"You heard something, did you?" Liam said with a grin.

"Thank you," he continued, accepting the chair. "Yes. Busy week all around. Rather busier than I'd hoped for actually. It took longer than I'd hoped to make my way back here."

"The skies aren't very friendly any more."

"The forest is burning," Miss said. "In the middle of the wettest April on record. They may not CC me on any of the Tremere memoes, but I have windows. And the news. I'm assuming that the Gordons aren't actually on death's door."

"No," Liam said, with a shake of his head. "Vanished into the wind. All apart from Jim. He was injured," Liam said gravely. "I couldn't move him safely. Ambrose was interviewing him in Verdant Falls general last night, so he's strong enough to talk. I'll take that as an encouraging sign."

"He's going to miss his favourite assassin," Miss remarked. "I lost count of the number of Kindred that met their fate at the hands of Keisinger's pet werewolf. I suppose that explains their foul mood." She smiled to herself. "I must admit I'm enjoying watching them flail and rage."

"Moira was one of their Yellow Bands, was she?" Liam asked, leaning in. "You mentioned them last time, and I failed to follow up. I know about Mik. One of their gangrel pilots by the name of Cortez. Who else is out there?"

Miss shook her head. "The Yellow-bands are Redwatch," she said. "They answer to Keisinger and van Fokke, but they're their own entity. Moira belonged to Keisinger, personally. As for who may be under their spell - most of the Kindred who were either on Jacob's side or stood idle have either been given the Black Chalice or killed outright. They weren't forthcoming about who got what. But the ability to place Kindred under the fugue is a recent breakthrough. I wouldn't hold out too much hope for more survivours."

Liam nodded. “I suppose this brings us to the crux of the matter. The reason I’m inquiring about Yellow Bands - the reason I asked you last time if there was anyone in the Pyramid you thought you could trust - is because Robyn is working on a sequel to her compendium. The signature piece is an antidote to the fugue.”

Miss was silent for a moment. She folded her fingers in front of her face thoughtfully. "Structurally speaking, the Fugue is the bottom of the Pyramid," she said. "So no, there is no one bound to the Pyramid that I could possibly trust. Could this formula be adapted to affect a traditional blood bond?"

“Annie, it chews them up and spits them out,” Liam explained earnestly. “It would rip the Pyramid - or for that matter the Sabbat apart. Frees ghouls from their bonds. It dissolves all blood bonds. It does not however prevent them from being reformed.”
This message was last edited by the player at 12:24, Sat 03 Oct 2020.

"Hm," Miss said, doing her best to conceal her excitement at the announcement. "Would she be willing to share the recipe, or supply me with a portion large enough to handle two dozen bonds? With that power, I could retake my Chantry."

“A new pyramid within the pyramid?” Liam asked, anticipating where Miss was now daring to dream. “She intends to share the recipe with everyone. And volume is not an issue. It’s the timing and implementation that’s of paramount concern.”

“If van Fokke were to learn of this before her manuscript were ready for publication he would raise the city to the ground in an effort to find her and prevent its completion. No amount of blood or treasure would be spared. You can imagine Robyn was more than a little reticent when I proposed to bring this knowledge to the Regent herself. I’m here tonight with her knowledge though. I’ve persuaded her to trust you, because I trust you. And because together we have an opportunity to take back not just your Chantry but the whole of Verdant Falls.”
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Sat 03 Oct 2020.

"No, not a new Pyramid within a Pyramid," Miss said matter-of-factly. "An end to such things. An end to the Tremere as a hierarchy. An end to their orthodoxy, their arrogance, and their duplicity. A new line of liberated wizards. Now you tell me, Liam. Does this look like a place that can keep a secret? Do you think those I would liberate would not be then bound again to me in order to ensure their silence, until such a time as it becomes unnecessary? If nothing else, the inherent risk of discovery would make another copy floating out in the world not just a good idea, but a prudent necessity. Tell me I'm wrong."

“You aren’t wrong,” Liam replied. He sat back and steepled his fingers. After a few moments he spoke.

“What sold Robyn ultimately was the access you could provide us with that would otherwise remain beyond our reach. The antidote can be transmitted through the water supply even heavily diluted, the same as the agent of the Fugue itself. Those vacancies you told me about at the waterworks could be filled by a candidate of our urging, and they could get it straight to the source. We could wake up the whole city in one go,” he said, snapping his fingers to accentuate his point.

“There’s no other way to safely do it. At least none that I can see. The place is a fortress.”

“Initially I’d thought to release only the candidate of our choosing or some small number of agents, but the only thing preventing us from going larger is the absolute assurance that none of them bugger off to tattle to van Fokke before we pull the trigger. Anyone we release would have to be bound to you until then.”

