Story Notes
Book III
Book III: O'er the Ramparts we Watch’d
A Final Nights Chronicle
Story 1: New Eyes in the Night
Chapter 1: A Butcher’s Tale
Gideon Garrison is a butcher serving up only the best cuts of meat from his “Chop Shop” in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Fairfax, Virginia. A fight breaks out in the alleyway near Gideon’s establishment, but he doesn’t believe his eyes when the assailants move as no human could. Gideon meets the Brujah punk James Nash, who embraces him into the world of the Kindred. Gideon navigates his new unlife among monsters, but holds onto his Chop Shop as his Domain.
Chapter 2: A Grasper’s Tale
Arthur Glass is surrounded by privilege: but not his own. He is the child of teachers at the ultra-elite St. Albans Cathedral School. He is embarrassed by his upbringing, as his classmates all come from illustrious and rich backgrounds. Arthur’s father dies in the shadow of the cathedral and Arthur decides not to die poor. He forges a close friendship with the rich and popular Lance. That relationship would come to define the rest of his life. Arthur makes himself ever more useful to the wealthy patron, until one day Lance reveals to him that he is going though some changes and that his family is more than just rich.
Chapter 3: An Apprentice’s Tale
A woman can’t remember anything about herself as she is abducted and thrown in the trunk of a car. She is thrown into the streets, yet is quickly scooped up by a cult and dragged into the Tremere circle. The woman chooses the name of Sarah Strassenfeld and begins her life of servitude in the Warlocks’ cloisters. Though, she still doesn’t understand her past or why all of this is happening to her.
Chapter 4: An Artisan’s Tale
Fiction author and all-around creative, Renata, comes to the attention of an eccentric patron. The two enter a torrid affair where Renata soon comes to realize that she is little more than a prisoner. She meets another who she instantly recognizes as a love from another life. The woman is a Lasombra, and their relationship is a dangerous liaison. After Renata’s abusive sire is … dealt with … Renata takes her place among the pioneers of the far domains of the Empire, carving out a niche for herself and making herself useful, yet holding on to her secret love … often from afar.
Story 2: Escape from Georgetown
The Fall of Georgetown is explored through other eyes, as the Ventrue ghoul Arthur waits for his master and the Baroness Renata presents her gifts to elders at the fateful Elysium while feeling the pull of her secret lover. The Ventrue take down Prince George, only to have the Sabbat attack. Lance embraces his favored ghoul Arthur by mistake, yet the damage is done and all attempt to flee. Camarilla Washington is overrun by the Sabbat amidst a “terrorist” bombing of the International Monetary Fund and mortal pandemonium. Renata joins the escaping Ventrue as they first hide out at the Cathedral school and then try to make it to the border of Alexandria. Across the river in the Camarilla’s Alexandria, the Tremere hold firm to their power, even as they near civil war with the Brujah. Sarah does her part, helping to enact the ritual that will create the Tremere’s “bubble” covering the entire southern Potomac Empire. Gideon Garrison maintains his domain around the Chop Shop, but is pressed into service with the Rangers to keep his relative independence. Gideon is visited by the Seneschal Vittorio and tasked with an important mission: to help the fleeing refugees from the attack to the north. Gideon joins with his Ranger partner, Sarah, and the two head to the Wilson Bridge to help the crossing of the fleeing Renata, Arthur, and those with them.
Story 3: May Old Acquaintance be Forgot
Chapter 1: The Narrow Paths
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 1, part 1: A New Understanding
Asa and Zachary hear gunfire in the farmhouse courtyard and bound down the stairs, Asa bringing with him his sword. Gwen is performing her necromantic rituals on her newest of specimens in the farmhouse basement and misses the commotion at first, though once she does, she makes use of the bones collected from Ashûr’s would-be ossuary in crafting a retinue of skeletal warriors to join her as she ascends the stairs to get outside. All see Rose in the courtyard abandoned to frenzy, polishing off one Giovanni ghoul and moving on to another. The ghoul fires into Rose’s face, the bullet embedding itself in her skull. Though vitae trickles out of her, Rose continues in her rampage as a blur.
Zachary inches closer to Rose, attempting to calm her down. Asa pushes out with his power, opening his third eye and allowing a small cone of True Light to encircle him and his friend, Zachary.
Even while the Beast of Rose is tearing through the Giovanni firing upon her, her soul rests elsewhere . . . alongside her conjoined spirit, Tala. Whether Rose is in a compartment in her own mind to stave off the horrors of what her body is doing or has crossed somewhere into the Astral Plane or another dimension is a matter of belief. To Rose, she knows only that she is in a calm representation of the Shenandoah and with the wolf spirit, Tala.
Tala desperately speaks without words to Rose, entreating her to understand a new Path. For the Path of Men will lead her only to the Beast, the spirit wolf warns. Rose teeters on the brink of wassail, but the Beast is not the only spirit within Rose. Tala begins imparting the tenets of a new mode of morality and Rose pledges her oath to protect the Spirits of the Land and maintain the balance of nature.
And thus it is Rose herself who ends her frenzy and regains her senses, surrounded by the carnage she created. Rose sits on the ground. Zachary moves to hug her, in a sign of support. Gwenevieve, seeing one Giovanni ghoul dead and another grievously wounded, is less than enthusiastic about the mess she surveys as she calls on her skeletal warriors, Paolo and other emerging ghouls to stand down. Asa uses his healing touch to stabilize the dying ghoul as Gwenevieve has her dead family member brought to her basement.
The coterie gathers for an unobserved conversation in the vitae pumps in the central shaft deep in the Temple. Leaning among the tubes and shafts, the troupe hashes out their differences and concerns. Together, they come to a new understanding. Rose and Gwen have a private conversation between the two of them afterwards. Gwen floats the idea that she will use the story of having blood bound Rose to keep her family from seeing Rose as an obstacle to their plans.
