Grand conflagration of Sofia
A Few nights later…
We (all the hand members in Sofia) have a meeting with the dominion. She wants to get a idea on what to do. I told them I have a good in with the bulshivics. They want my help in return for a council seat. and when I say help they understand that I have no intention of fighting, they mainly want misdirection, and illusion. Given the hand has no members inside this organization, let alone on one of their councils, She says go for it. I let her know about my meeting with Kalina, and she tells me that I will be there, but Yan, and Novack will run support. I think this is both good and bad. Good as I will have backup, bad because my backup is one of Kalina's main targets. Geeze to belong to one side or another… I miss the good old days. I make sure I have one of Jamies tracking stones, and I am off to meet a Brujah.
Before I head off to the Brujah, I send a letter off to Bishop Nikita informing him (very politely) that I will be unable to make our meeting. It is too dangerous to leave at the moment. I am not sure how he will take it, but I can do nothing else, as I have to do Hand shit.
Finding the brujah is easy, I was told where to go. However it doesn't start there, they wind me down many places, halls, and nooks in this little cave system. If I were worried about mundane security I would be impressed. Problem is Vampires don't play by the rules, and gustavas has Tremere help. Magic is the all time Cheet. Once we finally get down to her, I tell her I am both Impressed, and slightly worried about her obvious lack of mystical support. She informs me this is only "a stopping point" and dismisses it. She then tries to start out the chest by attempting to dominate me into telling her if I am here to harm her or the movement. It doesn't work, she lacks the generation, but without missing a beat, I say "no" and glare at her as if that was rude and uncalled for (cause it was). She seems to think she had the generation, and then the haggling starts. I get the impression that while they have some sorcerers, they do not have any Masters. Let alone multi masters like myself, or the people she is facing. I use this in the bargaining, but to be honest, I know she will be either dead or gone. She is unlikely to win this little play, though she does not know this. We end up with terms that I will be on her council for sofia, and that sofia will not have a prince, but be ruled by this council. In return I will help them win their war. While boons are nice, I know that many here will not be alive to collect, I agree and show my support by letting them know how easy it is to break in here using magic. In addition I let them know where Gustavas is at this moment. She brightens, and says we must go for him NOW. I inform her that part of our agreement is I do not fight. She of course counters that she will need sorcerous help. Sigh, he needs to go. Maybe he will run away and not come back, though I know that it is a good chance he will just die. And I will help. This is after I said that I would not become an assassin again. However I justify this to myself in the rational, that while I am going there with people hell bent on killing him. I ONLY wish the protection of my people. This means he needs to not be in power. If he flees, I let him go, in fact if I can make him flee, and leave sofia Mores the better. I know that Yan and Novack as well as our dominion war Kalina dead, and Gustavas, and they are hopping that in this fight they will kill each other. If it happens, so be it.
I agree
We immediately head of through a series of tunnels. Obviously they have been at this awhile. Not only are there tunnels, but there are also tracks, and a train. This looks more hopeful. Of all the factions that are in this game, this is the one I Hope wins. Yan would be upset, but frankly I don't believe in the whole sins of the father shit. Brujah are not bad because their founder was a dick and ate the wrong person. Hell they dont even have the predisposition to be cannibals unlike other clans that are "acceptable" Fucking black hand bullshit.
The train stops not to long after. Kalina says that this in a house close by where we are going (one of Gustavas's holdings, she didn't think he was there). I ask for a plan, she says "make us invisible, we go in and kill him" wow she thought about this a lot.. this is a slight failing of Brujah. I counter, that my powers work better disguising one thing for another. So lets go in, but as another person. Best is Countess Novack. This way she will have reason to have a bunch of flunkies, and should be able to bluff her way past guards. Kalina has shown she has dominate, so we mind fuck any who have doubts. She finds this plan to be agreeable, and Kalina as countess Novak, and Myself as her secretary leave flanked with 12 Vampire guards, all dressed in Venture livery leave the house. Surprisingly the plan works beautifully, as we step past all security and meet in the main room. Here we see Gustavas, Raina Loam, and a gentleman who is so obviously a Tremere he Might as well wear the house symbol on his chest. Rather than play it cool, Kalina immediately throws herself at Gustavas, the Tremere reacts almost as fast by throwing up a wall of air. I counter this by making the air a liquid. Kalina reaches Gustavas, and starts to lay into him with her sword. The tremere counters this by melting her equipment. While I could solidify it, it won't help and I leave be as Gustavas erupts the room into a huge inferno. “Ow!” All of the warriors , Kalina and myself do not flee from this fire. Kalina grows claws and the fight gets ugly. Unfortunately all the ammo on our warriors cannot handle this level of heat, and explodes. I dodge to the right, and get burned. A good portion of the warriors die because they cannot