The Gargoyle enters and takes a seat on the bed, the illusion that covers his form is put into stark contrast as the bed creaks under his enormous bulk.
"Master Elba instructed that I return to the Hotel this night to join the group in its endeavors moving forward and to inform you what took place in the meeting with the agent of the Magus. Mistress Cordon has vowed to protect Master Elba in my absence.
According to Master Elba, the entry to the room was not a problem. The meeting proceeded smoothly until the Lupine somehow detected that Master and Mistress were not what they seemed.
He assumed his man-beast form, shocking them. Master Elba used his powers to animate the bed to keep the beast at bay. The scuffle must have triggered those who were indeed spying upon the contact to enter the fray.
The creatures, if they were alive, were some sort of clockwork beasts capable of independent movement and combat tactics. Employed with nets, they sought to capture those present. Such nets may have worked against a Mags but were a nuisance to Vampires and Lupines. Able to free themselves they entered hand to hand combat briefly with the creatures. However, they proved difficult to injure and instead of continuing to fight and potentially bring Mortals into the fray, compromising the mission of Celestyn's Spear, Master Elba called for a truce with the Lupine.
The beast then grabbed Master and Mistress and fled through the window. Not to be denied the clockwork creatures charged out, Master Elba utilized his powers to fly briefly.
At this time, when they made their escape, I took flight to pursue and engage thinking the Lupine a foe. Master Elba waived me off of my attack vector and bade me to follow.
Crossing the straights, they landed and the parties discussed what their next plan of action should be. The Lupine is taking the documents he received to Casablanca to meet with is contact. Master and Mistress agreed to accompany him to ensure they were not trailed back to the rest of the Coterie in Constantinople.
As I was not seen by the foes, I was instructed to return here and offer myself as a bodyguard to the collective Coterie. If you do not wish to retain my services I shall fly out and return to Master Elba".
"Given the circumstances, a bodyguard seems like a reasonable precaution..."
"The mages contact was a Lupine? They do seem to like outsourcing their errands," muses Henry.
"It is good the other survive. Never a promising assumption when dealing with wolves. With luck they will be able to learn something from all this that benefits the clan, even if not our goals specifically.
"You are to stay with us. Things have grown more perilous, and we could use the additional support." He tells the servant.
Eliastor nods, "Very well Master Gaden, I shall remain. Master Elba anticipated that this may be the case".
-------
With nothing left to do, and no more surprises, the Coterie, Celestyn's Spear head with the Gargoyle in the lead to the port to board the Yeni Başlangıçlar.
The ship pulls out of port soon enough and the lights from the fantastic city of Constantinople, the jewel of the Ottoman and many Empires before, fades into the distance as the ship enters the Sea. The Coterie is quiet, all are perturbed by the twist that this task has taken.
Mages, Werewolves, Clockwork Men, a Sabbat Priscus! What has the Coterie gotten itself into?
Henry fingers the scroll as the rest of the Coterie looks to him, waiting for him to cast the spell and, hopefully, find some damned answers.
The Coterie sits in their luxury cabin on the ship. More spacious here than the cars on the Orient Express that is for certain. The cabin is connected to ten separate rooms with a private and public hallway leading to each. This allows room for your retinue to stay close by day and night. The cabin is one level down from those with balconies, no chance of sunlight penetrating at all as the "portholes" are all for show.
The sense the Coterie gets is that this ship was designed for Kindred travel in mind and it leads the mind to wonder if any others are on this ship with them. For now though, there is more important business at hand. Despite his status as Kindred, Eliastor is not present. He is in the Public hall to ensure the ritual is not dirturbed.
Henry grips the scroll tightly and begins to cast, the Coterie can tell he is angry as he casts. The feeling of his betrayal at the circumstances of the ritual clear as day on his otherwise unreadable face.
The ghostly apparition of Celestyn appears. He appears quite calm though his eyebrows raise as he scans the room, "Greeting my Spear, I do not see Donato or Sarah present, have you encountered trouble so early into this journey?"
