SiegeThe next night, Alexis wakes up about an hour or so after Jon. She rises from the bed and notices that he's already dressed in a dark martial arts robe. He walks over to her, takes her in his arms, and kisses her deeply."You better hurry and get dressed, my dear. Everyone is waiting for their leader to make her entrance." She returns his kiss and pulls him close to her as her hands slip beneath his robe. "How long have they been waiting?" She gives him a wicked smile. He looks over her body appreciatively, then meets her eyes. "Not long, only about 15 or 20 minutes." "Then we have plenty of time, darling." She strips him of his weapons and robe with quick, practiced ease and pushes him down on the bed..... An hour later, they enter the large dining room. Sitting in the middle of the table is a large gold chalice encrusted with jewels. Four people are seated around one end of the table in various forms of armor or other types of clothing that allow freedom of movement. Jon sits down on her right and she takes her place at the head of the table. "Ladies and gentleman, tonight we embark on our quest to extend our power here in this country." She looks at the three pack leaders. "How many people do we have altogether?" One of the men stands and bows to her before responding. "We have 37 people, Contessa. More than enough to do the job." He sits down as a raspy, feminine voice comes from the shadows. "Giovanni gathering in Trento, Contessa. Looks like big trouble." Alexis nods to the presence in the shadows, no emotion showing on her face. "Thank you for the information Shadow, but though it complicates matters a bit, I believe we can handle it." She looks at a woman seated near the opposite end of the table and nods to her. "Let's go outside with everyone else and partake of our most sacred Rite before we leave and begin battle." Everyone rises and follows Alexis out the door. The Priestess grabs the chalice from the table and carries it outside where everyone is gathered. There's a large bonfire burning in the middle of the backyard and the men and women are working themselves up to near frenzy in anticipation of the night's events. As they catch sight of the entourage coming towards them, the battle cries and shouting slowly quiet. The Priestess begins moving through the crowd, gathering their blood as Alexis speaks. "Greetings my Brothers and Sisters. This night marks the beginning of a two night siege. First we will take Belluno, then tomorrow night, Trento. This will be a glorious time for our sect as we free these Camarilla slaves from their Antideluvian masters." The Priestess brings the chalice back to the front of the crowd and hands it to Alexis. She raises it high above her head and shouts, "TO THE GLORY AND FREEDOM OF THE SABBAT!" The crowd cheers as she drinks from the chalice and passes it to Jon. He drinks and passes it to one of the pack leaders, who in turn passes it to the next and so on until all in the crowd have drunk. After the Vaulderie, the packs pile into waiting vans to take them to Belluno. The night is cold. The wind blows through the Italian countryside and inside the vans the Vampires talk among themselves. Some of the weaker-willed ones are silent, too afraid of showing fear. They arrive in Belluno, stopping at a small pub on the outskirts. The Sabbat swarm it, killing a neonate Giovanni with no losses. What they dont know, is that they have now alerted the Giovanni. Jon and Alexis walk in after the Pub is taken, planning to use it as a base for this Crusade. They set things up quickly as the workers and all those inside the pub are given the Embrace. Fodder, more of it. War Parties are called and the Braves assemble. Jon speaks to them each. They walk out of the room, his words echoing in their minds. "Do not disappoint me." They don't plan on it. A few hours later, word is received. The first party has taken their goal, killing the head of the Giovanni in the area, but the second group needs help. Alexis decides to go to the front herself. Jon insists on accompanying her, of course. As they arrive they are immediately greeted by gunfire from the house. Jon dives out of the way, taking Alexis to the ground with him, the bullets miss. "What the hell is this?" Jon yells at the Chief of the War Party. "They are holed up upstairs...we're trying to get the bastards out!" is the reply. Jon looks angrily at him "Just burn the damned place down!" The Chief looks at him. "If you say so..." He is obviously not too happy to be doing this, but at a glare from Alexis, he does it anyway. After the building is burnt to the ground, the War Party returns to the pub and the remainder of the night is spent in celebration of their victory, the few Camarilla prisoners left alive used in the