The night brings the first snow and the first really cold night of Montreal’s winter.  The Bruins are in town so downtown is fast becoming a traffic snarl as snow and hockey fans combine to clog the streets of the island.

A dark haired man recounts last night’s incident on the six o’clock news, reporting that the police have apprehended a suspected separatist terrorist, one last devotee to the defunct Front de liberation du Quebec.

Sunset brings a new night and the uncertainty of a city in turmoil, at least for the Kindred of Montreal by Night. This could be the first night of a long struggle or the first step toward peaceful resolution.

Players, you are here. You rouse in your havens. The Conclave begins at Midnight. What are you doing?

The house was quiet and still, neither Eva or Fergus feeling up to much conversation as she prepared for the Conclave.  Nothing grand about her attire now; much as she disliked them in general she now felt it best to wear trousers on this occasion, with a dark blouse and jacket.  Perhaps it was foolish, as Guarin had said it was too early to guess what would happen, but she felt as though she had to be ready to act somehow.  With luck they might at least know more tonight.

It was still much too early to leave for the Conclave, and it was impossible to distract her thoughts for long.  She did wonder if the other Kindred she had met at the party would be there as well -- she hoped so, for they would need all the help they could muster.  Chiharu had seemed terribly angry, but perhaps that would be of help in this crisis.

But for the most part, all she could do was pace restlessly until it was time to go, checking the clock again and again, unable to settle down to anything, even her beloved music.

Chiharu rouses at what ever is the lowest rank place to sleep in the building.  Checking in the mirror even though it never changes.

She seeks out one of the others in the building to find out what her daily duties are, so she can get started on those before she has to leave.

@Eva. the stillness of the house feels unnatural. For the first night since your reawakening, you feel the same sense of despair that pulled you into that century long sleep. Without Guillaume the house, and you heart, feel empty. You can’t bear the thought that something terrible has happened.

@Chiharu. you are the chantry’s only acolyte, all others having taken the oath of the apprentice and drank of the elders’ blood. The youngest apprentices take you under their wing and begin to show you the ropes, but a couple of them give you the cold shoulder. Word that you, a mere acolyte, will be permitted to accompany the Regent to the Conclave has spread and a few of your Kindred are a bit hostile about it.

Everyone lose 1 Blood (waking).

You have a few hours before your are expected by either the Seneschal or the Regent of Tremere. Do you have anything you want to accomplish before the Conclave?

Assuming that i can leave and return before the meeting i will use my herd to top off.  Otherwise no actions of note before the meeting.

They shouldn't be mad, it means they are not the ones being volonteered for something....

@Chiharu. With no wheels, if you hunt and run into a complication, you will miss your appointment with the Regent. Do you risk it?

nope guess i will have to hope for the best.

In reply to Chiharu Miyasaki (msg # 7):

so, anything else you want to do with the time then?

Eva will continue to pace and worry until it's time to go.

David will take the early hours (hour or however much time he has) to get dressed, then prepare a few things for the night ahead. While not specifically hoping for trouble, he's going to prepare 'just in case'.

I will do some things around the chantry, maybe take a peek if they have more on elemental mastery in their library.

@Eva. you collect your bauble and leave the house with Fergus at the wheel. It feels so foreign, dressed in what amounts to men’s clothes and without Guillaume at your side.

@David. you move quickly through your apprentice duties and return to your chamber to prepare. The words flow easily, the benefit of much practice.

@Chiharu. learning your acolyte duties takes a bit longer than you would have preferred, but you do spend some time in the library and are able to spot a few volumes that may aid in your studies at a later date.

---

Given the events of the past twenty-four hours, Sherbroke Street and the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, feel dangerously close to the Sabbat Packs across the river in Longueuil.  For those who know what to look for, there is some comfort gained from seeing a few Misfits MC cuts on mean looking men lingering in a pair of black sedans outside the museum. Clearly the Sheriff is taking no chances.

Under a Toreador Prince, it’s no surprise that Montreal’s fine arts museum is undergoing a major transformation. Construction on the Jean-Noël Desmarais Pavilion is well underway, underwritten by a small network of construction firms controlled by the Prince’s Ventrue allies.

Through the classical exterior of the building and across the marble floors of the first pavilion where paintings and sculptures of Canadian and Quebecois artists are featured, you find your way into a more modern hall of glass panes and sculptured concrete. The gallery features works from the Belle Epoch, dynamic art nouveau surrounds the space where Montreal’s Kindred have begun to assemble.

@David, @Chiharu. you have been permitted to travel with the Tremere Regent, Hamadzi Rashidi. The dark skinned, dark eyed, dark haired blood mage can only hail from the East. Originally from Persia, well before modern Iran if rumors are to be believed.