Gwen retires to her bones and corpses in the farmhouse basement: she has her skeletal retinue outfit themselves with Enochian armor and sees to her necromancy studies with all of her new specimens…
Rose meditates alone in the belly of the Temple.
Zachary lays next to Asa in the servitor barracks.
The sun crests the sky and all die.
Zachary dreams of the end of a world, though it is unclear if it is the material world he is seeing or some other plane of existence, but it is certainly swept up in a storm of near- unfathomable magnitude, wherever it might have been.
Asa wakes before Zachary. Zachary’s prophetic dreams cause his pores to leak blood in the form of sigils on the ground. A starving Asa is tempted by the blood spilled around him, but manages to hold on long enough for a roused Zachary to bring him a Giovanni blood bag. They decipher the blood sigil and find it saying something about the biblical Abel and a maelstrom being unleashed by fools.
Zachary can feel the tickle of a tendril of the Cobweb at the back of his head. He knows that it is someone with whom he has connected before, and so could be either good news or bad news, but he chooses to allow the feeling in as he examines further. He is relieved to find his friend Joan. Joan, the Malkavian Primogen of Georgetown now hunted refugee in Alexandria, opens her frantic mind to Zachary and the two appear in a hastily-designed approximation of Joan’s library (as was) in Gallaudet.
Zachary tries to be comforting and encouraging, but Joan is in a hurry to impart as much information as she is able: for she is being actively hunted by the methuselah, Hirut. Joan recounts in fragments that Hirut and Samal had been in some sort of battle, and Joan had stolen the demon hand of Hirut’s lover from the ancient’s side as she sank her teeth in Samal. Joan says she hoped this would cause Hirut to follow her and give Samal an opening.
Zachary encourages Joan to try to make it to the Tremere wall to break through with the hand before Hirut finds her. Joan hopes for this as well, but knows the moment has been prepared for. Zachary must save her in November of 885 A.D. in Paris on the “third day of the siege.” Joan entreats Zachary to find her and that she will follow him and travel with him. She warns Zachary that changing the past comes with a cost, a physical one.
The connection in the Cobweb is suddenly severed.
Read Gwenevieve’s Cronache della Sindone for “A New Understanding” here.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “A New Understanding” here.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 1, part 2: An Old Nemesis
The coterie rushes to the train bridge crossing Bull Run to meet (and hopefully save) Joan. Joan is being pursued by the ancient, Hirut. Hirut has her new childe, Giuseppe, in tow. Hirut moves to destroy Joan, but is stopped by Marcus of the Mekhetim. He appears out of nowhere and distracts Hirut long enough for Joan to escape. Those vampires with Auspex realize that time has been rewritten. That, in the first “time around,” Hirut was successful and nearly all die, leading to Gehenna. With a “second chance,” the coterie escapes with Joan before Hirut jumps into the air and creates a crater with her fall. Hirut still does not pierce the mystical wall, even with all of the destruction in her wake. The coterie speeds back to the Temple with Joan. Arriving at the Temple grounds as well is an unexpected guest, Gwen’s Aunt Lucretia.
Read Gwenevieve’s Cronache della Sindone for “An Old Nemesis” here.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “An Old Nemesis” here.
Chapter 2: The Drawing Board
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 2, part 1: Know These Times
Gwen meets with her unexpected guest, Aunt Lucretia. Cedric, Comet, Joan, Zachary, Asa and Ben all hide in the farmhouse. Rose changes into nicer clothes. Lucretia offers back the thin bloods who had been left at the Embassy. Further, she has established transport in the Underworld between Sudley Cemetery in Manassas and the Embassy. Using this as pretext, Lucretia suggests Gwen get more help and pries into her progress. Gwen deflects and insists her aunt leave.
After Lucretia and her ghostly retinue depart, the coterie discusses the Temple and what to do with the thinbloods. They finally decide to keep the thinbloods in the attic with Rose as their protector, though they worry about the ever-increasing amount of blood they will need to keep their undead army out of torpor. It is decided that Asa will work to “source” some blood bags from Prince William Hospital. The coterie also decides that they will deal with George after they find blood and deal with small matters.
Rose speaks with the thinbloods and finds that they were told that they would bring the end of the world. One of the thinbloods, Pam, sees the animated skeletons and frenzies in fear. Rose grabs her and calms her down. After she explains about blood bonds, she offers her spirit-touched vitae as a “clean” alternative. Rose feeds Pam.
Benjamin wakes up with Joan’s help. He rises and begins spouting prophesy from the Book of Nod. Ben regains control of himself and is shocked by everything that has transpired. Asa, Ben and Zachary all talk at Benjamin’s bedside.
Benjamin and Zachary settle in. Gwen and Rose hunt, killing a couple of campers and staging it as a bear attack.
The Malkavians Cobweb to discuss their next steps.
Read Gwenevieve’s Cronache della Sindone for “Know These Times” here.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “Know These Times” here.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 2, part 2: Premonitions and Preparations
In the Temple, The Malkavians disengage from the Cobweb and split off to die for the day. Zachary pulls Comet aside to thank him and discuss Prentiss and Nathaniel. Zachary dreams of the destruction of the universe through the actions of Marcus of the Mekhetim. Rose allows Zachary to drink from her when he wakes, nearly frenzied. Zachary sees visions of Rose’s life and then tells the others of his ability.
The coterie gathers and makes a plan to deal with George once and for all. Asa makes plans to find a secure blood supply in Manassas.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “Premonitions and Preparations” here.