Miss laughed mirthlessly in response to his plan. "My dear Liam, whatever makes you believe I have any influence in their operations at the waterworks? I barely have any influence in my own Chantry. When last we spoke, van Fokke sent me home with the message that I'm not worth the trouble of killing. Anyone that enters his employ from here is given the Black Chalice just on the off-chance that some sort of loyalty to me has eroded the bond of the Pyramid."

"Besides," she added. "How does releasing Vamanando enter into that plan? It could crack that fortress like an egg. Or blink them and their Fugue out of existence."

"It doesn't," Liam replied. "They're separate objectives. Trying to reinvent the world is at the root of why prior efforts failed, and were almost certainly doomed from the start. If we're to enjoy any more success than our fore-bearers we should be aiming to reinvent only ourselves. And you don't need the weight of the Chantry behind you to succeed in that endeavour - indeed, the fewer cooperating hearts and minds, the better. That was the second conceit of the Third Tribe. You. Me. Robyn. Perhaps a couple others besides, as we deem necessary. No more."

"But we still have to live in the world afterwards. And I for one would prefer not to live in a world dictated to us by the likes of van Fokke. Hence, my suggestion."

"I know you have no influence over the waterworks, but you could could push someone to apply. Presumably the engineers do not remain within the compound exclusively, or else we would not have succeeded in thinning their ranks so dramatically at Teasdale Hall. What if we were to free an operative after they had taken the Black Chalice?"

"Work on ourselves, eh?" Miss replied with a chuckle. "Is that what you call using Its Tome to formulate a cure for the Fugue? Or to dig up an ancient and lost form of Thaumaturgy to save one of your own? Or you peddling magic bullets to a man who loses a piece of his soul every time he shoots one?"

"How is that any different from Cross using it to smash the Fomori? Or your sire using it to incapacitate enemies in a greatly outmatched fight? I don't disagree that too much of Its external influence can lead to ruin. But using it to lay waste to a pack of fascists... Well, I'm struggling to see that as a line too far."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:43, Sun 04 Oct 2020.

"I take your point," Liam acknowledged. "But its not them I worry about. Its me. Us. Cross and Roundtree are both dead by their hubris and I have spent the last century holding on to every scrap of my soul with both hands."

"I don't know precisely where the line lies, but I have seen how slippery this slope has been for others to navigate and I fear to cross it. So far as I’m concerned, the less we can ask for and still provide for ourselves the better."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:25, Mon 05 Oct 2020.

"No," Miss said. "Cross was slain by Deluca. Twice. Roundtree was defeated by you and handed over to Jacob's personal jailer for vivisection. And both of you were led to them by Book. Their crime was crossing him, and he manipulated you both to do what he is incapable of doing himself. The only reason I was spared was because I had another part to play. Which is why he sent you to me, and why I'm helping you now."

"I know how important your morals are to you. And I know how much you fear this slope. And I'm telling you now to screw up your courage and take that step. It would not be reshaping the world in our vision if we struck a physical blow against people who wish to reshape the world in theirs. And the longer we wait to release It, the more damage there will be, tempting us to undo it. Don't let this moral quandary paralyze you into inaction, or Book will move on to a reality where you had a tighter grip on your conviction."

Liam sat back with a sigh. "You really do have a way of cutting straight through the narratives we weave for ourselves and sinking right down to the marrow," he said with a smile of resignation. "So what would you council? The Pyramid is still recovering. Only a handful of their agents are left to catalogue the ruins of the Old City, and I'm fairly confident I can still find the back door..."

"Could the three of us manage alone? Wolf and Cat are still out there. Somewhere."

"I can't speak for Wolf, but I am damn sure Cat would never forgive us if we left her out. If you can find her, I'd welcome her company. I daresay you might also want to consider offering Deluca back his soul. I'm comfortable assaulting the place with just the three of us, but you're a better judge of character than me. I'll leave it up to you who to recruit. And who to trust. I'm not sure if it'll help, but I can probably get myself cataloguing Seavers' library. Nobody's left to do it right now, and it's sufficiently humble a task that I'm sure I can goad van Fokke into punishing me with it. It's not the ruins, but it's close."

Liam nodded. "I'm working on finding them. And you make a compelling case with regard to Deluca. I'd like to see him square again at the other end of this."

"Let me see what I can do. As always I appreciate your insight."

Liam smiled. The night was drawing long and he still had a ways to go before he could bed down for the day.

"I'll try not to be a stranger."

