Vampire: A City by the Sea

[rhoenix]

Having stayed still, Aziz simply watched as the lady Lydia turned the full blast of Constantinople-trained courtesan charm on the guard, feeling quietly thankful that it wasn't being aimed at him. For the moment, staying unobtrusive was easily accomplished by remaining still in the shadows.

Watching his charge using one of her most potent weapons - that being the power of social graces - upon a foe was almost as impressively dramatic as watching some of the elder sorcerors at Alamut with their powers of old.

[Comrade Tortoise]

Gustianni let out a loud groan of pain as the hot poker went to work, continuing on for several seconds after the poker was pulled away. Gustianni panted hard as he worked through the pain. "This is what it's about? Confessions?! God in heaven! I confess to my priest! Oh God why do you do this if all you want is to hear confession?"

Florien's voice was still calm and compassionate as he spoke.

"It is not just to hear confession. Confession is worthless if you do not repent. To repent does not require that you love god, only that you fear punishment, and change your ways. You are going to tell me everything Gustianni. Every sordid little thing you can remember."The rack clicked one more notch

"And you will know pain. You will know fear." The rack clicked yet another agonizing notch.

"After all of that is done, after you have been given a small taste of what awaits you in hell if you do not repent, I will grant you release, and you will be free from my petty torments."

OOC: If you want to stop here and skip to the point where he starts blubbering, confessing, and begging for his life, i will not hold it against you. If you wish to continue, I am fine with that too. I primarily wanted to get to the Exposition.

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel suddenly got the distinct impression he was going the wrong way, or maybe going that way had served its purposes now. He was close to... something.

Lyonel stopped and retreated a few paces and started scanning the area. Not wanting to miss anything he used the gifts of the blood to enhance his senses. Water splashes in the distance, a dog barks, the smell smoke hangs in the air from hundreds of buildings keeping warm.

He see's a Moor approach a richly dressed Greek woman and a city guardsman. The Moor addressed the woman as Lydia and she was pleased to see him calling him Aziz. She said something in Turkish that was to fast for him to follow not knowing the language very well yet but caught her say 'words' and something about a dog and a game.

As she abandoned the Turkish Lyonel noticed that both Aziz and Lydia's hearts did not beat while the guards heartbeat quickened slightly.

Lyonel approached the Kindred with caution. He diminished his senses and checked each of the three's auras.

[The Silence and I]

Hunting was not going well and he held insufficient patience to continue all night long. Making a judgment call he took off at a run toward the farmlands. A cow or two would serve better than any deer, there just wasn't any real challenge.

Men were a greater challenge, and reward, than either but he was not in the mood to hunt men tonight. Hunting wild animals and hardly wary men are very different things. He craved the former, but not enough to burn hour after hour with an empty belly. This same impatient hunger is why he heads for the cattle farms next--he can get a cow faster than a man. And without the stimulus of battle it was getting difficult to stay berserk; the sooner he could feed the better everything else would be.

[Charon]

The man saw Sandor coming at the last second, but he could do little more than gape in shock as the vampire's axe came down. The flat of the blade crashed into his head and the man fell to the ground. Sandor could tell he was not unconscious, but he was certainly in a lot of pain. The woman and child meanwhile set up a new round of screams as they reached for anything that might save them.

____________________________

Gustianni, under Florien's "care", eventually broke after the days and days of torture. Confessing and admitting repentance for murder, committing adultery, and stealing.

____________________________

The guard that had been leaving came to a stop, looking first at Lydia and then to Aziz. He was nervous, he knew something wasn't right with this. "I..." He paused again, composing himself. "Of, of course M'lady." The guardsman clenched at his spear again and started walking down the alley, keeping as much of an eye on Lydia and Aziz as he did looking for the dog.

____________________________

Lyonel was opened up to the city now, to hear, feel, taste, smell, and see every last detail that it had to offer. He could hear the breathing of people through the walls, he could see the rats crawling along in the shadows, it was as thrilling as ever. There were a bunch of men that were standing around talking to each other about the day's haul and the money they'd make off of it a few streets over. Another group of men waited further down the streets where the woman and guard had been heading, they were quiet except for their breathing and the occasional tap of wood against stone or metal on metal.

