Chorro pressed an unseen button under the table. He stood slowly, his hands on the table as he leaned over Clyde LaFeet. The younger vampire shrank back slightly, but bolstered his resolve to face Chorro. “Maybe you should leave. Your days of walking this earth are numbered. You should pass this night by while you are still clinging to your undead life.”

Clyde paused a moment as the words settled in. He stood slowly, never taking his eyes off of Chorro’s. Clyde reached for the remains of his chips.

Leave them. Your buy-in is forfeit. A small price to pay for your miserable, paltry existence.” Chorro said.  Without another word, Clyde stood to depart the room.  He opened the door and was met by two of Chorro’s security, who escorted Mr. LaFeet out of the casino.

Chorro turned to the group. “Randy, the pair of seven’s wins. This pot is yours”
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:09, Wed 07 Nov 2007.

Randy sat a moment wondering if he should even take it considering the circumstances. His brain started to cacluate the odds of making out of here with his neck and head still one unit and finally he decided, As long as I play FAIR we shouldn't have a problem.

"Well, looks like my luck's changing already." he reached forward and started to collect all but his ante. Sitting back he began to stack them in colored rows while not actually counting anything.
Looks like no ammount of preperation would have gotten me ready for THIS.

Johnny contended himself to not look as if he had just been beamed up by Scotty. Some playful part of his cerebral cortex could not decide if the archaic Hoyle's rule springing out of nowhere or Dren's winning a good-sized pot with a pair of sevens was the more incredible.

The remainder of Clyde’s chips were split evenly among the remaining players. Dren now faced the challenge of loosing big, with Johnny winning, yet not making it look like he was feeding a partner chips. Dren could not afford to win another pot like that last one or their entire timetable would be thrown off.

The game continued for a while. Now that there was one less player, the others became more aggressive with their bets. At the designated time, another cog of the Cornerstone machine began to move.

Iain slowly descended the last few steps of the stair, keeping his eyes and ears open for any sign of unexpected company.

The lowest deck of the boat was noisy and not very clean, but not as much as Iain had expected. Most importantly, though, it was better lit than he'd hoped.

He carefully approached the first corner. The deck wasn't exactly crowded, but being discovered down there meant a serious chance of being ashed.

He sneaked past the intersection and the door of the employee break room, until he reached the entrance of the security room.

Here comes the hard part...

Just before the door, Iain could see the arch that was supposed to keep living beings outside. He didn't know exactly how it worked, but he imagined it wouldn't just say "please stay back" in a contralto voice. Luckily for him, he wasn't going to find out the hard way.

A quick peek from the small window in the door revealed two people, most likely vampires, relaxing on their chairs and examining the images on the large amount of monitors, each with a big display split in four mini-screens.

The entire thing looked like the control room of a nuclear reactor, with a control panel that would fit nicely on an aircraft carrier - or a spaceship.

Cameras, doors, fire control, flood control, everything on the boat was monitored and managed from that room. No wonder Chorro had put magical security on it.

Iain looked around to find something to entertain his new friends with. The fire axe on the wall looked like an adequate choice...


The tactical situation wasn't quite to Iain's advantage: the four seats in the middle of the room were all facing the door - a basic security measure Chorro hadnt's missed. Still, the large management console took up so much space that, to see him properly, the two vampires would've had to stand up. Unfortunately, there was still the matter of opening the door without them noticing.

Getting his nice dress torn apart in a fight was not a good idea: someone was bound to notice, plus Smithers would tear him a new one for the extra expense...

As he removed his expensive suit and shirt and placed them safely out of harm's way, it became apparent that he hadn't quite given up his usual style after all: under the bright upper layer, he was still wearing a black vest.


He unhooked the hose from the water tap and opened it. Water began pouring on the lowest deck of the ship.

The water pooled on the deck. It looked for a place to go, and then suddenly it ran toward the port side and into a channeled drain. As the water disappeared down the drain, so did Iain’s hope for a surprise attack. Just as he was about to give up on this plan and move on to Plan B, an alarm sounded in the control room. The sound was muffled by the heavy door, but to Iain’s ears, it sounded like the Red Alert klaxon on the Starship Enterprise. Both of the vamps on watch snapped alert.

