<@Dreol> [London June 14th 1230, 11:00 PM] <@Dreol> [You have all met with your respective clan leaders and now is roughly the agreed upon time to meet. The farm house that Cosimo suggested is way on the outskirts of London, north west of the city proper. It is run down and has probably been in disuse for years. The house itself is a large stone house with a large sitting room and three bedrooms. The farm has not been used in years and, as such, there is no crops, but it allows for a large area where no one would see five vampires approaching. Though, a ways south is the road to Westminster, and, therefore, the king, here is far enough north that it is unlikely any humans (or vampires really) would travel by.] <@Dreol> [Begin.] 06* Cosimo arrives early, mostly as it was his suggestion to meet here. he hitches his horse behind the house and enters, finding a spot in the sitting room by which to observe any who would approach. 06* Moriel arrives with Thalaba and makes his way inside. He nods to Cosimo, and settles in to wait for the rest. 06* Cosimo nods greetings to Moriel and Thalaba. 06* Thalaba waves to Cosimo as she arrives with Moriel, heading inside as well 06* Eliana approaches about now, from the east. She looks around as she walks to the house and raises an eyebrow at the ghoulish horse, then pushes the door open, a candle lantern in one hand. 06* Cosimo nods to Eliana. 01 Good evening. 06* Rolf is coming in from the south, and is still rocking his formal 'I killed some animals' leather. 06* Cosimo manages a slight smile. "so far..." 06* Eliana walks into the dining room, where an ancient wooden table rests, and dusts it off a bit with one of her copiously long sleeves. 01 So far, yes. 06* Rolf walks in the open door, ducking his way through. He growls and says, "Is anyone home?" 06* Moriel says wryly, "No. This isn't anybody's home." But to answer your intended question, yes, we're all here. 06* Eliana calls from the dining room, "We're in here, Rolf." 06* Eliana finishes dusting and sets the candle lantern in the center of the table before shaking out her sleeve. 06* Moriel takes a chair, after first making sure it's still sturdy enough not to collapse under him. 06* Rolf tromps in, ducking through another door. "Ah... Hello. Nice to be caught up in a plot with y'all." 06* Cosimo enters the dining room, finding a corner that still gives him a reasonably clear view of the entrances. 06* Thalaba takes the first empty seat she finds and settles in. 06* Eliana snorts a little. "I don't know if 'nice' is how I would put it, but yes. If I must be stuck in a plot, there are worse people to be stuck with." She reaches into a shoulder bag and pulls out a roll of parchment, some ink, and a quill. 06* Moriel folds his hands in front of him on the tabletop. He eyes Eliana's preparations with approval and waits expectantly for reports to begin. we should be able to talk freely here... so... how did we fare? 06* Moriel grimaces faintly. "Thalaba and I, not so well." 06* Eliana looks over at Moriel, then Thalaba. "No?" 06* Thalaba lets out a soft sigh "At least not anything that made much sense at the moment.." We went to see the Oracle. Demetria. 06* Cosimo raises an eyebrow inquisitively. 01 The Malkavian elder, yes? 06* Moriel nods. The faint grimace comes and goes again in a moment. His voice goes crisp and clinical, and he starts ticking points off on his fingers. 06* Eliana pulls her gloves off by the fingers as Moriel talks. Thalaba thought to ask if she actually knew who killed Renier. She does not. Only that five people were responsible. 06* Thalaba adds "I didn't think it would hurt to ask..." 01 She confirmed the number, then. 06* Moriel nods. "Yes." We asked if she knew who might know why he was killed. She does not know specifics, but said he was killed for political reasons and that there was deception involved. We asked if she knew why he wished to speak to us or who might know. She said first that she didn't see that he did wish to speak to us, then that she could see that but that she didn't know why. She didn't know anyone whom we might speak to in order to learn more. 06* Eliana sets her gloves to one side and dips her quill into ink, then starts writing in shorthand to keep up with Moriel. 06* Cosimo nods thoughtfully and strokes his goatee. 06* Rolf frowns, then growls, "They prepared for us. They're afraid of us." He looks around at everyone. "You all low generation too?" 06* Eliana hesitates for a moment, then says, "Yes, I am." Pause. "Though it's not as unusual for my clan, as compared to yours." 