Jacob stayed behind to help move the strike team across the border, and Flores was due to arrive behind him in a few days' time. This meant that Liam was driving alone. As his business in Ontario was private, this suited him just fine.

The drive to Montreal was a long one, but he had just enough time to make it across the border. There was very little in the way of complications with the Canadian border guards, though the guard did search the trunk when he arrived at the border.

Arriving in the Sabbat stronghold just before dawn seemed ill-advised. He opted for a rest stop just outside Granby. This would allow him to signal Rick of his arrival should he so choose.

The room was slightly less disgusting than the rest stop he'd had on the trip south. His stay was uneventful during the daylight hours. However, a knock at the door roused him just as the sun had finished setting.

Liam had found the weight of Helios to be far less oppressive since he'd been bound. Though he could trace its movement across the sky and was thankful for its departure, it felt more like a heavy blanket than a stone tomb now. He was aware of its presence and he was aware of its passing, but it was not uncomfortable. He awoke almost unfailingly now with the deepening light of dusk.

"Coming," he said, rolling out of bed. "Just a moment."

Liam tugged his shirt over his head and pulled on his trousers. He carried no arms for concern of the border crossing, so there was nothing else to reach for. Pacing the few feet to the door he opened it with a yawn.

"Sorry," he said. "I was just napping."

The man on the other side was not one he recognized. He was Asian, with a military physique and bearing. He was cleaner-cut than anyone had any business being during a pandemic, and almost annoyingly handsome.

"Evening, sir, mind if I come in?" he said, placing his foot in the door. His right hand was in his pocket.

Liam looked down at the waywardly placed foot and then up at the clean cut face in front of him. He stared at the man for a moment, neither shutting the door tight nor opening it wide.

"I'm sorry, you are?" he asked.

The man smiled, and with a flourish of his left hand, he produced a business card seemingly out of nowhere. He handed it to Liam. It was emblazoned with a government crest, and read:

Jin Konno
Field Agent, Special Operations Branch
Canadian Security Intelligence Service

"That's who I am. Remind me, which one of Brian Fantana's balls are you pretending to be?"

Liam spared a glance for Field Agent Konno's card then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You'll have to forgive me, I don't get the reference but you may as well come in," he said, stepping aside and gesturing into the 'suite' with his arm.

"Its not much, but make yourself comfortable."

As soon as Konno stepped through the door, Liam closed and latched it behind him then turned towards the bathroom. Flicking on the lights, and with the door wide open he turned on the cold water tap and splashed water over his face.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:00, Fri 15 Jan 2021.

"Smart move," Agent Konno said, letting himself into the room and closing the door behind him. He looked around casually as Liam abluted. "So tell me, how do you like Verdant Falls?"

Liam came back into the room, wiping his face with a towel. "It's home," he said with a shrug. "The place has sort of lost its charm, if I'm being honest."

Liam sat down on the bed and offered the room's sole chair to his visitor.

"I should probably get this out of the way now - am I being placed under arrest for some reason? Or is this just a friendly truckstop motel room check in from the federal government? I swear I intend to quarantine, although you don't have a mask on so I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that's not why you're here."

The Agent's smile widened as Liam delivered his answer. Then, in answer to his question, he shrugged. "I don't know, is there something I should be arresting you for? I'm not with public health, so you can guess how much I care about whether or not you're quarantining. I really just came by to ask you that question."

"You see, I've never actually met anyone from Verdant Falls," he said, leaning on the edge of the motel room's shabby desk. "Visitors come and go, but nobody who lives there ever actually goes anywhere. I've asked that question of a lot of them. I've even asked it of fellow agents who spent time in the city. And they all gave the same answer. The same answer, like they were reading from a script. Every one except you. Now why is that?"

"I guess my agent forgot to drop off the script," Liam said. "Mind if I ask you a question, Mr. Konno? Have you ever been to Verdant Falls?"

"I can't say I have," he replied. "All the agents we've sent came back... Off. Something is rotten in that town, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you."

He looked around the room. "I don't see your friend here. And he didn't cross the border. Left him in the States?"

“He’s staying with friends,” Liam remarked. “Don’t worry though, between the two of us you got the fun one. He’s something of an acquired taste at the moment.”

“Let’s hear the scripted answer,” he continued, beckoning with his hand. “Come on, I’m curious. They have the worst god damned writers.”

"'Verdant Falls is a great town, but ultimately its very boring.' is the common phrase that sticks out a lot for me," he said. "Then the person will say they prefer things to be a little more exciting like - and then they'll say the name of whatever town they ended up in. Then they'll launch into whatever passes for exciting in ttheir dull pedestrian everyday to throw you off the subject."

He leaned forward a little. "Now your turn. Who's 'They'?"

Liam picked up Jin's card and read the face again. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world..." he muttered.

It was a good fucking thing Jin Konno had walked into his.

"We'll get to 'they' in a moment," he said. "Special Operations Branch," he read off the card. "What is that? I'd like to know who I'm talking to."

"To that end, I'm not the only one going stag tonight. You don't have a partner. Is this a personal professional interest? Am I talking to Jin Konno, or am I talking to CSIS? Because I have a really hard time believing someone higher up the chain in CSIS didn't try to shut this down. They lack for imagination but they aren't sloppy."

"Is this a date? Because you sure are ignoring my needs," the agent said with a wry grin. He opened the mini-bar with a foot, and helped himself to a tiny bottle of overpriced whiskey. "I'm working alone because that's how I work best. And as for who's paying attention here, let's just say that this is a very official visit. The Branch's name is vague for a few reasons, and not just to keep our work insulated from whatever penny-pinching pinhead the public has decided they want to run things this week. You know exactly why I'm here."

He cracked the neck of the bottle. "I'd offer you one, but something tells me you can't hold your liquor. So please, let's have it."

Liam smiled. He’d long wondered what the government knew and simply wasn’t telling. The Masquerade had been dying a death from a thousand cuts for decades. There was simply no way to keep a secret as big as this in this modern world, even with the tireless work of Rick and his peers around the globe.

“They are Camarilla. Tremere, more specifically. Do those names mean anything to you?”

"Vampire wizards," Jin said, sipping from the bottle. "That's about all's I know about them."

"Vampire wizards, yes," Liam concurred. "I just want it understood that this isn't some QAnon tinpot bullshit conspiracy. This is real. Its happening. And you're fucking lucky you knocked on my door instead of some other vampire's. There's a whole lot of vampires in Verdant Falls and almost all of them are on the other side. I'm public enemy number five, and believe me when I tell you its a short list."

"There's a carton of Du Maurier's in my coat pocket," he said, nodding to a heap next to Jin on the table. "Mind tossing them over?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:00, Sat 16 Jan 2021.

Jin made a point of rifling through each of his pockets before discovering the cigarettes. He tossed them over. "You don't have to convince me," he said. "I knew about things that go bump in the night long before I joined the SOB's. And I gotta admit I didn't know what to expect when I knocked in your door. I was ready to sift through your ashes for clues. I certainly wasn't expecting you to sing like a canary. But don't let that stop you. So the Tremere are up to something, and they're facing some internal opposition. Do go on."

Liam lit up and reached for an ashtray on the bedside table. "Like I said," he exclaimed, blowing smoke. "You're lucky you knocked on my door."

He glanced at his watch. "This isn't internal opposition. The Tremere are a monolith. They're fundamentally incapable of division. Look, you need to understand some things about vampire politics first to see the bigger picture. I'm happy to elucidate, but I've got a couple of ground rules."

"Number one, I've got a meeting in Montreal later tonight and I can't be late. Number two, this is the start of a dialogue. You want me to open a window into our way of life? Fine by me, I'm trying to tear down the whole bloody wall. But I'm going to need your help too."

Jin swirled the half-empty bottle for a moment, his lips pursed in thought. "Deal," he said. "Can I tag along with you to your meeting? I know how to keep my mouth shut."

Liam pondered this for a moment. "Maybe," he said. "Let me mull it over. I've only ever taken one human ghoul before and it... it didn't go great," he confessed. "The people I'm going to see know I normally travel alone."

He set his cigarette down in the ashtray and leaned forward, offering his hand.

"Liam O'Farrell," he said. "I think a proper introduction is due."

"If you pull up immigration records from round about 1910 you'll find me coming in through the port of Halifax. I was fourteen. The archives of the Department of National Defence may also have a record. I fought over in France," he said rolling up his sleeve, the cipher on his shoulder now faded beyond recognition. "Officially I'm listed as missing in action, presumed dead. I suppose that's true," he said with a grin.

"And that's my life on paper. Since then I've been a dead man. A ghost. I think its high time I was resurrected."

Jin shook his hand, and quickly took out a notepad to jot down the name. "Two Rs, two Ls?" he asked. He scribbled it down when Liam confirmed it. He listened to the request, and took a moment to play the request over in his head.

Then he exhaled sharply, and cracked another bottle. "Just so I'm clear on what you want to happen, here," Jin said. "You want the government to recognize you as a one-hundred-and-fiftyish—year-old haematologically-challenged landed immigrant. One who may or may not still be an active member of the military, because I honestly have no fucking idea whether a funeral counts as a discharge. It's not only going to open up a whole can of legal worms for you, but also for the government; it's also going to let the cat out of the bag. I would trust the military to keep your existence a secret, but Canada Revenue?"

"Canada Revenue can go after the department of National Defence for a hundred years back pay,” Liam said with a grin. “I'm sure we can work out the details. The thing is, the cats coming out of the bag one way or another. Its no longer a question of if, but when and how. I want there to be a place for those of us who want to reenter society - who are willing to do so on terms society accepts. That only comes with legitimate recognition, so I'd like to reclaim my citizenship."

"The world is in for a rude awakening, Mr. Konno. The government better start planning for what comes next."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Sun 17 Jan 2021.

Jin rubbed his eyes. "Look, you must know this is well beyond my paygrade," he said. "I'll see what I can do, but first you gotta give me something I can use. The more you give, the better it'll go for you."

"I'm nothing if not patient," Liam said, taking a drag on his cigarette.

"So lets talk politics. Vampire politics are ancient. Feudal. We don't plan in terms of years or even decades. Alliances span centuries. Accords have bound us for even longer."

"At the most fundamental level are the clans, thirteen in total. These are bloodlines that span back beyond the dark ages into the earliest nights of our kind. For all intents and purposes these are immutable. We are 'born' into our clans and they do not change."

"Tremere is one such clan. I belong to another: Gangrel. With me so far?"

Liam waited a moment for a sign of assent before resuming.

"The clans are a force in their own right, but the major currents in our politics are dictated by the sects of which there are three main factions."

"The Camarilla have long portrayed themselves as the cooler heads, though in recent nights I would contend they've bridged the line from cool-headed to diabolically calculating. For centuries, since the Spanish Inquisition, they - we've maintained - I counted myself as Camarilla until ten years ago - that it would be best for Kindred (that's us) and Kine (that's you) if humans simply forgot that we ever existed. To that end they constructed an elaborate system of lies and obfuscation which we call the Masquerade, and they've let the march of time do the rest. Human memory only persists for so many generations before it becomes the stuff of myths and legends."

"This conversation that we're having right now? Its a breach of the Masquerade. Both of us would be marked for death. Me for revealing it and you for knowing. Vampire law is both Byzantine and brutal."

"After the Camarilla the next largest faction are the Sabbat. The Sabbat are a quasi-religious sect that developed in reaction to the Camarilla - something like the schism in the Catholic church. At their fundamental root, the Sabbat believe might makes right. I'm sure they would quibble with this simplistic interpretation but basically they believe they have not only a right, but an imperative to lead - and not just our kind but everyone. They see no reason for the Masquerade because they believe their place is atop humankind rather than beside it."

"Lastly are the Autaurchs which is pretty much a catch all for everyone else - either those Vampires who disdain politics, or those factions too small to control more than a small domain unto themselves."

"Useful info," Jin said. "We'll circle back to who's in charge of these factions, but it doesn't answer the most important question: what's happening in Verdant Falls?"

"I'm getting to that," Liam replied.

"Round about the end of the 90s the Camarilla were coming to a crisis point. Humans make for unreliable witnesses but video cameras, satellites and drone footage are harder to refute. Trying to maintain the Masquerade was like sticking fingers into the proverbial dike. Breaches were occurring with greater and greater frequency and they were increasingly more difficult to cover up. Keep in mind that was twenty years ago. Now there are twice as many cellphones as there are people on this earth. The evidence of our existence is already out there. Its why you and I are having this conversation."

Liam took another drag on his cigarette.

"Around ten years ago the Tremere hit upon their current solution and they chose Verdant Falls to roll it out. Verdant Falls is the Camarilla's best effort at a 'perfect society'. Its a city under occupation, but its an occupation that's all but invisible to the outside world."

"Some sort of mind-altering magic?" Jin guessed.

"Sort of," Liam replied. "There's a compound in the water derived from what amounts to specially treated vampire blood. Is it magical?" Liam shrugged. "I don't know. I've blown up my share of the plants where the Tremere mass produce it. They're certainly using magic to get to scale. Whatever the case, it makes anyone who imbibes it immediately and intensely suggestible to Vampires. And it doesn't just work on humans. It works on us too."

"Your agents reading you back lines from a script? They were thirsty when they got back to the hotel room and poured themselves a glass from the tap. Or someone handed them a spiked cocktail. That's all it takes. One drink and they don't belong to you anymore, they belong to them. The rest is just classical conditioning."

Jin swallowed hard, and went pale. "Jesus Christ. The whole town? What about Bishop AFB? Is it completely compromised?"

Liam nodded. "Bishop is compromised," he concurred without elaborating.

"There are two good pieces of information though. Number one, the Coronavirus seems to deactivate it. The Camarilla are in a panic because so long as this pandemic continues to rage it throws all their plans into chaos. And number two, we have an antidote."

"I can give you back your compromised colleagues. I can take back Bishop, although that will take some work. We're trying to take back Verdant Falls - but you have to understand, they'll remember everything. When we succeed - if we succeed - the Masquerade ends that very night. You can't sweep that sort of thing back under the rug. The whole world is going to see it on YouTube."

Liam took one last drag on his cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

"The cat's coming out of the bag, Jin, and its going to get ugly."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

Jin shook his head. "I don't think you know who you're dealing with," he said. "You get me Bishop, and maybe they'll be convinced to not wipe Verdant Falls off the map. The Tremere have stolen a military base. When the military finds out, they're going to respond. Decisively. There aren't going to be witnesses if there's no town."