“What the hell? Portside, first deck.” one of them said loudly. He pushed the flashing button to silence the alarm and reset it. The alarm went quiet, but the button remained lit.

“Nothing’s scheduled for a wash down. Could be a pipe in the break room or the boiler. Check it out while I see if it’s a relay.”

As directed, one guard quickly made his way around the console.  “We got water on the deck.”he called back. He moved toward the puddle and the sound of rushing water to try and discover the source.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:00, Wed 14 Nov 2007.

Iain secured his grip on the axe's handle.

With a little luck, he would be able to ash the incoming vampire with a single hit as soon as he rounded the corner, which would leave only one bad guy to deal with.

That was the theory, at least...

Alex strode past the gaming tables and flashing slot machines that lined the walls of the main deck, looking like a woman with a mission.  Which was she, for all intents and purposes, though not quite the mission that she had been leading people to believe.  Directing a pointed scowl at anyone who got in her way - or looked as though they were thinking about it, she swung open the door to the small security room.

It was small inside, with just two people manning the place and Alex was unsure if they were human or vampires at this juncture.  The room was more of an office than a security control room, with only a couple of security monitors to watch and plentiful space to do paperwork.

"Any problems?" she asked the room at large, eyeballing the pictures on the monitors before turning to the personnel in the room themselves.

The men on watch looked Alex over for a second then relaxed. “Nah, it just another busy night of stripping people of their hard earned money.” said the tall, blond guard. He came around the desk towards Alex. “That guy you work for seems like he keeps you busy. We had a hell of a time trying to get some of the things he requested. Me, I’m more of a simple guy. I work, I workout, and I try to have fun."

“Hey, I could use a hand down here!” came a call from below.  The other guard rolled his eyes, and headed down stairs. “He probably wants a snack and can’t figure out the microwave again.” the second guard muttered as he disappeared down the stairs.

Blondie shrugged as his partner departed and looked back at Alex. “where were we… oh yes, having fun. Do you like to have fun?” he asked as he ran his finger up Alex’s arm softly.

Here we go again... Alex thought sourly to herself as she looked down at the finger snaking its way up her arm.

"That depends." she replied softly, lifting her gaze to meet the guard's.  There was a faint smile on her lips and an unwholesome glitter in her eyes.  "Did you have something specific in mind?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:37, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

The guard’s eyes lit up as walked his fingers up Alex’s arm. “Oh, yes! You are a naughty girl. I can play nice or I can play dirty. I have lots of fun things in mind for you. As soon as we’re off for the night, our games can begin. What’s your pleasure; Princess on a pedestal, or damsel in distress?”

"Damsel on a pedestal?" Alex murmured back, cringing inside.  Quashing the rising ick, she turned toward the security guard a little, smiling slyly and inhaling slowly.

"You said you work out?  I like a man that takes care of himself.  Stand there and let me look at you a moment..." she grinned lasciviously, taking a step back while her hand drifted up to his bicep, squeezing experimentally.  Her lips twitched in silent approval, then she began a slow circuit, trailing her fingertips up his arm and along his chest as she stepped behind.

He puffed up notably as Alex surveyed his manly muscle. “That’s right, baby. It’s all me. I’m gonna treat you to the pectoral playground as soon as I get off work.  Lucky you!” He stood still, save for the flexing of muscle as she moved around behind him.

The sounds of some kind of commotion drifted up the stairway. Then there was a resounding tone, like metal striking metal.

Rolling her eyes, Alex slipped a stake into her hand while cooing appreciative noises all the while.  She took a moment to line herself up, then slammed the stake into the vampire's back with all the force she could muster.

The axe sliced through the air swiftly. The resistance of the vampire’s neck did little to slow the axe. It struck the metal bulkhead like someone rung a huge bell. The deep hollow sound reverberated throughout the lower deck of the ship and the axe left a dent in the metal where it stopped.  A small cloud of arcane dust floated to the deck in a pile on what was spotlessly clean tile.

