Joel:
either performance or animal ken and charisma to howl convincingly
then she looks at you and says Run
you are on the lattice roof tops. What do you do?
He ignores the suggestion to see Theophana, he wasn't much of a fan of hers.
He does take Dimitra up on her offer though and howls then takes his shirt off.
The Howling
He pauses when she asks him to run, "Honey, I like to work up a sweat before sex too but that was the wrong verb for what I'd like to do next".
Vincent follows along rather curious to see what the man has planned. He does his best to slip away unnoticed as instructed by Marchettus,
Later with Mieczyslav, he follows him with some curiosity as not to offend any of the hosts. He finds that he at least agrees with what the man says about being feared but not hated.
When he came upon a man in chains, his jaw clenched a bit. He wasn't sure if he was dreaming and this was simply an illusion or if they truly were somehow in the past. He tried to cast aside his modern thoughts of justice and follow along with the times.
He knelt in front of the man and tilted his head "Tell me, what are you accused of?" he asked with curiosity to see if the man would lie to him.
Do you not think that rulers should be fed the entrails of their ministers and the testicles of their heirs?
Do you think it would be good to inflict some damage on the elitist swine gathered here?
Daniel raises an eyebrow. "Not as a matter of course, no. Those who have earned that kind of treatment, maybe, but not in general."
He scratches the side of his head as he speaks."Uhh, no, I don't think so. I see no reason to do so, and nothing but bad things would happen if I did."
Do you enjoy the hunt?
What say you if I offered you to climb to the roof and howl at the moon together?
Daniel shrugs. "In my own way. I'm not much of an actual hunter, but I'm good at finding things that are hidden. Especially when they don't want to be found. If you mean hunting animals, then I don't know. I've never done it."
He laughs. "Howling at the moon? I'd say it might be fun to do with quite a few drinks in me, though I'd hope that's not all we do." He flashes what he thinks is a charming smile. Nailed it.
Everyone, everywhere is a fraud and counterfit. Are you?
What is the meaning of villiany
Daniel chuckles. "I'm part of everyone, aren't I? Or maybe I'm different," he suggests playfully. "Anyway, I'd say I am what I am, and I'm true to myself in my own way. Whether I let others see all that, well, that's the question isn't it?" He winks. "As for villainy, it's causing pain, committing crime, that sort of thing. Unavoidable in our world, for better or for worse. Even necessary, perhaps?" He chuckles again. Social chuckling is very important to mingling, after all.
beauty is a deadly mask. Why do we hide our disease?
Tell me how it is that beauty can be so fleeting?
Daniel blinks. More philosophy... "Simple vanity, I suppose. Or a desire to hide any potential weakness that others can exploit. Beauty isn't without its perks and uses, though. It's all fleeting because time comes for us all. No way around that."
Do you know what makes an artist greatest? Commitment or Pain?
Show me a skill of yours. Tell me what you do that I should find of interest
"Of the two? Commitment, along with some degree of talent and inspiration. If pain is your inspiration, then maybe that can be just as important in its own way as commitment? I couldn't say, I'm not much of an artist."
He's a bit taken aback by this random man's command to amuse or entertain him. "I'm good at finding things, finding people, gathering information, among other things. But whether you find that to be sufficiently of interest, friend, isn't really my problem. I'm not here to entertain you." With that he turns and walks elsewhere.
Do you follow the left-handed path
Do you seek the knowledge of the forbidden? Do you walk the black road?
"Uhh, no? I'm right-handed, if that's what you mean." He waves his right hand for emphasis. "Walk the black road? Are you coming on to me or something? I'm flattered, but no thank you."
Leaders deserve the best, do you not agree?
which is better the ineffectual leader led from behind the throne or the leader born of station leading from the throne itself?
Would you like to beat this foolish servant with me?
"Leaders deserve some measure of respect, but the best? Only if they've earned it. All else being equal, I'd prefer the guy on the throne himself to be competent and leading how he's supposed to."
"Uhh, no thanks." Daniel takes a step away from Jadviga. He'd been paid to accost people before, but this woman's demeanor unsettled him. He knew better than to become too involved with certain kinds of people unless he needed to.
is it better to be feared or abhored?
What do you know of Aristotle?
Is light the absence of dark?
"They both go hand in hand often enough. But I'd say it's better to be feared. To be despised but not feared is to make yourself a target."
Daniel rubs his chin pensively. "The Greek philosopher, right? The one after Socrates and Plato? I know the name and vaguely what he talks about, but I'm afraid I haven't really read much of his work."
"I think so, technically. I like to conceptualize it as being its own thing, though. It's a little more interesting that way, I think."