“We’ve been liberating people by the handful, and after much debate there was extreme reluctance to approach the feds for this very reason,” Liam replied. “They don’t want to see their friends and family burn up in some kind of nuclear holocaust. And let’s not kid ourselves, that’s what it would take. Canada would have to authorize a nuclear strike on one of its own cities and then send ground forces in to clear the ruins house by house. You don’t think that would raise questions? People are going to notice.”

“And it wouldn’t actually solve anything. It’s not like the Camarilla will just go away. They’ll pick up the pieces and turn their focus somewhere else. They’ll also almost certainly know it’s coming. Long before their present gambit the Camarilla had its fingers in government. It’s how they’ve managed to cover their tracks for so long. You just told me your colleagues are compromised. You don’t think that’s true of the other service branches? You have a house to clean first. I can all but guarantee they have ears at CSIS feeding your information back to them. And in the RCAF.”

“Look, about Bishop, I’ve already worked out how to get in. I was planning on grounding the fleet, but with your help I can do one better. I can get the antidote onto the base but I’m going to need someone to reestablish the chain of command immediately. Those soldiers are going to be scared when they come around and they aren’t going to trust me of all people.”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:52, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

"I can't say I'd fare much better," Jin said. "The Branch has a contact with the RCAF; a Lieutenant-Colonel, I believe. He's been primed, but I'm going to have a hell of a time convincing him this is true without proof."

He folded his arms, deep in thought for a moment. "I can't see any way this won't escalate quickly. You better be poised to take back the city when we do this. I don't really like keeping a lid on this, especially from my superiors, but this is... explosive information."

He flipped a new page on his notebook. "Tell me about the antidote."

“It’ll have to do,” Liam said. “A couple of nights before we’re ready to spring Bishop I’ll break in and wake up the Base Commander. You give me a secure line to hand him and I’ll put him on the phone with your Lieutenant-Colonel.”

Digging in his pocket, Liam drew out the small spray bottle and offered it up on open palm.

“This is the antidote,” he said. “It’s delivered in droplet form. Just like one drink of that garbage is enough to bind you, one spray is enough to release you. This is magic, although I have it on good authority by those who understand such things that it’s cheap and easy to produce. If I could get a canister of this into the water in Verdant Falls our current problems would be solved, and a host of new problems would just be beginning. Unfortunately that’s easier said than done. Ironically Base Bishop is a softer target.”

“You keep this one, and use it on your team before you tell them anything. If you run out I can get you more. And keep an epipen handy. I’ve seen an allergic reaction happen once - on a werewolf. It wasn’t pretty.”

Jin nodded quietly. "That sounds like a decent plan. It'll be easier to get him to pick up the phone than it will be getting him to show up at the base."

He looked the spray bottle over. "I'd like a copy of the recipe if you don't mind. And I'd definitely appreciate more of this stuff," he said. He placed the bottle in his pocket. "I'll wake our compromised agents before I do anything else. It'll make the director easier to convince. And I will see what I can do about getting you some kind of official recognition. Now what's all this got to do with you meeting someone in Montreal?"

"Vampire diplomacy," Liam replied, settling back onto the edge of the bed.

"Remember I told you about those clans and sects? I've been asked to arrange a summit between the head of clan Gangrel and the head of clan Tremere on neutral ground. Montreal is Sabbat territory," Liam explained.

"The Tremere need the other clans to maintain their hold over the city, but Gangrel broke away from the Camarilla some years ago. So with a dwindling number of holdout Gangrel left in their ranks, the Tremere have taken to capturing free Gangrel to sire more childer. I recognise this may not sound like much when stacked up against their other crimes, but to Vampires this is an unforgivable offence."

"We hope to use this to drive a wedge into the Camarilla and peel away the support of some of the other clans. Depending upon how many we could convince, it would cut the knees out from beneath the Tremere."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

"I can't imagine the other clans are in a very good mood to begin with," Jin replied. "They need the Tremere to see them through the global death of secrets, but if I were in their shoes, I'd be looking at how they're doing business now and wonder whether they're still going to cut me in on the spoils."

"That's a fair point," Liam allowed with a devilish grin. "If the Tremere succeed they wont need the rest of us to keep their peace. It may be worth mentioning that to the high-ups in the other clans. This post-Masquerade paradise they're promising may be intended to be just for them."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:10, Mon 18 Jan 2021.

"I can't say I'm a big fan of the Tremere thus far," Jin said. "Glad I met you, though. Do you have a way of staying in touch?"

"I'll give you my number," Liam said, digging his phone out of his pocket. "The thing about the Tremere is even the Tremere don't trust the Tremere. Kind of like what they're doing in Verdant Falls, whenever a new Tremere is embraced they're forced to undergo a ritual that binds them to the larger pyramid of their clan. They have to obey. They have no choice."

"There are a couple of Tremere I'm actually fairly fond of but if they were ordered to put a gun to my head and pull the trigger they wouldn't hesitate. They might feel guilty afterwards of course, but that wouldn't help me much after the fact."

"There..." Liam said. A message popped up on Jin's screen saying 'James Westfall'.

He winked.

"Remind me whose balls I'm supposed to be again? Because I am going to give her so much hell when I get home. Of all the times to mess around, she picks a border crossing to play games."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:24, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

"Brian Fantana, from the movie 'Anchorman'," he said. "And for what it's worth, it wouldn't have mattered. It was where you were from that caught my attention, not what you were named. Who's 'she', anyway? Those fakes were pretty watertight, telling names aside. I wasn't entirely sure it wasn't a coincidence, right up until I figured out you were dead. Best fakes I've ever seen, really."

Liam smiled. "Public enemy number three," he replied. "You'll like her. She's from Manchester. My friend from the border crossing is public enemy number one."

Liam stood up and reached for his coat. "I've gotta ask. It takes a lot of guts to walk into a vampire's motel room after dusk. You seemed pretty sure of yourself though. What was the plan if it'd happened to be a party loyalist inside instead of me?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:10, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

"A girl's gotta have some secrets," Jin said with a wink. "It wouldn't have been my first scrap with a vampire, and I've got better toys now. Let's hope I never have to show them to you."

Liam smiled. "Fair enough," he said, reaching for his coat. He glanced at his watch. "I ought to get going. Are you coming, or are you heading back to get started with the information you have?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:30, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

"No way am I going to miss a chance to see vampire diplomacy up close," said Jin. "You can pretend I'm your Goon, or whatever you call them."

"Ghoul," Liam said. "We can talk about what that means on the way."

"They're like living servants, right?" said Jin, following him outside. The parking lot was empty, aside from his own car and what was presumably Jin's gray Honda Civic. The only eyes on them belonged to a solitary crow foraging in the parking lot. It angrily jeered at them and went back to its business.

"You better drive," Jin said. "I'll send one of the local yokels to pick up my rental. I'm not coming back to this shithole."

Liam tossed his bag in the back and climbed into the driver's seat. "Vampire blood is potent stuff," he replied, turning the keys in the ignition. "When regularly consumed by a mortal it can extend the scale of their lifespan indefinitely. Ghouls can also heal wounds that would cripple an ordinary human, and gain a measure of our strength."

Liam pulled out of the lot and turned on his headlights as they rolled onto the highway.

"The cost - or the additional benefit - depending upon your perspective, is a loss of free will. Ghouls become deferential to their masters to the point of total obedience. Its why they can be trusted to watch over their masters."

"Caleb is my German Sheppard. He's twenty years old and he can run down a jeep and tear off its bumper. He also likes squeaky toys and bones, because at the end of the day he's still a dog. He's supposed to be obedient, just like any other Sheppard."

"Shit," Jin said. "You realize that when you guys come out of the closet you're going to have entire websites devoted to Ghouls-seeking-Masters? And I'm not just talking about goth teenagers.  Hell, what does ghouling do to cancer? Or Alzheimer's?"

"There are already blood junkies out there," Liam said with a grin. "Some humans even hunt vampire for their blood, allegedly. Can't say I've ever met anyone that crazy myself."

"So far as I know, Ghouls cant get cancer or Alzheimer's. And the antidote breaks down the loyalty bond so its now possible to get the benefits without having to be anyone's lackey, although only a handful of people know that right now."

"Sounds like you got gold running through your veins," Jin said. "Plenty of ways to endear yourselves to the common folk once the cat's out of the bag."

He looked at the road ahead, and checked his watch. "So where exactly are we headed?"

“It’s not all it’s cut out to be,” Liam replied. “Immortality is a long time. You lose the people you care for and eventually, if you’re not careful you start to lose pieces of yourself. You have no idea how hard I’ve fought to stay ‘human’ all these years. I’ve never taken a childe, and with good reason.” His thoughts went to Sophie briefly but he chose not to discuss her particular situation with Jin.

“I do worry about the implications. Death is the great equalizer. A world without death is unsustainable. Worse is the world where the wealthy are permitted to slip its bonds while everyone else is forgotten. I don’t know what the answer will be, but I do know the world the Tremere have planned for us can’t be permitted to come to pass.”

Liam drove on in silence for a few moments, watching the road speed under his tires by the glow of the headlights.

“We’re going to meet a friend. Rick Thomson. He’s a ghoul of about my vintage - Rick also fought in the Great War. I haven’t been in Montreal in ten years. Rick knows the lay of the land and he’ll fill us in. I’ll give him a call as we get close to the city.”

“Of everyone in the city Rick knows me best. He knows about Kate, my last ghoul. If anyone questions you it will be him. The sabbat view ghouls as property, or at best cherished pets. As an individual you’re  beneath their notice.”

"They sound like a fun bunch," Jin said with a roll of his eyes. "Can't wait to meet 'em. Don't worry about your friend, though. I'll make something up."

The trip to Montreal was a little over an hour; plenty of time to explain the intricacies of Kindred life to his passenger. Jin was a rapt audience, asked many probing questions, and took copious notes. But Liam couldn't shake the feeling that Jin was playing dumb on the subject. Perhaps he was confirming his sources, or wanted to see to what degree he could trust Liam.

As they approached Montreal, Liam dialed up Rick. He was quick to answer.

"Liam O'Farrell," Rick said warmly. "How ya doin', bud?"

"I'm good," Liam said, glancing up at his rearview mirror. He caught Jin out of the side of his vision, lingering on him for just a moment before turning his focus back on the road. "Just pulling into town."

"Where's a good place to talk?"

"My apartment is probably best," Rick said. He relayed the address. "No need to meet up in alleys like Soviet spies. This isn't Verdant Falls."

Jin called up directions on his phone, and silently showed it to Liam. It was right on the eastern edge of the city near the highway.

Liam nodded though Rick couldn't see it. "I'll be right along," he said. "See you shortly."

After hanging up and going over the directions with Jin Liam glanced sideways at his passenger.

"I've been doing most of the talking," he said. "How about you? How did you end up on this case?"

"Long story," Jin said. "Guess it all starts back in the 90s. I'm not sure how familiar you are with the Eiffel Tower bombing?" Liam had heard mention of it before. The Toreador's bastion had been wiped out by a Technocrat spirit nuke. Everything with a supernatural bent was obliterated. Chaos ensued in the power vacuum that followed. It culminated in the very public destruction of the Eiffel Tower. "I was fresh outta high school, and working for the counterterrorism bureau. My first assignment was to check out a series of phone calls from Paris to South Ontario. Didn't lead me to terrorism. It led me to a Verbena mage and an adopted pack of fledgling werewolves. Kids, really. Not much more sense than your average teenagers, but they turned into lumbering murder machines when they got moody."

"The mage had been investigating the events leading up to the bombing. A group called the Technocrats had set off some kind of device that had destroyed every supernatural being in the city. Turns out the bombs had been set by a couple of were-rats that were convinced that the tower was a broadcasting antenna for the Weaver. Like a boob, I put the truth in my report. I worked the records room for most of the aughties."

"But looks like I was vindicated in the end. A few years ago, the Branch looked up my file, contacted me and reinstated me as a field agent hunting for ghosts and goblin. I've been free as a bird ever since."

"As for how I started looking into Verdant Falls, well, if you gotta ask you haven't lived there long. It's been the centre of weirdness in North America since the very first colony was slaughtered by Puritan Witchfinders. It really got my attention after the disappearances in Riverhead, but I was still a file clerk at the time. I requested the job right away, but I only got a crack at it after senior agents came back screwy."

"Sharp not to go there yourself, else you would have ended up like the other agents," Liam replied.

"Tell me though, the branch most know some of this right? I mean, I get that Verdant Falls has been a big black box these past ten years. But the rest of it. You know about the Mages and the Technocrats. You know about the Garou. I realise I'm giving you a fairly unvarnished look behind the curtains, but the power structures, the blood bonds - you knew what you were looking for when you knocked on my door. This clearly isn't your first rodeo."

"Bravery is for soldiers," Jin replied. "And I'm a spy. I'm not about to walk into a Manchurian candidate factory when there are better ways to get the job done. I just needed to wait for the right opportunity."

Jin chuckled as Liam pressed him. "If you can't tell what I knew about, what was a guess, and what was a bluff, that means I'm good at my job. I've been with the Branch for about five years now, and I was sticking my nose where it didn't belong on my own for longer."

"I suppose that's fair on both accounts," Liam replied hoping he wasn't merely trying to convince himself. "Why a business card instead of a badge?"

They were getting close to Rick's now and Liam started looking for parking. Unlike Verdant Falls, Montreal still had traffic even in the midst of a pandemic.

"Because my badge doesn't have my contact info on it, and you can't keep it," Jin replied. "Wanna see my ID? Here." He pulled an ID card from his wallet. It didn't look much different from a driver's license. Liam had no frame of reference to judge its authenticity.

Liam found a pay parking lot across from Rick's place. The apartment building was fairly new and not overly tall. A sophisticated directory intercom was by the front door.

"Want me to wait out here, or come up?" Jin asked.

"I hate these things..." Liam groused as he fidgeted with the intercom. He went right past Rick's name more than once before alighting on the correct entry. "No, come up. I'll let him know I have company when he picks up, although I suspect he can see." Liam nodded towards the camera in the vestibule.

"Just give me a minute when we get to the door in case he has reservations. Rick trusts me," he added, with a meaningful look at Jin as if to say he was going out on a limb in trusting Jin and hoped it didn't get cut out from under him.

