Henry enters the room and the rest of the coterie follow.
You each walk past the guard and in through the doorway, a four foot long hallway and right turn leads into the room proper. It is not particularly large and all of the furniture has been gathered up and slid into the bathroom to make extra space including the rolled up Persian carpets. It is a comical sight in such a luxury hotel.
On the floor are drawn seven pentagrams, before each pentagram is a pewter chalice adorned with familiar symbols utilized by Clan Tremere. Behind each seat is a lit long black tapered candle about three feet in height. This is what is creating the flickering in the room and are the only source of light besides what comes in through the windows.
Standing facing the window and looking out into the Bosporous you presume is Sascha. She wears a smart pinstriped pant suit and has an extremely long black pony tail which hangs to just above her tailbone. She sighs as you enter and you hear the door softly click behind you.
"Mistress Sascha, I don't trust this, why are the other..."
She raises her right hand, but has yet to turn around, "Talley. I appreciate your concern, you may step out and await me in the hallway" Her voice is rather unnerving in juxtaposition to her slender appearance as it is quite masculine.
He does not respond or make even a sound in protest. She continues to look out the window in silence, the view of the water is breathtakingly beautiful. Ships passing in and out of the harbor and the lights in the city themselves make for a mesmerizing sight.
Once the door closes, she speaks again, but does not turn around, "It has been such a long time since I have been here. If not for him I would not have returned. My old friend and confidant and as I understand it your patron, Celestyn, has asked me to assist you in your endeavors. Tell me, in turn, about yourselves".
Marcus stands quietly, not wanting to jump the order, and waits for Henry to speak first.
Wenzel nods towards Henry. “I am Wenzel Rainer. My Sire was Simon Augustyn and my Grand Sire was Dr. John Dee. In my mortal life
I was a street waif in London before I became a book binder.”
"I am Apprentice Henry Gaden of the Seventh Circle, the recognized leader of our expedition. I am from England and have spent most of my time serving our clan there in our conflicts against Mithras. My own sire was slain by his agents." He pauses for a moment, perhaps lost in memories before he continues.
I have extensively studied Thaumaturgy, believing it our clan's greatest weapon against our numerous foes, and have achieved mastery in the paths of Blood and Neptune's Wraith, as well as several rituals. It is my hope that some of this knowledge will aid us in our future endeavors." He finishes.
Preferring not to change personas in front of others when possible, Badger remains in his "typical Tremere" persona from their encounter on the train.
"Badger... 'Bainbridge' will do. Which should be enough to determine my sire. I provide... unconventional talents for the clan." He says as he polishes his lenses.
Tipping the hat on his head before quickly replacing it, Marcus says, "
Dr. Marcus Townshend, professor - emeritus of course - of archaeology and antiquities from the University of Chicago. Apprentice of the Second Circle, specializing in item retrieval."
"Zhang James, a survivor of the Hong Kong underworld. Sent along for my native knowledge."
Jim is quite direct and to the point. It doesn't pay to waste time of your superiors.
Sasha nods at each coterie members description of themselves though she has yet to turn around. She speaks, "Celestyn and I were Mortals together in House Tremere.
He may be one of the few beings still inhabiting this world that I consider a friend. When he asked this favor of me though I did indeed hesitate. I wonder if he has fully thought through the consequences of this action.
Regardless, I will need the balance of your Coterie here to begin the ritual. As you have seen, my security detail finds this odd and quite frankly I believe he would like to either withdraw immediately or slay you all for treachery. Of course, this is why he is security and not leadership.
I know my friend, even though a millennia has passed since we have seen one another in the flesh, he would not do such a thing. As a result, you have a unique opportunity, while we wait, where you may ask me questions. Few have my undivided attention in the way you do now. When my patience runs out, we shall begin, with or without your Coterie mates".
"You have my deepest apologies for the delay. While we were traveling we encountered and became involved in the political affairs of the mages. An exchange was made. They assisted us in dealing with a wayward kindred who posed a potential Masquerade breech, and in return we were tasked with delivering a message for them without allerting their rivals in something called the Union. Our other members are performing said task now and will await us at the station after it is done. Knowing that their presence is necessary here, I can send one of our coterie to retrieve them to avoid further delays."
