The entire village was gathered outside when Liam awoke the next evening. Those who weren't going on the raid were there to see the others off. The tension in the air was palpable. If he had anything to say to the villagers, now would be the time. If not, the temporary portal putting him down near Seavers' place awaited - though he had an hour until his compatriots would arrive.

Liam found Alex amongst the villagers and smiled.

"I watched the sun rise before going to bed last night," he said. "There were a few new voices in the dawn chorus - voices I'd never heard before. Stowaways from Tahiti, I suppose. They must have wandered through the portal by accident and scattered into the forest. I suppose I'll have to fish them out later and send them back. Or maybe we let them stay and see if they can make a life for themselves here."

"You asked me what I thought you should call yourselves. Apollo was the God of the sun, but he was also a God of music and medicine. It seems fitting that you should call yourself something aspirational as Verdant Falls awakens from this horrible nightmare. I can't think of anything more appropriate than the Dawn Chorus."

Liam reached down and scratched a half sun cresting the 'horizon' into the dirt with his claw.

"Just the musings of an old man. Take what you like from it."

"Yeah, that's much better than what we came up with," said Alex. "The Sparrows kinda sounded like a high school football team. And that's a lot easier to spraypaint than a bird flipping the bird."

"Soul of a poet," Ted agreed. "All in favour of the new name?" There was a near-unanimous show of hands.

"Sounds kinda culty," said Mel with a shrug. "Might scare the normies."

"Even better," said Alex with a chuckle.

"I'm glad you like it," Liam replied. "And I'll gladly claim the soul of a poet. They're easier to hold onto."

"Mik will be out there tonight keeping an eye on you. The base knows you're out there as well and will be receiving survivors along the road. And not that you need to hear it from me but I'm damned proud of all of you. You're ready for this. More than ready."

He smiled.

"I'll meet you out there at the end of the night, once we tie things off in the city."

"We'll see you when it's done," said Ted.

"Fuck 'em up," added Alex.

"See you out there," Liam said. He reached for his bag.

Beast. He hoped to hell Tyr was wrong and Mickey wasn't just lining his own pockets. One way or another, they'd know by the end of the night.

Liam trudged towards the portal, grenade launcher under his arm and explosives hanging off his shoulders.

"Show time."

The portal took Liam to an alley in the old part of town, just across from Seavers' place. He had some time until the others arrived, ample opportunity to scout the place out. The entrance was guarded by a pair of extremely bored Redwatch bluebands, who had taken up residence in the closed and shuttered former bookstore. This was unusual, as the Tremere coveted objects of great power, and according to Mickey, only Witch-Hunters were permitted access to the Temple. It was, however, an unsurprising indicator of just how thinly the Camarilla's resources were being stretched.

Mickey was the first to arrive, and Liam had just brought him up to speed when Tyr joined them. The trio eyed the shop windows from the shadows of the alley.

"So," said Mickey. "How d'you wanna do this?"

"I was thinking we spray them," Liam replied. "If they bug out - well, we were going to have to kill them anyway. And if I can talk them down they can keep up the pretense until we blow in the front door, and you can escort them back to the base at the end of the night."

"What do you think?"

"I think no matter how that shakes down we're looking at two huge liabilities," said Mickey. "If we want to keep the element of surprise until we're ready to spring, better to take 'em out quick and quiet. But like I said before, it's your op."

Liam sighed. "Always the voice of reason to my hopeless romantic, Mickey. Can't say it feels any better but you're not wrong."

"Alright. Lets take them down. They look more than a little disillusioned with their post. I'm pretty sure I can get the drop on one if you take the second."

"Needs must," Mickey consoled. "I'll be the bait." He casually drew a dagger (which Liam instantly recognized as an old V-42) and crept across the street, low to the ground. Steering clear of the slatted shutters over the store windows, he slipped into the alley to the side of the store. After giving Liam a moment to get into position, he loudly slammed a dumpster lid. Moments later, one of the bluebands stepped out of the shop to investigate, leaving one in the store for Liam to deal with.

[Dex + Stealth, DC 7]

While Mickey moved into position, Liam turned his own blood in upon itself bolstering his physical prowess. Abombwe 4

On padded foot he slipped in through the open door and took the remaining blueband utterly by surprise.

21:19, Today: Liam O'Farrell rolled 5 successes using 12d10 with the World of Darkness 3rd ed, Specialised system with a target of 7, rerolling 10s ((8,7,8,10(+4),1,10(+9),4,8,2,1,3,5)).

The latest batch of Bluebands were clearly not racist Facebook's best and brightest. The brave one had left the door ajar on his way out to be murdered by Mickey, and his companion waited inside the store, his face pressed up against the slatted window blinds, as though he'd be able to spy his compatriot around the corner. Liam could have cartwheeled up behind him. As it was, he fell easily and silently to Liam's claws.

Once he had dispatched his own target, he heard the dumpster lid closing again outside, more surreptitiously this time as, Mickey hid his own kill. A moment later, Tyr had joined them both in the bookstore.

The shop was in a sad state. Smythe's departure and the subsequent neglect of the property had left the store in a bit of a shambles. Though there had been no looting on the part of the populace, it was clear that the Tremere had rifled through the shelves without much concern for the delicate and rare volumes that comprised the store's mundane inventory. Ancient books lay scattered about the floors, pages bent and spines broken.

The shelves in the backroom - where Smythe had once kept the preternatural volumes Seavers had seen fit to sell - seemed to have been handled with more care. There were many gaps in the shelf, and the volumes which remained had been inspected and reshelved with something approaching respect.

The sliding shelf that concealed the tunnel into Seavers' haven was closed, revealing exactly how much trust the Tremere had in the Redwatch. Liam wasn't aware that Tyr had ever been into the Kiasyd's sanctum, yet he seemed to know innately that the wall behind was hollow, and gravitated towards it curiously.

Liam dragged the ghoul from sight once he'd slaked his thirst which admittedly wasn't desperate. Spending his days in Nowhere had its perks. After a cursory glance he tossed the AK aside as well. He'd brought better already.

"This doesn't bode well for a response from the tower," he observed as he caught up to the others. "They must be stretched pretty thin if this is the best they've got."

"Ah. I see you've found the way in."

Liam stepped around Tyr to release the catch for the sliding shelf.

"Hopefully you'll have similar luck inside. Come on in," he said, bidding the pair to follow.

"This was never considered a high priority," said Mickey. "Only a few people know about this passageway, and the real defenses are inside. Move slow. Keep an eye out for wards. Some of them mighta moved since I left, but I'll point out the ones I know."

"Solid stone," Tyr said in a reverent tone. He paused a moment to unlace his massive boots. "It speaks to me."

Tyr descended the stone steps behind Liam. Despite his bulk, his stony talons fell as silently as a cat's paw on a fur rug.

[Roll Per + Occult DC8]