Henry is quietly furious, though also guilt ridden about that. He'd always been taught to obey his superiors in the Pyramid. Celestyn was an ancient member of the clan and well regarded. To even think the man capable of disloyalty was impossible, especially on a mission sanctioned by The Founder himself! Yet their mystical tie to the clan had been subverted, and they had undertaken a ritual used by the traitors to their house.They needed answers.
Celestyn's form fills Henry with the slightest hint of artificial loyalty. He's able to easily repress it--easier than some of the bonds this damnable ritual had forced upon him with his colleagues-- but it only makes him more distrusting of the man.
"They live, but have encountered an unexpected difficulty and are now separated from us, perhaps permanently. They also were not present for the ritual." He reports. "Concerning said ritual, along with our contact and the severing of our ties to our clan... you told us you would give us more information as to why this was necessary. I would respectfully ask for immediate clarification." Henry's tone is level, but even that is a sign of his fury, as it normally would be far more deferential.
Celestyn remains passive, "We shall discuss the unexpected difficulty after I provide you with clarification.
It is your loyalty to the Clan which attracted my attention Acolyte Gaden. I am glad to see that your loyalty was not borne from the bond to the Council alone.
It was necessary to extract your Coterie from the Bonds that bind you to the Clan. I included my Blood in the Rite because I was one of the few members of the Clan who was never bound utilizing that formality. That is also the reasoning behind why I made sure that Vykos did NOT infect the Vaulderie with his Blood or the Blood of any other Sabbat members, such a Rite would have ostracized you from the Clan as Antitribu and that is the exact opposite outcome I am hoping for.
Myself and your Coterie are now the ONLY Tremere, not marked Antitribu who are not at least one third bound to the Council and thus to Tremere himself.
This is important because we cannot be compelled by the rest of the Clan and we will need that freedom to act to rescue the Clan from the Thing that has subtly, ever so subtly, been undermining our House from practically its founding. The Antediluvian, Saulot who you shall come to know as Zao Lat and his second Brood. We are indeed, the last chance to save the Clan from his machinations".
Henry listens to the explanation. A moment passes before he bows his head.
"I beg you forgive my doubts, Lord Celestyn. I should have known better than to question your loyalty to the clan. I accept whatever punishment is required, but request it wait until after I have assisted in our mission." It is all he can do not to grovel, but Henry is a Tremere, and such displays were undignified. It does come as a relief that he can do what he has always done and trust in his elders.
"Saulot? Tremere dispatched him himself. You mean to say that he has infected our house with his corruption, even The Founder himself?' It seemed impossible to even conceive, but Celestyn seemed to believe it, and his words were hard at that moment for Henry to doubt. "Please, tell us all that you can!"
Celestyn shakes his head, [b]"You shall receive no recriminations from me Acolyte Gaden. You were right to question my actions. Our strength is loyalty, but it is also our weakness.
I shall indeed tell you all, I had to wait until you were alone and in a place where no prying eyes or ears could see or hear. Even my own Childe is ignorant to all of this. This tale shall take time and any of you may feel free to interrupt as you need for further explanation.
In that waning of the first millennia The Order of Hermes began to find that the power of their magic was waning. Or at least so Tremere himself believed. We now understand that this change was wrought by the rise of the Order of Reason.
Tremere and his greatest apprentices at the time sought to find a solution to this problem as, if magic failed, then Tremere himself, whose life had already been extended by magic, would perish.
Etrius sought to harness the power of demonic forces, without having to make a pact with the demons themselves as such creatures are treacherous by nature. His failure ended up resulting in the sealing of a large part of Ceoris, our eastern stronghold.
Meerlinda sought the answer in ancient texts. The Egyptians, and other ancient cultures, indeed had created an Elixir of Life, which allows creatures known as the Undying to live forever. The downside, they must also spend time in the underworld. Regardless, this elixir proved to be impossible to replicate.
Goratrix on the heels of these failures began experimenting with the blood of Cainites. He believed that some elixir made up of elements of Meerlinda's research, Vampiric vitae, and Quintessence, the pure essence of magic, could yield a draught that would grant true immortality.
In his research he attracted the attention, unbeknownst to Tremere, of an entity that called itself Comte de Saint Germaine. It was this creature that assisted Goratrix in locating many of the Tzimisce and Gangrel Caintes utilized in his experiments.
