Nefertari made herself a bit more comfortable in her chair as she was very interested in what Nina answers would be.

In reply to Reverend Throckett (msg # 36):

"What I'm saying is that sometimes one's morals must be set aside to do what must be done. I do not believe our good doctor to be capable of doing this. Now, Lucretia; on the other hand, I do believe to be capable of this, but only because I doubt she has morals to begin with. A good leader possesses ethics, but also the ability to overlook one's own ethics when they interfere with their duty. Whether or not I fall under this category, I like to think so, but it's up to my fellow elders to decide that."

The Reverend's polite smile was still plastered on his rather fetching face. "I understand." He said, steepling his hands and resting his chin on them in thought. He doubted that he and Nina would ever eye to eye on whatever "must be done" and it seemed that it would be doubly more so with Ms. Bingley. He did, however, somewhat agree with what Nina said about morals. Personal ties had a way of causing someone to stray from the true path. 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions' is a popular saying for a reason. There is only one set of morals that hold any weight and only He can be the arbiter of 'what must be done'. Throckett kept his thoughts to himself. He was a guest after all, and was simply here for to meet and greet his potential new leader. No reason to ruin any potential goodwill now on differences of faith.

He blinked and his eyes, now filled with worry, flitted about the room before focusing back on Nina. He chuckled and slapped his forehead playfully. "How rude of me, I must apologize. Your words seem to have caused me to lose myself in thought. I hope I wasn't gone long." He returned to a more relaxed and open stance. "Should the elders choose you, is there anything you'll be requi-" The Reverend paused. He shook his head with a sigh, "To be blunt, I am trying to see how life would change under your rule, for both my flock and me. The recognized Prince will have no issues securing my loyalty, but I need to see if any arrangements need to be made for my people's safety."

Nefertari looked at the good Reverend and smiled as he believed that his "flock" belonged to him.  They were living in the city where a Prince ruled and if Nina becomes the new Prince.  Then they would belong to her and by her grace she is allowing the good Reverend some leeway.

"Reverend, would you happen to have some contact information for me.  I seemed to not gathered it at our last meeting. she smiled.

"I was about to reach out and give Rook and Richard a call, for them to join me here.  Do you have some time to wait till they arrive?

The priest seemed to almost jump at Panthea's voice. He had been so engrossed with this prophet that he had all but forgotten about the rather striking woman. He turned to address her. She was smiling, had he amused her in some way? Had Ms. Brigham?

The Kindred and their secrets

"Yes, our last meeting I was... indisposed. The easiest way to reach me would be to call the main line or Jospehine Dubois' cellular phone; she's our youth pastor and runs the Sunday morning mass in my stead." He said, rattling off each number respectively. "I'll be heading to Staples tomorrow to print a pack of business cards, I was unaware of how common they are in the city."

While Throckett had plans to meet with Bingley sometime soon, he was sure that he would get the chance, in time. Besides, he thought to himself, Ms. Dubois is always saying that you're working too hard and that you need to make friends, now is an excellent opportunity! "Oh it would be a pleasure! I haven't had the time to properly speak with Mr. Navarro and it would be great to finally put a face to Rook's name. Have you met Ms. Chalmendelias? You could say that she's the reason why I'm here at all, if you wouldn't mind I could invite her as well?" He turned to Nina "Could I trouble you for your phone? I didn't see a payphone outside but it's possible that I just walked right past it.

Nefertari gave the Reverend her attention when he took notice of her and began to speak with her.  Her eyebrow arched slightly when he mentioned that he didn't own a phone and the best way to contact him was with a moral.  It almost knocked her out of her seat by the thought of him suggesting that she do such a idiotic thing.  If he knew best, he would get on before a Kindred takes a deeper offend to that and kill his little youth pastor.

Then it even got more interesting when he mentioned Ms. Chalmendelias name.  When did he get to meet that viper. she thought.  "You should be careful with her, she may tell you one thing but taking something greater from you. she calmly said.

"You meet Rook at the fatal meeting.  He was there with Richard and I. she looked at him and wondered was the death of the former Prince that detrimental to him to forget who all was present.

"We can invite her to another meeting elsewhere. she said as she gazed over at Nina not sure if she wanted to have her in here.

Then she pulled out her phone and dial a number "Richard darling, can you meet me at The Wicked Sorceress?

He nodded at Nefertari's wise words about Emily. Regardless of her honesty or motivations, it certainly seemed that the Kindred were not at all on the same page. While she had seemed certain that war was on the horizon, two of the three potential Princes didn't seem to worried about that possibility. Or perhaps they were but choosing not to reveal their trepidation to some no name priest that appeared at their doorstep.

His eyes widened as Ms. Panthea finally connected the face with the name. "I- He had not given his name." He marveled at Nefertari's connections; he would have never expected that the gruff, blunt, man would ever run in circles similar to this mysterious elite. It all made him ever more curious. Was Rook under her employ? How did Mr. Navarro fit into all this? A well connected femme fatale, a gruff disaffected gumshoe, a mysterious aloof elite of great wealth; it all started to sound like one of those rather steamy secret agent books that Ms. Dubois seemed fond of. He just hoped that sharks with laser beams wouldn't involved.

Allowing his mind to drift back to reality, he politely waited for the others to arrive only slightly worried that so many of influence meeting under one roof may seem, to others, as conspiratorial. He was sure that if he explained himself, however, that it would be quickly dismissed as simply harmless gossip and of course the schooling of a kindred new to their ways.