06* Moriel pauses a moment, then says merely, "Yes." 06* Thalaba raises her hand briefly and then back down "me too..." and i as well 06* Eliana nods and makes another note. "I assume you have information concerning this, Rolf?" ...who do you say prepared for us? And why would they be afraid of us? 06* Rolf looks at Eliana for a long moment, then goes, "Oh... yeah." He pauses a moment, then says, "Another Gangrel I know says that's why we got caught up in this. They wanted to wreck this... "Court of Love' guy's plans and take care of the scary cubs." He snorts. Afraid of just facing us directly. Lot of vampires ain't as close to the Old ones as we are, and that's power we'll have one day. 06* Rolf licks his lips before adding, "And it's a big crime to do it the other way. Maybe they were hoping we'd get hunted... Yeah?" 06* Eliana frowns slightly. "A blood hunt?" 01 It's a theory. Certainly one way to diablarize any one of us with the prince's blessing. 06* Cosimo sighs and nods. 06* Thalaba leans forward, her eyes lighting up at this idea. "All the clues point right at us..they could have expected us to be caught 'red handed' and not given a chance to clear our names as we have been. But who is conspiring against us?" 06* Moriel has finished talking, and his face is closed, his eyes flickering back and forth as he watches the others. 06* Eliana pinches the top of her nose. "And here I was hoping we were simply convenient, but the fact that we're all low generation is a little too much so." indeed... i too learned that our arrival caused quite a stir five of us... strong in blood, and yet still relatively inexperienced it would even seem that the entirety of Mithras's address was pointed at us 06* Moriel raises his eyebrows. 01 That may be. "Do you think he is involved?" *She frowns* "but why would he give us this chance to clear our names if he was... Unless..." She continues thoughtfully "he expects us to fail....." i believe some even fear that we are plotting a revolt 01 There is little reason I can see to give us a chance if he wanted us to fail. He would have simply executed us outright. 06* Moriel blinks at the idea of plotting a revolt, then rolls his eyes. 06* Eliana smiles, a touch, then adds, "Unless you want to take his 'prove yourself useful' speech to mean that we ought to prove ourselves useful doing *this*." 06* Cosimo nods. "besides... his address seemed to advise caution while we "prove ourselves useful" 06* Eliana goes back to writing. "Regardless. Back to Renier's corpse... the claws are a bit suspicious, and I think they shine the worst light on the gangrel and the assamites..." She glances at Rolf and Cosimo, then adds, "though I think the Tzimisce could easily manage that as well, with their fleshcraft." either way... if we resolve the matter, he doesn't have to do anything and we are cleared. if we fail, we are executed and the community at large breathes a sigh of relief well, from what i learned, Renier was a skilled courtier. the childe of Matriarch Salianna herself... his mission was to offer an alliance... one that would threaten many 01 Nearly everyone except for the Ventrue and the Toreador, yes. 06* Moriel raises his eyebrows again. while the low clans would lose influence to the strengthened might of the higher ones, yes... * Thalaba listens to all this, and she finally leans towards Moriel and murmurs softly "Seems they retrieved better information then we did." 06* Moriel murmurs back without turning, "So it seems." the Lasombra would find their growing political power suddenly limited the Tzimisce feel the pressure of the Ventrue on the continent and the Brujah... well... they stand to lose ground and status due to the Toreador connection 03* Mechaphone is now known as Rolf 06* Rolf growls and says, "That's what we thought. Every cowardly plotter'd have reason to do this." though strangely, i have no read on what the Graverobbers stand to gain or lose. 06* Moriel says dryly, "Well, it needn't be *every* clan we must suspect." 06* Eliana thinks for a moment, then says, "Isn't Roger de Camden Cappadocian?" 06* Rolf snorts. "If it were a Gangrel, you'd know from the claw marks on your face." 01 Mithras' seneschal. If he were to gain power, the Cappadocians would only gain with him. 06* Cosimo nods. I don't see how we'll figure out who did it. Unless they go 'bout tellin' people. 06* Eliana makes another note. "Find out who was missing. Every vampire in London should have been in that hall, remember?" 06* Moriel frowns in thought. "Prince Mithras said everyone in London *was* in that hall, save us." well... i have learned that my brothers had no hand in this. they care not for the ways of the politics of this land Yeah, so we just ask a bunch of cowardly iars where they Yeah, so we just ask a bunch of cowardly liars where they were. 06* Eliana smiles slightly at Moriel. "And the Prince is never wrong." 06* Moriel smiles faintly. "True. Though it seems the sort of thing he ought to know." 01 And no, Rolf. It's actually been suggested we ask a Nosferatu by the name of Thomas the Rat. 01 And with a title like that, we're sure to get valuable information. 