Goratrix invited Tremere and six of the founder's closest advisers to participate in the completed ritual, which promised true immortality. Whether Goratrix knew what would happen is known only by him and, perhaps, Tremere, but at the completion of the ritual the participants fell unconscious and were reborn as vampires, their avatars destroyed and magical abilities lost. The mages had gained their immortality but lost the power they lived for. Though the others would likely have slain Goratrix for his folly (or trickery), Tremere ordered them to halt and declared that they would remain at his side, leaving their chantries in the hands of subordinates while they discovered the powers of their new forms in secret.
Jim absorbs this narrative with a good degree of Stoicism, though occasionally his facial expression twitches just enough to get across the hints of deep distress that he feels.
"Zao Lat... I heard that name, once I think, while I resided in Zhongguo before."
"This is... uh... all operating on the highest levels of the Jyhad, it sounds like."
"What does Zao Lat want? What goal is served in subverting the clan?" James says, then shakes his head. "I suppose there's little way to know; how can we know the motivations of a creature that predates the Biblical flood?"
"So what is our ultimate goal? To free our House from the clutches of the ancients?"
Celestyn nods in response to Jim, "Indeed, I had also heard that Zao Lat had stayed in Zhongguo. I journeyed there myself to discover what I could of his time there, but it was too long ago for any of the locals to remember. There is one there that Zao Lat did learn from, my hope is that your group can make contact with him while on this journey, if he still exists.
As far as what he wants, I believe he has what he wants, control of our Clan. However, as you shall learn as this tale unfolds, I believe that his control is not as complete as he would like. Why he wants this control, is less clear. It may well be that his time with the Kuei-jin changed him in ways he himself did not expect to be changed.
Correct, my goal, the goal of Celestyn's Spear, and what I hope will become your goal, is to free Tremere and thereby free our Clan".
Henry listens with growing alarm as everything he thought about their clan was disproven. If Celestyn was correct, their transition into vampires was not a carefully coordinated plan but an accident, a miscalculation done in something of a panic. That they now knew that Mage society still held strong only made things worse. How could Tremere and the others have been so wrong?
But as he listens, the uncharacteristic doubt fades. Tremere had taken charge when the others had fallen into rage and despair. He had made the best of the situation and had helped to form the clan that stood at the top of their kind to this very night. It reflected the sort of logical pragmatism that the Tremere were known for as a group. And once the clan was purged of Saulot's taint, they would become even stronger.
He waits for Celestyn to continue.
Celestyn continues, "House Tremere's rise is well known to you all and so I will not delve into these details. At the time, I was still a Mortal Magus of the House and not privy to the awful fate that had befallen my comrades. However, I do remember the presence of Saint Germaine within Ceoris.
He in fact, aided me in my studies of the Tzimisce to understand how they commanded their fledglings so thoroughly. This process of course, was the Blood Bond. As a Mortal I was bewildered as to why these Night Fiends had taken such a keen interest in our House when heretofore, our interactions were sporadic at best.
I brought my knowledge to Etrius, my new Mentor with my older Mentor Persigno having been slain by the Fiends, who I presume brought that knowledge to Tremere himself. Soon thereafter, Tremere bound the Inner Circle to his will. It was after this that I received the Embrace from Etrius. From the beginning you see, the Clan was bound to a central leader. However, Etrius, outside of the one time I supped from him, never bound me further to himself, or to the Clan.
Having begun to convert our youngest talent to Vampirism, Tremere and the Inner Circle knew that our future lay within Cainite society as it was only a matter of time before the Order of Hermes discovered our secret and would banish us.
Once again, though much research was conducted by Etrius, Meerlinda, and myself, Saint Germaine contributed significant lore of the Cainites to us. Tremere became convinced that only through usurping the blood of an Ancient Antediluvian could Clan Tremere rise from its troublesome beginnings. The two members of this group which were targeted by Tremere were Set and Saulot.
It is not clear to me whether the possibility of committing Amaranth upon set was ever fully explored. However, Saulot was discovered to have interred himself within a tomb in the Anatolian desert. Tremere diablerized the Antediluvian, during that Diablerie though, alone amongst the others, Etrius saw Saulot's third eye open as the ancient was being devoured and a smile crept across the creatures face.