Chapter 3: Eyes of the Tremere
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 3, part 1: Needs
Rose and Gwen travel together on the outskirts of Manassas to hunt. They kill with abandon, leaving a man and woman dead in a tent. The pair then travel to Sidley Cemetery to lay their trap for George. Rose digs up human remains and reburies them just below the surface of the earth. Gwenevieve practices her grisly art and ritually prepares the bones and rotting sinew to quicken upon her command. Gwen also takes the opportunity to open a portal into the Sudario, in a place weakened already. She passes through with Rose. Rose calls upon her power over the Spirit plane, immediately attracting unwanted attention from the local flora and fauna of the realm.
Asa sets out to Manassas General Hospital to use his knowledge and wits in a blood heist. He charms and bluffs his way into the blood stores where more drastic action is taken. Asa delves into the mind of the night nurse in charge, only to find that the man had already been conditioned by another Childe of Caine. Asa reorders the man’s memory and leaves with only a few blood bags, so as not to raise suspicion. As Asa leaves, shortly after the strike of midnight, he feels eyes upon him. His preternatural senses tell him of the danger and his sixth sense can see Number 4 through the ether … who looks back at him with glee.
Back at the Temple, Benjamin reveals to Zachary an insight into the operation of the Irad. The pair then have a heart-to-heart about their new situation and settle in at the farmhouse with the thin bloods for a night of “Indiana Jones” movies.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “Needs” here.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 3, part 2: They Lurk in the Shadows
All prepare for the ambush against the Tremere “George.” Rose makes some stakes at Sibley Cemetery in preparation for the confrontation. She then melds into the earth with her Sisters Nana and Vousette. Gwen requisitions equipment and practices her necromantic arts. Asa, Comet, Cedric, Zachary, Joan and Benjamin stay in the Temple. Zachary talks to Joan, asking her to stay behind in the battle ahead. Joan offers to pilot the Temple into the sun, should they be attacked. During the day, Zachary dreams of Caine as a lonely and bored “king” sitting on the wreckage of life at the end of the world. Caine perceives Zachary at last and swats him away. Zachary wakes screaming in the car.
The stealth team of Asa, Ben, Zachary and Cedric leave before most have awoken for the night (including Zachary, who wakes in the car). The team sets an ambush for George, but George doesn’t arrive in-person. Number 7’s human flesh puppet, Walter “Wally” Peabody, arrives and is swiftly despatched from behind by Gwen’s own hand. Gwen returns to the Temple site to deal with Family matters as Rose and Zachary speak with a frightened local Kindred, “Birthday.” They determine that he is not working with George, but was a local Nosferatu curious about the coterie’s intentions. They let him go.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “They Lurk in the Shadows” here.
Chapter 4: The Ball Drops
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 4, part 1: Happy New Year
Following the unfortunate events of the cemetery, Gwenevieve elects to return to the Temple with a new wraith’s fetter in tow. The rest of the coterie decides to go out on the town of Manassas to hunt: it is New Year’s Eve, after all. The mortals of the surrounding areas are stressed to the limit with the curfews, lockdowns, riots and looting. Manassas, being well outside of the police cordon around D.C, is a perfect place for the kine to let off steam — and the Kindred are feeling that need as well. The Kindred arrive in Old Town Manassas. Cedric and Comet go to a dive bar, but Zachary, Benjamin, Asa and Rose choose the multi-level Crossroads Tavern as their feeding ground instead.
The Kindred quickly learn that the place is in the domain of an annoyed, frightened, yet resigned Toreador, Letitia. Letitia meets with the Kindred and confirms that she is a part of the Manassas Camarilla coterie. The assembled vampires exchange pleasantries and the Kindred separate to enjoy the night.
Zachary and Benjamin go to the second story of the dance floor to look upon the crowd. Benjamin finds his new powers overwhelming, but Zachary works to calm him down and hone his abilities.
Rose uses her great senses to clock a few other Kindred. Rose’s fine-tuned senses also catch the bouquet of something delicious and strange, though she is never able to fully pin point the source of the sensation. Though on the dance floor, Asa can see the beautiful creature. The glimmering man is as surprised as Asa is that he can be seen.
Zachary is taken aback as he feels the Cobweb come over him. Zachary falls into Obfuscation and allows his consciousness to pass into the Cobweb. Damien again calls him “Brother” and the two have a conversation in the Web, inside of a recreation of the Kennedy Center Opera House. Damien stalls for time, but Zachary extends many olive branches.
Benjamin runs down the stairs as soon as Zachary fell into Obfuscation. He looked through the crowded venue for Rose or Asa when he saw someone he recognized …
Back at the Temple, Gwenevieve is setting matters straight in her Expedition. The Giovanni stabs and binds the ghoul Paulo after a “conversation” about loyalty. She releases her ghoul to continue his duties and descends to the basement to manipulate the remains of George’s dead mortal flesh puppet, “Wally.” Once he is summoned, Wally proves to be entirely forthcoming. Gwenevieve learns many things of the Tremere Number 4/George/Alazar. She learns of his continued diablerie, his defenses, and that his haven is next to the club the group said they were going to: the Crossroads Tavern.
At the Crossroads Tavern, the crowd chants the seconds backward as the ball drops in New York City on the television screens: “5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!!” Asa and the glimmering man seen only by him have an awkward moment with an unwanted advance by the creature. The glimmering man disappears, even to Asa. George enters the front door of the Tavern. George meets Benjamin’s eyes from across the dance floor.
Gwen arrives at the club and sees George, having just Dominated Benjamin. Gwen yells “He’s Got a Gun” as her ghouls pull the fire alarm.
