Liam laughed in spite of himself. "You're not the first person to make that observation." Standing up and stretching his limbs (still favoring his wounded leg), Liam reached down and scratched Caleb's head.

"When will I see you again?" he asked, already making his way towards the tent. It was time to tuck in.

"Soon enough," Book replied. "If you want to reach me, just find yourself alone and put me in your thoughts. Have a pleasant rest, Liam."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Mon 25 May 2020.

"Thank you very much," Liam replied as he climbed into the protected shelter and turned to face Book through the open door. "And thanks for stopping by with the timely reminder," he added, waggling his phone. "That's a call I would have hated to miss."

"Take care of yourself."

The sun was already spilling across the tops of the trees as he zipped the enclosure tight and fell into the deadening embrace of torpor.

Liam awoke to the sound of Caleb barking, and the sound of a vehicle coming to a halt. There was a brief pause, and then his dog's reports changed. Liam could tell from the way he was carrying on that it was someone he knew, but had not seen for a vary long time. Voices and the gentle clatter of a metal grill soon followed. His body told him that the sun wasn't quite over the mountaintop, though.

"We're a touch early, Liam," Maeve's voice said from outside his tent. "We forgot to factor in the change of latitude. Take your time and don't rush out here on our account."

By the time Liam had roused, the coals were hot and there were burgers on the grill. Maeve was perched in a folding chair under the Winnebago's awning. Caleb was curled on the ground beneath her. A most welcome sight indeed.

"Evening, Liam," Jack said warmly as he spied him emerge. Caleb trotted over to greet his master. "Got beer on ice for ya, if it's not too early. Dunno how it works for you guys."

Liam smiled as he climbed out of his shelter and stretched tall. His leg was as good as new again, though less could be said for his trousers. Reaching down he lazily scratched behind Caleb's pointed ears.

"As long as its cold its not too early. Good to see you both," he said, genuinely pleased for their company whatever the circumstances.

He made his way over to icebox and grabbed a bottle off the top, twisting off the cap and pocketing it so as to leave no trace behind. The beer tasted like nectar on his lips and ran cool down his throat after weeks of venison and the odd foray into Bergen for supplies. Liam sank down in the folding chair beside Maeve's with a contented sigh and Caleb followed close behind.

"Sorry I haven't got anything to contribute. I don't get a lot of visitors out here."

"With the favour you're gon' do us I think it puts us about square," Jack quipped.

"More than, I'd say," Maeve chimed in.

"I've got a vamp-friendly burger I've been workin' on if you wanna try it," Jack said. "But I'm not gon' lie, it's basically a big scab."

"Where would the Kindred culinary world be without you, Jack?" Liam said, grinning wide. "I'm sure Marty is chomping at the bit to put it on the menu."

"I'd be glad to have the honours of first bite."

Liam took another drink from the bottle and looked up at the stars. The glow off the grill spoiled his dark sight but overhead the sky was clear and just beginning to unfold in all its northern majesty.

"So how bad is it back home?" he asked at last.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:34, Tue 26 May 2020.

Jack quietly served the burgers (briskly chopped and tossed in sauce for Maeve, and naked for Caleb). The patty he put in front of Liam looked like ground beef dyed jet black, and tasted...well, like a cooked scab. Still it was staying down, and the first solid food Liam had swallowed in centuries. As he worked, Maeve answered Liam's question.

"Things are not going well, as I'm sure you're aware," she said. "Keisinger and the Tremere have effectively conquered the city. The Sabbat are out, the Garou are routed, and all of us have been pushed out, save for Hasan and Jacob." Liam did indeed know all this. "However, their plans have hit a snag. COVID-19 has strange effects on Kindred blood. It causes blood bonds to break, ghouls to revert into humans, and can make kine both unpalatable and unembraceable. No one knows for sure how long these effects last, or if they're permanent. This presents a major threat to Keisinger's plans - the Fugue is similarly affected. I daresay this is the last expansion project you'll have to blow up in the near future. They're focused entirely on research at the moment. The entire city is on lockdown, and unlike certain parts of the world, they're able to maintain perfect isolation. Anyone who draws breath is confined to their homes. Food and supplies are all delivered. In reality, they've managed to keep the city down to a handful of cases. On paper, they're being hard hit. They're using the tragedy to harvest test subjects by the hundreds. Jacob and Hasan have used the situation to step up their guerilla tactics, but they're only two people."

Liam chewed in silence as Maeve recounted the litany of Verdant Falls's woes, and it was lengthy at that.

"If this is what's happening in Verdant Falls I can only imagine how the Princes of Manhattan and Bergamo are handling things. The Camarilla must be in a full-blown panic."

The virus was a problem for the entire world to solve however, and Liam had only one city to worry about.

"What happens to the ghouls of age?" His thoughts went immediately to Rick. Rick was as old as Liam.

"It ain't pretty," Jack said gruffly. He stepped inside the trailer for a moment.