Lonel's reading auras confirmed what he had thought. The woman and the Moor had pale, almost non-existent auras. The guard's aura was full as any human, and heavily tinted orange.

____________________________

Ottar's berserk rage had long since died away when no deer came to the slaughter, leaving the hunger in his belly again. He ran unto a pasture where he saw that the cows were still out for the night. An easy prey certainly, and a prey that would feed him decently.

[LadyTevar]

The guard that had been leaving came to a stop, looking first at Lydia and then to Aziz. He was nervous, he knew something wasn't right with this. "I..." He paused again, composing himself. "Of, of course M'lady." The guardsman clenched at his spear again and started walking down the alley, keeping as much of an eye on Lydia and Aziz as he did looking for the dog.

"Oh, thank you, so much! It might be my little Diminius," Lydia answered, looking over her shoulder to Aziz to make sure he followed. Her grey eyes met his a moment, the flickered down to his sword, before looking back up into his face and giving him the barest of winks. Then she hurried to catch up to the guard, following close on his heels as he walked forward, not so coincidentally making it harder for the guard to see both of them at once.

This would be a trap, and Lydia was going to walk into it and ambush the ambushers.

[Cynical Cat]

Sandor slammed the haft of the axe in the woman's stomach to shut her up.

[rhoenix]

"I will search other avenues, my Lady," Aziz replied with a neutral and respectful voice as her non-vocal signal reached him, and made as if to turn down an alleyway they were passing as she blocked him from view of the guard. After mentally counting to five, he dropped back into the alley, stealthily tracking Lydia and the suspicious-acting guard.

[Cynical Cat]

Sandor picked up the gasping woman and bounced her off the wall before grabbing the child and putting his hand over its mouth. Given the distance between houses and the muffling effects of walls, it was likely that the screams had gone unheard or had not disturbed the sleep of the neighbors, but he could not be sure. Still it would be wiser to act quickly.

"Be quiet," he said to the child. "Or I will kill your parents and then you."

[Comrade Rudolf]

Those men down the alley won't stand a chance against two kindred if they do intend on harm. Then Lyonel watched as the Moor called Aziz left Lydia. Hmmm... The odds didn't look as good if it came to blows now. He looked to Mendo and sent a silent message.

*Stay right behind me. Be ready for trouble from the end of the alley. Protect the Lady.*

Motioning for Philip to stay back Lyonel hurried to stay close to the duo, if Lydia needed backup he didn't want to be to far off. Looking for the men down the alley he pushed his thoughts to the one in the back trying to cause his 'voice' more menace.

*Mortal! Your doom will soon be upon you!*

[Charon]

The guard continued down the alleyway, working by the light of the moon and firelight from open windows. He came to a stop when something started to growl at him and he looked down at a dog that was standing, looking at him threateningly with the remains of a fish at its feet. It was a mangy looking thing, definately not the pet of some rich aristocrat.

"Uhh, no ma'am. I don't think this is your dog."

He looked back at Lydia, and apparently didn't see Aziz in the shadows.

Neither Lydia or Aziz could see anyone else in the alleyway.

___________________________

Lyonel saw the three go down an alleyway that was not the same one where the other groups of people were. As he got closer however with Mendo all three vampires could see one another. Lyonel's keen eyes could easily spot Aziz hiding in the shadows now, and Lydia who was still behind the guard. To Lydia and Aziz, all they saw was two more mortals arrive, one looking very dangerous.

Amongst the group that was trying to stay quiet, the man in the back spoke up in a whisper, unheard by any ears save Lyonel's. "Jesus in Heaven, did you hear that?"

One of the men looked back. "What?"

"Someone just shouted." Replied the man.

The rest of the group looked at one another. "Uhhh, I think you're just hearing things."

"No damnit, someone just said that our doom was coming."

The other men, Lyonel could tell there were four all together, looked at one another incredulously before shaking their heads and getting ready again.