Read the Canticles of the Prophet Zachariah for “Happy New Year” here.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 4, part 2: Be Forgot
At the Crossroads Tavern in Old Town Manassas, a battle seems likely. Gwen’s ghouls had already pulled the fire alarm and the mortal would-be revelers in the club are panicking. Gwen sends her wraith John Edgar to attack/possess George. Zachary, now awake from his confrontation with Damien in the Cobweb, comes out of Obfuscation to assess the situation. Rose frees Benjamin from Domination. Zachary, Asa, Rose and Ben reunite upstairs. Zachary goes to the window to read George’s mind and finds a number of souls, including the local Nosferatu Birthday, trapped inside George. Asa stays inside the club, calming people down and stabilizing them. George is shepherded into the Giovanni armored vehicle outside of the Crossroads Tavern. The coterie, now with their captive, take off in the van. In the blackout-windowed vehicle, Rose drains George’s blood. Cedric obfuscates the van as the coterie strips George. The investigators find many items among George’s effects, including a kill switch of sorts.
The coterie decides to drive in haste back to the Temple from downtown Manassas. During the drive, Gwen hears from her wraith, Prentiss. The former Malkavian tells her mistress of Number 4’s plans, that Tremere’s location and the involvement and importance of the Alexandria Seneschal, Vittorio Ghiribaldi. At the same time in the armored Giovanni vehicle, Zachary senses Joan in distress in the Cobweb. He meets with her mind to see that the Temple is under attack by a group of rogue Malkavians. Gwen is entreated by a new wraith: her former ghoul head of operations, Paulo. Paulo warns her of his murder by a demon-possessed Griselda. Gwen then speaks with Wally who tells her of Jinx: the Malkavian girl leading the attack on the Temple.
The coterie arrives at the farmstead to find the Giovanni ghouls addled with Dementation from Jinx and the attacking Malkavians torpid from their run-in with Gwenevieve’s Enochian skeletons. The coterie arrives at the Temple and all can hear laughing inside and see blood smeared on the Temple’s outer double doors. Rose runs in first, sees Griselda with her head ripped off and the demon Xaxil’s head atop the head stump. The rest of the coterie makes it into the temple and down toward the Pillar of Irad. In the Pillar, the demon and Jinx are standing over a bound and gagged Joan and a dead ghoul. Rose shoots a stake at Jinx and wounds her ex-girlfriend, though is unsuccessful in sending the Malkavian into Torpor. Zachary and Asa run down the stairs in Obfuscation to free Joan and get her to safety. Rose summons an other-worldly beast using her power over the Spirit plane. Gwen animates and empowers the body of the slain ghoul, Dominico. In desperation, or perhaps just mirth, Jinx pulls the stake out of the Heart of Irad.
Chatpter 5: Heart of the Temple
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 5, part 1: The Fall of Irad
The Malkavian Jinx had pulled the stake out of the Heart of Irad in the pillar to everyone’s horror. She turns to the demon and says, “Sorry, Xaxie, it’s not like you said it would be at all.” Jinx, looking emotionally hurt, runs up the stairs.
The demon Xaxil does battle with the tentacled Eldar Beist Rose had summoned from the node. Zachary makes psychic contact with Irad (now, just a beating heart suspended by vessels extending into the bowels of the Temple) and sees only hatred and bestial hunger in the mind of the ancient. Boxcar/Zaxil calls out “You have betrayed me for the last time, Lucifer!” The Temple, now under the direct power of Irad, lurches and materializes in the Interstitial Plane. Jinx takes that opportunity to fling herself outside and into the chaotic waves of energy surrounding the Temple. Zachary sees some of Irad’s memories, including “his”/Malkav’s own hands involved in the killing of the ancient vampire, Irad the Strong. Xaxil-called-Boxcar is burned by Asa’s power over light, which streams from the Salubri’s third eye. Rose runs up to re-stake Irad. Gwen joins with the Temple using her Gateway powers to force it to the Plane of Death. Rose pummels the head of Xaxil into a paste. Joan is saved, but announces that it feels wrong. The coterie takes stock and realizes that they are in the shadow lands (Underworld/Plane of the Dead) and that Jinx is not there, nor did she go into the Underworld, as the wraiths cannot find her about.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 5, part 2: Stone and Blood
The Temple coterie, seeing that they are in the Shadowlands, decide to stay there. The Kindred explore a now- “living” Temple. The Irad hums with more power and blood than it previously had. In the console room, Gwen sees a symbol for death that she recognizes and connects to the Tal’mahe’Ra. The investigators begin to understand the coordinate system in the Temple, and its planar shifting symbols. Zachary warns the Malkavians in the material plane through the Cobweb of the Temple’s future movements.
The Malkavians discuss the fate of their friends in the battle, particularly Vousette’s wounding and Nana’s fall by the hands of the demon, Xaxil. The Temple coterie continues to use their abilities to learn more of the Temple’s function and past. Zachary uses his blood to move the Temple back into the material plane by slicing hand on sundial and earth stone. The team reunites with Benjamin, the other Malkavians, and the other survivors. The Temple is now visible in the material plane, however. Zachary believes that if he were to use his blood in the stone slats of the Temple marked, “The Disciplines of Caine,” he might be able to Obfuscate the Temple again. The Irad takes a great amount of Zachary’s blood, pushing him unconscious as the Temple goes into Obfuscation.