Thumbing the button he waited while the intercom dialled up to Rick's apartment.

"We're here," he said as soon as the line picked up.

Rick buzzed them in, and they took the elevator up to the penthouse. Rick was waiting by the open apartment door when they arrived. He stepped out to meet Liam and pulled him into a hug. "Good to see you," he said, slapping Liam's back. "How long has it been?" He soared a glance at Jin, but didn't acknowledge him just yet.

Liam leaned into the embrace with a smile. "Its really good to see you again," he replied. "Its been far too long. Coming on ten years, I think. Jacob had me plenty busy."

"So I heard," he said. "Kicking ass and taking names." He looked at Jin. "Speaking of which..."

"Jin Konno," said Jin. He kept his distance, and allowed Rick to see a smile before he put on an n95 from his pocket. "Forgive the intrusion."

"It's no bother," said Rick. "You're the first man with a pulse to set foot in this apartment in a long-ass time."

"Well well," Jin purred. "Lucky me."

Rick stepped back, allowing his guests inside. Jin closed the door behind him.

"So Liam," Rick said. "I'm assuming you didn't come all this way to deliver me a twink."

Liam glanced at Jin and then stepped through the threshold into Rick's apartment. Somehow he was always the last to know.

"I wish I could say this was just a house call, but unfortunately we're here on business. Jacob and I took a trip down to the Bar Harbor enclave to meet with Flores. I released a gangrel yellow band a couple of weeks back, fellow by the name of Cortez. The gangrel are livid. Luc wants to go straight for the jugular, but Flores is old fashioned. He's demanding a meet with van Fokke first, a chance to raise the ire of the clans."

"I persuaded him that meeting in the city was a nonstarter. We're hoping the Sabbat might host as a neutral third party. Noonian must have a witch hunter embedded here, no?"

"I mean, he'd be stupid not to," Rick said. "But I doubt they'd be too open about it. He wouldn't be too well-received after the Sabbat got ousted the way they did. I wouldn't call them neutral, but you're not likely to find a much warmer reception anywhere else."

"If you want to ask the Queen yourself, she's over in Collines D'Argent. It's a gated community up in the hills. Ask for Isabelle Cartier. I'll call and tell her you're coming, but there's no way I'm going to ask her to play host to some Tremere. I gotta work here."

Jin, to his word, stayed quiet.

"Is that the honorific she's using now?" Liam asked. "Queen?"

"I'm happy to be the middleman," he assured. "The request is coming from Flores, personally. Its enough for you to make the call so that they expect me tonight."

"No, still Cardinal, as far as I know," Rick said with a shrug. "Merely being dramatic. Glad to hear the Gangrel are done hiding, though. We're long overdue for an official opposition."

He took a meaningful glance at Jin, then met Liam's eyes. "So, you're doing okay?"

Liam laughed, but it sounded mirthless. “Yeah. No. I don’t know. How does anyone tell anymore?” He asked, looking for somewhere to sit. “I’m okay, I guess. Feeling a bit helpless at the moment,” he confessed. “Jin is helping me.”

“Have you spoken to Hasan?”

Rick gestured to his living room sofa. He took the chair sitting opposite. Jin moved to sit beside Liam.

"I have," he said. "Ran into a spot of bother trying to get you out of a sticky situation, from what I understand. Got one of them alive, though. A costly win, but a win. I wouldn't mention your troubles to the Sabbat, if I were you. Never let 'em see you bleed."

The vagueness of his responses and the furtive glances at Jin revealed Rick's discomfort." So how did you two meet?" he asked.

"No, the Sabbat don't need to hear it," Liam agreed. "But I plan to head west for a few days after I leave the city and take a breather," he said. "Tim's in Ontario, apparently."

"Jin and I were introduced by a mutual acquaintance, and bonded over an affection for bad cinema," he answered truthfully, though neglecting to mention that the acquaintance in question was Pockets and that she had no knowledge of Jin whatsoever. "He's good. I hate to tempt you and leave but I plan on taking him with me."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Sun 24 Jan 2021.

"If you insist," Rick said with a superficial smile. "But I do hope you'll crash here after your meeting. It's a long drive to Ontario and I'd hate to see you spending the day in the Sabbat's good graces. I can't imagine Jin would enjoy that much, either."

Then, to Jin. "Watch yourself around the Sabbat," he said. "Just because they aren't our enemy doesn't make them our friends. And whatever you do, don't accept any food or drinks from them. Not even a cigarette."

"Lucky for me I never picked up the habit," Jin said. "You don't need to worry about me. I know which way is up."

"Mm," Rick said, studying Liam's 'ghoul' further. "I'll have to take your word on that."

“That’s much appreciated, Rick. We’ll see how long Chianna deigns to keep me tonight. I may take you up on the offer.”

“How have you been keeping?”

"How's anyone right now?" Rick said with a snort. "Ghouls are a high-risk category as far as this virus is concerned. I get all my groceries delivered, and most of my social interaction is with the dead. Not the first pandemic I've lived through, but certainly the dumbest. It's frustrating to see that for all our technological and medical advances, we're still repeating the same old mistakes."

"They say it's another year before we'll have a vaccine," Jin said. "And then we can see a return to normal."

"If you trust the powers-that-be to not screw up a global vaccine rollout, I've got a deal on a nice bridge you can buy," Rick replied with a chuckle. "And we've gotta make it 'til then."

"Death, taxes and idiots," Liam concurred. "I don't think that's quite how the expression goes but of all of then I'd say Death is the odd one out."

"You're right though. We've got to make it 'til then. A lot can happen in a year. I'm glad you're keeping safe though."

Liam well remembered how haggard Mike had looked when he'd pulled into the city.

"Hell, I've looked Death in the face before," Rick said. "And this is a cakewalk compared to the trenches. Or the challenge of keeping a foothold in that hellhole we're calling a city. I'm glad you got a break from it." He glanced at Jin. "Though I can't say the stress has done much to your friend, here."

"Some of us are just gifted with a natural glow," Jin replied wryly.

Liam nodded. "Hopefully after we get our meeting that foothold is just a little bit more secure. But yeah, I'm happy to have a break from it all and give the heat a chance to die down."

He couldn't stay away too long though, and he knew it. With Jacob in Maine and Hasan and Pockets on lockdown, Redwatch had no one to check them. Liam had to get back. At least, once Hasan finished breaking the witch hunter he would. In his current state there was little he could do besides draw unwanted attention their way.

"I'm sure it'll go well," Rick said. "At the end of the day, we want the same thing. For now."

“It’s true,” Liam remarked. “We’ll deal with the rest as it comes.” He smiled. “We always manage to, somehow.”

(We can advance as you see fit)

"Godspeed then," Rick said warmly.

"A pleasure," Jin said, rising. The two showed themselves out.

They drove in silence for a while. Jin adjusted his tie in the vanity mirror. "So I uh... don't think your friend back there trusts me very much."

Liam shrugged. "Its his job," he said. "And like you, he's very good at it."

"Rick's spent two lifetimes papering over the holes in the masquerade that people like me keep leaving behind. He's got a knack for it, and right now you're a walking talking hole in the tapestry. I'm sure its not the last I'll be hearing of it."

"It raises a point though. Rick was our more welcoming audience tonight. He's also more perceptive, but ghouls have a look for those trained to see it. You've got what you came for tonight and you have my contact. I can go the next leg alone. Its less risky. I can call you as soon as I'm out."

"It sounds like we'll both need some time to plan the next step anyway, but I imagine whatever Rick thinks right now you're not coming with me to Ontario. Not that I'd object to the company but you have your own affairs to put in order."

"I am absolutely not coming with you to Ontario," Jin said. "But I want to see what the Sabbat are up to in Montreal. If what you told me is true, they're more likely to leave me alone out of respect for your property. But this meeting is why I tagged along with you this far."

"Just be really circumspect about it," Liam remarked. "I can't do anything to save you if you get made, and I'm not even sure if I'd be able to talk my way out of it under the circumstances. The fate of a whole lot of people is riding on us walking out again tonight after a favorable impression."

"It might not even hurt to make it real - you wouldn't be a ghoul per se after a taste of my blood tonight, that takes a few nights - but it would show up in your aura. You have the antidote so there will be no lingering effects."

Jin thought about it for a moment, then shrugged. "Fuck it. I've definitely ingested worse."

Liam nodded. "Let me pullover before I cause an accident," he said. He chose a poorly lit carpark to turn the car into before coming to a halt. "Unless you kept one of those whiskey bottles from the hotel, you get to have it right from the source," he remarked. Extending his fangs and closing a wound were about the only two things Liam still could do as a vampire and he carefully opened a vein on his wrist for Jin.

"Definitely put my lips on worse, too," Jin said. He drank from the flowing wound for a moment, before catching himself and pulling away.

"That was... not as unpleasant as I'd imagined," he said. "I can see how someone could get hooked."

He fidgeted as they resumed the drive. "Is reading auras something all vampires can do?"

Liam took a moment to lick the wound closed and then rolled down his shirt cuffs.

"With training, I suppose any vampire could learn to do it," he replied. "Some of the bloodlines come by it more readily than others. Some ghouls learn to do it too. I'm not very good at it," he confessed.

"My friend who did the passports is a savant. She sees things no one else can see. The Queen, as Rick put it tonight, is also gifted. She might not be looking but she'd see it if she tried."

"Well, I guess we'll just see now won't we?" Jin said uneasily.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:47, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

Liam hesitated before putting the care back into drive. "Jin, is there something in your aura I ought to know about? This is the last chance to pull the parachute."

"Is being a Fed something that'd show on my aura?" Jin asked. "Like, what can you tell about somebody?"

Liam laughed and turned the ignition over, feeling the tension wash away at once. "Being a werewolf shows up in your aura. Being a ghoul. Fucking around with occult things that are nobody's business definitely shows up in your aura."

"Being a banker or a barber or a spook do not show up in your aura. They do apparently read for Rick, but he also picked up on your sexual preferences and that also doesn't show up in your aura. I'm going to put that down to him being a good judge of people. It took me years to figure out Rick was gay."

"Come on, lets go."

Jin chuckled nervously. "Well, we're pretty good at reading one another. Survival tactic from the days where being gay could get you killed, I guess."

Collines D'Argent was a sprawling complex located closer to the downtown core of Montreal than any low-density residential housing had any business being. A tall brick wall adorned with anti-climbing spikes ran around its entire perimeter. The only entry was via a guardhouse with a heavy-duty gate.

The security guard could have been a model. A veiled smile played across his perfect face as Liam pulled up in what was doubtlessly the least impressive car in the entire subdivision.

"Good evening, sirs," the guard asked, through a window intercom. "Are you expected?"

"I am," Liam replied, turning to face the guard. "Liam O'Farrell," he said simply.

The guard checked a clipboard. He looked even better from the profile. "Ah, Madamoiselle Cartier," he said. "Number Twelve, the main road ends at her driveway. Enjoy your stay, gentlemen."

The heavy gate rolled slowly open. The road running straight through the subdivision was lined with old-growth oaks and immaculate hedges, which obscured much of the lavish property. What Liam spied through driveways and gates was opulent to say the least. Stately stone manor homes and opulent new architectural marvels sat upon rambling lots of manicured gardens or wreathed in elaborate water features. Liam wondered just how many there were with spaces so large so close to the city. He wouldn't even speculate at the price.

Chianna's home was an impressive gothic mansion with a large conservatory on its southern side. The lights from within bathed a statuary in their glow, though without his supernatural vision, Liam could only speculate on the artwork.

"Looks like there's good money in being the evil undead," Jin mused.

A footman was waiting at the end of the roundabout. He greeted the pair, and led them into the foyer. From the marble floors to the antique wood columns, the entire room gleamed. The third-storey vaulted ceilings bore filigreed murals, and the room was lit from an ornate chandelier that Liam immediately recognized as being composed of the same seamless alabaster that had covered her old haven.

The far end of the foyer was mostly occupied by a split staircase. Chianna herself stood at the landing where the staircase divided. She gestured widely, and descended the stairs as they entered.

Chianna had always been tall, but she'd grown taller since they last met. At least seven feet, if Liam had to guess. Her frame was thicker, too. Beneath her flawless curves, she'd added at least a hundred pounds of muscle. She was, as ever, hauntingly, achingly beautiful. Jin gaped, frozen like a deer in headlights.

"Ah, Mr. O'Farrell," Chianna said, her voice booming in the cavernous foyer. "So good to see you after all these years." Her stride was long, and she easily narrowed the gulf between them. Her voice softened as she drew near. She clasped her hands and leaned forward, studying the details of Liam's face closely. "Wonderful," she muttered, mostly to herself. Then, back to Liam. "How have you been?"

"That's just compound interest and the benefit of a far-looking accountant," Liam quipped to Jin as they were ushered towards the foyer.

As ever, watching Chianna descend the stairs was to witness poetry in motion and except to take a step forward so that he was slightly ahead of Jin, Liam waited for the Tzimisce Cardinal to receive him.

"I should hope so," he said as Chianna studied his face. "I've never known you to do anything less. I'm well, Cardinal Grimaldi," Liam answered, mirroring the level of formality Chianna had set. "Very well. Its good to see you again. Its been far too long."

"That it has," Chianna said with a wide smile. "Last time we spoke I was still living underground. Ah, simpler times."

She turned her attention to Jin. She stepped up to him, and with a single finger, closed his gaping mouth. "What an exquisite little morsel you've acquired." She bent the finger, and turned his head from side to side. She squinted appraisingly, studying him for a moment.

She gave the air above his head a couple quick sniffs, and then a deep huff. "A very nice specimen indeed. Tell me, little pup, where can I get one of you?"

"A-buh-buh," Jin babbled. This appeared to amuse Chianna greatly.

She placed her hands on his cheeks, and shook his head. "Oh you're so cute I could just squash your pretty little head." She released him, and Jin stumbled back, his eyes wide with fear.

"Come now, my dear," she said to Liam, taking his hand. "Let's have a drink in the conservatory and catch up. Your ghoul can, I don't know, admire the art out here." She waved her hand in the air.

"I paid a visit to the Marsden upon my return," Liam remarked as Chianna turned her attention to Jin. "I had to see it for myself. Its cold and lifeless now; a shade of its former self," he said with a shake of his head.

As Jin struggled to regain his composure Liam turned a reassuring smile in his direction. "You may look but don't touch," he said as a father might caution an exuberant, if well-intentioned child. "Some of the art may be admiring you back," he finished with a wink.

