Session Four (Book One)
Act Three - The Release
Transylvania - 1413
Act Three happens about 99 years after the events of Act Two are played out. In the past century, a lot of things have happened.
In 1381, a peasant revolt in England, led by Wat Tyler, signaled the beginning of changes in relations between nobility and the lower classes.
The Turks have began an invasion of Eastern Europe, taking the city of Sofia in 1382, and the entirety of Bulgaria by 1393.
The Inquisition flared in Spain, causing a miasma of fear among the Cainites of that nation. Elders threw their childer to the flames so that they could flee, and began discussion of the Masquerade. The first mention of "The Camarilla" was made amid these frantic years.
The Brujah Patrica Bollingbroke, inspired by her lover Wat Tyler, led a rebellion of the younger Cainites in 1395, spearheading the creation of the anarch movement.
Finally, the year 1405 marks the diablerie of Lasombra himself, shocking the Cainite world to it's foundations, and making the Tzimisce wonder about their OWN founder...
Scene One - Rumors of Things to Come
The group gathers at Sebastian's monastery, each member with a tidbit of information from the events of the past few years. In the middle of their reunion, they are interrupted by the announcement that someone is here to meet with them...
Anatole and Lucita have arrived at the monastery, distraught and thirsty. The pair is seeking sanctuary for a few days, before they continue their journey. The two groups share information, as Anatole and Lucita have recently traveled from the west, and have much news of the Inquisition and the Anarch Revolt. Jafar compliments Anatole on his recent diablerie, impressed with the Malkavian's ability. Shortly afterward, Anatole begins to glow with a soft light, and speaks a short prophecy.
Interlude
During the next week, each character is met by his sire/patron, who requests that the character drink from him, "to strengthen our ties and stave off this anarch movement..." Some drank, some did not, but most spectacularly, Sebastian diablerized his own sire! The characters were either asked nicely or ordered to perform a small task for their sires/patrons...
Scene Two - Confirmation
Two weeks after their meeting at the monastery, each member of the group recieves a missive from their sire, instructing them to meet the Ventrue Nove Arpad, Prince of Hermanstadt (changed from the books), at her mansion on the outskirts of the town. The letter states that the group is to render assistance to Nova to discharge a minor debt of their sire/patron.
When they arrive in Hermanstadt, they interrupt a confrontation between some of Nova's soldiers and a young mortal agitator. Initially, they stop the soldiers, but then allow them to continue. The soldiers beat the peasant into submission, then drag him to prison. Nova was watching the whole time, and approves of the way the group handled the situation.
Nova thanks them for coming, and allows them to slake their thirst on a few peasants, then gets right to business. She hs had a few pieces of jewelry stolen from her by gypsies, and wishes the group to retrieve them, as well as the thief. She gives them a list of the jewelry, and tells them the direction the gypsies were traveling, and sends them on their way. It is obvious that even though most of the group's members are princes in their own right, Nova sees them as "glorified fortune hunters" without the true blood of royalty (Teresa and Verdo excepted, of course ... to an extent ... without Nova's early guidance, there would be no Princes in Transylvania at all).
Scene Three - An Evening with the Traveling Folk
The group spends the day with Nova, traveling on the next night toward Kronstadt (Teresa's domain) in search of the gypsy thieves. After two days of travel, they come upon the gypsy camp, sending Pavel in as an invisible scout. He looks through the camp, but doesn't see any of the jewelry. Relaying this telepathically to Jafar, he decides to go back in visibly, and attempt to talk his way into the good graces of the group.
Walking in, Pavel greets the gypsies in the traditional manner, introducing himself as a traveler of Rom blood. He is welcomed to their fires, and even plays a song for them on his fiddle. Delizbieta, the Cainite fortune-teller, offers to spell out his future for him with the cards. Pavel notices here that she wears the pectoral that they seek, and offers to buy it from the band. At this, Delizbieta insists on reading his future, as she cannot allow the band to trade with an unlucky merchant. For the fortune, see the Gypsy Tarot Reading page. After the cards are dealt, Delizbieta seems surprised by the intensity of the reading, and begins to speak, but...
Scene Four - Interruption by Fire
A small army of mounted soldiers charges into the camp with cries of "Infidels!," "Heathens!," "Witches!," Prepare your souls to meet the fires of Hell!," and so forth. Twenty Inquisitors led by a man in priestly robes begin to slaughter the camp, while gypsies flee in terror. During the ensuing fight, the rest of the group charges in, Mikhail attempts to take down the leader (and would have, if I didn't need the guy for later...), causing Father Giacomo to runn like a little girl (no sexism intended, thank you...), Pavel transforms (via Chimerstry) into ... well, Diablo (from the game), causing one group of Inquisitors to scream in terror, and another to burst out into laughter (immune to mind-affecting disciplines, a little stretch, but funny), Teresa grabs four Inquisitors with Arms of Ahriman, bashing them against the ground, and everyone pretty much charges through, hacking and slashing. The Inquisitors' True Faith presents a small problem, and the discipline-immune group grabs Delizbieta and takes off.
Aftermath - Escape from the Inquisition
Following the trail of the fleeing Inquisitors, the group enters Kronstadt only to find that they have gone to ground in a local church. Teresa (Prince of Kronstadt - wish I'd remembered THAT before this session) musters her guardsmen and army, assaulting the church and destroying the remaining Inquisitors, but Father Giacomo gets away unseen.
Delizbieta thanks the group for it's intervention, and gives them the pectoral. Along with the bracelet found at the camp, this makes only two pieces recovered, and they still don't have the thief, as Pavel won't allow them to turn the Gypsy vamp in to Nova. The group discovers that the pectoral is covered in familiar script, the language of the Antediluvians! The message on this piece of jewelry may be seen on the prophecy page.
Scene Five - Unwelcome Receptions
The group returns to Hermanstadt, and meets with Nova in one of her other mansions. While somewhat satisfied that the pectoral and bracelet were returned, she is still angry at their failure to bring the thief. She sneeringly thanks them for the little that they have done, takes the recovered jewelry, and dismisses them with the small (and insulting) payment of one Librum each, Telling them, "Go, before I forget that you are my guests and (nasty tone) fellow Princes."
Their sires are far less cordial, though. for such a simple failure, the entire group is stripped of their fiefdoms, and all are repudiated by their sires, even so far as to attempt to have them declared unfit for their clans. The only exceptions to these are Sebastian, who had no fief, but retains his monastery, Mikhail, who was not repudiated, and Teresa, as Moncada actually likes the way everything was handled (surprisingly enough...).
Scene Six - The Prophet Speaks Again
A few weeks after the previous incident with their sires/patrons, the group is found in Kronstadt, where they have agitated the anarchs, and taken the city for themselves as a base of operations.
During a planning session, the group is met by Octavio, who enters and salutes them in the Roman fashion, who gives them another prophecy. When he finishes the first section, he grows silent, and then continues on the prophecy.
Next Week... A Visitor and a Proposal...
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Continue to Session Five,
Go back to Session Three,
Travel to the Main Page,
View the Prophecies Page,
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