Chapter 6: Finding Allies
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 6, part 1: The Would-Be Prince
The Temple coterie discuss their plans. Afterwards, Rose speaks with her Sister Vousette and then flies into the air to commune with Nana’s transcended spirit. Nana is now fused with her spirit, the owl. Asa slakes his thirst on a torpid Malkavian, losing a portion of his high Humanity in the process. Zachary drinks from Darius and Sinéad and learns of their lives and unlives. Gwen sleeps in Ashûr’s room. Zachary and Benjamin fall to death together, listening to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” Zachary sees a vision of an ancient city and a king falling to shadow. Later, his dreams take him to the Ventrue elder, Jordan. Jordan is being held by the Tremere in the CEZ. Zachary soothes Jordan’s madness, learning Middle English and Latin in the process. Zachary learns a bit about Jordan’s backstory up to when Jordan was about to be the Prince of Georgetown. Zachary frees Jordan and Jordan’s stake falls out. As Zachary wakes, he is not sure if the dream with Jordan was actual (as in a physical stake came out of Jordan and he is now free), or was more “representative” and metaphorical. Either way, he is sure that Jordan is now capable of making his own choices wherever he might be.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 6, part 2: The Archbishop’s Gift
The coterie wakes from their slumber and finds Zachary cannot speak intelligible (modern) English most of the time. He speaks, however (without control) Middle English and Latin. Asa stays behind in the Temple to heal Vousette as the rest of the coterie departs to see to their own ends. Gwen goes with her remaining few (sane) ghouls to D.C. to meet with her Family. Zachary, Rose and Ben (with the wraith Prentiss, at the behest of her mistress) go to meet Sascha Vykos in Gaithersburg at an abandoned church. When Zachary calls the Tzimisce Archbishop on the specialized cell phone he was given, he speaks to her (first Samantina, then Sascha) in Enochian. Sascha is overjoyed to hear this and invites the coterie enthusiastically to her repast.
At the church, Sascha feeds the Kindred with mortal blood and they talk of Enoch and Irad the old stories of Vampire myth. Sascha lets it be known that she knows the identity of Zachary, Benjamin and Asa as well as Rose. Sascha wishes to introduce Asa to the Salubri, Samiel, but Asa is not present. Sascha talks about the politics of the Sabbat and answers questions. The gathered make a plan to infiltrate Hangar 13 at Andrews Airforce Base, where the Tremere maintain their NA1 Chantry. The assembled vampires negotiate the terms of their alliance and the possible timeline for attack. Once the Cainite’s business is concluded, Sascha unveils her “masterwork” and leaves quietly with Samantina. Rose and her friends are treated to the sight of the stretched remains of Bottleneck the Infested plied into a thin, pulsating sheet of gristle with a vampire heart in the center with bees flying about, the flies joining them in perpetual dance.
Chapter 7: Death under Siege
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 7, part 1: A Clan Besieged
Asa has a talk with the thinbloods aboard the Irad. He advises them to stay with the coterie until suitable arrangements can be made to drop them off in the Anarch Free States or something along those lines. Asa goes to see what Cedric is working on with all of the commotion in the console room. Cedric is meeting with his ghoul, Dr. Ziegler, and a team of Dominated mortal Gallaudet mathematicians beginning to work out the “math problem” that are the Temple’s control panels.
Gwenevieve’s small retinue arrives in Sabbat Washington and drives to the Giovanni Embassy. Gwen first talks to Lucretia, but is unsatisfied with her trite answers. Gwen pushes and finds that her cousin Carlotta had disappeared on a mission. The Family had sent a wraith to find her, and they also disappeared, even from The Summoning. Uncle Rocco and Uncle Giorgio went out to deal with the situation and went missing. It is an educated guess that it is the Sabbat necromancers at work.
At the abandoned church in Gaithersburg, Rose destroys Bottleneck’s remains, setting the spirit of her old friend, Henry, free. Prentiss talks with the others using possession to meet Gwen at the Embassy. Zachary is at last able to speak modern English. Rose discusses Prentiss’ evil past with the rest of her coterie on their way to Prentiss’ townhouse in Ivy City. Zachary keeps all Obfuscated as they go to meet with the addled Malkavian ghoul, Nathanial. Nathanial is still watching after his mistress’ townhouse and seems completely in a fog with only occasional moments of resentment and clarity. Zachary offers Nathanial a choice to join them or to stay and die. Benjamin gives his blood to Nathaniel to save Zachary the discomfort of maintaining a ghoul. Rose and Nathaniel shower and the group grabs blood and continues to the Giovanni Embassy. Nathaniel waits in the car as the coterie is ushered into the shadowlands by Gwenevieve. Gwen takes the Kindred to the Battlements for a little talk.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 7, part 2: Finding the Lost
Lucretia and the Giovanni are not pleased about Gwen bringing in outsiders, but Gwen manages to dance through their concerns and has a debriefing. Her out-of-clan coterie departs and Gwenevieve calls Sascha Vykos to negotiate the release of her Family members, but Sascha claims she doesn’t directly control the night-to-night activity of the Sabbat. The Tzimisce Archbishop of Washington agrees to look into the matter when Gwenevieve offers access to an ancient Cainite map of Enoch (or something like it). Gwen takes Vivian Rossellini with her and returns to the Temple.
Benjamin, Zachary and Rose return to the Temple and tell Asa of the Sabbat Salubri, Samiel. Zachary, Asa, Cedric, Joan and Comet go to the mall for supplies and observe Ben's first feeding. Benjamin uses the Siren method at a rest stop on a horny old trucker. He is a bit embarrassed by the encounter, but fed. The Malkavians keep everyone obfuscated unless they are actively feeding. Rose (despite promising to stay and guard the Temple ) turns into wolf to hunt. Rose acts sufficiently “dog-like” to gain the trust of a group of partying young folks in an abandoned warehouse. Rose feeds upon the partying young mortals and gets high in the process.