____________________________

The child's screams came to a slow stop as it looked terrified into the eyes of the vampire and saw very very little reflecting back at her.

The man was trying to get back to his feet to try to defend his family. But the blow to his head had him still unsteady.

____________________________

Bernabas fixed his stole around his shoulders, it was green for now, but there was a tint of red woven in among the fibers to symbolize the blood of God's Chosen. It was nowhere near as beautiful as some he had seen, and he would not deny his jealousy at his low station. But if he worked hard for the Angel that had come to him personally, he would go far indeed. It was the day before the St. Valentine feast of martyrs, and so there would be many of the faithful in his church this night, preparing themselves for the religious festivities of the following night. The herbs and potions had already been prepared for that night, as well as the food and the slaves. It would truly be a wonderful experience, that would be watched over by none other than one of Caine's Chosen themselves.

[Cynical Cat]

Sandor kicked the man in the ribs before he could get back up. The family might be peasants, but they were peasants living beside a city and would be part of the cash economy. A house and fields like this meant they had to have some silver squirreled away. "Your money and I'm gone," said Sandor. "Otherwise I break the child's neck."

[Comrade Rudolf]

"Oh good. Guard, there seems to be a group of men, who could be drunk, looking for trouble a short distance away. Perhaps you could disperse them before they get out of hand and someone ... gets hurt."

Putting a hand on Mendo's shoulder as a cue for him to relax a little Lyonel addressed Lydia. "Good evening to you Lady. I am glad the evening is treating you well. I am new to this city and was wondering if I could trouble you for some information. I am Lyonel of Wessex," he said with a deep bow, "and I am looking for a Prince. Perhaps you know where I might know where to look or who to seek."

Knowing the strength of the Cainite mind Lyonel had to push a bit harder to send the silent message to Lydia but he hoped it would help clear thing up.

*I need to present myself and would like to do so before dawn. The guard was leading you to a trap with his friends. He is abandoned his plan and is now hoping to just get out of this alive.*

[LadyTevar]

There was a flash of annoyance in Lydia's deep grey eyes as she turned sharply to stare at Lyonel. His accent was ... unclear, but the message that touched her mind was not.

Still, the fool had mentioned meeting 'a Prince' in front of a mortal. That meant she had even more reason to make sure the guard died. "Why, of course I will aid you gentlemen," she said in perfect Italian. "Allow me to give this man his payment first..."

The small woman turned to the guard and blurred as she sent speed to her limbs via Brujah's bloodline. Her hands clasped the guard's head between them, and with a surge of Brujah's strength she cleanly snapped the unlucky man's neck. "Aziz!" she called in sure Turkish. "Kill the ambushers in the alley!"

[rhoenix]

There were some of the undead that could flay someone alive before they could blink, punch hard enough to make a crater, or resist even the burning caress of fire itself for a short time, looking preternaturally powerful as they did, resplendent in their power.

Aziz was of the younger generation of vampires however. Though he had completed his "three sevens" worth of training, he was trained to his talents as an undead mage and sometime warrior, lacking the talents of stealth or speed that were the hallmarks for the more martial members of his Clan.

Even with all of that said, Aziz was a well-trained swordsman, and learned his basic training in stealth and combat well. Darting like a ghost into the alley as he tracked Lydia's voice, and attempted to find the alley she had indicated. All his senses came alive as he searched for the right alleyway.

[Charon]

The man looked up at Sandor with fire in his eyes. "Alright. Alright." The man slowly got to his feet again, his eyes fixed on Sandor as he started to move over to a series of shelves. The woman was beginning to stir now, and looked from her child to her husband, never daring to look in the eyes of their attacker.

The man shoved the shelf out of the way and got on his hands and knees and stuck his hand down a hole that had been hidden by the shelf. It came up a few seconds later holding a jar, the clinks of small chunks of metal on metal giving the idea that it was indeed filled with money. He got back up and looked at Sandor. "Please, let go of my son. And I will give it to you."

____________________________

The guards neck snapped under the twist and, still looking completely shocked, the guard fell dead to the ground and the dog began barking violently again, the sharp loud noises threatening to burst Lyonel's ear drums from this close.