06* Moriel snorts a short laugh. But presumably we will get some information, which will be more than we have. 06* Moriel frowns suddenly, thinking. Augustus. Demetria's attendant. Childe. He was afraid, when we came. 06* Cosimo smiles. "funny you should say that, Eliana... i too was referred to this gentleman" 06* Rolf frowns, but nods. "Yeah, alright... we can talk to a rat." 06* Eliana looks to Moriel. "Do you know why?" He looked as if he thought someone might have followed us. 06* Thalaba nods ".. He kept looking over our shoulder when we came in... and he was quite rude..." She frowns at the memory of the horrible man. 06* Moriel shakes his head and refocuses on the room in front of him. "I don't know if he's ordinarily like that, or if...he had some specific reason to be afraid." 06* Eliana nods, making a note near the bottom of her page. "Well, something to keep in mind." 01 Something else to keep in mind: footprints vanishing at the scene would place the most suspicion on the Gangrel and the Tremere - though it likely goes without saying at this point that my clan had nothing to do with what happened. 06* Cosimo nods. "so we can move at least... five? five clans to the bottom of the list of suspects?" 06* Moriel considers. "Two things pointing to the Gangrel. I wonder if our murderers has something in particular against them as well, or if they were merely convenient." 06* Cosimo counts off on his fingers, "Ventrue, Toreador... Cappodocian... Tremere and my own." 06* Rolf growls lowly. "High clanners always blame Gangrel. But if they wanted it to look like Gangrel... then they wanted it to look like me." Since they had'ta have picked us on purpose. ...which brings us back to the question of whether Renier was somehow involved. Or if someone else put on his face to get us all to that courtyard. 06* Eliana shakes her head, smoothing the corners of the parchment and waiting for ink to dry. well... i think if we consider these together rather than individual crimes, we have reason to believe that it was a murder to keep the alliance from forming to the benefit of someone AND to take us out of the picture my brothers indicated that Renier was not usually a jumpy man... further evidenced by the fact that he was an experienced courtier Two birds with one stone. How very efficient of our murderers. Caerel thought he really did have a warning for us... Just that they got to him first. 06* Cosimo nods in agreement. Hm. 01 Then an additional question: why help us? "If it wasn't actually Renier who spoke to each of us.. it may explain why the Oracle had some confusion with seeing that he did or did not wish to speak with us." 06* Moriel shrugs. "Perhaps for the same reason that others are afraid of us: we represent potential power." 06* Eliana makes another note. "Well... not much more to gain by theorizing. Shall we pay Thomas a visit?" 06* Cosimo looks at Thalaba, curiously. "wait... wasn't actually Renier? i had not thought of that... it might explain the anxiousness... for if we were to catch sight of the REAL Renier..." perhaps nothing... but still... an interesting thought 06* Moriel nods. "Indeed. And...by all means, let us go consult the Rat." 06* Eliana actually smiles at that, and makes another note, under Caerel's suspicion. So much for nothing more to gain. 06* Eliana pulls her gloves back on and then starts packing her things away. "Would anyone like a copy of my notes?" 06* Cosimo stands up and looks at each of his cohorts. "so... to the rat then? i must pass along the caution i was given... he's not likely to give the information away for free." 06* Cosimo shoots a glance at Eliana and nods in agreement. "if you would be so kind" 06* Rolf half-shrugs and says, "Uh... sure, send me 'em." <@Dreol> [Off in the distance can be heard the bells chiming for midnight.] 01 I can be kind. Do you read standard Latin shorthand? 06* Moriel nods as well. "I would be grateful." I can. 06* Thalaba shakes her head and taps the side of her head with a smile before she rises off her seat. no. not really. 06* Eliana nods to Cosimo, her expression not changing. She shoulders her pack and picks up the candle lantern, then walks out. 06* Cosimo walks out to his horse and pets it gently. and then whispers in Aramaic <@Dreol> [London June 14th 1230, 1:05 AM] <@Dreol> [After a lengthy walk, you find yourselves in the area of Billingsgate near the docks, which is around where both Cosimo and Eliana were directed to find Thomas the Rat. You pass some dock workers who stare at you a bit oddly, but only for a second before they just hurry off to find something else to do... somwhere else. As you pass an alley you hear a faint "psst" coming from the darkness.] 06* Rolf sniffs and let's out a low growl, red glowing eyes looking into the alley. 