After this incident, Saint Germaine is not heard from again near or around the Clan until he returns to inform the Inner Circle that Goratrix has resurfaced among the Sabbat. Thus, he only returns to aid the Clan in weeding out those who would prove their disloyalty. I will speak later on what my thoughts are on some of these matters, for now, I shall stick with facts and not conjecture.
Etrius kept his mouth closed as the group returned to Ceoris. Upon arrival, Tremere promptly entered torpor, leaving the Inner Council to lead the clan and destroy the remaining Salubri. Etrius was troubled by what he saw and spent much of his time hovering over the body of his Master.
There are rumors as to what transpired with Tremere's body including his transformation into a giant white worm. Whether these things are true or not, Etrius noticed over the next few centuries that Tremere's waking moments involved often contradictory orders given to the Council.
With the Inner Circle Blood Bound to Tremere, and the rest of the pyramid bound to the Inner Circle, Tremere had a greater ability to control all of his descendants than any other Ancient ever had. This structure began to worry Etrius for if Tremere was no longer the head of the organization, whom were the Tremere serving?
Finally, in 1313 Etrius sat me down and transferred to me, the exact memories of what had transpired, erasing it from his own memory. He feared that Tremere was indeed not entirely in control of his own faculties. Knowing from his own research that Saulot had journeyed to the east, to the east I was sent to gather information on Saulot who I would come to know as Zao Lot".
Wenzel, Badger, and (oddly) Jim have heard that he was a mysterious figure that cropped up in the Vienna Prime Chantry in the mid 1700's. Rumors circulated that he was an original Inner Circle Member though by the end of that century he was once again separated from Clan business. More than that, none of you can recall.
Henry continues to listen to Celestyn's tale with conflicted emotions. He waits to hear of what he learned in the east before commenting further.
"Is it just me, or does this all sound like a very long-term manipulation?"
"But that's just to the likes of us, right?" Badger says in response to Jim's question. "You said it yourself we're talking about an 'antediluvian.'" He puts a bit of dramatic flourish on the word. "'Long' is a matter of perspective."
Celestyn nods at the Coteries statements, "I think it only appears that way my friends.
I believe that the will of Tremere is pitting itself against the will of Saulot for control of Tremere's body".
"But this outsider, the Count? He mysteriously appears and disappears—conveniently—from the narrative. Someone either withholds information from Tremere the Founder, or deliberately misleads him—or he knew but had his own long game plans anyway," says Jim.
"My mind keeps turning back to the Count. He shows up very conveniently right at a critical time and then vanishes right when the consequences of everything are coming down. It seems contrived, like someone found out about Tremere's plan and intersected it with their own for their own reasons."
"Tremere surely knows that he's not in full control," Henry forces out, disloyal as the thought struck him. "Wouldn't he have alerted the Inner Circle in moments where he had the upper hand? Unless Saulot is so powerful he's never had the control to do that." It was a terrifying thought.
He nods at Jim's words. "That has also troubled me. The Count seems there at critical steps in the clan's formation. His aid has no doubt proven useful, but it does seem rather convenient. What else is known of him? " he asks, hating this new sense of paranoia that has befallen him.
"Sadly, I've not necessarily heard of this Count, unless of course he happens to be the source of the urban legend - perhaps masquerade violator - from New Orleans, Louisiana from a few years back."
Seemingly able to speak freely for the first time since Tiberius embraced forty-some-odd years ago, the feeling is nearly alien to Marcus as he turns to the spectral form of Celestyn. "What exactly is it we are supposed to be going after?"
Celestyn nods to Jim, "Indeed Acolyte Zhang, it is not clear what role the Count plays, though I have my suspicions, which I shall reveal soon enough.
My conclusion Acolyte Gaden, is that Tremere does not wish to reveal this to us. Imagine how the Pyramid might crumble if Tremere were to reveal this awful set of circumstances? I knew him in Mortal life, our Master has an enormous ego, that ego can cut both ways. It can lead to new heights or new lows. With a sudden twist of fate, confidence becomes overconfidence.