Henry waits on asking any questions, uncertain how Sasha will take the news and not wanting to press his luck.
Sascha sighs, "Unfortunate, but then, unlife is full of complications is it not?
However, I would prefer not to have anyone leave at the moment. I shall send my security detail to retrieve them, after we have given them some time to perform this task. I do not wish to be entangled in the affairs of the Awakened".
The tone in her voice takes a bit of a harder edge though her body remains still, there is literally no physical reaction at all. If she were not speaking, she could be a statue.
James says, "What should we expect of Kindred relations in this city, if we are to remain here for some period of time before continuing on our way to Zhongguo? It would be wise for us to avoid exacerbating any political complications."
Still facing out the window, she responds, "Prince Mustafa of Clan Ventrue rules this city. He is Camarilla affiliated, but all Sects and Independent Clans have interests here. The Prince holds court at the Palace of Blachernai.
Once our business here is concluded, the idea is for you to take your itinerary from me. It is sealed and I have not opened it as it was left here at the hotel for me to pickup. From there, you shall be in control of your own destinies.
If you should choose to introduce yourself, do not mention our meeting. I have no intention of doing so as I shall be leaving this very night".
"Understood."
Henry searches his memories as he realizes the woman standing in front of them has been an important figure in their clan. To meet one who was a Tremere before their evolution into vampires was a rare honor, dulled only slightly by having recently met the man himself. He cannot recall any tales of her however. Perhaps this meant she largely operated behind the scenes.
"It's a rare honor to meet one of our kind who observed our transition into the clan we are now." He acknowledges. "If I may be so forward, I would ask you for guidance. Is there any path or ritual you think merits study? I know there are many obscure Thaumaturgical paths that have fallen out of common knowledge in the long history of our clan. Would you be willing to point me to one that you feel would offer value to our clan and my own scholarship?"
She nods, "Yes, I can remember the events like they were yesterday.
So many of us perished. So many of us deserved to perish. Many who deserved such fate, still have yet to receive their comeuppance.
There are many Paths of great interest. There are so very many Rituals.
Still, from what I understand of your ultimate destination, one in particular may be of use to you. Or, perhaps not. The Ritual is obscure now, it is named Ward Versus Demons. I know, I know, Wards, so banal. But, the lands to which you travel have many stories of "Demons" that walk the land. In the west, this Ritual is all but abandoned there, it still be of some use. Though beware, if the Ritual does not work, over reliance upon it could be your undoing.
The most splendid part of it, is that if you know any of the lesser or equivalent Wards, this one can be self taught".
"You have my utmost thanks for the advise. We know little of the foes that await us to the east, so any ritual that offers us any edge over them is incredibly valuable information. I myself am unskilled in wards," He admits, a rare confession of a weakness, "But ideally we've enough time before we reach our destination for myself or one of our other members skilled in Thaumaturgy to learn it."
She nods, still facing out the window, "If you have no grimoire with you, you can utilize the ritual communicate with Kindred Sire to learn, your time is limited, but doing it each night several nights in a row is one way to learn the most basic of wards. From there, you can modify".
She falls silent for several moments then chuckles, "Young Tremere, I am surprised at how silent you all are. I would have suspected that you would have more questions.
Perhaps it is the anticipation of this journey that has you tongue tied?"
Henry nods, already planning to begin extensive study of the ward.
Seeing no one else eager to speak up, he continues. "You are one of the few among our clan who were there at the start of it. I would not presume to demand an explanation, but I have always been curious about those early years where our survival hung in the balance. If you've any tales you wish to share from that time, either concerning yourself or the clan as a whole, I believe we would all benefit from hearing them."
His second question was more of a risk, but he decides to raise it. Delicately. "If you would like, I would also know more about your history within the clan. I have never come across your name before. Given your longevity and centuries of service I would very much like to rectify that. I am sure someone formally of the Awakened had a hand in developing some of the rituals or paths we use this night." By the end Henry's carefully controlled tone betrays an eagerness for further knowledge and hidden secrets of thaumaturgy. He knows the rare opportunity he's been presented with and seeks to use it.