06* Eliana holds up her lantern, looking in. 06* Cosimo draws a dagger and skillfully palms it, concealing it in his sleeve. 06* Moriel turns to look towards the whisper with a look of faint curiosity. <@Dreol> [In the Alley Rolf can see a man... sort of... he is clearly a Kindred, but a monstrous one. His ears are pointed and his mouth is full of sharp, jagged fangs. His hair is whispey and brown and his fingernails have grown into long, pointed near-claws. He is a thin man, dressed in a dark gray cloak and he motions Rolf, and presumably the rest of you over.] <@Dreol> [Once Eliana shines her lantern, the rest of you can see the man, he is mostly covered in shadows, but you can see that there is a man there.] 06* Rolf strides in, slouching just slightlyy but still being quite tall. 06* Eliana steps in after Rolf, staying near one wall. She wrinkles her nose slightly at the stench, but it is what it is. 06* Cosimo cautiously looks towards the man in the shadows and then at Rolf, and follows his tall companion. 06* Moriel drifts into the alley, not seeming to notice the smell. He keeps to one side and watches developments. 06* Thalaba looks in either direction before she picks up her skirts and steps into the alley. <@Dreol> [The man looks both ways and peers behind the group to make sure no one else is there before motioning for you all to follow him and he ducks around the corner into another alley where there is the back entrance to a building, which seems to be used for storing goods coming in off the docks. The man whispers "They won't use it today. Not enough shipments." And he heads into the building, which is full of barrels, but no people, human or Kindred.] 06* Rolf heads into the barrel building, and refrains from throwing them, straightening up a bit insteadm. 06* Eliana is frowning at this point, but she does walk after him. Her left hand goes to her mouth and she pulls her glove off with her teeth before taking it and tucking it into a pocket. 06* Cosimo enters, quickly surveying the room for possible ambushes, his grip tightening on the hilt of his concealed dagger. 06* Moriel does not seem especially concerned. He follows silently. 06* Thalaba follows as well, quietly stepping between a couple of the others so she's not at the very end of the group <@Dreol> [The man nods after all of you have entered. "Good evening." He bows. "I am Thomas the Rat. I hear you have been looking for me."] 06* Cosimo nods, and relaxes slightly, returning the dagger to its sheath. indeed we have, good sir... for several reasons... first, i have something for you from an aquaintance of mine. 06* Cosimo reaches into a fold in his sash and pulls out a letter sealed with the signet of Raseem and offers it to Thomas. 03* Mechaphone (AndChat@68-24-131-102.pools.spcsdns.net) has joined #wampyr <@Dreol> [Thomas takes the letter and nods, "Thank you, Cosimo" and he runs a nail across it, cracking the seal. Then he unfolds the letter and reads it over, nodding. "Yes. I see... So what would you like to know?"] 06* Cosimo smiles. "Raseem has spoken highly of your abilities as a broker of information... my associates and i are, as i am certain you are aware, in the middle of an investigation... <@Dreol> [Thomas nods a few times quickly. "Yes, I heard of your... opportunity. How many I be of service?"] we have been trying to follow up some leads, but there have been precious few of those we were hoping that perhaps you had come across something that might help us 06* Eliana nods, and adds, "We could use some specifics. Who was closest to Renier Chartier, who would stand most to gain from his death, and who would additionally gain by framing us." She smiles faintly. "Among those *likely* to arrange such a thing, in any event." <@Dreol> [Thomas leans on a barrel and raises one of his long nails to scratch at the side of his face as he thinks. "I can provide you with some of those answers now, others are going to take some digging, and for that, I will need a favor, but first what I -can- tell you..."] 06* Thalaba suddenly speaks up, adding to the questions Eliana asked "... and who did it?" She glances at Moriel and gives a slight shrug. " ..doesn't hurt to ask.." <@Dreol> [Thomas stands upright and motions off towards what appears to be a random direction, but what is (for anyone who knows for some reason) south east. "Renier was a courtier from the court of love in France. You probably know that much. He was here to offer an alliance to Prince Mithras. This alliance has been in the works for a little over a decade and in that time several Kindred have voiced <@Dreol> strong opinions in opposition to it. The strongest of those opposers were the Lasombra and the Brujah... and, I know for a fact, that the Tzimisce in Europe were very opposed to it from the Court of Love side of the arrangement. I can tell you, though, with absolute certainty that every Kindred in London was at court that day, and... none of them left the room before you five did. It, indeed, looked very suspicious."] <@Dreol> [Thomas pauses for a moment and shakes his head before he continues... "Well... I should be clear... Every kindred who -lives- in London was there. If you five did not kill Renier, and I trust you did not, or else you would not be investigating, someone entered the city expressly for that purpose."] 