Too much enthusiasm! On the plus side, Vamp #1 was ashed; however, now his pal had certainly heard the not-exactly-quiet hit of Iain's Large Implement of Destruction against the bulkhead.

So much for surprise... Iain thought muttering a curse.

Well, perhaps not yet.

He sped up towards the control room. As he burst inside, he ran even faster towards the remaining vampire, yelling: "Intruder on board!"

Hopefully, Vamp #2's brain would short-circuit for just a moment, trying to digest the fact that an intruder was warning him about an intruder - just the instant Iain needed to stop him from pushing the panic button.

“Intruder!?  Where?” the vampire behind the consol became alarmed at Iain’s warning. He reached for a button on the panel when his training and brain kicked into gear.  This stranger is one of us since he got past the arch, but I don’t think he’s one of the crew. he thought as Iain approached. The fact that Iain was carrying an axe just didn’t have time to fit into the guard’s pondering.

“Wait a sec, who the hell are you?” he asked as he pointed at Iain.

Footsteps picked up their pace as a guard descended from the office a deck above.    “Lucas, what do you want and what’s with all the racket?”

Iain heard the third, unexpected guard before he was in sight, and for a split second he considered his options, but it really was too late. Too late for new plans, too late for subtlety, too late for anything but the old Universal Solution.

There are very few problems that cannot be solved by the judicious application of A CRAPLOAD OF BRUTE FORCE.

Iain vamped out. With inhuman speed he spun around, raising his axe; as he completed the turn, he lifted the other arm to grip the handle, and threw all his strength into a single blow.

Up in the Security office, Alex had slipped behind the vamp security officer as he puffed out his chest to impress her. She positioned her slim stake and was just about to ram it home through his heart. The sounds of a ruckus drifted up the stairway.

_{"Intruder on board!"}

Alex put her weight into the strike. He was rather muscled and it resisted her attack slightly. But, it was not enough. He began to turn as the stake drove through it’s mark. An ashen look of alarm hung in the air for a brief moment as wordlessly he crumbled into a small pile of dust.

The ferocity of Iain’s attack startled the control room guard. With nothing at hand to block the swinging axe, he lunged for the alarm button. The pointed finger touched the plastic but crumbled without depressing it. Iain had taken his second head of the night.

As Alex watched the ash drift down, the room was suddenly filled with the sounds of the casino. Her back to the door, she had no time to turn around when an explosion of pain racked the back of her ribs. The impact knocked her forward into the desk, scattering papers in all directions.

“I’m gonna rip you open an’ gut you like a fish”

Tate, the tag on his jacket clearly displayed his name, was a pit boss for the roulette tables. He had entered the security office to enjoy a bit of friendly banter with his friends while he was on a break. Tate had even taken the time to score some finger sandwiches for the security guys, since they rarely got out of the control room. As he entered, he was not greeted with the expected ration of cutting remarks from his friends, but rather he saw one of them meet his demise. Tate could only suspect that the well-dressed woman before him had similarly dispatched the second man on watch in this office. Tate decided to hit first and ask questions, well, he wasn’t going to ask any questions.  The small metal tray of sandwiches hit the deck with a clatter as the door closed behind him.

Alex groaned and rolled sideways off the table, trying to regain her breath.

That hurt.

Facing the new arrival, she realised she had no idea if he were human or a vampire...  And she wasn't going to risk staking a human, no matter how objectionable he might be.  With a grimace and keeping the stake ready in one hand - it never hurt to be prepared, after all - she balled her fists and fell into a combat stance.

"I'd rather you didn't - it would ruin my suit." she drawled back, snapping a punch toward him.

Tossed from the card game for his outburst, Clyde LaFeet was sandwiched between the two bodyguards as he was led into the lounge and to the elevator door. The guard on his right pressed the button and when the door opened, he ushered Clyde into it. When Clyde was in the elevator, the guard reached inside and pushed the button for the main deck. “Looks like your luck has finally run out, Clyde. Enjoy poverty and starting over.” the guard said.  As the door closed, he spoke into a small radio and said “LaFeet is to be escorted from the boat and black listed. Chorro’s orders.”