Chapter 8: Facing the Past and Present
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 8, part 1: Sunday in the Park with George
Gwenevieve asks Zachary to help her interrogate the Tremere, George. The pair find that George has several “undigested” diablerized vampires rattling around in his addled mind, among them, Birthday of the Nosferatu, #3 of the Tremere and Dr. Gavreaux of the Tzimisce. Zachary promises Birthday to pass a final message to the Manassas Toreador, Letitia. Gwen uses her blood to transport the Temple to the Plane of the Dead so that Eden (Alazar/George/#7’s ex wife) can make a surprise appearance. Zachary and Gwen speak with George, Dr. Gavreaux, and #3. They get a lot of info on the layout of St. Andrews and the NA1 Chantry, but no clear way to sneak in. George suggests that Zachary and Asa could just turn themselves in. He believes Diane is outside the NA1 Chantry, being held in Hangar 13.
Rose finds a letter from Jinx asking to meet. Rose gives the letter to Asa so he can use his abilities and see Jinx's intentions. Asa can tell Jinx is conflicted but genuinely wants to meet Rose and not (just) trap and/or kill her. Ben and Comet have some kind of off-screen interaction that Asa half-overhears. Rose and Asa join Zachary and Gwen outside of the Temple in the Plane of the Dead, only to see Zachary slump forward in a waking nightmare.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 8, part 2: Navigation
Rose walks back into the Temple from the Land of the Dead to tell Ben that Zachary has collapsed. Ben scoops up his sire with some help and goes with the the other Malkavians and Asa to the barracks room of the Temple to watch over him. The Malkavians form a circle about the Prophet to ease his nightmares. After some time, Asa sees the Malkavians’ Cobweb as a physical manifestation in a plane undetectable to the (two) eyes of the Kindred, but not to a squinting Salubri. Though, unable to help more, Asa goes to the console room to learn a bit about the operation of the Temple and further Cedric’s and the Gallaudet mathematicians’ research. Asa develops his skills and advances are made. He believes by the end that he has some theoretical understanding of the Temple’s basic operations.
Gwenevieve practices her dark arts in her chambers at the base of the Temple.
Rose takes the pelt of an ancient werewolf that had adorned the room of the Temple she had claimed. She brings the pelt prepared for Vaithara’Tuii, the Ventrue antediluvian, and holds it in one hand as she slices her other hand to commune with the Irad.
A
Chapter 9: The Hungry Ship
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 9, part 1: Through Many Eyes
Rose is connected to the Irad and uses its awesome blood-amplifying powers (with the elder blood still swirling inside of its tubes), to read the history of the Werewolf Pelt. She also reaches out with her nascent Gateway abilities to see the spirit of the wolf. Rose learns that the garou’s spirit has moved on, but some power remains within it. She also sees a vision of the ancient garou in the time of Enoch. She follows her in her daily life until she is captured by the Enochians and forced into the arenas. Rose follows the adventures of the garou up until the garou’s death, taken as a trophy for the Ventrue antediluvian.
Asa continues peeling back the secrets of the Temple, using Cedric’s mathematicians’ work to aid his understanding.
Meanwhile, Zachary is trapped in his nightmare, dreaming of the end of the world. But things calm down in his dreams when he finds Damien, perhaps seeing Damien’s true form slip for the first time. The two find themselves on the blasted plain that had once been the Earth and neither seems to be there on purpose.
Rose uses her blood with the Temple to see everything inside and outside of the place. Much of Rose’s blood is drained away by the Temple in her first use of the Temple’s mighty Auspex.
BOOK III, Story 3, Chapter 9, part 2: Make a Withdrawal
Gwen continues practicing Entropy in the Ossuary.
Asa and Cedric go to the Manassas General Hospital to try Asa’s luck again at robbing the blood bank. Asa is successful, but not without raising suspicions. Still, he makes out with a good amount of blood bags. Cedric maintains their obfuscation when traveling.
Rose flies as a bird to get a lot of blood and finds Jinx, just as Jinx had asked her.
Zachary tries to use Spirit Touch on the Temple, sees Marcus pouring blood onto the panels and using a stick to push the buttons. Zachary loses most of his blood and frenzies upon getting a blood bag from Asa.
Story 4: The Gather
Chapter 1: Gathering Armies
BOOK III, Story 4, Chapter 1, part 1: First Arrivals
Zachary comes to his senses, overcoming the power of his Beast. Zachary runs out of the console room and is comforted by Ben.
On a canoe on the near-freezing Bull Run, Rose talks with Jinx and the two part ways without killing one another, though clearly enemies with the company they keep. Rose realizes that Jinx has been feeding from “the Lady in the Lake.” Rose flies back to the Temple, meets with her Sisters and joins the flame-trance.
Gwenevieve and Rose are notified in their own ways of the presence of another couple of Kindred nearby, circling the Obfuscated area. Rose and Gwen go out to meet Helena of the Salubri and Olivia of the Sisterhood. They have some discussions about the goings-on of the Sisterhood and the plans for the Gather. Olivia goes to Vousette while Helena is invited inside the Temple after confirming that she is a Salubri. Helena speaks to Asa telepathically and confirms that the Darkness/turn of the Wheel is coming soon.
BOOK III, Story 4, Chapter 1, part 2: The Camp Fire Grows
In the burned cornfield outside of the Temple, Asa speaks to Helena in Uruk/Telepathy and many of her other souls as he learns more of the Salubri multi-beings, and his supposed destiny. Zachary listens to music with Ben, calming down in their room. Gwen studies in the Ossuary.
