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12:41, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

No Shelter.

Posted by StorytellerFor group 0
Storyteller
NPC, 679 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 03:18
  • msg #1

No Shelter

Liam relished his first night in the monitoring station. It was all his own. No villagers to sort out. No headstrong stoner witches to protect. Just him and his thoughts. He slept very well that night in the break room, even without a mattress.

The ghouls must have been very formidable indeed, because he didn't hear them setting up. His first inkling that something was wrong was when the night bright him back to his full senses, and he smelled a presence in the main room.

Two ghouls stood at attention at either side of the only door leading out of the monitoring station. None other than van Fokke himself was seated in an old leather chair. The sigil on the floor, same as the one he had seen on the boat, indicated he wasn't actually in the room. He was a little less pressed than he had been on the ship, but he too was newly risen.

"And here I was expecting a Nosferatu," he said, mostly to himself. "Come in, have a seat." He gestured to a folding chair across from him. The ghouls must have set it up, because Liam had never seen it before. "I know you're not supposed to give furniture as a housewarming gift, but you must admit the place is rather Spartan."
Liam O'Farrell
player, 656 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 03:43
  • msg #2

No Shelter

"Funny thing, so was I," Liam admitted. "But I've not seen a one of them. Its as if they've up and left."

He cast his gaze around the room before settling upon the spectre of van Fokke. "It is a little austere," he confessed. "But with a couple of throw rugs and maybe a house plant I think it has real potential."

He gripped the folding chair from behind and spun it towards him, sitting backwards across from the apex of the Tremere pyramid himself.

"Nice of you to let yourselves in. Please," he said, indicating the two ghouls with an open palm. "Make yourselves at home."
Storyteller
NPC, 680 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 03:48
  • msg #3

No Shelter

"Oh, but this is our home," van Fokke said. He looked Liam over appraisingly, and squinted. "Now, I'm sure I've seen you before, but I can't imagine where. It'll come back to me eventually. Please, refresh my memory. Mr..."
Liam O'Farrell
player, 657 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 03:54
  • msg #4

No Shelter

Liam met the apparition's gaze, then glanced upward at his two enforcers. "Beaumont," he said after a moment. "I don't believe we've met. I'm quite certain I would remember."
Storyteller
NPC, 681 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 04:04
  • msg #5

No Shelter

Van Fokke chuckled. "No, you're not Luc Beaumont. Close, though. It was definitely a file photo. Hm, no matter. Keep your anonymity for now."

An obsequious servant dissolved into view as he stepped into the circle. He held out a silver chalice on a platter, and van Fokke took it. Behind him, Liam could hear the ghouls pouring something. Moments later, one appeared, holding out a chalice of black ichorous liquid for Liam to take.

"As you no doubt already know, I am Noonian van Fokke," he said. "And I'm going to guess that you're the reason those two old faggots have gone back on the offensive. I'm also going to guess that your old haven is the one in Riverhead that exploded, oh, what is it, a month ago? Stop me if I'm getting warm, here."

He raised his glass to Liam, and took a sip.
Liam O'Farrell
player, 658 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 16:08
  • msg #6

No Shelter

"That was rather impolite, if I do say so," Liam said, eyeing the goblet distastefully. "I'd kept some very rare books and sundry personal effects there that were altogether irreplaceable."

He reached out and took the chalice, saluting the ghoul with the brim of the cup.

"I confess I rather expected we would meet eventually," he said, turning back to the apparition. "Although certainly not as I was leaving my bedchambers."

"What happens if I decline your hospitality? I presume your footmen do to me whatever it was you did to the Nosferatu?"
Storyteller
NPC, 682 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 19:24
  • msg #7

No Shelter

Van Fokke's expression lit up as Liam mentioned the rare books. He made a signal to an aide out of sight. However, he let Liam keep talking. He chuckled at Liam's question.

"No, I would sooner beat someone with a stained glass window than send two accomplished vassals into such a mismatched fight," he said. "But let's ask them, shall we?" He looked at one of his servants. "What say you? Think you could take him?"

"No sir," the vassal replied. He gave Liam an appraising squint. "A... Gangrel of his advanced age and skills would be beyond our ability to capture or kill."