Clyde was fuming and depressed at the prospect of being broke and starting over. He kept thinking that this was all Chorro’s fault. He won the hand under normal rules, but lost it under Chorro’s rules. The door opened on the main deck, and to his surprise, no one was there to escort him off the boat. Clyde seized the opportunity to take action. He pressed the button back up to the top deck.

---

Alex had used her womanly wiles to dupe the vamp security guard in the main deck office. She got behind him and ended the torrid fantasy with a stake through the back. However, Tate the pit boss had entered the room and clubbed the back of Alex’s head when he saw what she had done. As they moved around the room trading punches and kicks, a radio on the desk crackled to life.

*“LaFeet is to be escorted from the boat and black listed. Chorro’s orders.” *

At one point during the fight, Alex was at the top of the stairs that led to the lower security office.  Tate smiled briefly then leaped over the desk to knock her down the stairs. Alex dropped to the floor and Tate was the one who ended up tumbling down the stairs. But he only made it halfway down the flight. Suddenly, he seemed to hit an invisible wall, like a force field. Bluish light and electrical discharges filled the stairway. Charred flesh rapidly spread from Tate’s hands and feet to his body as his face mouthed a silent scream. A few seconds later, he was gone, but the strong smell of ozone and burnt hair remained.

---

The radio in the lower office relayed the same message, but Iain was not listening to it. He was swinging a fire axe and taking down vampires guards like a crazed lumberjack toppled trees. The security guard coming down the stairs vamped out and leaped onto Iain. A classic struggle for control of the axe had Iain and the Security guard knocking over chairs, smashing into walls and bumping into the control console. The axe handle finally broke under the strain of combat. This left Iain with essentially a hand axe and the guard a long wooden stake. Battered and bleeding, they stalked each other as sounds of combat emanated from the room above. Suddenly there was a bluish flash from the stairs. This distracted the guard long enough for Iain to throw his axe head. It flipped in the air and struck the guard in the chest, broken handle first. The guard dusted as the axe clattered noisily to the floor.  Alex and Iain checked on each other to see who had won their individual battles. Then Iain tended to the task of stopping the tapes from recording.

The elevator door opened and Clyde sprinted across the room. In his hand was the placard from the of the elevator with the Grateful Dead quote :: I may be going to Hell in a bucket but, at least I’m enjoying the ride. :: The edge of the plaque wasn’t sharp, but it was an edge and with enough force, it could be deadly.

Margaritta was chatting with the two security men and alerted them to Clyde’s sudden appearance and departure from the lounge. They gave chase. Pieran, as Rousseau the chef was introducing the next tray full of nibbles as Clyde burst into the room with determination. He intended to run around the table to where he had been sitting and attack Chorro.

Clyde ran his attack through his mind. Rush him before he has a chance to move. Pin his neck to the wall with this plaque. Off with his head! But Clyde didn’t factor in Pieran.

Pieran was in the way, but Clyde was committed to his course of action. He tried to push past the annoying chef but only ended up spilling the tray of appetizers. Like any good temperamental chef, Pieran wacked Clyde in the back of the head with the now empty tray. The blow connected just as Clyde lunged at Chorro, saving the elder vampire from a beheading but knocked Chorro out of his chair. Dren helped Chorro up off the floor and at the same time, picked the vampire’s pocket, taking Chorro’s personal security access card. The security guards arrived in time to clean up. “Kill him!” Chorro ordered. Without hesitation, one of the guards, pulled a stake from his suit coat and drove it into the heart of Clyde LaFeet.

Chorro stood and questioned his men as to what happened and how did Clyde get back into the room. When Chorro discovered that Clyde was not escorted down the elevator, he beckoned the guard that didn’t stake Clyde to his side. Quietly, but with obvious anger Chorro said, “When I tell you to do something, I demand that it is done to the letter! No shortcuts.”

