Liam awoke as soon as the sun was low enough to justify venturing upstairs. There was much to do. Least of which was to meet with Eurydice in two hours. And of course there was his guest. Pockets' door was open. Music was playing behind a closed door upstairs.

Liam’s eyes flickered open. He reached a hand up to his ear and removed the ear piece that had sat on the side of his head all through the daylight hours. Some conversations weren’t meant to be overheard. Tonight there would be many of them.

Though he was aware of the press of time before him and eager to start the night, he paused at Pockets door all the same, knocking gently.

“Hey,” he said, smiling. He was still dressed as he had been the night before, which was to say shirtless from having taken his armor off to carry Logan up the embankment. The duffle bag lay where he’d left it at the bottom of the stairs, the Saiga still atop it with three rounds missing from the magazine.

Pockets didn't even move as Liam approached. She lifted a hand weakly, and winced in pain. There were rivulets of dried blood streaks down her cheeks. Her whole body looked tense, recoiling from itself from the pain it was under. She tried to fake a smile. It wasn't convincing.

Liam crossed over and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside Pockets, adjusting the lie of her comforter. Leaning across he kissed her on the forehead. “We’re going to get you better, kiddo,” he quietly assured. “Hold tight just a little longer.”

He’d had thoughts about delaying until another night but after seeing the state of constant and unremitting pain that Pockets was in, Liam resolved that this would be the last night.

Pockets whimpered, and shifted uncomfortably as Liam tucked her in. "Just put me outta my misery," she said dramatically. Truly, it would be cruel to leave her like this for another night.

“I’ve got a plan,” Liam assured with a gentle smile. “Just bear with me a little while longer. I’ve got to go talk to Robyn. Sit tight.”

Liam rose from the bed and started towards the stairs, grabbing his shirt and bag on the way.

The music was coming from Robyn's office. The do-not-disturb sign had been moved, but Liam had pressing business. As he opened the door, smoke billowed out into the hallway like a cloud. The room inside was hazy. The curtains were drawn and the lights were low. The large table in the middle of the office was cleared off (the mess had been moved to a corner of the room), and a large stack of totally illegible scribbles was half-assembled on its surface.

Robyn was busy transcribing the chaos into a bound notebook. She didn't look up as Liam entered. She looked better than last night, but that wasn't saying much. Her expression was awash with thought.

"Gonna have to go in again to get a full picture," she said, writing something down as she did so. "But it's... Not good."

"No," Liam concurred. He set the saiga down on a side table, ejected the box mag and started feeding in loose cartridges. "I paid Miss a visit last night. I figured it anyone can help us, its her."

"She said the curse as I described it to her is so old and so deep that she'd long thought it a myth. Tremere himself devised it and its thought he only taught it to a handful of acolytes before he grew paranoid such magic might be turned back against him and tried to destroy all knowledge of it. Clearly he failed."

"To hear Miss describe it, the curse blocks a vampire from its own essence. The caster can release it easily although that wont help us very much in this instance because they would appear to be dead. Another Thaumaturge could manage it with difficulty, she thinks, but only if they had knowledge of the path themselves, which Miss does not."

Robyn squinted at him, her eyes dry and red. "Well, that's funny," she said suspiciously. "Because I was just about to say that the most direct route to break the curse is for a Thaumaturge to learn it. Tell me, did anyone help you arrange that little visit?"

“Of course,” Liam said. He popped the box mag into his bag and racked a standard magazine in the stock. “Book told me how to find her, and more importantly when. It was necessary I find her alone. The Regent of the Tremere Chantry has appearances to maintain.”

Setting the Saiga aside he pulled out the striker and eyed the barrel. It needed a good cleaning after last night which would take more time than he had on hand. He set the sidearm aside for later and carefully folded his body suit before tucking it away. None of it was needed tonight, or at least he hoped this was so.