Wondering if Chianna would deign to add him to the collection, no doubt. Hopefully Jin would take the hint that there were eyes literally everywhere and comport himself accordingly.

With that he accepted Chianna's hand and allowed himself to be led away to the conservatory.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Jin was equal parts upset to be left alone and relieved that the giant vampire was leaving with Liam. He merely stared dolefully at Liam as he was led away.

Chianna ushered him through her stately home and into the conservatory. Apparently, she had been quite busy in the last decade discovering new ways to affront nature. Liam had not been aware that Vicissitude worked on plants, but he was literally ensconced in proof. Blackberries drooped from a modest-sized fichus. A bougainvillia bloomeduunder an artificial light, it's flowers shifting through all the colours of the rainbow. A sunflower watched Liam pass through a lidless compound eye in its centre. A brace of daffodils leaned forward to sniff at him.

They sat at a lovely wrought iron tea table, and she poured him a cup of vitae from a set of flawless alabaster teaware.

"You must tell me where you found your ghoul," Chianna said. "I wasn't even aware his kind could handle our vitae."

Liam looked on with fascination as Chianna led him by the arm through the arboretum's menagerie. If he was horrified in anyway he did not show it. Instead he graciously accepted his seat and reached for the cup once both had been poured out. Though never Sabbat in name or association himself, Liam had taken the vaulderie once, years ago. Chianna had been right. Those were simpler times.

He raised the boneware to his lips and took a sip. "Thank you."

"As luck should have it, not very far from Montreal actually," he answered truthfully. "He's a bit of a nervous fellow, but I've been very pleased."

"The bougainvillea is resplendent," he said, gesturing with his teacup as though the flower and his 'ghoul' were on a similar tier. "A work of art."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:18, Wed 27 Jan 2021.

Liam had, in fact, now taken the vaulderie a second time. He had no blood bonds to break, but he would have to remember to spray himself later, lest he bind himself to the Sabbat. It did remain an effective way to ensure none of her guests were bound to the Tremere.

"You have no idea how many chameleons I tore apart to make that one," Chianna said. She reached beside her into a terrarium full of feeder mice. She threw it into a pot of snapdragons, which tore it to shreds. "I ended up using cuttlefish."

She took a sip from her own cup, and cocked her head. "These are, of course, merely a passion project of mine. I've enjoyed having a home where things can grow. I'm not happy about how I left, but I haven't stopped it from letting me live my best life. Never look back, Liam."

"So what's keeping you busy these days?"

Liam held the gaze of the sunflower's compound eye briefly before turning away.

"Looking towards the future," he remarked, setting his teacup down on the alabaster saucer. "A perennially depressing and lonesome topic of conversation in Verdant Falls, but now perhaps with an opportunity for substantive change."

"I had been busy overseas frustrating the Tremere's operations in Europe until recently, but I'm back now with an intention to stay. This Sisyphean business admittedly occupies the lion's share of my time." Liam smiled faintly.

"Officially I've come tonight as an intermediary, at my request. I wanted to be the one to talk to you. But I've also greatly missed our conversations, and I left the Marsden with questions that I hoped you might be able to answer."

"And I will endeavour to answer them," Chianna said, placing her own cup down and giving Liam her full attention. "I, too, have been looking towards the future, and our place in it. And fighting the Tremere, in our own way. I'd be happy to help in your struggles however I can."

"I spent a few hours in the complex," Liam remarked, thinking back to the quiet night. "There's just a handful of ghouls there now. The Camarilla clearly think they are impervious."

"I'd already heard that you'd made it out to Montreal, thankfully. I ventured into a few of the private quarters but there was just mess and debris. Did Rosaline make it out that night? Did Jan?"

"Jan's living downtown if you'd like to visit," she said. "Doing rather well for herself as a Jan Bennett impersonator. Or was, I should say, until this damn plague forced people to stop attending concerts."

"Rosaline, unfortunately, was killed during the escape," she said, although she didn't look too dismayed. "Eaten by the vozhd, along with many others. I wasn't aware you two were close."

"That's too bad," Liam replied. "We had an overlapping circle of friends. I was reminded of her recently. Someone I know wears a necklace very much like the one Rosaline always wore. I promised to inquire."

"As for Jan, yes, I would like that very much," he said with a faint smile. "Jan and I were close. I'd be happy to reconnect."

Liam took another sip from his teacup.

"I'm afraid I can't help you there," Chianna replied. "Rosaline was ambitious and secretive. She didn't have many friends within the Sabbat. We weren't her community so much as the only place she had left to go. Any answers died with her, I'm sorry."

"Jan, on the other hand, I'd be more than happy to help you with." She relayed the address. An apartment above El Dorado, a small music venue. How apropos.

"Much appreciated," Liam said as he took down the address.

"The formal purpose behind my visit tonight is clan business," he explained, leaning back again. "I've just recently come from the Bar Harbor enclave, and Flores has a request."

"The Tremere have been kidnapping free Gangrel and subjecting them to the Fugue. Once captive they've been made to sire broods of childer to assist Redwatch in policing the city. Flores is outraged but remains insistent upon adhering to the old ways. He wishes to confront van Fokke and deliver an ultimatum before the eyes of the other clans - and then, and only then bring war to his doorstep."

"You and I both know what will happen to him should he do so in Verdant Falls," Liam said grimly. "I'd say Noonian is a snake, but that's malicious to serpents. I've convinced him to pick another venue for this proposed summit. Montreal was raised as a possibility. That's why I am here tonight. Flores wonders - I wonder if you might consent to host, with the hopeful end being the withdrawal from the Camarilla of some of the more tenuous clans."

"van Fokke will decline to come in person, of course, but I expect he will send a representative. A witchhunter."

Chianna's perfect smile disappeared as Liam spoke, and the snarling snapdragons immediately paused their loud frenzy. The daffodils cowered, the sunflower's eye fixed on her. All of the sound sucked itself out of the room and stood in rapt attention.

"Let us circle back to your request," Chianna said. The warmth in her voice and the levity in her tone had vanished, and it had not taken on any other emotion. Merely an even, dead, calm. "This breeding of Gangrel... do you have proof of this?"

Liam nodded. He took full notice of Chianna's change in posture and affect but made no mention to that effect.

"Yes," he said. "A first hand account. I discovered one such bonded gangrel abducted from the enclave two years ago. Upon releasing him, he conveyed the rest to us. He was forced to sire multiple progeny during his period of captivity."

"One eyewitness then," Chianna said. "No concrete proof. And what is Clan Gangrel prepared to do about this, besides asking them politely to admit what they are doing and stop?"

"Two, in as far as I can attest that a captive gangrel was under the effects of the Fugue when I discovered him. It was not so very long ago that testimony was all we had," Liam remarked. "But I acknowledge the difficulty we will face in convincing the clans."

"If vanFokke will not turn over the childer, Clan Gangrel proposes to seize them by force."

"One eyewitness," Chianna replied flatly. "The word of a known enemy combatant will mean little. I believe you, because I know you, and I know Noonian. Many would not."

"Don't be naïve, Liam. This is not a Princely Court or a Chapter Tribunal. You can't go to an Antediluvian accusing another Antediluvian of a war crime solely on the word of a common Gangrel." She leaned forward, making pointed eye contact with him. "Noonian will deny everything and burn the evidence. He won't wait long after doing the former to do the latter. Have your talks, but your team better be on their way out when the meeting begins. And I would strongly recommend that said team gets hard evidence while they're reclaiming their clanmates. Hard. Evidence. Photographs, at the very least."

"We plan to hit the aerie concurrently if Noonian balks," Liam replied. "That same evening, before they have an opportunity to fortify the target or purge all traces of it. Flores would stay behind along with a cursory attache to maintain appearances. The rest of the enclave will be in the air."

"I will convey your recommendations as it concerns securing physical evidence, though I anticipate that conversation is already being had. Does this mean you consent to host this summit in Montreal? I presume nothing tonight, and if the arrangements are unacceptable I will convince Flores to look elsewhere."

"Oh we will give you your meeting," Chianna replied. "And we will bear witness to the allegations. However, if you are unable to provide proof of these claims, I will be displeased."

Liam nodded. "I understand. I will convey your response to Flores," he replied, setting down his cup once again. "Thank you."

"I hope I haven't put too much of a damper on the evening."

Like a switch being flipped, her smile was back on. She raised her cup. "Oh you are a peach," she said, and took another sip. "You strut in here after ten years, carrying along your brand new toy - what is he, a week old? - and you deliver to me claims of an affront so perverse it may galvanize the independent clans against the Camarilla. Dahling, I am positively tittilated. You're simply the best company I've had in years."

Liam smiled, aware that the flora had similarly appeared to breath a sigh of relief at Chianna's sudden shift in demeanour. "I do like to make an impression," he replied.

(I've asked the questions I'd intended to. As Liam has no pressing plans he will stay for however long Chianna seems to be enjoying the conversation. If there is time enough to do so this evening he will make a point of calling on Jan.)

"Indeed," Chianna said sweetly. "You shouldn't wait so long between visits, next time." She took another sip, and placed her cup on the saucer.

"There is one more thing," she said, folding her hands. "You say you released this Gangrel from the Fugue. How'd you do it?"

Liam had expected they would get to this question. Flores knew the answer, and Liam could think of no reason to keep the information hidden from Chianna. It would come out sooner or later regardless as the leaders met - so long as it did not get revealed to Noonian until Robyn's work was done.

"There's an antidote," Liam replied. "Recently synthesised. Its very effective at breaking down the fugue. We've been careful to hide its presence from the Tremere until now, but I imagine its only a matter of time until they figure it out."

"I see," Chianna said. She arched a perfect eyebrow, but there was no other change to her demeanor. "And you've overcome the problem of producing it at scale?"

"The formula is evidently very simple for any wizard to reproduce," Liam replied. "The challenge has been in getting it out there for the largest possible audience without arousing the suspicion of the Tremere. But we're working on it."

"Its... possible we could use it to release the vozhd, but it would know no master. Better than a Tremere master, of course, but were we to do so I might pick the timing carefully."

"Say, on a night where it would be helpful to draw vanFokke's attention away from the Alhambra, for-instance."

"Were it released from bondage, I believe it would still listen to me," Chianna replied. "I am its mother, after all. That being said, I believe its first impulse will be to take out its rage on its captors. Were it up to me, I would not discourage it from doing so."

"No, certainly not," he replied with a hint of a smile. "I'm sure the ghouls lording over it would be most surprised."

"Only if I haven't taken my own rage out on them first," Chianna replied. "And just when, precisely, do you require this diversion?"

"A good question," Liam replied. "Its not possible for you to be both here and there on the night we take the aerie, although that's the most immediate concern. I don't suppose you have any means of asserting your will over it at a distance?"

"No," Chianna replied. "But I have Bishops to assert my will at the meeting. I'd prefer it to sharing a room with Tremere filth at any rate."

"I will bring the proposal back to Flores," he replied demurely. "In an open contest between antediluvians, we common gangrel must recognise our place," he added with a faint smile.

"Still - I think he can be persuaded."

"Those are my terms," Chianna said. "I will seek out an appropriate venue far from our havens. We wouldn't want the Tremere endangering more Sabbat lives."

She poured herself another cup from the teapot, and offered to do the same for Liam. "So do you have someplace to stay while you're in town? You are most welcome to avail yourself of my many guest bedrooms."

Liam thanked Chianna and pushed his saucer forward. "That's most considerate of you," he replied. "I've not yet made any arrangements. The night is young still, but I may well do so."

Chianna chuckled to herself as she refilled his cup. "'May well do so,'" she repeated. "Are we hedging our bets for how our reunion goes with dear Ms. Bennett? Or are we simply afraid there's no way to politely decline the offer?"

Liam grinned. "Rick has offered," he replied. "He's very protective of me. Not unreasonably so, perhaps. But I'm not sure I'm ready for a lecture tonight."

Chianna nodded. "Mr. Thomson is a valued ally, and our only lifeline to the goings-on in Verdant Falls. But I can't say he's ever been generous with his trust. You are a rarity in that regard."

She raised her cup. "I confess he won't be too happy that you partook of our refreshments. Unless, I suppose, that antidote were to have a similar effect on other blood bonds."

Liam looked down at the cup in his own hand and shook his head with a faint smile. "No he won't be pleased. But then, this isn't the first time I've taken the Vaulderie. Although this is by far the more intimate setting," he added, looking up at Chianna.

"And to your point. Yes. The antidote does not discriminate. It breaks all bonds - I presume the Vaulderie included. It does not prohibit you from reestablishing them again, however."

Liam took a sip from his cup.

"Its a brave new world we are entering, Chianna."

"Not so new to us," Chianna said. "We have had means to break the blood bond for millennia. Though I must confess I did not enjoy having to use a blessed sacrament as a tool. I look forward to having the antidote at my disposal so the Vaulderie can once again become something we share only amongst our own." She nodded to Liam.

"Having it be accessible to the Kine, I confess, would have troubled me only a few short years ago," she continued. "That was before I learned that the only magic one needs to escape scrutiny and command loyalty in these times is conspicuous wealth. My servants are all bound, certainly. But they are also paid handsomely. You would not believe the competition that ensued when I started recruiting. And not one of them balked when they learned the truth about who they were working for. Most of them expected some sort of catch."

"The Camarilla's masque is cracking, and soon it will break. I've known for some time, and I welcome its passing."

"Do you know, all I required to evade detection in Verdant Falls for weeks was passable German and a lapel pin? I could have told them I was Rommel himself, and they would have believed every word," Liam said with a smile.

"Now of course my face is famous. All of Verdant Falls has seen your work," he said, toasting his hostess with his cup.

"But I agree. A few years ago I would not have known how to feel about this development. But now I am resolved. The Masquerade is ending and I will do everything in my power to hasten its collapse. There will be a place for forward looking Kindred in the world to come. And there will be some who are left behind."

"I am to be in the former camp, my ineptitude for newfangled technologies not withstanding. I'm glad you'll be there with me."

"I would be more than happy to change your face again, if you want your anonymity," Chianna replied. "It's funny; that's how I came to be a member of this lovely community. When I first left Verdant Falls, we took up residence in an apartment building downtown. Filthy place, but the kind of place where previous tenants disappearing did not raise any suspicion. Then, lo and behold, a mortal came calling."