"Always a pleasure," Miss said with a smile. "Do let me know if you have any more bullshit you'd like me to cut through."

So some thoughts and objectives on downtime:

Liam will split his time between the compound and the city (largely the docks) since he still has to eat and is reluctant to lean too heavily into the village to sustain himself.

While with the village he'll assist Moira with Jack and Alice's 'education' as best he can, recognising that Garou and Kindred physiology are fundamentally different. He'll also discretely inquire with Moira about her time as 'Keisinger's assassin' now that Miss has made it known to him.

Beyond the Gordon clan he'll help and socialise with the village more broadly. He'll finally sit down with Logan to buy that point of 'pilot', and he'll spend time training with Caleb in the use of Animalism 4 (allowing him to be active during the day; this is already purchased we just haven't used it yet).

In the docks he'll finish ghouling a handful of rats to act as his scouts and sentries. He'll use the rats' knowledge of the area to identify another suitable haven if appropriate, otherwise he will try to reinforce and rehabilitate the utility room of the men's shelter as best he can to give him slightly more room than the broom closet. He'll also access his long term storage during this time if its still available to him.

Finally he'll spend time with the maps of the sewers learning the byways beneath the city. His initial intention was to compare old maps of the sewers to newer ones to see if any branches were closed off or absent from later schematics as those might be likely places to start his search for Lloyd. Given his current circumstances however he'll also look for any substations or abandoned lines in the docks or elsewhere in the city as they could serve as viable havens.

Beyond his own objectives, Liam is waiting to hear back from Hector (concerning a meeting with Flores) and Corr (concerning the fate of the three 'vessels' Liam brought to him). If Jacob is sincere about tackling the 1st Division Headquarters Liam will be curious to know the outcome, or to actively assist as appropriate.

Obviously finding Tim and Kat remains an objective but that depends on Robyn's schedule, not Liam's.

2 XP for the scene. Additional Notes go here:

Fate Rolls need to be chosen for the following scenarios. Lower fate rolls may prompt additional rolls:
POOL: 29, 50, 56, 92 >>Additional Two Pool Dice Optional Below<<

[A] Liam will be asked to be hand-to-hand combat instructor. He's been asked to give the two Garou as real a fight as he can manage. Wax bullets and beanbags, but nothing he'd ever fire at a mortal student. And of course, his claws.

[B] The men's shelter is a writeoff. Liam's successes in scouting out better accommodation needs a fate roll, and Per + Streetwise DC 8 roll. >> ROLLED: 1 Success <<

[C] Liam will scout out and research the sewers. Likely with Pockets' help.

[D] Street rats live short, vicious lives, and an infusion of Gangrel blood can have volatile results.

[E] Fate roll applying to the general day-to-day of the village, including any disruptions or lack thereof. >> Robyn's 75 can fit here, or you can roll an extra pool die.<<

[F] Liam is invited to hit the compounds with Augusto. This would be going up against regular-ass mortals, so it's going to be more of a massacre than a fight. As they can't actually arrest anyone, the objective is no witnesses They run before they've had a good look, or they die. Augusto made two fate rolls, and you add a third if you participate. >> You can add another pool die or close this slot and stay home <<


Other peoples' Fate Rolls:
- Robyn's 100 fate item bonus goes to her compilation of the Tremere curse instructional tome, and her related R&D on the stun curse.

- Robyn's trips with the book, plus the recent major wounds, have taken a toll on Robyn. Fate roll determines how much of a toll. >> Robyn's 75 can go here, or I can roll for her.<<

- Pockets' fate for her role in the sewers investigation is rolled but will remain hidden until your choices are finalized.

- Pockets' condition will continue to deteriorate over the downtime. >> Rolled: 56 <<

- Fate rolls for Jacob & Hasan in the subtle removal of some authentic ETF flashing. Will affect difficulty of potential rolls in the heist scene. >> Rolled: 28 and 53 apiece. They have to settle for knockoff patches. They'll fool cameras but are less likely to work on witnesses. So, no witnesses.<<

- Augusto is hitting two organized crime syndicates' operations. Two fate rolls have been made to determine outcome, but will stay hidden until you finalize your fate picks.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:04, Wed 07 Oct 2020.

Alright, after much thought here's the assignment:

5, 29, 50, 56, 74, 92

[A]: Helping the Gordons, 56

[B]: Finding a new dockside Haven, 5 (even worse than the last time around; starting to think there are no havens in the docks)

[C]: Exploring the sewers, 92

[D]: Rat ghouls, 29

[E]: Well being of the Village, 50

[F]: Aiding Augusto, 74

Other:

Robyn can spend her 77 on herself