Tell me how you believe your enemy should be treated
I have a spy of my enemy in my possession now in the wine cellars. Show me how you would deal with him
"Carefully, with a skeptical mind. Beyond that, it depends on what exactly your goal is. As for your, uh, 'friend' in the cellar? Feed him false information and send him back, perhaps? At least it's more interesting than being a sadist.
[b]Have you made peace with death? Will you play a game of death with me?
"I've accepted I'll die some day, but until then I'm going to win as many small victories over death as I can. And one way to do that is to avoid playing certain kinds of games unless absolutely necessary. So, that said, I'll have to respectfully decline your game of death."
The hour is grown late and I hate trivial conversation. Don't you agree?
What prize is the greatest? Love or survival?
Daniel shrugs at Amisa's question. "It can get tedious, but it serves its purpose. And this evening's conversation has not been all that trivial, really." He listens to her second question. "See? Like that. Odd philosophical questions. Hardly trivial. Anyway, that's an interesting question. A life without any sort of love in it might hardly be called living, but love can't grow or be maintained without survival. So I'd say survival."
What do you feel is our most sacred possession?
Tell me, do any of us own anything?
"Our own wills, I'd say. Life is important, but life as a slave is hardly fulfilling."
"In the mundane sense, absolutely. If you mean abstract and metaphorically and all that, I guess we only really own what we can keep for ourselves."
Joel:
Will power roll please.
He locks eyes with the "Wizard,".
Willpower
Vincent:
[B]Aristotle in his original Greek. I am impressed with your skills. A warrior is not only a sword but a mind. Not only a mind but the will to act.[/b[/spolier]
[Spoiler]the man wants to speak to you but cannot seem to do so as if he had his voice stlolen from him
Daniel:
the greatest reward is our own will and what we hold. Come with me
Daniel does not return with Lothar when the lamb is brought out and the toast is made.
Jessica:
Joel:
Roll strength + athletics to remain standing. TN 7
If you fail roll again to grab unto the roof and stop yourself from falling off.
Where ever you end up you do so writhing in pain and Casmir is standing above you saying I shall most enjoy teaching you the error of your thought process. Charlatan, am I? and he makes your insides want to dance outside your body for longer then you thought possible. When you return and are looking to get the knife for the lamb you can feel his eyes burning through the back of your head... Almost with... Pride
Joel remains on his feet gritting his teeth, "Hnnnh. Not sure what, what the hell you're doing but you've got to do better than that if you want to.. to.. bring down a Navy man".
The pain wracks him and he just stares at Casmir until the pain recedes and he lets out a deep breath.
He blinks, "So then, either you're some kind of hypnotist or you've got real honest to goodness black magic".
Joe; pauses for a moment, "Much as I want ta' rip your face off right now, you might be the only damned person here who can help me... us. I'm not some loon, I am a man out of time. If you've magic, and it's pretty clear ya' do. Help me, I am not sure what I can give back to you but maybe we can work out a deal. I bet I know more about black powder than any man on this planet right now outside of the Chinese..."
---
Joel turns slightly and regards Casmir with a smirk, Well, at least I've gained a measure of respect, maybe he'll help me after all.
Jennifer:
Daniel:
I am Teriel, son of Uriel, grandson of Samiel, great grandson of Saulot. Lothar was my instrument. There will be a battle here soon and you will need strength to fight in the long night to come. Will you accept it?. He holds out his hand
Jessica:
Daniel moves to greet the man in the garden, but freezes when he sees man's third eye. He rubs his eyes, expecting what must be an illusion to vanish. It doesn't. I didn't drink that much. What have I gotten myself into...
After Teriel speaks, Daniel forces himself to look at the two regular eyes rather than the third. "I'm Daniel Sutton, son of... well, you wouldn't know him." He looks away, scratching his neck nervously. "The way you talk about it, I can't avoid this fight, can I? If not, I'd rather have strength than be without it." He extends his own hand tentatively toward Teriel's, but hesitates before actually making contact. "What kind of battle? Are you sure I'm the kind of, well, warrior you need?"
Justin:
Bajazet will say there is always choice. Perhaps you are not what I seek after all.
Ezra:
Daniel:
Justin:
make animal ken or performance + charisma roll to do so tn 7
What do you do?
"Oh...you were being quite literal about that howling at the moon bit." Justin says before giving a comical, almost cartoonish howl.
Having failed miserably, Justin says, "Think I'll just go back downstairs now." Walking away he thinks, Can this night get any f$$$ing weirder?
Justin:
if you make a tn 7 roll you note the shadows are extending further wrapping around your feet as if your own shadow has departed and become something else.
When you look up you see Leopold smiling at you and mouthing a very famous Aristotle quote: It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
What the...what in the hell is going on with the shadows and why in the hell is he grinning and mouthing Aristotle at me? Justin thinks to himself, becoming increasingly concerned with the whole situation.
