Vampire: A City by the Sea

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel finished counting with a slightly puzzled look on his face and then put his hand down. He turned back to Lydia with a full and youthful smile on his face.

"I do not mean to embarrass you, there is just something off about this room. I will do my best to refrain from acting so flamboyantly." The smile that encompassed his face slowly fell away with a shiver as he continued. "Who do you think it would be best to inform of the ... 'Evil' we encountered earlier this evening. The Sheriff, or perhaps the Scourge if the Prince keeps one?"

[Comrade Tortoise]

Nicolo paused and then shrugged ever so slightly. "It was, perhaps, inevitable. Both parties were stubborn and noble warriors. It was only a matter of time before they clashed again and the stronger one emerged victorious. But there will be more from where he came from. Many vampires are on the move these nights, looking for new hunting ground."

"This is true. A shame it had to end that badly though. Still, you are right, it will probably happen again. Between this war and the other there is much upheaval, many new vampires are being embraced, at the same time as older ones displaced"

he paused

"Pardon my rudeness; is there anything you need from me? If this is a social visit I can clean myself up and get you a proper meal."

[LadyTevar]

"For now, Chamberlain Procelli has informed Her Highness we are here," Lydia answered, wishing that she had not escorted the Malkavian herself, yet the damage was already done. "Still, there is one who might know more," she finished, nodding to the hooded man talking in the corner. "Come if you wish, for I need to speak to Pasha as well."

With that, Lydia walked cordially over to Pasha and Harold, greeting them both with slight inclines of her head. Both were her elders, but both were lesser clans. They deserved respect nonetheless. "Good eve, gentlemen."

[Charon]

Sandor found little of either. Anything that looked as though it might work as a haven had been taken by another person already, some obviously not very legally, but usually the places that were as such were poorly built. Of a meal he had little success as well, whatever had happened that involved the bodies of the guard had scared away most of the riff-raff within that section of side streets.

________________________

Nicolo smirked slightly. "Mostly I found myself growing tired of the city and the filth therein and wished to be away from all the bustle."

Gustianni let out a soft moan and muttered. "Please... please release me..."

Nicolo glanced from the man, to Florien, and back again. "And as I said before. Someone will be looking for him soon. You should get rid of him before they find him."

________________________

Karaja finished his business with Harold, they had been discussing the dispersal of funds and land from the harbor. Harold now examined Lyonel briefly, the leper saying nothing as Karaja looked from Lydia to the newcomer. "Good eve to you as well, Lady Nikolakis."

[Cynical Cat]

It was unfortunate that he could not find a better haven than the first site, but one could not ignore reality because it was inconvenient. He exited the city by another gate and headed back to the hill. Once inside the ruin he posted his ravens as guards and retired out of reach of the sun.

[LadyTevar]

"It is good I found you both together," Lydia answered, looking from Pasha to Harold and back. She paused, trying to decide how to word what happened. "There was ... something else ... in the city as I hunted this night. Aziz felt it as well."

She glanced to Harold. "I do not know what, or who, it was, but I saw our Seer in the same area. He was ... acting terrified."

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel kept to himself, not wishing to disturb others business. He did however keep his eyes and ears open, this is a new city and its vampires strangers. Vampires are predators by nature and he did not want to end up in anyone's aim. He still needed to gain the lodging he wanted in the city and needed to learn where peoples toes were so he didn't step on the ones he didn't want to step on.

As Lyonel wandered the room more patterns caught his eye. He had already noticed that there were twenty torches lighting the room as well as the thirty six chairs around the room. Hmmm... only four tables though. The stained glass windows had a few patterns but nothing that grabbed his attention, they were beautiful though. The fifteen tapestries around the room drew his attention. It almost looked like one had been removed, so that would make two groups of eight, but it wasn't.

He was about to ask where the other tapestry was when he noticed the floor. Nothing remarkable or odd, just a normal slate stone floor. Except every eighth stone was cracked, but not when it would also be the twelfth stone. Lyonel moved through the room quietly tapping the stones with his feet, peering under tables and sliding rugs to look at the stones under.

The baroque oval patten in the stones consisted of groups of twelve and twenty. He couldn't be sure but he thought there were thirty six of these circles intertwined on the floor and was guessing there were eight on the Dias but didn't think moving the Throne would be a good move. He was already getting enough strange looks. All these patterns pointed to this beeing an important room but important in what way. He couldn't see the answer. There were to many things in the way, people walking... unless... Lyonel shook his head. To many questions and way to many possibilities. This room needed more study but he needed to put his focus elsewhere and learn other things tonight.

[Charon]

Karaja listened carefully to Lydia's words, then shook his head, smiling just slightly. "The Seer has been known to run screaming through the streets before, if you saw him there as well it was likely him that you felt."

Harold said nothing, simply melding with the shadows to the point where he was barely visible to those not gifted with Auspex.

Karaja continued. "But I have an interest in the man you came in with who seems so interested in the architecture. I am unfamiliar with him, is he new to the city?"

[LadyTevar]

"So he says," Lydia answered, frowning slightly. "He claims to be an English Lord, with many titles that I have never heard of. What he's proven is that Lyonel is of the Malkavians." She gave the Pasha a roll of her eyes. "I thought he would be best contained here than out upon the streets with his ... peculiarities."

She gave a sideways glance to Harold. "I am hoping he is not one of the visitors from Milan," she added, knowing that Harold was in charge of watching them. "I am also wondering if the dark thing that brushed my soul tonight was one of them, or something worse. Think of me what you will, Pasha, but something is out on the streets."

[Charon]

Karaja sent a side-long glance at Lyonel when Lydia mentioned Malkavians. Harold's response was to shake his head a little. "He's not one of the two we're tracking."

Karaja spoke up again. "There very well could be, Lady Nikolakis. But Genoa is a large city, and there is always something out on the streets. Last week there were rumors that a Werewolf had found it's way inside, the week before that ghosts were infesting the Cathedral, and a month ago that a magician was wandering the streets. We couldn't get the Usurpers out of their rat nest of a home for two weeks."

[LadyTevar]

"Then perhaps we should have rumors of magicians more often." There were, of course, no Tremere in the hall at the moment Lydia made the comment, her voice pitched low for the just the three of them to hear. The catty comment let out her annoyance over Pasha's disbelief in her story. She did not 'cry wolf', nor was she a Malkavian to make up tales.

Yet if she could not get Pasha to believe her, what chance did she have to get one of the Council to listen? Perhaps later she would try to speak to Victor, but that would have to be later. "Perhaps you are correct, and it was only Demosthenes out in the night."

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel approached the Lydia and the two other vampires. Giving a head bow to the new vampires he addresses the group. "Greetings this fine evening, I hope my actions have not bothered you this evening. Its just I find this room so intriguing. I am grateful to Lady Lydia's generosity. Helping me find safety from the streets and showing me here."

Turning to the Moor Lyonel continued, "You are correct, there is always something on the streets, if you encounter this 'Evil' I do hope its gaze does not linger and will pass from you quicker than it passed from me. Oh, but forgive me for not formally introducing myself. I am Lyonel of Wessex child of Ilduara Dias of Porto. Who do I have the pleasure of meeting this evening?"