06* Cosimo looks at Thalaba, and then back at Thomas. "even the real Renier?" <@Dreol> [Thomas raises one of his bushy eyebrows. "Is there a reason to believe that there is a fake Renier?"] 06* Cosimo nods. "perhaps. i have heard that he was not a nervous man, yet each of us met him in the assembly... and to each of us, he appeared anxious and jumpy." indeed, i have seen desert flies darting around less than his eyes did when he spoke to me 01 It would be a way to easily incriminate us. Kill him beforehand and send an impostor to court, asking us all to be there at the same time. <@Dreol> [Thomas shakes his head quickly from side to side. "I do not believe that is what happened. Though, it would be possible... I can certainly find out. It will take some time... and as I said, I will need a favor from you... as I will be dedicating my information network to this task for a while."] "The evidence against us is enormous.. there is no doubt about that. So anything you can find out for us would be beneficial."" <@Dreol> [Thomas nods to Thalaba. "Yes. I will help. Here is what I need from you." He points out the door. "Billingsgate is my domain. It has been for ages; however, Ragged Jenny, the Nosferatu crime lord... she is expanding her domain every day and is beginning to invade my domain and there is little I can do to stop her. If you can get her to back off Billingsgate and leave it to me, I will get you your information." He extends one of his twisted and clawed hands. "Do we have a deal?"] 06* Eliana raises an eyebrow. "She's a member of your own clan. You couldn't come to some sort of agreement?" <@Dreol> [Thomas shakes his head. "She's a vile vile member of our clan. Not like Lord Richard, my sire. My sire and I have been living in Billingsgate for nearly one hundred years, but Ragged Jenny, she won't listen to us. She runs a 'school' for footpads on the west side of the docks. I am sure we -could- come to an arrangement, but I do not want to work for her. And you need my help, so I am asking you to make a deal with her instead." He nods again and extends his hand.] 01 What sort of deal would be most agreeable to you? <@Dreol> [Thomas shrugs. "I just want her to back off Billingsgate. She has the rest of the docks. Just leave Billingsgate to me and Lord Richard."] 06* Cosimo extends his hand. "i believe we can come to an accord" <@Dreol> [Thomas shakes Cosimo's hand. "Good!" He smiles. It's.... a pretty repulsive sight.] 06* Cosimo nods respectfully, seemingly unfazed by the smile of the man whose hand he is shaking. <@Dreol> [Thomas nods and lets go of Cosimo's hand. "We have a deal then. When you have gotten Ragged Jenny to back off, come back here and I will meet you in the alley outside." And he disappears. Like right out of thin air. Poof! No more Rat.] 06* Cosimo turns to look at each of his companions. "so... anyone know this Ragged Jenny?" 06* Eliana snorts. "No." 01 But the first pickpocket we find likely will. 06* Moriel comes forward from where he was lurking by the wall, and nods. "Yes. If she runs a school for footpads...many people will know where to find her." 06* Eliana nods, then looks to Thalaba. "Well? How would you like to have your pockets picked?" 06* Thalaba smiles brightly "I would love to!" 01 Let's meet tomorrow, then, at the bridge. 06* Moriel nods. Then he flashes a smile, and bows to the assemblage. "Until tomorrow, then." 06* Cosimo nods. "a reasonable plan... till the morrow then" 06* Rolf growls and nods slightly. "Guess it ain't the worst." 06* Thalaba nods "Sounds like A good idea. " She grins "I'll be sure to dress the part." 06* Thalaba falls into step beside Eliana on the way out of the alley and speaks softly "You know.. I have been thinking.. Though I have an amazing memory and have all the information we shared up here.." She taps the side of her head once again. ".. Perhaps it would be a good idea to have a written copy of it.. just for my records. " 06* Eliana glances at Thalaba. "Certainly. How would you like the information presented? Is shorthand Latin acceptable?" 06* Thalaba nods "yes I know Latin." She turns to smile at Eliana "Thank you." 06* Eliana bows her head to Thalaba and looks thoughtful for a moment before making a turn down the street, heading north. 01 [End for REALSIES.]