"I don't know how he found me, but I understand he'd taken great pains and great expense to do so. He was being targeted by the authorities, and wanted me to build him a new face, and a younger, stronger body. He offered me a fortune. When I obliged him, I came to his house. This house. The way he was walled off from the common man - the way the police and the government were afraid to even glance in this direction, even in the face of open criminality. It reminded me so much of the Good Old Days that I took his home as part of the payment. Since he planned on disappearing anyway, he was happy to part with it."

Liam vaguely recalled a story about a Montreal CEO under investigation for the embezzlement of hundreds of millions vanishing without a trace some years ago. The money had never been recovered.

"Three months later, another came to my door. This one with a much simpler request: Larger genitals, and my absolute silence. Never have I done so little for so much. Two weeks later, another. This one wanted his aging mistress to look fourteen again. Soon enough, I was able to afford to house my entire retinue in luxury and safety. And as a nice bonus, I have leverage with the country's elite, and more than a few legislators."

"The wealthy and powerful already know we exist - and our proclivities are no less monstrous than their own. Most of them view us as potential allies or valuable resources; and because we have a secret to keep, we will also keep theirs. And when our secret comes out, they will defend us or risk having their own exposed."

"I appreciate the offer, but I have to decline," Liam said, reaching up to touch his face. "This is who I am now. Maybe in another hundred years, when I start to feel too old for this face again. Until then, I've made peace with the man inside."

"I plan to put my notoriety to good use instead," he continued, letting his hand fall back to the arm of his chair. "When the mask slips, there will be questions. I hope to supply some of the answers, and it will help to already have a platform upon which to stand."

"Very brave to put yourself in the spotlight like that," Chianna replied. "If you encounter any political obstacles, you can count on your allies to help you out."

She finished her cup, and placed it on the saucer. She folded her hands above the table, and leaned forward, resting her chin on them. She batted her eyes. "So, as your ally, when can I expect delivery of the antidote formula? I can dispatch a courier if you prefer the Old Ways, but an encrypted e-mail works just fine for me."

Liam chuckled. "Give me a little time," he said. "The wizard who has solved this dilemma for us has faith in me, but I expect I should be there in person to provide assurances. The entire point of this endeavour is to disseminate the formula far and wide so that the Tremere cannot hope to stamp it out."

"I'll be headed back to Verdant Falls soon, but not directly. I've another ally to call upon first. It might take me a couple of weeks to make the round trip."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:14, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

"I would hope that our commitment to stand behind Clan Gangrel in its petition would be assurance enough," Chianna said. Her tone was still warm, but her words were measured and even. "I confess I don't know how I'll be able to plan on something arriving in 'a couple of weeks.' Surely, it would have to arrive before we host this meeting, and fully commit ourselves to war with the Tremere. It would not do to send your allies into battle without sharing your most powerful weapon. And, may I add, it would seem material to your diversionary tactic's success."

She stood, and dipped her hand swiftly into the feeder. What entered the motion as a delicate yet well-proportioned hand - as flawless and sculpted as the rest of her - stretched out, and snapped back into place as a squidlike appendage. Its fingers, now spaced in perfect radial symmetry, flexed and bent in ways no vertebrate could. A brace of mice was held fast in leathery webbing that ran between them.

The mice that remained in the cage took a moment to register the lightning-fast atrocity that had claimed a quarter of their number. They pressed into the corners of the terrarium, whuffing and squealing. Each one struggled and snarled to bury itself beneath the others.

Chianna carried the handful of mice across the room, turning her back on Liam for a moment. "I would never dream of asking you to give me what is undoubtedly the most monumental achievement of an mortal wizard's career without their permission. But I know I would sleep better if we had an assurance before we adjourn, here. Why don't I give you a moment to consult whoever you need to consult."

The dropped the clawful of mice into the gaping maw of a pitcher plant roughly the size of a Smart car. Not one escaped. She spun on a heel to face Liam, her smile beaming. She clasped her hands together, and the ghastly, mismatched set quickly melted back into a perfect pair.

"Just let the footman know when you're done and he'll fetch me," she said. The sweetness had returned to her cadence. "And he can bring you a phone or computer should you require one. I'll take your little toy on a tour of the mansion. Have a little fun." She placed a finger to her pursed lips, her gaze drifting off for a moment to imagine the possibilities.

"Don't worry," she added. "I know he's new."

"I'll place the call," Liam said without rising. There was really no point in objecting, and on principle he wasn't opposed to Chianna knowing. That had been effectively decided in Bar Habour. Robyn didn't care for vampire politics one way or another though, and Flores's needs held no leverage over her.

Robyn picked up after several rings. "Hey, Liam," she said. "What's up? Still in Trumpsylvania?"

"No," Liam replied. "I've come back to civilisation. I'm in Montreal now. It was a productive visit though."

"How's the book coming?"

"Oh, I'm getting lots done," Robyn said.

Liam heard a distant shout from Pockets. "Lotsa scratchin' yer arse!"

"So how _{(shut up)} how's La Belle Province? How long are you staying there?"

"Not long, I don't think. A couple of nights at most. I'm following up on the next leg of negotiations. After that I'm heading out west to that address you gave me," he explained.

"Guess you won't have time to pick up more of that fancy mustard, then," Robyn said. "So did you need something, or were you just checking in?"

"Both," Liam answered. "And if I'm being honest there's an opportunity for you to get more than mustard, but its up to you."

"I came to Montreal to see the sabbat Cardinal. Flores wants to arrange a meeting. I've briefed Cardinal Grimaldi. Admittedly I wasn't sure how enthused she would be at the prospect of a blood bond dissolving antidote given the central nature of the vaulderie to sabbat life, but in the context of everything else going on at present she's very supportive. She would like to have the formula to protect her own interests from Tremere influence."

Robyn sighed. "Why don't we just take out an ad?" she muttered. "I suppose I've already given the formula to one flesh-peeling monster. So whats in it for me, besides mustard?"

"What do you need?" Liam countered. "You, or the village. The sabbat are well-heeled and well connected. You owe nothing to the sabbat or to clan gangrel. You're doing this as a favour to me. There's no reason you shouldn't reap some benefit from it."

"I can arrange for a pallet of goods. Generators." Guard sunflowers, Liam considered, looking around his surroundings and catching the compound eye of the imposing flower. "Cardinal Grimaldi will not notice the impact on her finances, I assure you."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Mon 01 Feb 2021.

"I'll talk to the villagers and get a list," Robyn said. "But highest on the agenda is solar panels, wind turbines and a power wall." She thought about it a moment, and added "And I want it hauled by a poutine truck. Fully stocked. We could all use the morale boost."

"Just put together a list," Liam said, rolling his eyes at the sunflower. "I'll tell Chianna we have an agreement, and that she can send a courier to pick up the formula - along with whatever other savoury foods you feel the need for. I'll leave her one of Pockets numbers as a contact to coordinate the exchange."

"Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me," Robyn said. "As long as you're sure the Tremere don't have eyes in her organization."

"The vaulderie breaks all bonds," Liam replied. "The sabbat are perhaps the only group free of Tremere influence as a result. Cardinal Grimaldi is looking forward to resuming its function as a sabbat sacrament, rather than a precautionary tool."

"I met her little cult," Robyn said, referring to the colony of freed peoples that had once existed in the Iron Graveyard. Their losses on the night the Sabbat was driven out were innumerable. "I'm glad to give her a reason to cut back on the crazy juice. Promise me you'll watch your back around her."

"I will be," he promised. "You be careful, too. And keep up the writing! You have a book to publish."

"With any luck I'll get it done before literally everyone knows there's a cure," Robyn said. "I'd better get back to it."

"See you in a week or so," Liam said, before hanging up the phone. He looked up at the sunflower as he did so. "You catch all that?" he asked the plant. Rising from his chair he cleared his throat loudly and went to the door to alert the 'footman'.

The ghoul acknowledged Liam's indications, and whisked away down the hallway in search of his Mistress. She returned to the conservatory a moment later, looking like the cat who caught the canary.

"Success?" she asked hopefully.

"She was rather more receptive than I anticipated, to be honest," Liam replied. "However she has some requests. Maintaining a clandestine resistance in a city under siege is a logistical challenge, and she'd like for your courier to source some provisions that are more readily obtained in Montreal. She's putting together a list. There was much talk of poutine and fancy mustards, but also solar panels. Wizards have eclectic tastes."

"Oh, and here I thought you were going to ask me for something dear," Chianna said with a chortle. "I'll have my people reach out to her. Whatever's on the list, consider it done." She reached out her hand. When Liam shook it, she added. "If the formula is all you claim it to be, I'd have bought her a solar panel factory."

"This wouldn't happen to be the Nagarajah's little friend," Chianna added coyly, studying Liam's face. "Now would it?"

"You've been talking to Nex, have you?" Liam replied. "Perhaps the next time you speak, don't let on that you've gotten your copy of the formula before It did. Nex and I have had our dealings together, but I stay out of that particular dynamic."

"We do not speak," Chianna replied, running a hand over her right cheek. "But I've met this wizard of yours. If the Nagarajah had not marked her as its own I would likely have taken her as one of mine. Or killed her for her impudence." She shrugged.

"The Black Hand will do with the antidote what they have always done. They will take the payment for their protection, and disappear back to their sunless citadel. If she's very lucky, that thing won't take her as a meal for the journey. I am going to use it to reclaim my child and help you reclaim your clanmates. I think you made the sensible choice."

Liam didn't miss the gesture. "She hit you," he remarked. "Christ almighty, this woman is going to be the death of me," he observed, not for the first time. "I watched her break her hand on Holloway's jaw as well. Its a damn good thing she can deliver."

"How did you make out with Jin?"

Chianna laughed. "No, she did not," she replied. "Even the Nagarajah's claim on her wouldn't have protected her if she did. Nex and I have a history, that is all. Though I am pleased to hear about Jacob. I wish you'd taken a picture."

"Interesting phrasing," she remarked at his question. "He's very green, isn't he? I gave him a little tour, showed him some of my artwork, and told him all the things I'd like to do to him. He frightens easily; it's adorable."

Liam sighed with relief upon learning that Robyn was not objectively suicidal.

"Very," he concurred without elaborating. "I'm still getting him up to speed, but I expect good things."

"I should probably collect him and help him pick his chin up off of the floor. As ever it has been a pleasure to see you again, Chianna. This will be a short stay in Montreal for me, but I'll be sure to let you know the next time I am passing through."

"Don't wait so long next time," Chianna replied warmly. "You will always have a home, here, Liam. Don't forget that."

Liam left the Cardinal in her menagerie, and found Jin waiting impatiently in the lobby. He put on a false smile when he saw Liam. "Let's get the fuck out of here," he said quietly through his teeth.

Liam nodded and motioned towards the door. He declined to speak until they were well outside the compound with a hand on the door of his car.

"Are you alright?" he asked at last.

"As a government agent, nothing scares me more than a rich white lady," Jin said, once he was safely in the car. "And that's the scariest one I've ever met. She's a monster. You know she asked me if she could borrow my face?"

Liam turned on the ignition and backed out of the parking spot. "You don't know the half of it," he said, looking back over his shoulder. To be on the receiving end of Chianna Grimaldi's displeasure was one of the more terrifying prospects Liam could imagine, and he'd born witness to a great deal over his many years. "Chianna scares me. And she likes me."

"I think she took a shining to you. She saw something in your aura, I think, and made mention of it in passing. Something about being unaware that your kind could stomach kindred blood. I didn't take the bait, because I'd have had to admit that I didn't know what the fuck she was talking about."

"Hey, I wasn't expecting her to smell me," Jin said, deflecting. "I think I did pretty well, all things considered."

"Jin," Liam asked, glancing over at his passenger. "What was she talking about? I have been honest with you to a fault. Level with me here a moment."

"I think you misunderstand the arrangement, here," Jin replied. "You tell me everything. I tell you what you need to know. Not my private business. I told you I was familiar with things that go bump in the night. I just happen to be one, too. Are you at all familiar with the Kitsune?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean - theoretically. I've never known any. Until now I suppose," he said looking side-eyed at Jin before turning his gaze back to the road. "Garou, bastet, ratkin I've met. Kitsune is a first for me. The only talking fox I know can't change."

"Well, then you know about as much as I do," Jin replied. "They're usually not around outside of Japan, and even there they keep to themselves. I was born in Vancouver, and I needed to figure everything out on my own. Never met another of my kind."

"The Branch knows, of course," he said. "Nothing illegal about it."

"Nothing illegal about it," Liam agreed. He drove on in silence for a bit, before adding: "course there aren't a lot of laws governing things that go bump in the night at all."

He smiled faintly.

"Alright, do you want to meet an icon?"

"Is she gonna wear my face like Hannibal Lecter?" Jin asked, only half joking.

"That's really not her thing," Liam chuckled. He reached for his phone and looked up the number that Chianna had given him. It was proper to call ahead.

Jan answered the phone with a half-hearted "hello". As soon as Liam identified herself, her voice picked right up.

"Liam!" she exclaimed. "It's been too long. How've you been?"

"I'm good," he replied. "I'm actually just swinging through Montreal with a friend. Chianna gave me your number. If you aren't busy tonight, I thought we might stop in and say hello."

"I'd welcome the company," Jan replied. "I've been cooped up in my apartment since March. I hope you don't mind a mess."

"I spent the day in a truckstop motel, and the one before in a buried shipping container. Your loft will feel like a palace by comparison." Liam failed to acknowledge the actual palace they had just left behind. "We'll be right over."

Jin was considerably less than enthusiastic to meet another Sabbat agent, and sulked the entire ride over. Jan's place was above a music hall in the heart of downtown.

The marquee above the venue read (in both official languages):
"CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
ALL ACTS CANCELLED"

The lights in the bay window above the marquee were on, and Liam caught a silhouette watching them approach from behind the curtains. The buzzer sounded just as they reached the door. It was a steep climb up a narrow three-storey staircase to get to the loft. The apartment door was open, and Jan stood waiting for them in the doorway.

She looked different than she had in the past. The woman in the doorway resembled Jan just enough for Liam to recognize her, but enough that Jin didn't recognize her as a dead 80s phenom. Without words, she pulled Liam into a hug.

Liam reached out and wrapped his arms around Jan, pulling her close. When there was space to do so he pulled back and kissed her on the cheek. "Its good to see you, Jan. Its been far too long."