In our Masters defense, this sort of occurrence is referenced nowhere in any research that any of us had ever done, including Goratrix's meticulous research. Whether committing Amaranth leads to the victim usurping the body of the perpetrator only in limited circumstances or all of the time, I do not know. Certainly if this were a common occurrence, woe to the Sabbat.
As to what else is known of the Count, I asked Goratrix that very question myself last year. He had no memory of the Count. Does that mean that the Betrayer's memory was wiped by Tremere or by the Count? Either way, his memory was quite thoroughly wiped clean. It was through my contact with Goratrix that I was able to arrange for you all to be where you are now for I had no way to contact Vykos directly. More on those details later I promise.
The Count was active from approximately the 1750's through the 1800's within our Clan, the Victorian Age was a time of great expansion for us. I of course watched it from afar in my quest. His influence on the rise of Occultism aided that growth. The last report of him places him at the head of a Cult in Los Angeles a dozen years ago. Nothing further do I know presently.
To the point Acolyte Townshend, as I expected of you. I will get to that soon enough as well.
In the year 1313, I traveled to the East. Ostensibly my mission was to understand what power could be derived from the mysteries of the East after all, our Clan and most Cainite Clans had no influence there. My true purpose, known only to me, was to gather intelligence on Saulot's wanderings to the East to better understand our enemy.
While the Clan was villainizing the Salubri as soul stealers and slaughtering them, my travels led me down another path entirely. Saulot had been known as the most gentle and peaceful of the Antediluvians, or so it is said in the Book of Nod. He had reached or was within reach of Golconda, the state of the ultimate quelling of the Beast. Rumors of that state being reached via magic by a Methuselah before the Fall of the Second City utilizing ingredients from the East I presume are part of what led Saulot there. Also, eastern mysticism is quite different from the magic of the west.
I believe that Beschi discussed the Cathayans briefly but I shall add more color to his teachings. They are indeed not like us, not cursed of Caine, they are more like zombies that inhabit dead forms though they do not rot like the Samedi. They are comprised of five factions or philosophies, though there are a few others very limited in practice. Devil Tigers, Cranes, Shadows, Thousand Whispers, and Dragons. They have no discernable differences and unlike Cainites, these Cathayans may be able to enter the daytime freely. Some drink blood but others seem to absorb tass from humans simply through stealing the humans breath.
Based on what I have read in ancient scrolls and what I was taught, though it was entirely through heresay, Saulot sat at the feet of the masters of these philosophies in his quest for Golconda.
Each time he did so, he had a radical shift in persona, so radical that in some instances he created entirely new Bloodlines".
Henry takes this information with a frown. Before tonight he had thought of Tremere as a god in flesh. Surely their founder possessed a good reason for hiding his condition from the rest of the clan... regardless, Henry would do everything he could to purge him of the malignant influence which attempted to control him and their clan. As a loyal member of the Pyramid he could do nothing less.
" "What weaknesses do these Cathayans possess?" he asks, ever focused on their mission. "As for Saulot, he seems susceptible to sudden personality shifts if each master transformed him utterly. Perhaps you are correct and his fight with Tremere has influenced him more than he expected."
"The Cathayans like us are susceptible to both Fire and Sunlight and wound from supernatural creatures. However, they are heartier against the suns' rays and can survive much longer than we can.
Some of their powers allow them to absorb or heal damage more quickly than we can.
Some are staked by wood while some are staked by metal. I still do not understand why.
My advice is to avoid confrontation and negotiate. They are generally much more reasonable than Elder Cainites provided that you are respectful of their Domains.
The weakest of their kind are feral beasts who cannot be reasoned with but they are much less powerful and less likely to be encountered".
Celestyn shrugs at Henry's personality shift theory, "I believe that the shifts were not sudden but a long drawn out process.
The Sabbat lose Humanity and start on the road to different philosophies of Vampirism that they call Paths of Enlightenment. In the Dark Ages, such Vampiric philosophies were much more common among the Cainites of the Long Night. The Camarilla changed all of that with the Masquerade.
While Silence of the Blood was adhered to in some realms or cities or fiefdoms, just as often, our kind were the Lords and Masters of their Domains. Humans were a much more religious and superstitious lot and accepted that some things in the dark were to simply be avoided as the Devil's work.