"I believe you've misunderstood the purpose of my visit, sir," van Fokke continued. "If I wished to kill you, I'd have sent Witch-Hunters with them. Or I would have had them burn you while you slept, instead of furnishing your apartment, serving you rare and exotic vintages, and arranging this meeting. No, I was hoping that the person who had the audacity to make a home in my sewers would be the one who recently lost theirs. The author of this."

He stretched out a hand, and a servant placed a familiar-looking journal into it.
Liam O'Farrell
player, 659 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 19:43
  • msg #8

No Shelter

Liam met the ghoul's gaze briefly and wondered how much of what was said was an earnest assessment and how much was an attempt at flattery. He nodded ever so slightly as the ghoul rendered its judgement before redirecting his attention.

"I'm grateful to find myself in such civilised company then. After my first greeting you can imagine I was rather apprehensive."

As the journal came into view he glanced down at the familiar cover and absently swirled the black chalice in his grasp. "Well now, I'm pleased to see not everything burned up in the fire."

"What makes you think I'm the author and not merely a collector of antiquities?"
Storyteller
NPC, 683 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 19:51
  • msg #9

No Shelter

"A handwritten journal, written by someone who is not a professional scholar, about a topic very specific to this city," van Fokke said. "You're either the author, or you know him very well. Or you've killed him. Please, illuminate me as to the truth of the matter."
Liam O'Farrell
player, 660 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 20:13
  • msg #10

No Shelter

It was Liam's turn to chuckle. "Is it that apparent from my writing that I'm not a professional scholar? You can blame my poor provincial education, I suppose. I thought I managed very well, all things considered."

"There was a woman's kerchief with the book. Blue like a robin's egg. Did that survive as well, or was that of less interest to your collectors?"
Storyteller
NPC, 684 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 20:28
  • msg #11

No Shelter

Van Fokke opened the cover, and showed Liam Liza's kerchief, still pressed between the pages. "Please do not take my assessment as an insult," van Fokke said. "When scholars study, there is a regimentation to the process. It is distinct to their school of thought, and similarly distinct when there has been no formal training. You may have it back, if you like. Both the journal, and the kerchief. They are yours, after all.

He placed the book on the floor. There was a slight shimmer as the illusion became material.

"You will forgive me for making a copy," he said. "The information within has been... invaluable in my studies of the ruins. The creature that dwells below is so very alien to us. Understanding its language is a struggle, even for my most gifted scholars. And unfortunately, my brightest are needed for more important work. Those that remain at the site are bright, but well beyond their depth."
Liam O'Farrell
player, 661 posts
Fri 9 Oct 2020
at 20:36
  • msg #12

No Shelter

Liam stood up and stepped around the chair, crossing the distance between them as though neither van Fokke nor his ghouls were present. Stooping low he set down the chalice so that he could pick up the book and opened it carefully to the first page.

There it was. Liam reached out almost reverently and took the kerchief in his grasp, bringing it up to his nose. For hundreds of years it had sat pressed between the leather and page. It smelled of parchment, but he could almost imagine it smelled of her.

Liam smiled faintly.

"Mister van Fokke," he said, looking up at the apparition once more. "I forgive you for burning down my home. Anything else that went up in smoke pales in comparison. Some things are irreplaceable. You may keep your copy of my work with my gratitude. May it serve you better than it served me."
Storyteller
NPC, 685 posts
Sat 10 Oct 2020
at 00:19
  • msg #13

No Shelter

Van Fokke gave what appeared to be a genuine smile. "There's an expression I recognize," he said. "And envy. I forgive you your transgressions as well. The property you have destroyed, the terrorists you have abetted, and the promising young minds you have extinguished before their time. All I ask in return is for information. One of the many riddles left amid the ruins is one that I do not expect the original occupants to have transcribed. What became of them? They were, by all accounts, far more advanced than any civilization on the globe at the time of their extinction. And the bones left behind tell of a violent end. But how did their society collapse? And to what extent was their God involved?"
Liam O'Farrell
player, 662 posts
Sat 10 Oct 2020
at 00:46
  • msg #14

No Shelter

"How else? Greed destroyed them. Their God whispered promises into their dreams. Brother fell upon brother until none were left."

