and prayer they can determine who did this. Vidal also tells them if they find out any more information he would like to know. Vidal dismisses them.

Alexander gives them a ride back to Louis< Armstrong Park. Alexander tells them to meet him in about an hour at the cemetery they passed. They spend sometime in the park, but the only clue is that Jack gets a feeling of unease coming from somewhere of to his left. Jacks van is parked nearby; they all pile into Jack’s van and proceed to cemetery. When they get to cemetery Jack’s feeling of unease becomes more pronounced, that he can actually track it to its source. In the back corner of the cemetery they find a circle of blood and that one of the crypt’s lids has been moved. After a short interruption from a local bunch of street hoods, they moved the lid of the crypt and found a bunch of trash bags with women’s clothes in them. They also found a cell phone, when they answered it the woman on the other end asked for Jack. She told him she was sorry and that he needed to be careful because “they were gonna get one of them and she hoped it would be her”…the battery on the cell phone died at that moment. Alexander shows up they tell him what they found and about the phone call. Alexander takes them to Maldanato. Where they relate the whole story again, and he tells them to search the area around the cemetery for clues. He also tells them they need to find a place to stay for the daylight is fast approaching, he tells them to make sure that all sources of sunlight are completely sealed off or they will die from the touch of the sun. They all retire to Kaspian’s apartment. Jack & Charles are mysteriously drawn back out of the apartment to the ground outside where they meld with the ground for their day of slumber. Upon arising, Jack tells the others that he has a woman stuck in his head. “She is a black woman with blonde hair, wearing a small gold crucifix.” They decide that this must have something to do with either the woman that called Jack or how he came to be Kindred. Kaspian decides he is gonna go talk to Det. Mike Rample at the New Orleans Police Department the others are gonna go check out the area around the cemetery and see if they can spot the black woman or see if anyone in the area recognizes her description. Kaspian finds out that the woman is, known to Mike Rample as, a prostitute that works the area just outside the French Quarter & her name is Marie. Kaspian goes to find the others. The others find out that a woman who fits the description of the woman Jack describes is named Mary and is often seen in the area and around “the old burned up physic’s place.” After they all get back together they exchange info and decide to check out the burned out building. After narrowly missing the trap on the back door they enter the building. Buckets of glass are helpful and make wonderful traps. They find Mary inside praying. Jack walks up to her and touches her on the shoulder. She proceeds to tell Jack that she is who created him but that she was blackmailed into doing so. She is very sorry. Jack makes decision to help her stay out of the Prince’s hands but while the players are arguing amongst each other over the wisdom of this decision Mary slips away unnoticed. They go see Father John and are introduced to Antoine Savoy... To Be Continued…