Sascha remains silent for some time, perhaps trying to kill time awaiting the return of your coterie members, perhaps sifting through memories. Finally, she responds, still statue like looking outwards, "Much of what you believe is likely a lie.
Goratrix sought a short cut to immortality. That short cut came via the capture and experimentation of Cainites, mainly Tzimisce. It caused a substantial rift within the Clan as he spoke of the benefits of immortality without discussing what the side effects would be.
Regardless, he convinced Tremere to subject himself and House Leadership to the Ritual of Usurpation.... and so House Tremere of the Order of Hermes became Clan Tremere. The vicious battles for survival I was not...."
Her speech is interrupted by a loud slamming on the floor below and howl!
Several thumps, a scream of anger, two gunshots, yet another howl!
Sascha still has not turned around, the door to this room opens and Talley comes running in, "Mistress, a Lupine in the floor below! I think it is time to go".
She holds up her hand, "Hold".
Suddenly, you hear the crashing of glass simultaneously with another howl. Sascha cocks her head, "Tell me Mr. Gaden, are your wayward coterie members a female and a teenage boy? I trust it's not the Lupine currently holding them..."
Henry listens intently, if somewhat leery. But before Sascha can get to far into the story a disruption occurs.
"I'm afraid so."he responds in answer to her question. "We had no reports of a wolf present here. If it's gotten hold of the two of them I'm afraid we may have to write them off as a loss.I doubt very much we could reach them before they meet their end." Henry does not sacrifice the others lightly, but he knows how important this mission is, and to attempt a rescue that might see them all meet the final death seemed profoundly foolish.
"How unfortunate," Badger comments with a slight frown. "I do hope the gargoyle remains well, though. I noticed you only mentioned the woman and the boy..."
A few moments later the sound of crashing can be heard and this time the room shakes a bit, coming into the view out the window are two things. They seem as if something from a fiction novel, clockwork men! They lunge towards the Lupines legs. A split second before they can grasp on, Donato motions with his hands upwards, and the Lupine, Sarah, and Donato all change trajectory from falling to rising!
Talley stands watching, mouth agape for a split second before he regains his composure.
Sascha remarks dryly, "Well that is something you don't see every night".
James shuffles back into a triangle stance with his hands up, purely by reflex, though fisticuffs will obviously be useless here.
Jim takes a fighting stance as does Talley. However, the combatants do not seem to notice your group watching from behind.
The clockwork mechanisms hover for a moment and then drop out of sight downwards while your two coterie members and the Lupine float up and away into the night sky!
Sounds of Mortals from the street below exclaiming the details of the outrageous site can be heard even this high up.
Talley grimaces, "Time to go".
Sascha shakes her head, "No better to stay than to be caught up in the investigation which will likely take place very soon. This is a breach of the Camarilla Masquerade, but Mustafa will likely be able to quell it, I suspect".
Talley retorts, "I am not familiar with the metal, whatever they are, but based on symbols and jewelry that Lupine was a Silent Strider".
He turns to the coterie, "Was your coterie members aware that their contact was a Lupine? One quite well versed in our kind I might add".
Sascha finally turns around, her appearance is androgynously perfect and flawless in form. The face covered by odd black tattoos. The eyes are a piercing shade of sky blue. "It does not matter, they are fleeing the scene and with what appears to be good reason. I also do not know what those creatures are, but they are clearly the work of enemies of the Magus.
Celestyn's Spear has a mission, one that despite the loss of some of their coterie, they must press through.
It is time.
Talley stand back and away.
My friends, assume positions within the pentagrams. Before you are chalices, each of you, spill vitae into the chalice before you. Once you are done, place them before you. Speak not and move not until you are bidden to".
"The Gargoyle follows them. It just took flight from near the train station." Marcus comments before moving to position to begin the ritual but refrains from spilling his blood into the chalice until Henry does so.