Chorro locked his eyes on the guard, placed his left hand the guard’s shoulder, and moved his right hand in a way that looked like Chorro was drawing something out of the air between the two vampires. The poor guard began to sweat the blood from his last meal through the pores on his neck and face. He shuddered as if his body was attacked from within. When Chorro stopped, the guard’s eyes seemed to glaze over. His face when slack and he just stood there. “Take him away and put him with the others. If he won’t think on the job, I’ll give him one where he doesn’t need his mind at all.” The guard did as he was told, and lead the shuffling vamp-zombie out of the room.

Chorro thanked Rousseau (aka Pieran) for saving his life. He would remember this and was in his debt. After getting everyone another round of drinks, they turned to another hand of poker. After a couple more hands, Chorro asked for the special treat that Rousseau had prepared for the evening. Pieran noticed that the red lights on the security cameras were out, so he agreed. This was the signal to begin the theft of the mirror itself.  Dren lost big to Johnny in a couple of hands and decided to take a break to change his luck. He excused himself from the game as Pieran served the blood sausage with over-the-top flourish.

Poker continued into the night. One by one the guests fell to the unlucky side of Lady Luck. Dren went all in on a hand he knew that he shouldn’t and was knocked out. Thirty five minutes later, Johnny did the same thing. The kitchen had closed down for the night and the “caterers” were cleaning up. It was time for the members of Cornerstone to make their exit. Dren waited for Johnny since they had arrived together. They made their exit as the last of the kitchen cleanup was being completed. Alex made her way out of the security office. Pieran departed soon after; knives in hand, since it would have been in the nature of a prima donna chef to leave the mess to the staff to clean. On a rolling cart, the covered serving tray/mirror was stacked up with some general bowls, utensils and spices. Raven headed to the elevator. Once she was in, Iain left the lower security room. He flipped on the cameras to allow them to record nothing unusual. With luck, it would be a while before anyone noted the skip in time.

Raven exited the elevator on the third deck and wheeled the cart to the casino boat’s main kitchen next to the Fortunes Wheel Restaurant.  She unloaded the cart of the ship’s supplies, tucked the covered tray under her arm and headed for her exit. As Raven crossed the restaurant floor, she could see Old Bullion’s dance floor winding up. The band was off their break and they fired up the crowd with a smoke and strobe light display with their first tune. Raven changed her direction and headed for the port side stairway near the stern of the boat and the kitchen. On the main deck, Raven weaved her way through Wild Bills and out onto the gaming floor. Only half a ship length to go and she would be clear. Raven tried to hurry through the game room, looking down as she walked. Someone grabbed her arm and spun her around.

---

Iain slipped into the back of the van with the rest of the team. “Raven should be right behind me,” he said. “I saw her getting into the elevator on the monitors.”

The group sat in the van for a few minutes, but the archaeologist did not appear. “Sometin’s wrong,” Dren said, as he jumped out of the vehicle. “Wait 'ere!” Dren sprinted between the parked cars.

Dren rushed into the gaming boat, and stepped into a chaotic scene. A crowd had gathered around the slot machines. Apparently someone had just hit the jackpot. He quickly scanned the area and spotted Raven, wandering aimlessly, a few feet away. She had a faraway look in her eyes, like she was awake, but no one was home. The tray was still clutched in her hands in a white-knuckle grip. Dren moved to her, and placed one of his hands on her face, shielding her eyes. “Come back t’ me, Pidge,” he said in a soft voice.

Raven blinked a few times before she finally seemed able to focus and look at him.

“Ya ok?” Dren asked.

“Dizzy,” was all she said.

Dren gently took the mirror from her hands and slipped it under his arm. He wrapped the other arm around Raven so she could lean on him. “Let's get ya outta 'ere.” He walked Raven across the parking lot and helped her into the van. Once inside the vehicle, Dren explained to the others, “Dinner didn't agree wit' her. Bad pork. She'll be fine after she gets some rest.” Raven closed her eyes and leaned on Dren as Mike drove everyone back to the mansion.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:50, Wed 16 Sept 2009.