On the Longest Night, Quentin King held a grand Salon in the Elysium of the Museum of Fine Arts as has been tradition has every year since the museum opened to the public in 1876. Patronage, culture, and divertissement are the rules of this yearly event, and this evening began no differently. King brought out the latest painting by the artist Yealmas to mixed reviews, and then moved on to deal with other business - the Presetation of Iman Dumonde as a ready member of Kindred society, released from watchful eye of her Sire. However, the time-honored ritual was interrupted. During her recitation, the Sabbat Mowgli - uninvited, unwelcome, and definitely unfazed by the sneers of the assembled Kindred - arrived with a “gift” for those present: the head of Tremere Slane, his mouth stuffed with a piece of parchment. Mowgli stated that the Warlock was found in Vermont, which by ‘agreement’ with Pendragon belonged to the Crimson Tide, and by right his blood was forfeit. Whatever fell ritual he was set to conduct against the Sabbat has been thwarted, and this token served as a reminder, on this night of celebration, what happens to those who trespass into Vermont.
Mowgli bowed deeply, a snide grin on his face as demands from the assembled vampires called for Mowgli’s head; he jeeringly reminded them of their Traditions and their beloved Elysium as several other Sabbat - his Order - filed into the hall to flank the boy vampire. No one else stirred to confront the new arrivals, and King demanded the interlopers leave, which they did - their work was done, and they definitely did not care for such stuffy parties. Once decorum was re-established, John Reiss, The Regent of the Hartford Chantry demanded justice for Slane. King selected Dumonde as a worthy candidate to look into the matter: a fitting first service to her fellow Kindred. Kondo Goro, a Malkovian of some repute, volunteered to assist her. The assembled Nosferatu suggested one of their number assist as well - Al was selected - and another relative newcomer to the city, Abner, also volunteered for the mission.
Following information from Reiss, the coterie made contact with Oliver Curtis, a Nosferatu in Manchester, NH, who provided information on a coven of witches in the city that Reiss believed originally had the scroll: the Cloven Hoof. Through technological and sociological subterfuge, the four managed to get two of the coven alone in a restaurant, where they extracted several key bits of information and the promise to release a captive Gangrel in the witch's thrall, Sarah Raines. Tracking the mage who the witches said had stolen the scroll from the Cloven Hoof, Klaus Van Dorn, led to the discovery of sinister experiments at Van Dorn's farmhouse north of Manchester and further to the Hillside Mortuary and Chase McCready, a mortuary assistant used to dealing with the supernaturals of New England.
At the Mortuary, the coterie found the bodies of both Van Dorn and Slane, dead within a week of each other under suspicious circumstances... but also discovered that Slane had been killed in New Hampshire and not in Vermont as Mowgli had indicated. A second meeting with Curtis led to a direct confrontation with Mowgli and his Order, ultimately resulting in the destruction of the boy vampire by Goro and the scattering of his Sabbat pack back towards Vermont.
In the aftermath of the Black Brook Park Incident, Pendragon’s forces were quick to capitalize on the death of Mowgli, establishing domains in Keene, Claremont, Lebanon, Haverhill, and St. Johnsbury, creating a modern-day “Maginot Line” along the border of New Hampshire and Vermont that many local Kindred have taken to calling Pendragon’s Cobbles. This expansion has upset the power dynamics of New England:
Independent Gangrel in the White Mountain National Forest and the other dense forests between Concord and The Cobbles are particularly concerned about suddenly finding themselves deep in the heart of Invictus territory.
Camarilla Kindred in Connecticut and Massachusetts also see the expansion of Invictus territory to be problematic, as each additional city makes it harder to unseat them from the region.
Given the circumstances surrounding the death of Klaus Van Dorn, representatives of the Golden Dawn and the Twisted Horn Covens have been in contact with Quentin King seeking redress, and mages of these covens have begun to show interest in the movements of other Kindred as well.
The Lupines (also in the White Mountains) have become aware of the sudden increased movement of Kindred through their lands. Clashes have been on the rise between Lupines and Kindred as a result.
On May 1, 2021 (May Day), at 930PM, a meeting at the Grain Exchange Building off the docks in Boston. While those in power within the city - notably Quentin King and Biltmore - believe that their grip on Boston and the Northeast is firm, many of the American Kindred in the region belong to a resistance group known as Kindred of Liberty, patterning themselves after the revolutionary Sons of Liberty who through of the British crown and helped establish the United States. Various powerful Kindred - Battista Decamerone, Pug Jackson, Effie Feng, Jara Drory, and Prince Elsa Linden of Provincetown - make up the core leadership of this group, but this meeting was open to all members. Its purpose was simple: decide a course of action to push back against the western expansion of the Invictus in New Hampshire and weaken their grip on the Northeast as a whole.
Our players came to be at this meeting under various circumstances. Elsa has brought KO with her for this event, coming in on the last P-Town/Boston Ferry for the evening. Sarah and Marcela were invited by Battista. Mehr was invited as guest of Kindred elements in New York supporting the movement here in Boston. Alan was invited by Jara.
Battista called the proceedings to order, then calmly explained the purpose of this evening and opened the floor to proposals.
Various plans were brought forward. Several Brujah proposed to organize gangs and spark violence in the streets of the Cobbles, which they could hopefully pass off as desperate Sabbat raids; if successful, it could flush the pretender Princes into the open and make them easy pickings. Feng and Jackson both showed some interest in these discussions. Several Ventrue suggested enlisting Charles Solomon’s operation by exposing the business dealings of the pretenders to the Mafia. Drory and Linden seem interested in these discussions. Sarah suggested antagonizing the local covens in Manchester into harrying Pendragon directly in Concord, drawing a worried look from Battista, but some interest from Jackson and Feng. A Mekhet suggested dropping information to the Society of St. Leopold, eliciting some scattered gasps.