Jim snaps back to attention, trying to remain present and mindful in spite of the improbable and wildly dangerous struggle going on overhead.
"Uh... " he pats himself down for a moment, looking for a knife. Obviously he is somewhat rattled, as any Kindred will just use a bite to draw blood and lick the wound closed later... which he does after a moment.
Henry is at a loss for words, and it takes him a moment to regain his bearings. His focus is on the sight occurring just outside the window.
He nods in confirmation, seeing the gargoyle's flight as well. "Perhaps they'll have a chance with its aid, though I doubt it. A regrettable loss of resources, but the mission must come first." He tries to avoid thinking about how easily that fate could have befallen them had they met with the contact as well. Perhaps had they all stuck together they could have survived, and his poor leadership ensured the loss of some of their coterie. But the time for such self recrimination would be later.
He's given an order from an elder, and he follows it, silently bleeding into the cup.
"Indeed..." Badger says, his eyes lingering on the gargoyle's flight as he moves into position. "A shame."
He bleeds into the chalice.
Perception + Alertness:
Wenzel looking up then heeding her words bleeds into the chalice.
Sascha nods in approval as the Coterie readies the chalices with their vitae. The sounds from outside diminish as the intensity of the encounter has been cut off by the retreat of your allies away from the clockwork creatures by taking to the air. If the battle will continue, it will be nowhere near where you are all located now.
The chalices rise out of your hands of their own accord as the candles behind each of you begin to flicker. Talley goes to the closet and brings out a larger bowl, also covered in Tremere runes. Sascha speaks, "The chalices and this bowl were all retrieved from a bloodline of Clan Tremere that grew in size east of Ceoris when the Clan was young, the Telyavelic Tremere. The Ventrue warlord Jürgen the Sword-Bearer destroyed most of those cousins before the fires of the Inquisition at the start of the War of the Princes.
However, these relics came to me and I preserved them as a relic of times past".
The bowl hovers before her and into it is spilled your vitae from all of the chalices. Talley then brings to her what appears to be a scroll case sealed in wax. The contents are opened, once again of their own volition and poured into the bowl.
Sascha continues, "The Vitae of Celestyn himself".
She removes a dagger from her belt which was so well hidden none of you even saw the blade! It too rises and begins to stir the bowl's contents.
"Once this concoction is stirred, you shall all partake. This shall replace the vitae you just lost and connect you to each other and to Celestyn, strengthening the bonds of your Coterie. If you cast the ritual which allows you to speak with your Sire, picture Celestyn in their stead and you shall be able to communicate with him directly.
Now. Drink".
The bowl floats to Henry first, and then down the line of the Coterie by Order of Acolyte Ranking. As the bowl moves, Sascha begins chanting the accompanying ritual and the candles begin to burn even hotter. Her chant sounds like some sort of ancient Slavic tongue mixed with Greek.
Henry drinks, allowing himself the briefest moment to savor the sensations.
Following the lead of his superior, Marcus drinks when the cup comes to him.
Wenzel drinks when the chalice comes to him.
Badger and Jim follow suit. As the last of the vitae is consumed and Sascha completes her chant, the candles burn out completely. The only light comes from the window. But that light becomes fuzzy as your eyes begin to water, slowly and then all at once! Of course, Vampiric eyes do not water, they bleed. You see the effects of the rite turn that blood into a fine mist which sparkles and begins to evaporate.
The experience is disorienting, and you fall to your knees. you hear footsteps in the room, receding out of the room. The door opens and Sascha's voice calls out, "It is done. Let Celestyn know that I have done as he has bid. That which was owed is now paid as Vykos always pays its debts. I am not entirely certain as to what this game is, but I bid you good fortune in it. A pity I cannot journey with you. It is a night of strange alliances indeed.
In the middle of the floor is a scroll case with your itinerary. Celestyn's seal is upon it. Where you go and what you do now only you and he know". The door then closes softly.
Left alone, you feel as if a weight has been lifted from your mind, and from your Beast. You are not entirely certain why you feel this way, but this is a feeling you have never experienced before in your Vampiric existences. As you look at your fellow Coterie members, you do indeed feel a renewed sense of camaraderie with them, a sense of obligation you did not have before the rite...