"Tell me about it," Jan replied, returning the kiss. "I wasn't even sure I'd ever see you again. Come in, come in." She stepped inside, allowing the pair into her loft.

The place certainly looked lived in. The open-concept loft was cluttered with scattered instruments and stacks of paper. The kitchen - which she had no use for - was being repurposed as a recording studio, but the construction looked half-finished. Egg-crate soundproofing foam was everywhere.

She smiled awkwardly as Jin followed Liam inside. "Hello," she said.

Liam stepped inside and turned to introduce Jin. "This is Jin," he said, gesturing towards the agent. "He's helping me in Verdant Falls."

"Jin Konno, meet Jan Bennett - Montreal's favourite Jan Bennett impersonator from what Chianna tells me. Although I suppose that was before the lockdown."

Liam took off his coat and hung it from a hook by the door.

Jin squinted at her appraisingly for a moment, and then his eyes went wide with shock. "Wait, y-you're the Jan Bennett?" he breathed. "Gumdrop? The Way She Goes? Clockwork Doll?"

"Guilty as charged," Jan said, demurring.

"You probably get this all the time, but your music got me through high school," Jin gushed. "I was the only Japanese kid in my school, just figuring out I was gay, and I went through a hell of a puberty. Clockwork Doll was my anthem. It saved me."

Jan tried to look unmoved, but Liam could see her biting back tears. "I... haven't gotten that in a while," she said. "Not since I died, at least. It's good to meet a fan."

"The pleasure's all mine," Jin beamed. "I can't believe you're alive, and I'm here talking to you." He put his hands on his head, as if the thought of it threatened to blow up his brain. "I can't believe you're still alive."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

"In a matter of speaking," Liam replied, turning back from the coat rack. He could see the tear forming in the corner of Jan's eye and reach out a comforting hand. "Jan doesn't get to see a lot of fans," he said in quiet explanation. "You don't get to be yourself anymore after you're embraced. That's especially true if you were famous. Shmucks like me who get buried in an unmarked grave in the Somme have an easier go of it."

"At least, that's how it used to work," he said. "Maybe once we get done in Verdant Falls it wont have to be that way anymore."

"That's... criminal," Jin said, shaking his head. "That's gotta be the first thing that changes."

Jan looked a little lost. "I'm sorry, what's going to happen in Verdant Falls?"

"There's thirty five years of music waiting to be discovered," Liam observed. "And it would appear Jan's been busy recording through the pandemic," he added, nodding towards the kitchen.

He turned towards Jan next.

"Its a long story. I'm here on clan business. But the long and the short of it is we're bringing the fight back to them, and the end of this - if we prevail - is equally the end of the Masquerade. There's no coming back from it. But we don't have to talk politics unless you want to."

Jan did a double-take as Liam spoke. "There's nothing I hate more than talking politics," she said. "But you can't drop a bomb like 'the end of the Masquerade' all cazh like that and not expect me to bite."

“We aim to break the Tremere hold on Verdant Falls and do away with the Fugue. When a city the size of Verdant Falls wakes up, you don’t get to sweep that under the rug again. The world is going to take notice.”

“Come, let’s go sit down. We have however long you’ll have us tonight. For once I have no other business pulling me away tonight. Plenty of time to answer all your questions and for Jin to get lost in your unpublished material from the 90s.”
This message was last edited by the player at 14:45, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

"That's... Wow," Jan said, sinking down on her couch. "I don't really know how I feel about that." She took a deep breath, and stared at her hands.

"Liam, do you know why Jacob forbade me from ever taking the stage?" Jan said.

"Is it because of what happened in '97?" Jin said.

"Yes," she replied. "How'd you know?"

"I'm not just a big fan of yours," Jin replied. "But I'm also a fan of strange happenings." He turned to Liam to explain. "Back in '92, Jan Bennett 'overdosed' in her home. Of course, it was never proven, because her body disappeared from the morgue before they could take a tox screen. The official story was a mix-up, but there was a lot of speculation about a break-in that the police covered up. Fast forward five years, and there was a rumour going around that Jan Bennett was alive, well, and better than ever doing small gigs in a little hole in the wall in the west end of Toronto. Most people dismissed it as a really good impersonator. But some lone nutjob flew all the way from Italy to shoot that place up, and burn it to the ground. There were some deaths involved, as I recall."

Jan nodded. "I was a pariah for flaunting the Masquerade," she explained. "Most Camarilla towns wouldn't even let me stay the night, and the Sabbat outside of the Accord territory weren't too hospitable either. Jacob took me in, on the condition that I never sang in public again. I accepted, because I knew what was hunting me."

"Have you ever seen a Hunter, face to face?" She asked. "Seen the hate in their eyes? If we come out of the shadows, there are going to be killings. A lot of them."

Liam sunk down on the couch next to Jan. "I have," he replied solemnly. "And you're not wrong. There will be killings and deaths. On all sides. When the masquerade slips there's going to be a period of massive upheaval. No country will be immune."

"But this day has been decades in the coming. Its why we're fighting this war in Verdant Falls. The Masquerade is in its dying nights. Nothing can be done to stop that - even the Tremere have conceded that with the events they've set in motion. All we can hope to do is try to shape how it unfolds."

Liam reached out and took Jan's hand.

"Jan you don't have to come out of the shadows until you're ready. You're safe inside these walls. No one knows who you are. But I plan to step out. I'll be the first to go. And I intend to make sure there is a place for those of us who no longer wish to hide. One where the hunters can't touch you any more because we will be afforded rights under the law."

Jan rested her head on his shoulder. "I wish I had your optimism," she said with a sigh. "Between this and the pandemic, it just feels like there's doom at every turn. I never believed those zealots claiming that the end times were coming... but Christ, it feels like they're already here."

"Its not the end times," Liam replied. "Its a new beginning. We can do better. So much better. I'm not saying its going to be easy, but its a future worth fighting for."

"Anyway, enough of politics. I didn't mean to get you down by coming here tonight. Why don't you show us what you've been working on? You won't get a better audience for months still, I expect."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:59, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

"Oh, hey, I was down before you came by," Jan said, giving Liam's hand a final squeeze before she got herself up. "I'm glad for the company, really. And the audience." She picked up a battered acoustic guitar from a stand near the unfinished booth, and shifted a stool across the floor with her foot.

She perched on the stool across from the pair, and gave the guitar a quick tune as she spoke. "So this is the one I've been working on since lockdown," she said. "Nothing like losing your audience to put you back in the studio."

She sang them a song of loneliness and grief. Of isolation, and the creeping numbness to a horror so pervasive it had become commonplace. Liam found himself absolutely gripped by her performance. Everything but Jan melted away, and her voice pushed all other thoughts out of his mind. Her words drove straight through his heart, and he found himself completely unable to hold back his emotions. Tears of crimson streaked down his cheeks, but he was so gripped by her singing that he couldn't even reach up to wipe them away.

Liam had heard her sing before in the Sabbat compound, and had been gripped by it then as well. Perhaps it was merely the product of the more intimate setting, but the feeling was far more powerful now. He'd long ago heard about the Toreadors implausible weakness of being completely enthralled by things that they found beautiful. Now, he had a better understanding.

Liam said nothing until the last lonely note died in the silence of Jan's flat, and even then he sat transfixed by the memory of its timbre. Finally he reached up and wiped the tears from his cheeks. His heart ached as though it had been broken into a thousand pieces and then taped back together, but he smiled with a warmth that came from sharing in something deeply personal. "That was beautiful," he said. "Spellbinding and cathartic."

"Thank you."

"I hope I didn't make a mess of your couch," he said, glancing over at Jin and then looking down. He managed a grin as he dabbed at the corners of his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Jan said. "It ain't like it's all that clean to begin with."

Jin's face was wet with tears, and his mouth gaped open. He turned his head dreamily to look at Liam, and jumped at his blood-streaked cheeks.

"Th-that was... literally spellbinding," he stammered.

Jan demurred and fidgeted. "Thanks, I get that a lot."

Liam smiled. "Do you get the chance to play for anyone else at all these nights? Are you keeping in touch with the sabbat at least, or is this life now?" he asked, with an encompassing wave of the loft apartment.

"This is pretty much it," Jan said with a shrug. "I don't really talk much with the other Sabbat. Anyone I considered a friend didn't make it out of the mine. I still get invitations to all their parties, but I'll only really go if Chianna asks me to perform. I don't even mind, considering she pays all my bills and delivers me safe, tested blood every week. I've had to resort to worse ways to make a living, really."

"Sounds like you found yourself a sugar mommy who doesn't even want you to put out," Jin quipped.

"Oh, you sweet innocent boy," Jan replied. "You have no idea what goes on at those parties. Caligula had more restraint, not to mention he couldn't work flesh like clay. I don't want to speak ill of them, though. They're not really my crowd, but they let me be me. More than that, they encourage and support it. And in the end, that's all that matters. I wish I had family that I liked hanging out with, sure. But that's why I own a cat."

"Jan was an autarch when I first met her," Liam explained. "She ran the Lantern, a kindred nightclub. Its full of nazis now but back then it was a place where anyone could go to meet or just pull up a quiet chair and listen."

"She didn't join the sabbat on ideological grounds. She fled for her life and Chianna took her in. It was the fomori who tried to kill her. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time, otherwise I hate to think what might have happened," he said looking back at Jan.

"The sabbat kept her alive. They still are. But if you don't mind my asking, Jan, if Chianna is sending you tested blood, when's the last time you took the vaulderie?"

"Pretty much at every party," Jan said. "She's pretty insistent ever since we learned the Tremere can Fugue a kindred."

"So how is the Lantern these days?" she asked. "Or the Lamplighter, I should say. Marty hasn't burned it down yet?"

Liam seemed to approve of this. He didn't think the Tremere would try to ensnare a lone  Toreador in Montreal with limited knowledge of the broader activities of the Sabbat and no other vital tactical information, but as far as targets went Jan was not a hard one. Chianna was smart to insist on her participation periodically, which hardly came as a surprise.

"I haven't been inside in years," he confessed. "Its a Redwatch hangout now. I couldn't show my face without causing an incident. I don't think Marty would turn me over but its a big risk to take and I'm not sure what the payoff would be except to give me a closer look at his clientele."

"I can't imagine he'd turn you in either," Jan said. "Not while he's selling you information, at any rate. I certainly hope he's miserable catering to a bunch of alt-right creeps every night. I can't imagine the acts are any good, either."

She propped the guitar against a coffee table, and shifted on her stool. "A small part of me misses that time, but a big part of me is glad it's gone. I prefer to be on the stage, rather than in the wings."

"So where are you boys staying tonight?"

"We haven't firmed up arrangements," Liam admitted. "Rick's place, possibly."

"Please for the love of God, no," Jin said. "If I have to spend the day with that guy he's going to grill me like a glazed salmon."

Jan smirked. "Well, you can take the couch, but the blinds on the southern window aren't perfect. Liam, you're either going to have to sleep on my bedroom floor or in my tub. Or upright in the closet, I guess."

There was still plenty of time to make it back to Chianna's, though he doubted Jin would want to join him. Which might lead to questions.

"The floor sounds perfect," Liam replied. "I'll take it over a tub or closet, any day."

"Well, if you're staying here it means we got time for an encore," Jan said, scooping up the guitar. "Any requests?"

"Clockwork Doll," Jin called out before Liam could answer. He giggled as Jan played the opening chords, but his face fell slack as she began to sing. Then, Liam really didn't notice what he was doing. It was a song Liam had heard many times before on the radio and at bars. But it had never gripped him like this. Liam didn't particularly want to ignore his friend's singing, but doubted he'd be able to if he tried.

When she was finished, Jin applauded. He was either comfortable with the momentary enthrallment, or unaware.

Later that evening, before securing himself in Jan's bedroom for the day Liam paused at the threshold and turned back towards Jin with a pillow tucked under his arm. "I'm glad you got the opportunity to see this tonight. Have a good day, Jin. I'll text Rick and tell him not to wait up."

"Me too," Jin said enthusiastically. "I don't know what dying did to her voice, but... Wow. Talk about improvement."

Wirh little else to discuss, Liam retired to Jan's bedroom. A fat gray cat scowled at him from the edge of the bed. He assumed it did so long after he'd fallen asleep.

He awoke the next evening to the creature jabbing at his face with a paw. Jan was already stirring, and disappeared to what remained of the kitchen to serve the cat its supper. Jin was nowhere to be seen. His coat was missing, and he hadn't left so much as a note.

"Your ghoul comes and goes as he pleases," Jan commented as she prepared her cat's meal.

"We have an untraditional relationship," Liam remarked, staring at the cat. "I think Rick would have preferred I keep him on a tighter leash."

"I don't do human ghouls very often. Animals I understand, although I don't think this one likes me very much."

"If it's any consolation, he doesn't like me very much, and I'm his favourite person," Jan said with a chuckle. She set the food down on the floor and he set upon it greedily.

Liam's satphone rang. The number was blocked.

"This is probably him right now," Liam said, putting the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Your friend Rick is a persistent one," Jin said on the other end of the line. "He was watching the apartment from across the street this morning when I went out to pick up a bite. When I got the impression he was going to move on me, I had to shake him."

"Oh God," Liam replied, pinching the bridge of his nose sight unseen to Jin. "I'm sure I haven't heard the end of this."

"Are you alright? Should I expect to see you again tonight?"

"I'm fine," Jin said. "Wouldn't be much of a spy if I didn't know how to lose a tail. We can meet, but it better be someplace he wouldn't expect. Might wanna make sure he's not tailing you while you're at it."

"Fair point," Liam conceded. He put a hand on the blinds on the southern window and gently parted them peering out into the night. "Alright, I'll say my goodbyes to Jan in a bit and head out. I'll text you from the road."

"couldn't help but overhear," Jan said as Liam hung up the phone. "Everything okay?"

“Yeah,” Liam said, turning with a smile as he slid the phone into his pocket. “Everything’s okay. Worlds colliding. Nothing I can’t handle.”

“How about you? Are you going to be okay?”

"Eh," Jan said with a shrug. "Not much trouble I can get into sitting around on my ass."

"That's a good thing. I had a really good night last night, Jan. The nicest I've had in a while. If that's what sitting on your ass entails, I think I could do with some more of it. Is it alright if I look you up again the next time I'm in town?"

"I'd like that," Jan said with a smile. "Make sure it's not so long a wait next time."