The Masquerade instead adhered to a practice of complete denial of the supernatural. Therefore, anyone who adhered to the "old ways" would have to change them to sympathize with Mortals. Some of our kind are less "humane" than others but all follow that same tenet of Humanity.
The switch from one path to another requires some degeneration of your current belief sets to build up new belief sets. This process is fraught with peril for unless your adherence to the tenets of Faith are at least somewhat developed, you risk slipping to the Beast. I believe that Saulot followed this process several times. At his lowest points, i.e. the points closest to when he lost himself to the Beast, he would create a new Brood.
That Brood was created with a completely different set of beliefs and imbued with a completely different set of Disciplines. Thus, although each Bloodline was of Saulot, they were different in so very many ways.
I have come to know of five such Bloodlines.
The first and ironically the last, are the Salubri. His most ancient of the line were Healers, put on the path to enlightenment. His most recent were warriors, placed on a path to destroy evil. This becomes relevant later.
The Second, are a death cult. I am not aware of the name of the Bloodline only that it exists. I suspect that the Comte de Saint Germaine is a member of this very Bloodline. They believe that the Antediluvians shall one day rise and slay all of those who are blood bound to them. A sentiment shared by the Sabbat, long before the Sabbat were in existence. They are of course not the first such Gehenna Cult to ever exist but they may be the first to have had a hand in slaying an Antediluvian if my suspicions about the Count are correct. The powers they possess allow them to exactly duplicate another Cainite, a synthesis not unlike vicissitude but yet wholly different. The one I met stated that with enough time, they could even rob others of our kind of their supernatural powers.
The third, the Wu Zao, quest for knowledge. They were Embraced by Saulot to expand his search for lore, their obsession for lore overrides their better judgment though and I believe may be responsible for the many Kuei Jin believers that Zao Lot was a thief and liar as this brood had a reputation for behaving badly.
The fourth is the darkest of the dark rumors. Saulot created a brood of Baali, yes the rumored devil worshiping Baali! The Antediluvian Ashur created the line that most recognize as that most black-hearted of the Bloodline. Those created by Saulot, used the darkness to combat the darkness, or so they claim. In response to this error, the Salubri warriors were created to wipe them out
So in truth, much of what we said in our propaganda about Tremere was no lie, I presume such lore was provided by the Count as I believe he knows much of what I discovered in my journeys.
These are perhaps the key things that I learned about Saulot's activities while on his travels to the East. I admit, some of this is indeed conjecture and based upon educated guesses. After centuries, exhausted and frustrated, I then turned south to the lands of India hoping that perhaps I might find some answers there even though I found little evidence that he turned in that direction".
Marcus stands silent for a while before again feeling his new found freedom to express himself about the Clan or its motives. "While this is all fascinating, this all seems way the hell above our paygrade. Where do we come into this, Celestyn?"
Celestyn laughs heartily, "Acolyte Townshend calls me to account!
And it is fair, I have been long winded, but I feel the background is as important as the mission itself. Indulge me a bit longer.
During my time in India, I obviously Sired Master Beschi as I was in need of a scholar to translate Sanskrit for me. From Beschi's translations over the decades I finally found what I had sought as the Chinese had, in Buddhist purges, destroyed their writings of the legendary magical item.
The, Linglong Baota, the Exquisite Golden Pagoda is magical item that can magically imprison any being. Thus, with it, we can exercise the soul of Saulot from our Master and the Clan can rise unimpeded once more.
After I sent Besch back West, I knew that proof of its existence alone was not sufficient I had to ascertain where it was located. My time remaining in the East, I was able to do exactly that, discover its whereabouts. However, I alone could not retrieve the item and return to the west, for that, I needed help.
That, Acolyte Townshend, is where Celestyn' Spear plays its part".
Henry feels a certain degree of unease at realizing just how subtly their clan had been undermined over the centuries. Who could even tell where Tremere's goals ended and Saulot's began?
But they had to focus on what they could control. Their coterie had been tasked with the honor of freeing Tremere and the clan from the interloper and his tricks. There could be no other alternative; a failure here meant everything they strived for would always be tainted, in the service of some unknowable elder.