"Vykos, I know that name. Sabbat affiliated. But why would she reference him?"
"That certainly puts a different perspective on things..." Badger mumbles to himself. Then, hearing Henry's question, he says aloud, "No one ever told us she was a member of clan Tremere."
James hesitates when the chalice is offered to him.
Didn't he hear something once before, about the Sabbat mixing blood... ?
... but he is in no position to refuse, unfortunately.
Rolls:
Zhang:
Marcus:
Badger:
Henry:
Celestyn:
Intelligence+Politics+Kindred Lore DC 8-
"Yes I have heard the same in regard to the Sabbat since its inception at the end of the Anarch Revolt. What have we gotten into?"
Marcus shrugs, being largely unfamiliar with Kindred politics outside of the Pyramid, taking in his companions' commentary about Vykos.
James hesitates when the chalice is offered to him.
Didn't he hear something once before, about the Sabbat mixing blood... ?
... but he is in no position to refuse, unfortunately.
The questions asked to the empty room go unanswered.
Henry picks up the packet in the middle of the room.
There is paperwork for an itinerary with fake names and identifications for the Coterie to board a ship sailing out of the Bosporos, the Yeni Başlangıçlar. The ship will exit the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez canal with the intended destination of Hong Kong. The ship exits tomorrow night.
There is also a brief handwritten letter from Celestyn affixed to a wax sealed scroll.
"My friends.
By now you have undergone the ancient blood rites. You may feel confused as to why this was necessary. Fear not, all shall be explained when next we speak. Within the scroll case is a Ritual that shall allow you to communicate with me directly. Cast this scroll after the ship has disembarked and much shall be revealed.
Celestyn".
Also included in the package is a significant amount Yuan. The bills are many no denomination over $5.
Henry reads the letter out loud, then turns to look at the others.
"This confirms it. We were the victims of some foul Sabbat ritual that attempted to destroy our connection and loyalty to the Pyramid. Even looking at the rest of you, I feel a certain unnatural pull. It is strongest in Acolytes Townshend and Zhang, weaker in Acolytes Badger and Rainer.I feel the slightest hint of... something to Celestyn, but the kinship does not compare to the feelings I have towards the rest of you. Perhaps because he was not here to partake in the ritual?" he muses.
"Whatever the case,we must report this to our superiors as soon as possible, lest we all be seen as traitors to the Pyramid. We will speak with Celestyn as he wills and hear of his explanation, but be on guard. I am loathe to consider such an esteemed member of our clan a traitor, but the facts seem irrefutable. He is working with our enemies and subjected us to their rituals. Now that we have been subjected to them he may think we are easily manipulated into serving his goals rather than our Clan's. Though he tries to keep his voice as calm as usual there is some anxiety behind Henry's eyes. Without the familiar weight of his bonds to the clan enveloping him, he feels naked and filthy.He desperately wishes to prove he remain loyal.
The Coterie sticks to the plan, exits the Hotel and heads to their own Hotel, skipping the rendezvous point based on the events earlier in the night.
Donato and Sarah do not return....
The Year of Our Lord Monday January 4, 1911 – Constantinople - The Ottoman Empire
Your Retainers are busy preparing your belongings to board the ship and you all convene in one room, one last time, hoping for the return of your companions. After all, to lose two of the seven so early could be a blow to the success of this endeavor. Especially when the Coterie is plagued with doubts based upon their own suspicions of what took place the evening before.
As you are about to leave the hotel and head to the Yeni Başlangıçlar, there is a knock on the door.
Looking at the others, Henry quietly advises them to be alert and ready for trouble. Then he makes his way to the door and very carefully opens it.
Standing at the door is a familiar but surprising sight. It is the "mask" of the Gargoyle Eliastor. "Master Gaden, is it alright if I enter?"
Surprised but relieved at least one useful asset survived, Henry nods. "Of course. Any word on the fate of the others? I'd like a full report on what you observed." he instructs.