"Maybe next time I'll have some blinds that don't suck," she added with a wink.

"No, hopefully just a few weeks instead of a few years," Liam said, leaning in for a hug. "Take care of yourself, Jan."

Liam pulled on his coat as he let go and headed downstairs.

The parking lot across the street from Jan's place looked much the same as any urban parking lot would look with pandemic volume. His car was where he left it. As far as his eyes could see in the dark, he was alone.

[roll per+alert DC8]

[should be an auto for Liam, his die pool is 9. As a roll though he gets zero successes.

06:58, Today: Liam O'Farrell failed (no successes) using 9d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed system with a target of 8 with rolls of 7,3,1,2,6,9,1,8,4.  Per + Alertness.]

Liam paused at the door and reached for his cigarettes. He'd actually done reasonably well to cut down in recent nights, having only had one the night before in the motel room with Jin. But it was a practised motion and one that anyone familiar with him would expect. It was also an excellent opportunity to linger a few moments longer beside his car and take stock of his surroundings.

Liam caught the edges of a dark shadow in the unfamiliar reaches of his new car's rear footwell. He must have hitched his step, because a moment later the rear driver's side door flew open and struck him on the side. He staggered, and by the time he found his footing, Rick was already out of the back seat and pointing a sawn-off shotgun in his face.

"I'm going to assume that you weren't lying about having your powers bound," he said. "So just hold still."

In his free hand, he held a miniscule spray bottle, as one would find in a single-use perfume sampler. He held it to Liam's face and sprayed it. Liam didn't feel very different, though the nigh-imperceptible effects of last night's vaulderie melted away. Evidently, Hasan had shared his spoils with his ghoul.

"Now talk," he said. "Who is he and what's his game?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Rick," Liam said, taking a long drag on his now slightly sodden cigarette. "Would you get that thing out of my face?"

"He's Government of Canada. Do you think we're the only people with a stake in Verdant Falls? He has a million fucking citizens he's responsible to."

"He's a spook?" Rick said. "You brought a Fed to my apartment?" He lowered the gun. "Well shit, man, you bring him round my place all evasive, so when I call Hasan to ask what's up with your new ghoul, what do you think he told me? I thought you'd been mooked. I kinda wish you had."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:24, Sat 13 Feb 2021.

"Pockets handiwork got us flagged at the border," Liam explained. "The papers were good, but no one leaves Verdant Falls. Ever. Jin's racket is your old gig at the SIU but at the federal level. Kindred. Fera. Things that go bump in the night, as he puts it. And Verdant Falls, the city that fell of the grid. So perfect that no one ever leaves, and no one ever chooses to go back again."

"Rick, I'm sure you've gamed this out. That bottle in your hand there is the death of all secrets. If we succeed, there's no coming back again. The world knows we're here, or will soon enough. There are only two ways this ends, and I'm trying to lay the foundations for the option in which there's an honest to God place for us. But that means we don't get to play by our own rules any more. We play by the rules of our countries, just like everyone else. With social insurance numbers, and passports, and tax returns, and all the rest of the baggage that comes with being part of society. Its what you and I fought for in France. Its delightfully boring. And no one jumps out of the backseat of your car and sticks a gun in your face."

"Because the alternative is to have to hide forever. I could do that. For decades, if I had to. You could, and so could Hasan. But Jan can't. Moira and the kids. Its just not possible."

"I've told Jin I want to reclaim my citizenship. And I'm going to help him pry Base Bishop out of the hands of the Tremere and deliver it back to the RCAF."

Rick groaned, and concealed the shotgun underneath his coat. "Make sure that you get your deal writing," he said. "And that you're getting immunity for crimes past and present. Hell, the weapons charges alone could put us all away for a century."

"I'd appreciate some honesty, next time. A heads-up that you're about to give my face, name and address to a government official, at least. What branch is he from, exactly?"

"CSIS. Special Operations Branch," Liam replied, digging the business card out of his pocket to show to Rick.

"And you're right. I'm sorry. I should have been upfront with you."

"We're still hammering out the details, but I'll get it in writing. Before Jin can give me anything though, he has his own house to clean. He's not the first agent to be tasked with looking into Verdant Falls. He's just the first one who didn't go straight over and get mooked."

"You know, you'd be really fucking good at this," he said. "You've been working the other end of it for the past fifty years."

Rick inspected the card and handed it back. "I've worked with people like him before," he said. "If he's going to put a knife in your back, don't expect him to be the one holding it. His agency's job is to scout the information, and call in another agency to do the wetwork. Also means his powers are limited. Be careful of what he promises because it not might be his to grant. Legally, he's not even allowed to be armed; but they break the law all the time."

"You can trust the government to look out for its own best interests. Beyond that, you can't trust them at all. Watch your back, and above all, don't give them any dirt on anyone you consider a friend."

He sighed, and scratched his head. "Man, I really liked that apartment."

Liam took the card back and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm sorry, Rick," he repeated. "It was a nice apartment," he conceded.

"I'll let you know what comes of it. Of Bishop. Of the citizenship request. Of everything. I don't want to have to live like this forever. Waiting for the knife. Its suffocating. And I don't even breath."

"Well, I hope your decision was the right one," Rick said. "Because you made it for all of us." He turned his back and began walking away.

Liam took a long drag on his cigarette as he watched Rick walk away. "Me too, Rick," he said quietly. Flicking the butt to the ground he buried it under his heel. "Me too."

Opening the door and climbing in to the driver's seat, he reached for his phone. Meet you in the west end in thirty he typed. He'd figure out the where when he got closer. Montreal wasn't his city, and he didn't feel very welcome at the moment. It was time to move along.

Jin met him in the parking lot of a Shawarma King, while halfway through one of the aforementioned business' wares. His face was covered in sauce, but his hands were immaculate. He hopped in the passenger seat with a quick "thanks" and took another bite as Liam drove off.

"You weren't followed, I take it?" he asked through a mouthful. Something about his tone suggested he already knew the answer.

"No," Liam said. He sounded subdued as he pulled back into traffic.

"No. I wasn't followed. Rick was waiting for me in my car when I came outside. I told him the truth. He deserved to hear it. Maybe that's why I chose to bring you up to his apartment last night. Because of everyone in my circle, I knew he'd be the least trusting of the government and yet he still deserved to know. I don't know."

"In either case, I burned a bridge tonight. Even knowing that I got here by trying to do the right thing, I can't help but feel like an asshole for doing it."

He looked sideways at Jin for a moment. "Lets just make sure it was worth it."

Jin chewed thoughtfully as Liam spoke. "Rick's got plenty of reason to mistrust the government," he answered. "Considering how much of their dirty work he did. And I bet he feels burned by you - in the trade sense of the word. And I can't say that's a particularly unfair assessment. Don't expect to get invited to any parties in the next little while."

"But consider the alternative," he said, taking another bite. "You freeze me out, or have me killed - what does that get you? Sure, it's going to take longer for us to get a bead on you and your little cadre of insurgents, but boy howdy do you make a much worse first impression. We lump you in with the Tremere and the Sabbat, and dispose of you like we dispose of any domestic threat."

"Trust me when I say your biggest enemy following the big reveal is going to be human ignorance. When it comes to the government, I'm your only lifeline."

"You don't have to convince me, Jin," Liam replied. "I've been alive a long time. I know I don't get another opportunity like this. Its the right move, but it doesn't make the pill any easier to swallow. Rick was one of the first people I met in Verdant Falls. He was a good friend."

"And the kicker is I don't think he'll try to interfere. He may go to ground, but the decision I've made is one he'll let me live with."

"Anyway, what's done is done. You have a division to regain control of, and I have some allies to contact. Should I just wait to hear from you?"

"Uh, nope," Jin replied. "Call me the minute you're back in Verdant Falls and we'll see where I am. I can't help but notice you're driving the other way, though. Business in Ontario?"

"Hoping to find an old friend. Garou. He could make a big difference back in Verdant Falls, if he's inclined."

"Be sure to introduce me, if you're successful," Jin said. "You can drop me at pretty much any police station along the way. I'm not picky."

He let the silence sit for a moment. "And for what it's worth... thanks."

"For what?" Liam asked, legitimately surprised by the gesture.

"For doing the right thing," Jin said. "For breaking a thousand-year silence and helping me clean up my own house. For giving me intel at your own risk, even though it meant paying a price. Just because it was the only sane option doesn't mean it wasn't a difficult call to make."

"You're welcome," Liam said, offering a half smile in return. There didn't seem like much else to say.

"You know, when the curtain drops I'd like to put out a statement - to tell humanity that we're here. To tell them who we are. What we are. I can't think of a better way to do that than to tell my story from start to finish, with all the rough edges left in. After all the lies, people deserve to get the unvarnished truth."

"Would you consider interviewing me? Having the agency's stamp on it when it gets sent to the networks and pushed out onto the internet will stop it from immediately getting spun as a hoax, and believe me the Camarilla will try."

Jin thought about it, and then nodded. "Hell, I could make use of that long before the big reveal," he said. "Even in the Branch, there are still some skeptics. And I've shown off for them."

“Just one request,” Liam said. “Keep the focus on me. The point isn’t to name every vampire, werewolf and wizard I’ve ever met. We all step into the light in our own time. I just want to show the way.”

[Happy to end here]

"That's... gonna be hard," Jin said. "It's a lot easier to stay hidden when nobody knows to look for you. Every time I tell somebody that a supernatural creature exists, their first question is always to ask how many of them there are. And governments are going to figure the same things out that we did pretty quick."

"Things like thermal cameras being very cheap and effective vampire detectors. Or if you're feeling real fancy, scraping cell phone databanks for people who only move around after sunset. You're welcome, by the way."

"I can't stop the world from looking for them," Liam answered. "But I don't have to put an arrow over their heads. You saw how alarmed Jan was at the mere prospect. I can attest to knowing my share of Toreadors. I don't intend to tell the world she's still with us and making music though."

"Those are good tips, though. Never would have thought up either one."

"It's a brave new world, all right," Jin muttered.

He ended up staying with Liam for another hour, until they reached Mont-Laurier, where the highway branched south to Ottawa. The conversation drifted to far less dire topics - Mostly speculation about which dead celebrities were secretly otherworldly beings. Liam stopped in the town's police station. It was a small building in the heart of an equally small town. Judging by the single car in the lot, he wouldn't have much company while he waited for his ride.

The rest of the trip through the Canadian Shield was uneventful. Rocks and trees with occasional patches of trees and rocks. Police presence on a weekday evening was light, and Liam wasn't in a particular hurry. The trip would have taken two days regardless.

Shortly before dawn, he pulled into a roadside motel on the outskirts of Kirkland Lake. The room stank of Lysol and bleach, but at least it was clean. Fortunately for him, no knocks came at the door this time.

Shortly before he departed for Tim and Kat's the next evening, he took some time to look in his trunk. He was sure he hadn't been followed, and it was doubtful that his shitty motel's registry was in a searchable database. When the border guards had inspected his trunk, they would have had time to install a tracker - though not enough time to do a truly covert job.

Sure enough, he found a small device with an antenna magnetically attached to the inside of his spare tire's rim.

Liam carefully removed the device and shut the trunk of his car. The motel wasn’t well patronized but he looked over the remaining vehicles in the lot with a speculative eye, and picked a likely candidate to affix the tracker to for the next leg of its journey. “God speed, little friend,” he said as it snapped into place. Liam turned back to his vehicle and pulled the address out of his pocket again. A few more hours and with any luck he’d be knocking on Tim’s door.

When Robyn had said they were in unincorporated Kirkland Lake, she wasn't exaggerating. He drove for an hour after he left the highway, first on pavement, then on gravel, and then on what must have been a hunter's road. The roads around Robin's place were rural, some of them verging on backwoodsy. These roads were wild.

He finally happened upon a sign reading "Private Road - NO TRESSPASSING", with a narrow gravel driveway cutting through the trees. No address placard, no mailbox.

He got about fifty metres down a claustrophobic and winding road. The canopy of pines and maples was so thick that he could barely see ahead of him. As he squoze through the narrow driveway, branches brushed and scraped against his car. Tubular metal chimes clattered and clanged in the trees as he pushed through.

With the dark and winding approach, he barely saw the fallen tree in time to brake. It was too big to lift, and the trees were too dense to take the car off the road. He'd need to proceed on foot.

It wasn't much further before he spied the light of a cabin hidden between the trees. He wasn't far from the door when he heard the cock of a shotgun behind him, and a familiar voice call from the shadows, close behind him.

"Now I know you ain't lost," Kat said. "No sudden moves."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:31, Sun 21 Feb 2021.

Liam raised his hands above his head without turning. "You got me, Kat. Dead to rights."

"Liam?" Kat said. She moved a little closer, and then he heard her weight shifting back. "You're different. What's changed?"

"I got older," he said, without moving his arms. "I realise that's not a thing we typically do. I had some help."

"Unless you're wondering why you can smell me for a change, in which case its because I got too cocky around the Tremere and with their new magic they're playing for keeps. I'm stuck somewhere between a vampire and not a vampire. Its complicated. And wildly frustrating."

"I bet," Kat said, unmoved. "And why are you here?"

"Because I couldn't find you or Tim when I got back. I found the Caern in ruins. Moira and Jim the only two left alive that I can tell." Liam knew Kat and Tim had had no contact with the Caern since Tim was expelled but the frame of reference at least was one they shared. "I went to your old camp site, but it was long abandoned. I wanted to know that you were okay. That Tim was okay. Ten years is a long time to go without speaking."

"You told me to protect him," Kat said. She shouldered her shotgun, and moved around to face Liam. "And I did. I kept him safe, and out of the conflict. When you left, the safest place to be was as far away from Verdant Falls as we could manage."

She looked him dead in the eye and scowled. "Tell me you're not here to drag us back into that mess."

Liam lowered his hands as Kat came around to face him properly. "I did," he replied. "And I stand by it."

"I'm not here to take anyone anywhere. I'm going back. My work there isn't done. And I'll tell you upfront, Book has taken a renewed interest in me. Or perhaps he never lost interest, but I was simply too far away to bother with."

"But its enough for me to know you're both safe. I can look for you again, after I finish and the mess is taken care of. Lord knows it wasn't easy to find you this time."

Kat's expression changed as Liam mentioned Book's interest.