During the day, Zachary dreams of a version of the great city of Enochian Gomorrah, but it looks different: clearly in a different plane of existence. Not just because it is a dream, but because the land surrounding the rings of the walled city is a warped, blasted plain and the green sky is surrounded by a waling maelstrom of souls. Zachary makes himself invisible and hovers his consciousness near a recently-landed Mekhetim Temple on a long stone pier, stretching up from the Fourth Circle of the city. He is not alone however. Zachary can hear three arguing and overhears much of their conversation. Oras of the Mekhetim, and two others: Jessul and Faizuu are making plans as Jessul senses a presence. Oras immediately suspects Zachary and calls out in rage as the others prepare some sort of blood magic. Zachary saw the power signature on the sides of the Temple and recognized that it was different than his Temple’s. He wills himself to etch into his own skin in the material plane with what he saw as he dreamt. “Zillah” is etched into his forearm. Zachary wakes and Benjamin helps him to read his message and blot it up with the muslin.
Rose does her best to roughly teach the thinbloods Allie, Pam, Malcolm and Chris a few Kindred survival tricks. They prove to be slow learners.
The next night, Asa checks in on the thinbloods, and does his best to give them a pep talk.
Frieda of the Sisterhood arrives to the camp and Rose welcomes her. She joins the fire and helps to expand the packed-earth hole in the ground the Sisterhood has been using to hide from the rays of the sun and yet keep the fire going.
Zachary and Benjamin study the Temple, with Zachary using his abilities and Benjamin making an ever-expanding tack board of their findings.
Helena trains Asa in the ways of Auspex, expanding up his ability to use telepathy. Rose makes a gift for Luna Blue. Gwen’s blood requisition arrives, though it is perhaps less than she had hoped for. Gwen studies her necromantic arts. Rose greets Gabrielle of the Sisterhood and welcomes her to the Sisterhood’s blue flame in the growing packed-earth mound. The coterie continues their studies in the Temple to understand its operations.
The next night, Rose greets her Sister Ameline and checks on the goings on in the area. She knows that the Tremere and others are on the move nearby, though they have not yet found the Temple grounds. The Malkavians go to Potomac Mills discount mall to hunt and return full. All are prepared for the Sisterhood gather on the grounds of the Temple in the woods outside of Manassas.
Chapter 2: Entrenchment
BOOK III, Story 4, Chapter 2, part 1: The Fall of Zillah
The gateways and Zachary recount their findings to one another in the console room of the Temple. The group decides to bring the Sisterhood into the Spiritual Plane for the Gathering. They have determined how to move between nodes, where the nodes are and how to shift planes, though they don't know how they will solve the problem of creating a crater upon moving. The four retire to their respective chambers and die for the day, but Zachary has a dream.
Zachary brings Gwen into the dream. They are in an ancient city, earlier in development than Enoch-called-Gomorrah from previous visions. Inside a palace in the center of the city, there is a pitched vampiric battle between a number of the Antediluvians and the Second Generation vampire, Zillah. The Boy (Lasombra), the strikingly beautiful Arikel of Desirée's visions (Toreador), a wild looking woman (likely Ennoia of the Gangrel), Zapathasura (Ravonos), and a thickly-muscled man, possibly Haqim (the Assamite founder) lunge in brutal physical and mystical attacks against their elder. Gwenevieve recognizes this scene from the Sabbat’s play at Il Gran Ballo. After the antediluvians’ successful attack, a beautiful soldier steps out of the shadows: Absimiliard (the Nosferatu founder) takes the neck of his Sire as his siblings drink from the rest of her body. Vaithara'tuii throws open the double stone doors and enters the stone chamber with siblings of his own: Mekhet (the Mekhetim founder), Ka'ate (the Tzimisce founder) and Ashûr (the Cappadocian founder, whose offshoot will be the Giovanni). Vaithara’Tuii demands that Absimilliard stop his diablerie, for he and his gathered siblings have “plans” for her. The two groups of antediluvians are near to fighting over the torpid form of Zillah when Arikel (the Toreador founder who was among Absimiliard's number) senses her brother, Malkav, inside Zachary's dreamscape (she has Auspex of 10, after all, and had just drunk from Zillah). Ka'ate can sense the presence as well, so both sides become more interested in what Malkav might be up to than finishing the job with Zillah. The antediluvians stop fighting over Zillah's heartsblood to search for Ma’ail (Malkav). Zachary wills himself and Gwenevieve up into the air above the city and they wake.
All of the Kindred in the Temple wake from their deaths. Zachary and Gwen wake with bloodied backs, Benjamin careful to record Zachary’s blood with a prepared strip of muslin. Rose smells some of her sisters milling about within a few miles of the encampment, but she also smells Kindred of other clans alongside one of her sisters. She flies out to investigate and meets her sister Paulette with charges Boria and Vladyslav: refugees from the Shadow Curtain.
Vladyslav claims to be the last surviving member of the Brujah Council (as far as he knows), other than the "retired" Nikoli. Nikoli had entrusted him with a box to deliver to Zachary at the Temple upon specific circumstances that Vladyslav never imagined would come to pass. And yet — obviously — have. Rose then has a quiet conversation with Luna Blue about her mistrust of Gwen and the Sisterhood's direction.
Upon opening the box, the coterie finds an ancient letter in Zachary's hand, though written on note paper from the notebooks Benjamin had just bought. The note has an embarrassing story from Zachary's past, so that Zachary might know the validity of it. It is written, supposedly, by Zachary to himself. Below the note is an older, worn version of the golden orb Asa and Zachary had seen in visions, as well as a letter for Asa written in an ancient language.
BOOK III, Story 4, Chapter 2, part 2: A Full House
The coterie stands outside of the Temple with their two new guests from beyond the Shadow Curtain as Ada reads his letter from Nikoli. Gwenevieve takes the orb inside the box in Zachary’s hand. Asa retuns to the Temple when the wraiths and Sisterhood senses warn of the approach of Tremere ghouls.
