Robyn snorted. "Oh yeah," she said. "I've been feeling cooped up all afternoon. I almost went shopping without you, but I figured that'd be pretty rude. Seeing as how you're here to protect me, and all. Not that I'm not plenty capable or anything. I've been in my share of scraps since this all started."

She headed toward the garage, but caught herself. She lifted her head as if catching a phantom voice. "Oh, right," she muttered, and turned around. She twisted the ornate key on the front of the Tome, locking it. She pocketed the key and continued on her way to don her disguise.

Liam grabbed one of the scraps of paper he hadn’t needed and scrawled a note for Pockets.

Gone shopping. Let us know if you need anything.

Back soon

Liam

“Coming!” He called back, hastening to catch up.

“Let’s drop by my old place. It’s in Riverhead.”

"If you're sure it's safe," Robyn said, doing up the buttons on her uniform. "Is that where you stashed your arsenal?"

[Roll Fate]

"Guns. Spare clothes. A few other things."

"Assuming its still standing."

Liam donned the trenchcoat and hat and climbed into the car. Hopefully it was another quiet night in Riverhead.

Robyn still drove like a maniac. They'd be at his safe house in a matter of moments. "It occurs to me," she said as they drove. "That Riverhead has had more than its share of misfortunes over the years. Something tells me that Ian Brumley being at the steelworks and it exploding were not unrelated incidents."

“They were not,” Liam said quietly. “A friend of Book’s found out Ian was hiding there. Scariest bastard I’ve ever met, and that’s saying something. He raised the whole place to the ground to find Ian, and then he killed him.”

“The one good thing that ever came out of Ian’s miserable life - the decimation of the Fomori in Verdant Falls in one night.”

"Jesus," she replied. "What'd he do to piss him off?"

“He killed Sunshine,” Liam replied, matter-of-factly.

Robyn slowed the car down a little. "How'd a friend of Book's know Sunshine? Or is that a conversation for when we get home?"

“That is a question for Book,” Liam said. “Your friend Sunshine had more friends than I know about. I think she had more friends than she knew about, but that’s just a guess.”

"Has Book ever given a straight answer to a question?" Robyn said. "I'm gonna drill you more on this, just so you know. But we're here."

The renovated factory was much like Liam remembered. God only knows the state of the dust in that place after so long away. "Nice digs," Robyn remarked. "A hipster's dream."

Liam climbed out of the car and glanced towards the sky. “I don’t need much to get by,” he said, fishing the key out of his pocket. It was still standing at least. Hopefully no one else has helped themselves to it in his absence.

Robyn opened up the car, and looked up at the apartment. "Should I wait here?"

“Up to you,” Liam replied. “I shouldn’t be long.”

He climbed the steps up to the heavy fire door and slipped the key into the lock.

"I'll wait here," Robyn said. "Just don't be long."

As soon as Liam pushed open the door, he was blown back by a wall of flame.

[Soak 8 aggravated damage]

There was no click. No tell or giveaway. There was merely heat, too intense to bear, and a concussive blast that hurtled him into space. The next moment he connected with something hard and came to an abrupt stop. Eyes that could not see and ears that heard only ringing tried to make sense of a world of pain and darkness. They’d found him out. Somehow the bloody bastards had found him out. But they hadn’t killed him. Not yet.

Liam struggled to his feet, or tried to. There was no way they didn’t know he was here now...

Blinded by smoke and deafened by the blast, he didn't notice Robyn running up the stairs. Through the pain, he was able to feel her hand on his shoulder. A wave of cool washed over him, and by the time she pulled him to his feet, the pain was completely gone.

[You're still at Crippled, but you can ignore die penalties for the remainder of the scene.]

As the ringing in his ears subsided, he could hear Robyn coughing through the smoke. They emerged from the stairwell just in time to see a vulture land between them and the car. It shifted quickly into a Camarilla scout.