"Have you changed your position on releasing It?" she asked. Her face was neutral, as was her body posture. But she couldn't mask the effects of a sudden rush of adrenaline. Her pupils went wide. Her nostrils flared. Her grip on the shouldered shotgun tightened ever so slightly. She was prepared to fight Liam if he gave the wrong answer. In his current state, he wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance.

[Auto on Emp + Survival DC 8]

"I was always afraid that releasing It would do more harm than good," Liam answered honestly. "Even with how far gone the world has come in the past ten years, that hasn't changed. I'm still afraid."

"Seavers is dead. The Tremere have seized the ruins. They're piecing it together piece by piece, but that's really a sideshow to the real problems right now. They don't need It's help. They're already winning. They just need time."

"Then you're a dupe," Kat said sharply. "If Book's around, it's because that's what you're working towards, whether you know it or not. C'mon inside. I want to hear exactly what you've been up to for him."

As they approached the cabin, Kat walked ahead of him. "It's me, Tim," Kat said. "Everything's purple. I brought an old friend-"

Her voice was cut off as the door flew open. A fully-fledged Crinos struggled to squeeze through it, and wriggled past it with surprising speed. He closed the distance between them before Liam had a chance to open his mouth. He was swept up in a massive bear hug that would have smarted even if he'd had his Fortitude.

[Soak 7 bashing]

"Easy!" Liam all but squeaked. His sides creaked and he was sure he'd felt at least one rib crack under the strain. "Easy! I'm a little softer than I used to be."

He grinned in spite of the pain and returned the embrace with a wince.

"Its good to see you too, Tim. I've missed you."

"Liam's back," Tim whimpered. He placed Liam gingerly back on the ground, and took a step back. He wiped tears from his eyes. "Liam's back!" he said again, looking at Kat.

"I missed you so much," he exclaimed. His arms opened wide to scoop Liam into another hug, but he caught himself. "Come in. Kat made some stew if you want it."

"No, no, I'm alright thanks," Liam said, waving away the offering of food. "But I'll come and sit down while you eat."

"How have you been?" he asked.

Liam followed Tim into the cabin. It was not fancy by any measure, but it was spacious and well-heated by a woodburning stove. Power seemed to come from a combination of wind and solar. The aforementioned stew sat atop the stove, bubbling away and filling the cabin with the smell of venison.

"I'm doing good," Tim said enthusiastically. "I really miss TV but I get to go outdoors a lot. Hey, did you know people will pay you for stuff you kill?"

"We make ends meet by hunting and trapping," Kat assented. She ladled out two bowls of stew. She placed one on their solitary table in front of a massive section of log which served as Tim's stool. She gestured for Liam to take the only chair, and settled for leaning against the counter. "I got Tim set up on the ODSP before this whole shit show went down, and that helps a little, too."

Tim nodded enthusiastically. "We only go into town once a month because of the germs," he added.

"That's great," Liam replied, sinking down into the remaining seat. "That's good work. I've done the same before," he added, thinking back to the old settlement at Verdant Falls.

"ODSP?" he said, turning back towards Kat before the penny dropped. "Oh! Oh, well I'm glad you got him enrolled. I'm sure that makes a difference."

"Probably a good idea to stay away from town for now. The pandemic doesn't seem to be letting go any time soon."

"Any day now," Tim said optimistically. It was mid-may and the Maritimes were doing well. The same could not be said for Ontario.

"So what have you been doing?" he asked, shifting gears quickly. "You were gone a long time."

Kat let the two speak, and ate her stew quietly.

"A long time," Liam concurred. "I went to Europe. The same vampires that had been spreading the mind controlling 'poison' in Verdant Falls had been trying to do the same thing overseas. I made sure they weren't able to succeed. It wasn't easy, and I'd probably still be there if it wasn't for the 'germs'."

"The virus breaks down the poison, funnily enough. They were forced to stop because of the pandemic. So I got to come home, except after ten years it doesn't really feel like home anymore. Everything's changed. Much of it for the worse, but not everything."

"I made a new friend. She's a witch. I've been staying with her these past few months. She helped me find you."

Kat chuckled and shook her head at the irony of the pandemic's effect on the Tremere plans. She stirred her soup and chuckled again.

Tim's eyes went wide at the mention of a witch. "Weren't you scared she was gonna eat you?" he breathed. No doubt he had conjured up one of the pointed hat and broomstick variety. Or perhaps he was being evasive. He shifted in his seat, visibly uncomfortable.

"No, she's very kind," Liam said. "Well - she's like anyone else. She's stubborn, but in a good way. She has her grumpy days but she has a good heart. You'd like her. She likes to eat potato chips and watch television."

"She's also been working on a treatment for the poison. We used it to free Spark-Weaver and her children. Two of them had their first transformation. It was... quite the night."

Kat arched her brow at the revelations, but let the two of them continue their conversation. She pretended to be interested in her soup.

"Oh," Tim said, his tail dropping at the mention of Spark-Weaver. "Is.. . Is she why I couldn't come with you?"

“When I left for Europe?” Liam asked. “Oh, no, Spark-Weaver didn’t come with me. I went alone. I didn’t ask you to come - well, to be honest because it was pretty miserable. It’s not a life I’d want for anyone. I did it because I felt I had to, but you didn’t. You and Kat had a better life here. Even if I couldn’t be with you.”

“Anyway, what Spark-Weaver thinks would never stop me from coming to find you. The caern is all but lost now. But I’m the oldest surviving member and I just wrangled two Cubs back into the fold, so garou or not that’s got to count for something. As far as I’m concerned, you’re family and always will be.”

"Let's hope she sees it the same way," Kat mumbled quietly into her stew.

His words had a better effect on Tim. The massive Garou smiled, and picked himself up. "You're my family, too," he said. "And I would have come with you."

"I know you would have," Liam said, reaching out to lay his hand upon Tim's arm. "I never doubted that for a moment."

He glanced at Kat. "It might take some convincing," he admitted. "Probably best not to surprise her. We can cross that bridge when we come to it." This seemed to be the manner in which he was living his unlife of late - careening from one earth-shattering collision to the next.

"Anyway, its only something we'd have to figure out should you ever chose to come back. I promised I wasn't here to drag anyone away. The two of you seem very comfortable here," Liam said, turning to look around the cabin once more. "Its a good life. Peaceful. You won't find that in Verdant Falls right now."

"I'm happy just to know you're both safe. And it'll be easier to come and visit when I can fly again." If he was ever able to fly again.

"Would you give me a hand in the outbuilding?" Kat said, wiping her mouth and placing the stew bowl on the counter. "I need to thaw tomorrow's dinner."

The outbuilding was little more than a tarpaper shack with a fridge and freezer inside. A large butcher's slab still smelled heavily of old blood. Liam followed Kat there, and when they were inside she closed the door.

"I wanna know what's going on with Book," she said plainly.

Liam nodded and followed Kat ouside.

"Book is Book," he said, leaning against the wall of the outbuilding. "He wants to release It. The Tremere control the ruins though, and he doesn't feel as though he can bargain with them. He wants them gone."

"I also want them gone, but for entirely different reasons. His concerns begin and end with access to the altar. I want them gone from the whole city. I want to end the Fugue, and quite honestly I want to take the Masquerade down with it."

"You asked me before if my position has changed. It hasn't. I've always hesitated to do anything because I've been afraid of the consequences. Even when I had the means and opportunity to act, I didn't. The night Rat tried to kill me solidified that for me. All of us were working at cross purposes with competing visions of a future that couldn't coexist. And Book was stringing us along by telling us what we wanted to hear."

"Because what does he care about the world? We could murder ourselves in a plague of violence and retribution and reduce the planet to a smouldering cinder and it would change nothing for him. His plan has always been to leave us just as soon as he could. We were the means to an end."

"There was only one way in which it could have ever worked, and without meeting those conditions its simply too dangerous to try."

As Liam spoke, Kat produced a frozen package wrapped in butcher's paper, and dropped it loudly on the slab.

"And what's the one way it coulda worked?" she asked tersely.

"Nobody gets to change the world," he said with a shrug. "You get to change yourself. That's it. No big picture. No bringing back a dead loved one or trying to alter reality to fit your will. And you have to trust - trust beyond a measure of a doubt, like the future of the world depends on it that everyone is asking for the same."

"That's it. That's the only way."

Liam fell silent for a few moments and then stirred.

"I'd like to see the sunrise again," he said with a wistful smile. "Through my own eyes."

"But if I never get to again, I suppose that's okay too."

"That's..." Kat trailed off for a moment, thinking about it. "Pretty smart, actually. Providing you can trust your co-conspirators. Which is a big proviso, don't get me wrong."

She leaned against the butcher's block, folding her arms. "So is that what led you here?"

"I'm not just a pretty face," Liam said with a wink.

"I wasn't selling you a story before, Kat. I really did come here to make sure you're both doing okay. Tim and I lived together for years. He was a big part of my life and I was worried when I came back and you'd vanished without a trace."

"I won't say I haven't thought about the rest, but its not why I came. That being said, I do think I could trust you. And Tim. All he's ever wanted is a family. To feel like he belongs somewhere. He doesn't need It to provide that for him. He needs us."

"And I need him too," Liam admitted. "He's pretty close to the only family I have left."

Kat's demeanor shifted a little. She went from folding her arms to hugging them. She stared at the meat. "Sorry, I just have trouble believing that anything that happens to us is a result of his machinations."

"He led you to us. Each one of us. Most you turned into allies. Some you killed. But one by one you cleaned house. You were his coup. Tim and I left that life because of you. And you happened because of him. He plays your... frustrating likeability the way he played -" She caught the words in her throat. "The way he played my rage and Tim's innocence. I believe that you're here because you miss us, and those feelings are genuine. But answer me this. The witch who led us back to you. Who introduced you?"

"Jack," Liam replied. "But Book was there to make sure I didn't miss the call," Liam confessed a moment later.

"Don't get me wrong, Kat. I know he's using me. I'd be fighting the Tremere regardless. Freeing It is another matter altogether. If we were to consider it, and I hold the same reservations as you do, Book gets what he wants. There's no way around that. The question comes down to whether we can abide that, not whether we like it."

Liam shrugged. "I don't know what the right answer is. I do know Book wont stop. We might not be around when he eventually succeeds but he'll keep trying. He has all the time in all the worlds."

"And if I'm being honest, I worry less about what Book wants than I do about what his future confederates might desire. What if he reconsiders his stance on the Tremere and decides they're his ticket to freedom after all?"

Kat laughed and shook her head. "You're on to something there, but it's not what you're thinking," she said. "He's with you because you're going to kick the Tremere's collective ass. He's behind the winner. Always has been. If you fuck that up, then you can bet your ass that's when he's going to introduce himself to the other side. And you really don't want that to happen because that'll mean you've already lost. If there's one thing you can count on for Book, it's that his presence in your life is real good tidings for you. Right up until it isn't."

"I guess what I'm getting at is, you're not the only one knocking at my door tonight. He's asking me if I want to take another spin on his little carnival ride. The question is: do I?" she gestured around herself. "It's not like I'm happy here or anything. We're safe, sure, but do you think I like living out here in bumblefuck? Liam, I would snap a puppy's neck if it meant I could have a restaurant-quality meal and a soaker tub. And I love dogs."

"So come with me," Liam replied. "I'll... figure out Moira. No, she's not going to like it. But I do think I could talk her down off her high horse."

"Robyn knows I might come back with the both of you. I never promised anything, but it was always a possibility if I sought you out. We have a camp in the woods. Pockets is there. Moira and the kids. And a few families and individuals we 'freed' from Verdant Falls. Its rustic, but its more built up than here," he continued, taking in the hunting cabin with an encompassing gesture.

"You'd have a community. And God knows we could use an experienced hand like yourself."

"All of them know about the Tremere, obviously. Only Robyn has any notion of Book though. We've been working quietly with Miss to try to undermine the Pyramid's foundations without their knowledge."

"I'm not looking to build another Tribe. Those have all failed. If there's to be any sort of arrangement as I see it, it would be you, me, Tim, Robyn and Miss. And of course, Book, because he gets what he gets regardless. Six people. Small goals. We change ourselves, not the world."

"Its a lot to chew on, I know. I'm not looking for an answer tonight. Trust doesn't come easily to our kinds, and with good reason. But it starts with honesty."

Kat smirked. "You know, I think I know why you and Tim hit it off so well," she said. "You're an idealist, just like him."

"I kinda figured we were going with you the moment you showed up," she said. "I wasn't about to let you breeze in after ten years and break his heart all over again when you left. It was that, or put you in the swamp before he saw you."

"Well then, I appreciate you chose not to put me in the ground," Liam said with a grin. "I'd have had a hard to explaining that one back home."

"It'll be good to have you both back. I'll try not to be so frustratingly likeable."

"You will fail," Kat said with a chuckle. She pushed herself off the slab, and grabbed the meat. "C'mon, Tim's probably getting suspicious by now. I'll let you be the one that tells 'im."

Tim had finished his salad bowl full of stew when they returned, and was ladling himself some seconds. Given the size and length of his claws, this was a messy and delicate operation. Judging from the scars on the ladle, it was also a common one.

"More deer," he said in a singsong voice as he spied the package.

"More deer," Kat replied, with far less enthusiasm. She placed it in the sink to thaw out for tomorrow. She grabbed a well-used mop from the corner and went to clean up after Tim.

Liam followed Kat back inside and resumed his seat opposite Tim once more. "I see you worked up an appetite today," he remarked with a grin. "What do you think about coming back with me to Verdant falls? Both of you. I can't speak for how good the deer is, but I'm sure we'll be able to wrangle up something."

Tim perked up, and his tail began to wag. "You mean we'd all get to live together? That sounds great!"

"I have to lay the groundwork, but yeah. I think so," Liam said. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Honestly its been too long."

Tim stood, reaching across the table and hugging Liam. "This is amazing!" he exclaimed. "I can't wait!"

Kat was a little more restrained with her jubilation. She eyed the venison in the sink and remained quiet.

Liam winced, but only the ribs that had already popped that evening gave him any grief. Tim was being gentle. "It'll be good to have you back," he said. "I'll spend the day here." He glanced up at Kat. "Is there somewhere safe?"

Happy to end the scene here

"Our root cellar," she said. "It's not very warm, or very clean. But it's dark."

She wasn't kidding. The night was young, and they stayed up far too late with lighter conversation. But when it came time for Liam to retire, he only had potatoes and turnips to keep him company.

[5 XP for the scene.]