"Survive, certainly, but just survive? I'd hope to aspire to more than simple survival."
Something suddenly occurs to Daniel. "Is that what this is? What all those questions were? Finding people to help those being carve the world in their image?" he asks, gesturing vaguely back toward the building. "If so, what kind of strength are you offering? And why aren't you in there with the rest of them?"
Daniel:
Ezra:
Vincent looked at the book handed to him and he was surprised by what the man had said. It wasn't common for the times to consider the mind an asset for warriors. He opened the book and sighed before offering it back "It's a wonderful gesture, but alas the book would be wasted on me. I never learned the language.' he said smiling.
Vincent looked at the man before him, unable to speak then looked at the man beside him. He shrugged "There is little point interrogating a man who cannot speak. His condition isn't sound enough to assume he'd survive any kind of torture to even get semi viable information." was all he could say.
Vincent:
Ezra:
"A warrior, huh? I can defend myself well enough, but I've never, you know, used a sword or anything. Is that what you're offering? Swordsmanship training?" He sighs, shaking his head. "To be honest, sir, I'm not sure I totally believe what you're telling me, or if I even want to," he says, looking again at the three-eyed man. "I would assume this was all drunken rambling if not for... well, that eye. Even that could be fake, for all I know. Maybe I'll just look like an idiot at the end of all this. But if what you're saying is true, then I refuse to simply go off to my death. No way in hell," He smiles, a defiant look shining in his eyes. He extends a hand. "All right. So tell me, what is the nature of what you're offering? Who is Saulot? And if you're not like us mortals, then what are you?"
Back to the present:
Joel is handed the knife by Lothar who taps his staff again to bring the room to attention. Everyone leans forward as the very sharp dagger is placed into Joel's hand. Expectant, hushed, ready, almost sexual tension hangs on every moment.
Joel leans into the animal's ear, "We thank you for your sacrifice. Your death gives us sustenance and your death greater meaning".
The blade then is pulled across it's throat quick and clean. Placing a hand on it's back to keep the writhing and shaking to a minimum Joel placed the blade down on the table and takes a napkin to clean off his bloody hand and wrist.
"Bon appetit ".
In the antechamber with Daniel:
From the other room you hear a low booming tap of the staff followed by a silent which seems to stretch on forever before your host says
so it begins
And then it does begin. A single female scream followed by another and then an explosion of curses and cries for mercy and in the midst of that one or two sounds of metal drawn from sheath and fighting only to end all too swiftly. Then the screaming becomes louder and closer and more desperate.
When you look up you see Teriel has red tinted tears in his eyes and something else... Exceptionally long teeth. He pulls you to him like a child and bites you and eventually you feel all your blood leaving you and you begin to die. Just then you taste blood. You drink it like mother's milk. And then you feed upon it like it was oxygen. Like the first time you had sex only better. Like first love only better. Like seeing the face of God.
You fall to the ground and your heart stops. You spasm and you die. Death, however, is not long and you wake again in a moment which again is a blink of an eye or forever.
Looking at Teriel you know what he is and you know what you are now... Vampire.
the dining hall
Everything is dark and the room is quiet. Bodies are flung around, ripped to pieces and hanging from the candelabra. You all heard the sceams before you realized the doors were locked. Some fought. Some ran. Some froze and died where they stood. Yet you are all awake again. A single ghostly figure stands before you all.
the founders come, fight for your lives!
You hear swords and shielss clashing and arrows being fired close by.
Joel stands up. "Wha... what the f@&! happened! While are you and who are the Founders?"
Joel looks around to see who else is with him...
Daniel wakes again with a start, bolting upright to a sitting position. A flood of different thoughts and emotions come rushing into him almost simultaneously. The confusion and horror at what sounded like a slaughter. The memory of his own life slipping away. The sheer, unadulterated ecstasy of feeding on blood. The shock that he was even awake again. But beneath it all, he can feel something that is at once both very familiar and utterly alien: hunger.
He scrambles back a couple feet, looking up at Teriel. Fighting to control the fear and shock in his voice, he asks a question he already knows the answer to. "W-What did you do to me?!"
Teriel looks to you and says:. you are kindred, vampire, undead and cursed yet blessed. We will stand in the other room. There are powerful allies and enemies coming. Know that you will be viewed different from any of your friends who were made vampire.
Jessica rises slowly, rubbing her neck. Unlike the others, who are scared or confused, she feels like her life finally makes sense.
She looks around to see who still lives. Her eyes scan about and settles on Vincent. She moves to place him between herself and the sounds of battle, then clutches his arm, her face the mask of terror and bewilderment.
Oh god! What happened to us? What's that noise?
I...I feel very strange. What in the hell did those shadows do to me? Justin thinks to himself, looking around the chamber.
"Who the f%$+ are the founders and why are they coming for us?"