The larger gathering began to degenerate into bickering and Battista called it quickly back to order. He also had a proposal… one that itself presented some danger. He outlined a ruse – assisting Pendragon in claiming another city for his Cobbles: Brighton, VT. Once held, Brighton would become the Ardennes of the Cobbles – a place where the Sabbat could move through unhindered behind Pendragon’s lines and strike into New Hampshire. Linden voiced support for this plan, quickly drawing more murmurs of approval from the gathering... but also some whispers of dissent. Decamerone called for volunteers, gaining a small number of hands from those assembled (our players included). Nodding, he added that his plan need not be the only avenue of resistance, but that he and the leadership would move to begin preparations.
Pulling the leadership and the volunteers into a smaller conference room, Battista began to lay out some additional details and answer questions. He had discovered that Montpelier was being reinforced from Montreal, which apparently had grown into a potent Sabbat stronghold. Mehr and Marcela both questioned the wisdom of engaging Pendragon without knowing if the Sabbat would play along, which Battista conceded. Thus, the group's first move would be to travel to Montpelier and seek to meet with a Sabbat leader known as Jeremy Skelton - one of the only other known leaders besides the now-dead Mowgli.
Heading out in Al's van, the four decided to set up a base of operations in Littleton, NH, about an hour outside of Montpelier. Taking possession of a mausoleum in St. Rose Cemetery, Mehr makes some calls to see if she can locate any living owners for the structure; there is an old woman living a few miles away who is the last living member of the family in town. While Mehr does her research, Marcela and Al work to secure the mausoleum, using some impressive security equipment that Al has... acquired... over the last few months. Once preparations are complete, the four head off to visit the old woman and ensure there will be no issues during their stay in Littleton.
While the initial plan was to simply take enough of the poor woman's blood to simply leave her needing to rest up for the week, things did not go to plan. While Mehr and Al faded from view as they approached the house, the old woman and her cat noticed Marcela as she crept towards the window. Thinking quickly, she made as though she was being chased by somebody, getting the old woman to open the door. Al and Mehr slipped inside with Marcela as she pleaded with the old woman for help. Al unplugged the phone line when saw the old woman going for the phone, drawing a confused tapping on the receiver as Marcela went back to the window to signal KO to come up so she could say she saw her assailant in the window. Being the state of "Live Free of Die," the old woman went to pull a shotgun from the cabinet next to the phone... at which point Al pounced.
Apparently Marcela and Al had had a few lean days, and their expenditures from earlier had left them ravenous... to the point where neither could control themselves. Both gorged themselves on the poor woman, and then Marcela also drained the woman's hissing cat. While Alan sat in shock, Marcela dragged the corpse out of the house, cat on her chest into the woods behind the house, grabbing a shovel from the yard as she passed. After a few minutes of digging, she realized how long it would take to effectively dig a worthwhile grave... and how soon the sun would rise... and how those times crossed.
Marcela stared down at her hands, at the corpse... and felt... nothing... nothing but reality.
At the same time, Al started to explain to himself why it was alright... why these things happen... how.... it was okay.
Dragging the corpse back into the house, Marcela started arranging whatever newspaper and magazines she could find around the wood stove and started a roaring fire therein. Al retrieved the shotgun while Mehr and KO tossed the rest of the house. Finding the better part of a box of shells and some cash, they headed out as the house started to catch fire...
KO and Marcela made a pass through the woods on their way back to the haven - KO found a few raccoons while Marcela came up short. Al, still hungry, found a vagrant on the road and managed to control his hunger enough to just the poor man woozy. Mehr picked a quiet path back and closed the shades behind her as the sun began to peak over the trees.
With dusk, a still-hungry Marcela woke, and Mehr could tell this might threaten their success. Calling around, she found that Littleton was the center for an operation called White Mountains Recovery, a set of homes for drug addiction recovery and troubled teens. Casing one of the hoses, Marcela crept up to a window and drew a curious but frightened young girl to open up. Although she initially demurred, between Mehr and Marcela, they were able to coax the girl out her window and to follow them into the nearby woods with the promise of drugs and other hinted activities. Marcela took her as soon as they were within the trees, nearly draining the poor girl dry as the Beast took hold again. Alive but close to death, Marcela tossed the girl back through her window, pulling the sash down hard to break the glass and make it look as though the girl had tried to cut her wrists before hopping back into Al's van and speeding away towards Montpelier...
On the road, Marcela tried to run down information on Skelton, but came up short. Marcela made a few calls to some black-market people she knew and came up with some information on a "shop" near Montpelier, at the Vermont Community of Elders building after hours, across from the local airport. Pulling in and parking under a nearby tree (to obscure the drivers side of the van) Marcela and Mehr headed towards the burly doormen as Al vanished into the shadows and headed around the building to get a better lay of the land. A few quick words got the women through the door and into the presence of a two Kindred manning the shop...
Predator tensions contained, Marcela and Mehr managed to talk one of the Sabbat into bringing them to Skelton. Al managed to remain hidden as the two women left the back of the Elders building with their new friend; jotting down the license plate, the Nosferatu hurried back to the van and tailed the three through the city, up into rear of Green Mountain Cemetery, where many Kindred stood assembled about a bonfire as two others apart - one of them obviously fit the description the coterie had of Skelton, but the other... the other vampire was something much more... exotic...