"I don't expect you care for my advice, Mr. van Fokke, but wisdom is letting those old bones lie. No good has ever come from waking those ghosts."
Storyteller
NPC, 686 posts
Sat 10 Oct 2020
at 00:59
  • msg #15

No Shelter

"My dear Mr..." He paused, and cocked his head. "Mm, no. Still not coming to me. But I'm assuming you were present for the recent... troubles with a cult built around this God? Was that, in your estimation, their mistake as well?"
Liam O'Farrell
player, 663 posts
Sat 10 Oct 2020
at 01:12
  • msg #16

No Shelter

This time Liam shrugged. "I could tell you that Greed is at the root of most of our failings but I would sound as though I were moralising. If anything, I would say that Pride was their downfall for thinking they would somehow escape the fate of their forebears but I was raised a Catholic and I’m given to such fatalistic interpretations.”
This message was last edited by the player at 17:31, Sun 11 Oct 2020.
Storyteller
NPC, 687 posts
Mon 12 Oct 2020
at 20:50
  • msg #17

No Shelter

Van Fokke laughed. "Oh, the Catholics," he said. "You have to admire the gall of placing feeling good about oneself being worthy of beating down into the centre of its core ruleset. I suppose it's chiefly responsible for their ability to endure despite being wholly unpopular for most of its history."

"But listen to me prattle on," he said with a wave of his hand. "When we were discussing a far more interesting little cult. And their God. What did you learn about the deity Vamanando? It was impossible to find a single engraving that didn't reference Him, but your journal mentioned Him very little. I suppose it's easy to dismiss all that religious speak when you've escaped Catholicism, eh?"
Liam O'Farrell
player, 664 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 14:11
  • msg #18

No Shelter

"My intention was to produce a lexicon," Liam admitted. "It was very much not intended to be a theological treatise. I had hoped to one day understand the people. I don't know that its possible to understand their deity. The creature, as you say, is utterly alien. Its consciousness is overwhelming and any meeting of minds would be as if one were to hold up a candle in the face of a driving gale."

"I must admit some confusion, Mr. van Fokke. Flattered though I am by your interest, I would have thought this expertise was already in your Chantry - curated and analysed by actual scholars and not merely the dabbling sons of peasants."
Storyteller
NPC, 688 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 16:30
  • msg #19

No Shelter

"I'm a man who consults every source when I'm doing my research," van Fokke replied. "And it's not as though I found a member of the Verdant Falls Chantry down here trying to make a haven. Though I'd be curious to know to what extent you collaborated with the Chantry, and what you think of their methods."
Liam O'Farrell
player, 665 posts
Tue 13 Oct 2020
at 16:57
  • msg #20

No Shelter

“Had I collaborated with the Chantry on my work it would be an awfully simple matter to put a name to my face,” Liam chuckled. “Not that I expect you won’t.”

“No, I puzzled through this on my own in quiet for many months. I can’t comment on their methods. Still this is an area where you and I agree. One can never have too many sources.”
Storyteller
NPC, 689 posts
Fri 16 Oct 2020
at 02:57
  • msg #21

No Shelter

"Indeed," van Fokke said. "And I can't thank you enough for the opportunity. Now, where were we? Ah yes, the God sleeping beneath the city. And that comment about its consciousness. How did you reach that conclusion? Did you find a way to connect with it?"
Liam O'Farrell
player, 666 posts
Fri 16 Oct 2020
at 14:13
  • msg #22

No Shelter

"Certainly you must be able to feel it? Its presence hangs upon the city like a miasma. Even the kine can feel It, at least some of the more sensitive souls. Like psychic static on long atavistic antennae, Its whispers never ceased. We've just become inured to them."

"I've never sought to draw Its gaze. Quite to the contrary, I initially thought to keep my distance. While Seavers presided over the ruins that was essentially mandated. But it makes no difference. We're insignificant to It, I think."

"May I ask you a question, since we are collaborating? Where you there the night Seavers died? I ask with no animosity, though I regarded him fondly. I simply wish to know what happened."
Storyteller
NPC, 690 posts
Fri 16 Oct 2020
at 19:51
  • msg #23

No Shelter

Van Fokke considered the question carefully for a moment before answering. "I'm sure if you knew Seavers, I do not need to tell you that the creature had influence over him," van Fokke replied, his face somber. "I fear that the influence that his God had over him had become too strong. He was irrational, combative, and paranoid. Prone to lashing out in increasingly erratic ways. Regretfully, I confess you would not have recognized him near the end. And much like when our kind who fall prey to our own Bestial natures, he had to be put down. For what it's worth, I regret having to do it. He took knowledge with him that I fear is lost to the world forever. Hence my eagerness to connect with you."
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