Richard had only responded to Nefertari's call with a simple "Alright" before the hung up. A couple of minutes later he arrived with his Ghoul chauffeur and entered the establishment.

Once he found Nef and the Reverend he greeted them both with a smile. "Good evening!" He didn't say anything else for now, instead waiting for them to explain why he had come down here.

After speaking to Richard she quickly sent a text to Rook.

Meet us at the Wicked Sorceress.

Nefertaris' phone alerts her to his text response.  "Business?"

Reply No

Reply: "What is it?"

Reply: Another time, I see your busy.

After Nefertari send her final text to Rook she placed her phone back in her purse but also turned it off.  There was a look upon her face that showed she was annoyed.

"Rook can be a little difficult sometimes.  But we don't have to wait we can talk and if he decides his time is more important without receiving money once in his life, he may find pleasure in other things. she calmly said.

"Richard and our good Reverend Nina was interested in meeting us all and as we know the city is a bit lost without a Prince.  Then there is that minor problem with the Sabbat and it seems that a mysterious stranger moved into the city asking a lot of questions. she looked over to Nina "Would you like to add anything?

"Ah yes, a recent vision of mine involving chess pieces, which I have already informed Nefertari about."

Nefertari nods her head "Yes, it seems that some of the pieces has already began their moves.  she smiled. "I would give you the honor in sharing that information, Primogen.

She was a bit upset at Rook but he will contact her soon.  Even he will need help in dealing with the King, Queen or Bishop.

In reply to Nefertari Panthea (msg # 52):

"A black queen, white king, and white bishop. Standing together. The queen is captured by an ignored white pawn." Nina said, "Unfortunately, visions are often frustratingly vague, so there's no way of knowing who or what each piece represents. We do have our theories though. Given how painful that vision was, though, it'll come true within the next five days, given how I had it two days ago." another smirk formed across her youthful face, "Wouldn't it be something if the black queen was the Sabbat?"

Throcket mused over the potential meaning of the vision but there were already so many variables left unsaid. What were Nina's visions normally like? How deep or important do the symbols go? Are they from her perspective, or from God's? There also came the question of how useful the vision was; Dr. Fairrivers mentioned that they always came to pass, so there seemed to be little that they could do to prevent the occurrence. Only to prepare for the aftermath.

Still, it didn't hurt to delve into the mystery of it all. The priest wracked his memory of the chess game. Four pieces, only one of which is an "enemy" piece. The King appears to be in danger but because both the bishop and the queen are adjacent he's quite safe. It's also white's turn hence why the queen was taken.

An enemy is beset on all sides by three pieces and is eventually taken, blindsided by the underestimated piece.

Honestly Ms. Brigham probably wasn't too far off. If she wasn't so sure that it was a prophetic vision, he would have concluded that it was a vision of that terrible night, with Ms. Dolzaev being the queen.

"The bishop is an interesting piece." He mumbled, almost to himself. He looked up and asked Nina, "I haven't met with the other church in any capacity. We don't think they're involved in any way do we?"

Nefertari looked to Richard after hearing Nina speak of her vision.  She wondered if he was getting any ideas of the meaning but as the Reverend spoke up she looked over to him now that he got her attention.

"If the Black Queen is the Sabbat, then surely the White King is the Camarilla and the White Bishop the Anarchs. she smiled and looked at Nina for a moment then to the other two "We would surely be the pawns.


Turning to the Reverend "There are many other churches in Shadowhold, that don't fall under what you would consider a Church.

Religion, Faith or Spiritual Enlightenment.

I'm sure that they don't have anything to do with it, unless they are Kindreds.

"Us?" The pastor marked incredulously. To Throckett, it was quite surprising that anyone in his company, or those mentioned (namely the absent Rook and Ms. Chalmendelais) were of the kind of caliber to be ignored or underestimated. Was it possible that these Kindred were actually quite small fish in the lake that is Shadowhold? To the priest, he would have kept at least one eye on every individual at the assassination, including himself.

Instead of voicing this or otherwise challenging the Egyptian's hypothesis, the religious leader felt it best not to speak out of turn and simply apologized for his outburst. "I must defer to your expertise." He nodded solemnly to Ms. Panthea. He was surprised that his fellow kindred seemed to discount the unsaved. He was painfully aware of the dangerous unpredictability of man.

The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Throckett turned to address Nina and his eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Navarro!" He called out; his typical warmth oozing out of his words. When had he arrived? The pastor did not remember his arrival and was worried that he had appeared rude. "What were your thoughts on Ms. Brigham's vision?" Then, addressing the room as a whole. "Furthermore, what should we do with this vision?"

Richard contemplated what to say before he gave the Reverend an answer to his question. "It sounds very poetic... The only thing I think we can do is what we always do, hope for the best but prepare for the worst." Mr Navarro crossed his arms, clearly deep in thought.

"Ah, but is fore-knowledge not fore-arming?"

Nefertari only smiled at Nina's comment toward Richard "I'm a bit upset that Rook didn't take the liberty of joining us.  I'm sure he could of added a few insights that would of been useful. she calmly said as she then looked to Nina and wondered if she had anything else to discuss before this meeting ended for the night.

"Well, we can learn this 'Rook' individual's opinion later. I'm sure you all have other matters to attend to."

Nefertari looked to Nina and then to Richard and the good Reverend.

"I would like to thank you both for coming, and now we have something to think about.  If either of you need to contact me you have my number. she said as she then was ready to leave this place and head out to see if she can locate a certain being.