Liam spotted his cap lying cockeyed by the base of the steps, having been blown clear off his head by the explosion. He stooped down to retrieve it, using the stiff brim to beat down the last of the lingering flames clinging to his overcoat. Even before the blast it was unlikely the scout would have been able to piece together who he was. Now he knew he was burned entirely beyond recognition. He could feel it in every fibre of his face.

<<Well?>> He demanded in his best irritated, authoritarian German. <<Are you just going to stand there ogling?>>

He lurched forward on hobbled legs, giving the appearance of more grievous injury than he felt - or perhaps the injury he felt apart from Robyn's magical healing touch.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:22, Sun 14 June 2020.

Judging by his appearance, the Gangrel was either obsessed with youth or had been embraced very recently. He looked at the uniformed officer beside Liam, and then back at him. He stammered. "Uh... Uh... Sorry sir, I-I don't speak..." he reached out a hand to help steady Liam.

While the scout was distracted, Robyn planted her feet, and began to trace a pattern in the air with her right hand.

Another scout landed in the parking lot, with the squad car between her and the rest of the group. "What the fuck is going on here?"

<<I'm fine,>> Liam verbally protested, though clearly this was not the case. Whether or not the scout understood him, Liam made no effort to force away his outstretched hand. Instead he allowed the gangrel to steady him as a pretence for getting close, clasping his arm with one hand. He leaned forward with his other hand bunched at his hip, feeling his claws prick into the burnt flesh of his palm.

As the other scout alighted he looked up and shook his head and shifted his jaw in the manner of a man trying to clear his ears. "What?! Speak up," he said, louder than necessary. <<I can't hear you,>> he continued, shifting in and out of English.

These gangrel were young, but skilled enough to have mastered protean. Hopefully their dedication had been singularly focused and they were not equally adept in fortitude. Letting them go was a risk he was not prepared to take. If one of them followed the squad car back...

He glanced towards Robyn momentarily and then suddenly sprung into motion, dragging his claws through the unassuming scout's throat.

5 Successes on the claw attack.
7 aggro damage

14:39, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 5 successes using 9d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 5, rerolling 10s.  Dex + Brawl.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:49, Sun 14 June 2020.

The scout by the car seemed to realize something was wrong. Perhaps she noticed Liam's claws beginning to grow, or perhaps it was the air around Robyn crackling with strange energy. She took two steps back.

Liam's blow swiped the scout's head clean off his shoulders. He was too young to turn to ash. His body merely crumpled to the pavement. The other scout turned and ran. She was halfway through her transformation when Robyn sent a bolt of lightning flying from her outstretched hand. The half-formed creature fell from the sky, struggling to fly with burning feathers and broken wings. Robyn swore and prepared another volley.

"Oh no you don't," Liam muttered under his breath. Forcing his vitae into his legs he leaped through the air, sailing clear over the top of the cruiser and landing on the fleeing gangrel's back with the weight of a runaway freight train. Razor sharp claws finished the work that the impact did not and in moments the alleyway grew quiet again except for the crackling flames.

Abombwe 4: Devil Channel legs.

2 success on the attack. 7 aggro damage (corrects for specialised roll + protean)

15:16, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 6 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 6, rerolling 10s.  Damage.

15:16, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 6, rerolling 10s.  Dex + Brawl.

Robyn shook off the effects of her conjuration, and ran towards the car. "Let's move!" she shouted.

Liam ran back towards the cruiser, scooping the headless body up in one clawed hand. Sinking his teeth into the angle of its missing neck he drank the last of the kindred's vitae before casting its crumbled remains aside. The door slammed shut and he buckled in.

"How many patrols did you say watch Riverhead on a given night?" he asked, staring up towards the sky.

Robyn peeled out of the parking lot. "A couple," she replied. "But that's a hell of a big fire. It'll draw everyone out."

She took the first turn onto a rural road she could find, and pulled the car into a tree-covered driveway. She killed the engine. "We better make sure we weren't spotted."