The alley they were in was essentially a dead-end, so Aziz ran back out into the sidestreet. They had come from the right and so he went left, his eyes darting this way and that, his ears listening for the sound of other life in the street. His eyes caught the glint of metal and he came to a stop as he looked down one of the alleys. Four men sat in waiting, and both sides saw one another. Three of the men were outfitted like guardsmen as well, the last looked like a normal ruffian.

"Oh shit! Oh shit I told you! I fucking told you!" One in the back started to shout. The others started getting to their feet while they kept an eye on the Moor.

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel followed the Moor Aziz to the alley staying back from the warrior so as not to get in his way. Mendo watched Lyonel's back but was ready to assist the Moor if it was needed. Mendo had no wish to come between a vampire warrior and his kills.

Lyonel had questions about these ruffians and probed their minds quickly before Aziz dispatched them all. Was this their whole group? Were they really guards? If not where did they get their uniforms? How often did they attempt these muggings? He scanned as many minds has he could as deep as he could in the short time they had left. This could be nothing but if city guards were corrupted or if their uniforms were being stolen so easily the security of the city might not be so secure.

[LadyTevar]

Lydia swept into the alleyway on Lyonel's heels, the dead guard's spear held competently in her hand. Her grey eyes turned cold and hard as flint as she took in the four mortals. Three of them in the dress of guardsmen? "Base traitors and oathbreakers -- to turn from guards into thieves and rapists," she hissed, then leapt forward at the nearest guard, stabbing the spear with enhanced strength. "Die as the beasts you are!"

[Cynical Cat]

"Stop playing the fool or I'll kill the brat," snarled Sandor. "Give me the money."

[rhoenix]

Unlike Lydia, Aziz did not speak to the four would-be ambushers. Instead, he simply swept into the alley, rushing at the closest one. Perhaps surprisingly, the shimmering blade did not cut through the night air en route to their necks. Instead, grabbing the closest assailant in the alley by the face, he lunged forward to the wall, slamming the back of the man's head against the unforgiving brick, aiming to knock the man out before the others had regained themselves from surprise.

[Charon]

The man did not pause, he placed the pot at Sandor's feet and quickly backed away, his eyes flickering from their assailant to his child, who was trying very hard to be quiet in the face of death.

_________________________

It took Lyonel a bit of hunting to get the information he wanted. The men seemed to be certain that they would be enough to handle what they were up against, none of their thoughts turned to reinforcements, whether that meant they had none or simply did not think they would be needed was impossible to say. The outfits they wore were true as far as Lyonel could read of their thoughts. Lyonel did not have time to ferret out how often these muggings took place before the battle began.

It was Aziz who moved first, but his opponents had been ready for at least a struggle and had seen him coming. The man he attacked managed to duck his head mostly out of the way To do so though the man had to spin around and was horribly out of position to either attack or properly defend himself. The man Lydia struck for was not as lucky. While they were not wearing their usual chain and helmets that would be required for wall duty, they were in leather jerkins. It did not help very much against the blow Lydia struck. The spear entered into the man's stomach cleanly and came out the other side, splashing blood across the wall.

[Cynical Cat]

Sandor picked up the pot and looked inside, ready to drop it and strike at any sign of trickery.

[rhoenix]

Seeing the man had managed to half-twist out of his grasp, Aziz simply brought the blade up, and slammed the butt of his sword to the top of the man's skull, aiming for a slightly messier but just as effective means of knocking the man out.

Lydia may have wanted them dead, but dead men cannot answer for their deeds.

[LadyTevar]

To Lydia, death was the only answer for their deeds, as she sent blood to her muscles to give her more strength so she could lift the stabbed guard up by the spear inside him. "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" she asked in Latin, the ancient question of who watches the watchmen spoken mockingly, before she used the impaled body to smack the third guard against the wall, the impact violently removing the spear from the stomach of her human hammer.

[Comrade Rudolf]

Lyonel continued to search while Mendo moved forward to make sure someone didn't attack either of the other vampires from behind but he dare not stray to far and leave his master vulnerable.