@Eva. it takes a great deal of willpower to avoid becoming enthralled by the beauty surrounding you. But the gaunt, normally flamboyant, Guarin and the Toreador retinue remain remarkably staid, though unsurprisingly given the situation. Your clan’s Prince is missing and the city is in turmoil. It’s hard to share the joy in unlife during such dark nights.  The Seneschal joins the rest of the council around a large table set in the centre of the gallery while the remainder of the clan ring the outside. You spot Solomon and Amelie among the assembled Toreador, but recognize few others.

@Seren. you arrive with your Protector, escorted by some of those bikers who have taken up their posts outside. The Sheriff leaves you among the others of your clan, all strangers to you, and joins the council at the table. Presumably one of those seated at the table is the Ventrue Praetor, but you do not yet know who that is.

The animals, the rats, the rabble, the kooks. They arrive in smaller numbers, but all are present for the Conclave, each represented by a senior member or an elected representative of their respective clans.

Seren seems stiff and anxious as she arrives, even under the protection of a group of bikers hand-selected by the Sheriff of the City himself. She looked better rested than she would have been reported looking upon entering Montreal the night before, but she wasn't exactly the sun-kissed Celt as her Sire had found her so many years before.

Bowing deeply to the council and murmuring thanks to the retinue of bikers which escorted her,  Seren would take a place somewhat opposite the Sheriff, whether seated or standing. She wanted to be in his eyeline in case her Sire tried anything, whether himself or through someone else. She looked professional in a modest pantsuit, though she lacked jewellery or any of the other fineries she would normally wear due to her escape.

Seren seemed content to sit silently, knowing that her presence was not important in the grand scheme of things. She was a Ventrue who had abandoned her Sire, next to nothing, perhaps even in line for punishment for her shameful actions.

Chiharu arrives and takes a seat on the outside near where the Regent will sit.

She observes the room and people as she still isnt sure why she would have been ordered/allowed to such a meeting.

It was all too tempting for Eva to lose herself in the beauty of the setting, simply to forget all her worries and think only of what was before her eyes.  But that would do Guillaume no good, and neither would it help her clan.  So she shook off the temptation and went to stand with Solomon and Amelie, the only two she knew at all in this new place.  Did they know about her Sire, she wondered, and would they look at her with pity?  That, she feared, might crack whatever composure she had left, and she tried to brace herself.  Falling apart in such company would not do, no matter the excuse.

There are dozens of Montreal's Kindred gathered here, the Conclave open to any who are recognized by the council. Although the central table is round there is a seat that is clearly set aside for the Prince. An ornate chair of heavy wood and leather, decorated with a pair of skulls, the chair has been the seat of power in Montreal since the time of the Sabbat, through the rule of the Set and now for recent ascension of the Camarilla Prince.

@Eva. "It is good to see you," Solomon says with genuine relief. "After the bomb, we lost sight of you and your friends. Did everyone make it out safely?"

17:00, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Eva Bennett, rolled 3 using 2d6 ((1,2)). fail Take 1XP.

Even as your Grandsire takes his place to the right of the Prince's throne, it strikes you that you have never been involved in the machinations of the council and even your tangential involvement was always shepherded by Guillaume. The self-doubt and the reminder of the possible loss of your beloved is tearing you up inside. Take the condition Unprepared -1 forward to Social.

---

@Chiharu. You observe that the Tremere delegation, such as it is, is smaller and less distinguished then the other two patrician clans. It also strikes you that you never were exposed to anything like this by your Sire or during your torture in the New York Chantry.

17:00, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Chiharu Miyasaki, rolled 8 using 2d6 ((5,3)).weak success

There is much to learn about the world of the Kindred that has been kept from you, but if you are receptive to learning, you see a path to safety and to knowledge that would have been eternally denied to you in New York. Choose one: take +1 forward on Mental or add a detail useful for Chiharu or the Tremere at the Conclave.

---

@Seren. As terrible a time as you have had spending so much of your unlife at Cnaeus' side, you have learned much from those experiences. The subtlety of political machinations, the quiet power plays, the rivalries that underpin it all. Instinctively you position yourself in a way that can watch the Sheriff, where he has taken his seat that the right of the Prince's throne, and, perhaps more importantly, watch those who might oppose his aims.

17:01, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of Seren Kerrington, rolled 10 using 2d6 ((5,5)). strong success Take 1 Edge for the Conclave, you may also choose one: take +1 forward on Mental or add a detail useful for Seren or the Ventrue at the Conclave.

The presence of familiar faces helps a little, but Eva is increasingly aware that she is out of her depth here.  And the news she has to deliver does not help her nerves.  "Guillaume is among the missing," she replies, in a low, strained voice.  "They must have taken him."