"Then our objective is clear. We must retrieve this Pagoda and free our Founder at once. I must ask why we were chosen for this mission? Please do not mistake me, it is the highest of honors, but surely something at this level of importance would be better served by recruiting those of Elder age. Was there a specific reason we were chosen?"
Celestyn nods, "Indeed, you each have a special skill set that adds to the mission. The loss of Sarah and Donato will be difficult but not impossible to overcome, having a Gargoyle along would have been quite helpful as well.
Also consider, an Elder steeped in the false beliefs of the Clan would have been much more difficult to persuade for assistance than those who are younger such as yourselves. It is not clear whether they would have aided me at all, or betrayed me to the Inner Circle for their own ambitions.
Even my own Sire is still in the dark regarding this mission as is my own Childe.
We are on our own. This means that while you ay interact with Tremere once you arrive in Hong Kong, they should not be informed of the true mission. The mission is to establish a Chantry in the Zhengzhou area. Of course, this will require you to clear the permission to lay ley lines with the local Kuei Jin, honey and flies of course. Once you do so, the pathway to the Ruins of Yin shall be revealed to you. It is within those ruins that I believe the Pagoda awaits.
Once you exit, return to the newly laid Chantry and I will activate the teleportation ritual which shall bring you to Ceoris. There we will formulate a plan for how to reach Tremere and free him from the influence of Saulot".
"The Linglong Baota!" says James with a laugh. "Bishamon's pagoda? Possibly a resonating qi trap like the ones used by the Eight Drunken Immortals?" He can't help but chuckle a bit, but quickly subdues himself.
"Well, why not? The world is full of strange things."
"Oh, the metal and wood—the Chinese elemental cycle is not the same as the Greek one used in the West. Metal and wood are two of the five cardinal elements, the others being water, earth, and fire. (Air is not an element.) This is from Taoist alchemy—wu xing."
It was quite the challenge. They had to work with locals who may well be hostile, adjust to a land that most of them were entirely unfamiliar with, and recover a magical artifact that had been thought lost to time. In most circumstances the odds would have been against them.
But they were Tremere. And Celestyn had chosen them. They would not fail their clan in this.
Jim's assistance especially would be invaluable at learning all they could about China and its customs. Henry intended to speak with him at length to ensure he had a better understanding of the facts on the ground-- doubtless the man could help brush up his language skills as well.
Celestyn nods to Jim, "Your understanding of the myths and customs of the Middle Kingdom will indeed be invaluable.
For now, settle in and enjoy the trip by Sea. You shall arrive in five to six weeks in Hong Kong. If you do not possess sufficient Herd, feed as inconspicuously as you can. Use this time to practice the language with Jim or learn new rituals as you see fit.
Once you arrive Thomas Wyncham will certainly seek to meet with you. Entertain him as he is a member of the Inner Circle but remember he will stop at nothing to stop you if he knows of our true purpose.
Your ultimate destination is Zhengzhou, the capital city of Henan Province. When you arrive, contact me utilizing this same ritual and we shall begin to lay down the groundwork for the proper rituals.
Have you any further questions for me at this time?"
With no further questions, Celestyn fades from view, leaving the Coterie to its own devices.
In the next several days the Coterie keeps to itself in its quarters. However, rumors of the beauty of passage through the Suez Canal brings everyone topside. Indeed, the scenery you can see while sailing along the sea-level waterway is quite breathtaking as dusk settles in. To the west of the Suez Canal is the Nile Delta, awash in foliage, while to the east you see the arid landscape of the Sinai Peninsula.
As you all watch the ship move through you also notice a rather tall blonde woman. She is of average beauty but her hair is long and stands out quite starkly. You get the sense she is Kindred. She looks serenely in the direction of the Nile Delta. She is flanked by two men dressed in the current fashions of London businessmen.
Henry attempts to spend the next nights learning to ward against the demons as was suggested to him.
The sight of the Nile is enough to make even him feel slightly appreciative. He's never been this far outside England before. But his introspection fades as he notices the woman. Another of their kind could complicate things, and he has no intention of engaging with her unless she initiates things first. One of his coterie might however. If asked, he would advise against it but not give an explicit order that it is to be avoided.