"The older they are, the faster they age," Maeve said. "Young ghouls are proving to be an even bigger problem, however. Many were embraced against their will, and now free from their bonds, they're rebelling.

"You're quite right. The Camarilla is in crisis. The elders have retreated to private compounds with their own vassals. Cities have been left to fend for themselves. Some are doing okay. Others, not so well. Bergamo... well, I'm not hearing much of anything coming out of there. Last I heard, Manhattan had fallen to the Fomori. Those bastards are actually spreading it around. They've been looking for a weapon like this to use against the Kindred for decades. Spreading disease is their wheelhouse."

"I don't suppose you've heard anything from Rick?" Liam asked worriedly. He had no fears that Rick would turn on Hasan, but a healthy concern that Rick would not survive forcible reversion for long.

Maeve shook her head. "He's operating his own cell. Last I heard he was in Halifax, but you know how the arrangement works. Hasan would know more."

Liam nodded. All he could do was keep his fingers crossed.

"So how can I lend a hand?" he said around mouthfuls of burger.

Jack dropped a book on the table. Some sort of vegan cookbook. Sunshine Planet: 250 Veagan [sic] Recipes For A Sunnier Tomorrow by Robyn Rowe. Liam couldn't recall if he'd ever seen it before, but cookbooks kind of all blurred together. "We're in the publishing biz," he said.

Maeve elaborated. "This book is a confused, rambling collection of recipes riddled with spelling errors, incorrect ingredients, and misrecorded measurements. Most are inedible. Some are downright foul. It is also an international bestseller now in its third printing - with all typographical errors intact. This is in large part due to the fact that Sunshine Planet is perhaps the most important thing to happen to modern hedge wizardry since Crowley's Magick in Theory and Practice. Even most Traditional mages have a copy on their shel. It hasn't been announced yet, but she's writing a sequel."

"That's where you come in," Jack said. "We have to go to Newfoundland to make sure the publisher stays off everyone's radar until the book is already shipped. We need you to make sure she stays alive to write it."

Liam's brow hiked roughly an inch North. "You want me to keep Robyn safe?" He couldn't even keep Kate safe, and no one had had good cause to harm her. Liam looked back on those years with aching regret. To bond Caleb was one thing. To bond a human... He would never make that mistake again.

Perhaps no one would, if the virus ran its course.

"I suppose its foggy as all hell on the Rock, but there are still an awful lot of daylight hours where I'm of no use to anyone. Who is it you fear might harm her?"

"All three of us have warded her house as best we can," said Jack. "I don't worry too much 'bout ghouls finding her in the daytime. But the Tremere are still a threat. If they find out what she's discovered, they'll throw everything they have at her."

"So not the Fomori or other mages," Liam replied with relief. "I can handle Tremere."

"Does Robyn know I'm coming?"

"She does," Jack said, picking up the barbecue. "I told her your name, that you're a Kindred, and that we trust you implicitly." He tossed the grill, hot coals and all, in the Winnebago's belly compartment, and shoved it loudly in with his foot. Liam had learned long ago not to question how the old wreck worked. He took a seat next to Liam, and took in the sunset for a moment.

"We cut you a key," Maeve said. "It will get you past the wards, and even unlock the front door in a pinch." Her whiskers twitched, and she glanced over at Jack. "I suppose you're wondering why a simple book of magic is worth calling in old favours."

Liam smiled. "I presume its not just a simple book," he replied. "Do I dare ask what the wizarding world can expect in the sequel to Sunshine Planet?"

"Sunshine Planet 2: 50 Clean Drinks for a Clear Mind is a short collection of healthy and terrible mocktails sure to ruin any party," Maeve said. "In reality, it's a short and concise set of magical practices centered around one theme: the detection and elimination of the Camarilla Fugue."

"She cracked it, bud," Jack added. "It took her a while, but she devised a method for producin' an antidote to the Fugue using easy-to-find reagents. One that's simple enough for even a mid-level dabbler to pull off, and powerful enough that a gallon jug of the stuff can purify a major metropolitan water supply. It's a game changer."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:24, Fri 29 May 2020.

Liam made no effort to disguise his surprise. "Do the Tremere have any idea what's coming?" He understood now why Jack was desperate to have Robyn guarded. This changed everything.

Jack shook his head. "They don't," he said. "We're waiting til the book is on the shelves, and then we'll let 'em know. We'll give'm a clear fuckin' signal."

"Lets hope it stays that way," Liam replied. "So where in Newfoundland are we headed? Somewhere remote I presume?"

"We are going to St. John," Maeve said. "Or is it St. John's?"

"Robyn is... Well, you'll see," Jack said. "She's not going anywhere until the city's released."

"St. John's," Liam confirmed. "They get very touchy about that."

Draining the last of his bottle he stood from his chair.

"Give me a few minutes to pack up and we can get underway as soon as the two of you are done eating."