Blood Feast. Alexis takes Jon's arm and pulls him off to the side of the room. "It went as swiftly as I had anticipated." A slight smile of satisfaction graces her full lips. "And we only lost 8 people" Jon replies. "I'm sure tomorrow night will go just as smoothly, my dear." Alexis shakes her head. "Always be prepared for the unexpected, my Templar. We cannot discount Shadow's information. She's the best there is. If she feels there will be trouble, you can bet your unlife that there will be." "Every contingency has been planned for Contessa. I've already spoken with the War Chiefs. Worry not; we will be ready. By the end of tomorrow eve, Trento will be ours. There is nothing more we can do right now. Let's go to our rest. We're in for a very busy night." Jon takes her arm and leads her to a private room of the pub that he had prepared specially for them and they both drift off to sleep. The next night, the vans drive westward to Trento. They enter the city from opposite sides and head toward an old theater in the center of town. The vans park a few blocks away and the Sabbat War Parties move in and take up their pre-assigned positions, Alexis leading the Parties that will go in the front, Jon leading the ones that will go in through the back. They all converge upon the building at once, the younger ones yelling war cries as they crash into the theater. The group led by Alexis runs into a contingent of seven Gangrel and Brujah in the main lobby. After a small skirmish, the Camarilla vampires are dispatched and the group enters the theater itself. Jon enters on the other end with his group by way of a stage door. The large room is almost completely dark as the Sabbat cautiously make their way through, alert to any kind of danger. As Alexis' group reaches the middle of the audience area, the room springs to life as Camarilla jump from between the seats and surround the group, attacking from all sides. Jon gives a yell and charges, hacking his way up the main aisle in an attempt to reach his Bishop's side. Alexis' short sword is a blur of motion as she is swarmed with attackers, all of them seeming to know who the leader of this siege is and who to take out. She cuts down Kindred after Kindred, and almost has a path cleared before her as she feels a sharp, burning pain in her shoulder which rocks her back a couple of feet. She glances down and sees a broad patch of bright crimson blood staining her jacket and wonders even as she heals the wound where it came from since she heard no gunshot. Suddenly, she glances up and sees a body fall from the fifth tier balcony, then rejoins the fight with renewed vigor, a low growl emanating from her throat. Jon fights his way frantically through the fray, using every means available to him to kill the wretched Camarilla that stand between him and Alexis. He spots her just as she gets hit the first time, and looks around, his eyes focussed on the balconies. He yells as he spots two more snipers and plunges through the bodies, slipping on the river of blood running down the aisle. He gets to Alexis just in time to catch her as she screams and falls, five more large bloodstains spreading over various parts of her body. He shields her with his own body while he shouts orders to the remaining Sabbat. He jerks and winces as he feels the burning pain of the phosphorous go through his back, but soaks it and continues guarding his Mistress, looking around for the shooters, watching as another body falls from the fifth tier 20 feet from the first one. Time seems to drag on with excruciating slowness as the remaining Camarilla are taken down. Alexis barely retains consciousness as she struggles to heal the damage done to her body, a large pool of blood drying beneath her. Jon cradles her body in his arms, murmuring words of comfort. Her eyes begin to glaze over, and she looks up at him, barely able to speak. "Did we win?" He looks down at her, stunned that her only thought is of the battle when she's barely hanging on to her unlife. Four heads roll out of the darkness, one belonging to the Prince, the others belonging to the three snipers, who are later identified as being Giovanni. The coarse, almost inhuman voice of Shadow is heard. "It's over." The eight Sabbat left from the battle gather around Jon and he gives orders for the heads to be retrieved. He picks Alexis up and she cries out in pain, then falls unconscious as he carries her to one of the vans. At Jon's direction, the van takes them straight to Alexis' estate where a stunned Angelo escorts them to the place Alexis said to take her if just such a thing were to happen. Jon carries her into the cabin and lays her on the bed, then kneels at her side, determined not to leave until she awakens.  Back to the Sitting Room |