Rose joins the rest of her Sisterhood in the packed earth hole they had created. Rose leads her sisters into the Temple after some discussion and voicing of doubts.
Asa breaks up a fight among the thinbloods when he catches Chris in a state of Frenzy. Asa recounts the contents of Nikoli’s letter to Zachary, using his telepathy.
A group of three Tremere ghouls come onto the farmstead, searching for the Temple. The obfuscation holds and Rose has one of the Sisterhood’s mountain lion companions scare off the investigators. Gwen sends her wraiths J. Edgar and Prentiss after the Tremere, in hopes of mitigating the situation through possession and well-timed answers to the ghouls’ “handlers.”
The Sisterhood with their mountain lions, the Gateways and Prophet of Gehenna, and the various and sundry hangers-on all enter the Temple for a fateful journey. Asa has warned all that the Temple is about to move. Rose, Gwen, Asa and Zachary work together to pilot the Temple to the Astral Plane, just as J. Edgar reports to Gwen that Vittorio was heard on the other end of the line from the communication device being used by the ghoul he possessed, and that the ghoul’s mouth began to foam when Vittorio says, “We’ll take it from here.” And J. Edgar is expelled from a dying mortal body.
Story 5: Alexandria by Night
Chapter 1: The Court of Prince Elaine
BOOK III, Story 5, Chapter 1, part 1: Refugees
Newly-made Ventrue Arthur, Renata of the Toreador and those with them who had made it through the Tremere Wall are escorted to the Alexandria Elysium under the Old Torpedo Factory by Sarah and Gideon. Arthur is presented to the Prince. Arthur and the Ventrue stay at the Polloch Boat House in Elysium. Sarah returns to the Lighthouse of Alexandria Chantry to aid in an important ritual with #4 and Pontifex Peter Dorfman. Renata spends some time with her benefactor, Keeper Melisand Granger. Gideon returns to the Chop Shop amidst the chaos in the streets. Sandra Polloch goes into torpor and leaves matters to her disgraced grandchilde, Lance. Lance and Arthur go to speak with the eldest known surviving Ventrue in the Empire, Barnaby Wilcox.
BOOK III, Story 5, Chapter 1, part 2: The House of Polloch
After speaking with Barnaby at Vencor, Arthur leaves with Roman’s Prime ghoul Barrett Milner to go to the Polloch family estate. Arthur shares some of his blood with Barrett and later sends him into D.C. during the day to scout for Roman or other survivors. Arthur spends the next couple of nights with his sire at the estate, learning of Kindred society, his new abilities and tastes. Arthur is taken to the crypt of his great great grandsire, former Alexandria Prince Henry Maxwell of Pollak, and told of the Traditions. Arthur spends the day in a luxurious light-proof bedroom. Arthur is taught the use of some of his Disciplines, using the sword-in-hand method. He is given access to the House’s well-stocked blood supply: including blood from the new iNova Fairfax Hospital as well as from the private prison owned by the Family. He finds a bouquet to his taste: a regular donor from the hospital named Andrew Wright.
BOOK III, Story 5, Chapter 1, part 3: The Archon
Renata spends her nights at the Alexandria Elysium as the guest of the Keeper. Renata offers to join the Rangers, to do her bit for the Clan, and Melisand is happy to facilitate that. Renata feels her lover through her obscure method of communication and knows that she is headed south to attack Charleston, S.C. in a Sabbat offensive.
On the appointed night for her appointment to the Rangers, Renata walks to the National Airport to see what is in order. Gideon and Sarah go to the airport to check in and are met by Deputy Daria of the Gangrel and a newly-appointed Ranger of Clan Nosferatu, Jerry Pine. Renata is brought in with the group who are told that they have been selected by the Seneschal to serve in an Imperial Special Task Force. They are to report directly to the Seneschal, though they are to requisition material through the Sheriff’s Deputy. The Deputy tells the assembled Kindred of the dire situation facing the Camarilla: cities across the East Coast of the U.S. have been hit in a coordinated attack from the Sabbat. The team’s ongoing duty will be to protect the Masquerade, but are given a number of more specific directives.
The assembled Kindred are told of a member of the Red List, the “Malkavian” Asa Freeman. His face is drawn out on chalk. They are told of his accomplices, late-night radio DJs, at least one of whom is an unauthorized Malkavian. They are shown a promotional picture for the local radio show with DJ Prophet and DJ Ben Jammin’ that had been ripped off of a message board on a community college campus.
The team spends some time getting to know one another and the abilities they bring to the table as Daria goes to take an urgent call on her satellite phone. Daria returns and briefs the team on a new mission: they are to go to the southern border on I-95 to bring through a dignitary. The deposed Prince of Charlotte had been waylaid, but is now waiting at a rest stop on the south side of the Bubble. The team gather equipment at the armory and then set out in an armored SUV to wade through the streets and escort the deposed Prince.
Sarah uses her amulet to get the Task Force across the barrier and they drive to the nearby rest stop. A tall man comes out of Obfuscation to knock on the back of the SUV. Gideon pops the trunk and the violently wounded Ventrue Prince Ravenel of Chalreston is put into the back by the tall man. He circles around to the back seat and begins to talk to the Kindred.
Renata had been sensing her lover through her heart and the Morse code, and knew of the events before they happened. She cautioned her lover through that method of communication, and Sarafina led the Sabbat pack in another direction.
The man began speaking with the Task Force in the SUV and introduced himself as Valan, but said little of himself while gathering information. Sarah pressed him and found him to be a Malkavian. Valan produced a black wallet, and inside a golden sharpened Camarilla symbol. He introduced himself as an Archon of Justicar Michelis. The team brought Archon Claudius Valen and as-was Prince Ravenel across the border wall and into the Potomac Empire.