Such a gathering is well beyond anything Chiharu has ever witnessed.  The shear number of kindred in the room at one time is overwhelming.

Hoping that she does not get called on for anything as she does not have any ideas about anything in this place.

Maybe something will make itself apparent for her which will help her.

Detail for her

David kept up with the main Tremere delegation, keeping his place properly behind the Regent as they made their way inside. Though perhaps smaller in size than some of the other clans, they had something about them that the others didn't - a sharper air of mystery. All the clans held their secrets, but none were as diverse and expansive as the Tremere. Something that both worried and fascinated many at times. Once the chamber was reached, David took a respectful place well behind the Regent given his station and occupied himself with simple observation while things were discussed and conducted. Another face in the crowd. Important enough to be permitted a place at the gathering, but still, one who kept out of the main limelight.

@David. being new to the city but not entirely new to the dynamic of how you clan works within the council, you are not surprised to see the Tremere ‘under represented’. The Regent represents the chantry; it is not a democracy. Keeping the number of acolytes and a powerful vampire like Rostov out of sight keeps them out of mind. Why remind the others of the Tremere’s strength?

10:08, Today: Storyteller, on behalf of David Bishop, rolled 7 using 2d6+1 ((4,2)). weak success take +1 forward social or add a detail that is useful for David or for the Tremere

---

@Chiharu, you may add your detail outright or I will offer you a choice.

add a detail useful for Seren or the Ventrue at the Conclave, please :)

Seren listened to those who spoke, wondering what the discussion regarding a bomb was about. Living with her Sire, Cnaeus, meant that Seren had learned the art of keeping her face neutral which was frankly a survival trait for the Ventrue.

Although the Sheriff was a new ally to Seren, she understood the value of backing allies and Seren would support any proposal that The Bull came up with, unless it directly conflicted with her nature as a Ventrue or would endanger her needlessly. She doubted Louis would go through all of the trouble and risk for his men to sell her down the river, but Cnaeus had the sadistic tendency to choose not to capture her directly the previous few times she'd made small escapes but to corrupt people she thought were allies into turning her in.

Seren glanced at the others on her side of the table, wondering if there were any other Ventrue among her number. She noticed a nervous young woman who refused to allow her eyes to linger overlong on the art collection and Seren wondered if she was, perhaps a Toreador, who had a profound appreciation for beauty. Seren could understand the Toreador, if perhaps she found their lack of ambition (when measured against her own, anyway) stifling. She watched the Tremeres enter behind their Regent, looking to see if any of them were even vaguely interesting to her - she mistrusted their magical ways innately, perhaps fearful of the potential for her vitae to be used for nefarious purposes.

Ceremony upon ceremony and Seren had sat through hundreds under Cnaeus' harsh tutelage: her back was arrow-straight and her attention, when not bouncing around the room, tended to be respectfully expectant towards those in power. A single word had not passed her lips since she entered the chamber and she sincerely hoped she was far enough out of the spheres of influence in Montreal that her presence would remain little more relevant than a cardboard cut-out of a person at a football game. Er, a soccer game. North Americans!

@Chiharu. Choose one of:

Option one. across the assembled Kindred of the city, you spot a familiar face wearing a heavy winter coat, holding a grey wool cap in his hand. Not particularly handsome, but not bad looking either, you immediately remember the boy who you ran from in the park.

Option two. across the assembled Kindred of the city, you spot a familiar face wearing that same battered leather jacket she had on last night. She looks better for having spent the day resting and perhaps found the opportunity to feed. You're the first from the group who survived the bomb together to notice Riana.

---

@Seren, you may add your detail outright or I will offer you a choice.

In reply to Storyteller (msg # 22):

You always offer fun choices, ST. Can I ask for some sort of detail that is useful to Seren personally - even if it's just something like knowledge that Cnaeus doesn't appear to be overtly involved would be enough for her to relax a little and start to trust the others... if he isn't overtly involved, of course. *paranoid expression*

Chiharu notices the boy from the park.  causing her to raise an eyebrow.  He was acting an awful lot like sabbat,  Maybe he is just a brujah.

When she gets a chance, she will ask someone that has been in the city longer if they know the boy.

David kept quiet during the initial phases of the meeting, taking the time to listen to the main discussion from the Prince and elders regarding the status of things. Here was a time that a lot of details of things would come out, likely more than spoken of behind closed doors given the severity of things. As he listened, he looked about to those gathered, but held his tongue until (and if) he was called on to speak. Those he might recognize from the party the previous night - or in their flight from its after events - was something he did to see who all might have survived. Or been injured in their flight. Otherwise, he is there merely to observe, listen and plot quietly behind the Tremere representative.

OOC: Taking the +1 forward social for the time being. Figure it might be more useful in the next little while over a small detail now. Bird in the hand.. ;)