Wenzel brings his bird of prey on deck. So close to land, the hunting would be good, instead of the dead meat it must feed on for most of the journey. He lets it unfurl its wings. The Ghoul bird is quite majestic, and while Mortals cannot see, its speed is not that of a normal bird.
After a quick hunt, it bypasses Wenzel and lands on the ship, in fact, on the railing right next to the Kindred sharing the deck several feet away. She turns and nods to Wenzel. The contact convinces her, and her entourage to approach.
"Magnificent, what is the birds name?"
Wenzel looks over to her "Her name is Sarie. would you like to see her up close?"
She nods, "Certainly".
As you move closer Wenzel she whispers, "There are certainly very many of you onboard this ship, are you all bound for Hong Kong or a port on the way?"
Wenzel whispers to her as caressing the bird "Like my companion I am of the wind and follow along with them. Where might you be headed?"
"So then, you are not companions with these other Kindred aboard?
I head to Hong Kong".
" Well yes we are companions but I follow where they lead for now. Hong Kong, I have never been have you?
She smiles, "I have indeed, many times. I have several interests there that I oversee for the Prince of London.
Then you are a first time traveler?"
"You have found me out as I certainly am. Do you travel to London often?"
She shakes her head, "Rarely, I prefer to stay in Hong Kong, but my Sire prefers not to leave the city. The politics of the place are a powder keg of intrigue. The locals are none too pleased at bending the knee, even to one as powerful as ancient Mithras.
Those Camarilla present in the city are still jockeying for positions of power under Prince Robert Pedder.
If you do not head to Hong Kong, I fear you have been misled, there are very few stops this ship shall be making... I have the bird's name, yours, I do not. Indulge me".
"You may call me Simon. Before I take my leave to my companions what should I call you next we meet?"
"I am Gwendolyn. Certainly if you choose to travel to Hong Kong, you will wish to know the lay of the land, it's what you don't know hat gets you killed in the east. At least, that's what I have found".
She takes her leave with her retainers and heads below deck.
As the other kindred leaves and Wenzel finishes his conversation, Henry approaches him.
"Did you learn anything of use?" he asks.
"She is heading to Hong Kong and wanted to know where we were heading- which I dodged that question. Her name is Gwendolyn, and her sire is based in London and she oversees some interests in Hong Kong for the Prince of London. She "offered" to tell me the lay of the land for Hong Kong because in her experience what you do not know gets you killed in the East. I did not want to engage further with her until we decided next course of action. She was certainly interested that there were many of us."
" It was very wise to limit the information you tell her. Especially as she's working for Mithras." Henry's eyes flash in hatred for a moment before he regains control of his emotions.
"Stay vigilant." he tells the coterie. "I would not advise more than polite disengagement with this particular kindred if she shows up again. If she continues to show interest in our group, we'll need to assume she's a spy and should act accordingly. Subtly, of course."
Wenzel nods in agreement.
The Year of Our Lord Sunday February 27, 1911 -
The rest of the trip proves to be uneventful. The Coterie stays below decks, surrounded by their Retainers and Herd. The occasional snack is Dominated into forgetting they were ever near the Tremere rooms.
Gwendolyn does not attempt to make contact the remainder of the trip.
Soon enough you arrive in Hong Kong.
As you disembark and await your Mortal servants efforts at disembarking, the hustle and bustle of this place is perhaps even more frenetic than it was in Constantinople. While Turkey has been a metropolitan city for centuries, this place is quite young in comparison. Large ships next to small fishing junks and even rowboats give the place a haphazard organization.
The cosmopolitan jewel of the Byzantine Empire and now of the Otttoman Empire had people from seemingly everywhere. While you hear plenty of British voices and accents, you hear far, far more local dialects of China. Cantonese, and a few dialects that Master Beschi mentioned called Hakka and Fukien.
According to Marcus' Retainer who has taken the lead on travel, Celestyn booked the HongKong Hotel, a luxury hotel where the entire 6th floor has been reserved for your group for one month.
As your Retainers look for transport to the Hotel, Gwendolyn disembarks with her small entourage. She grins a bit when she sees Wenzel but does not make direct eye contact.