soak a ground 0 explosion. Kalina and Gustavas play on. I try and make him stop concentrating on the fire by diving him something to fear. Turns out he is most afraid of Ravanos, as several spectral warriors begin to attack him. He ignores Kalina and tries to kill the chimerical warriors. Unfortunately it does not cause him to loose focus on the fire. I roll away to the edge, and make myself appear as part of the floor, and the same time an apparition of me flees the room. The Tremere uses this moment to cast what appears to be a summoning of many tiny daemons around the room. He also appears unconcerned about the fire. I realize that I will not survive this fight if I stay, and frankly I did what I was asked. Who,ever survives this fight, it is up to fate. I let my Chemerstry get Gustavas distracted just a little longer, in hopes Kalina can finish him off. I see him go down, but I know my abilities cannot kill him. It is this moment I leave and I see the building collapse. I watch Kalina run off, and the tremere pick his way out of the rubble. Bastard has tricks I want to learn. I then find my way home to wait till the next meeting with the dominion
The next meeting is short. She has switched gears yet again. It appears that we must now go after Sukbatar. Which is stupid given how much effort Jamie and I went through to make sure he went to ground. She orders me to find his location. With his true name I can do this but I state I think this is a bad idea. She rants a bit and asks if I am to disobey. I state I will do as asked, and I leave to do so. It doesn't take me long to find out that he is holed up in the largest cave complex in Bulgaria. For an assassin that can swim through earth and stone, it is the perfect haven, and the perfect trap for the unwary. If we attack it, one of us will probably die. I call the canine Jamie and tell him this, as we have to find some way of convincing the dominion that this is a very bad idea.
Unfortunatly, this was not meant to be. Shortly after arriving home I am “summoned” I have no idea who did the summoning, but based on the direction, I am guessing Nakita did not like the fact I stood him up. This will get awkward. As luck would have it, I am still in contact with Yan and I let him know what is happening. He makes sure to follow me, as I walk into Nikita's church to find... Gulliamo Alaprondo. Looks like Denver may be catching up to us. Given his relation to the Canite Heresy it is not surprising he is here with Nikita. I guess this means that the Tzmascie are about to enter the Frey for the ruler ship of Sofia. After the introductions we get on to the discussion of why he is here. Obviously they are upset that I am working to break the curse placed on the rom, and also on Wenzel. They want to see if there is a way I will not work on breaking the curse, and possibly help them in the coming war. The offer on the table is They free the rom from the curse, at least the mortal rom. I don't break the curse entirely so Wenzel will still be affected. They remove Gustavas's troops, so they don't blow up Fakulteta, as well as their own troops who were “just watching and making sure nothing happened” and lastly I stay out of the coming conflict, i leave here, and go to falkultetta, and do not leave. I cannot wait, and i cannot go anywhere else. I don't help anyone. In return I have a free people, and I am on the ruling council of the new prince “Gabor”
Wow, so many people willing to pay me to stay out of the fight. Given this is really what I want to do it isn't hard to agree, but a Tzmisce prince will not be pleasant, especially the former first prince of Sofia. Also this will make going aft Sukbatar impossible, and making the meeting equally impossible. I agree... It is to good for my people not to. This will allow them to be free, without pissing off Bishiop Nikita, and hopefully keep me on the same terms with my errant sibling. The problem is explaining it to my kamut. The best way is to tell the truth, but make them believe it was something else. I leave, but I make a beeline for Falkultetta, and when Yan asks where I am going as the meeting is RIGHT NOW I state that I MUST go home. I evade all questions to what has happened, though I am able to pass along who I was speaking to. This helps as the idea is to make it look as I was dominated. It works, and Jamie goes of and does his thing. Later he messages me and states that the Tzmascie have resurfaced and he needs my help. I tell him I cannot leave Falkultetta, again playing up the fact I was dominated. He asks if I can help him, and I state that I can try, through the mirror he wears. Feeling that once again I will have to make sure he doesn't die. As Gabor walks out with Nikita, Wenzel, and another to meet with the combined might of the Ventrue. he states that whomever wishes to leave the city to him will survive, any who choose to stay, their heads will make a throne for him to rule upon. A typical tzmiscie thing to say, but given most of the Ventrue are now dead, it is not an empty threat, even though the Ventrue have tanks pointed at him. Venture return the bluster with not near as much flair.. Just the order of “we have you outnumbered, with tanks” Gabor responds in Mongol warrior fashion, he charges. Jamie feels for some reason that he is the equal of the several thousand year old Tzmisce warrior, so tries to meet him in combat. He is not dumb enough to run completely headlong into the fight, and unloads a gun full of tremere enchanted bullets. It hurt Gabor, and he calls Yan a coward for not facing him one on one. It appears this works because Jamie steps into the beat down. And beat down it is, Jamie frenzies after the first blow, and try as I might I cannot force him out of it. By the end of the round he goes down, and Gabor steps on his head, putting him in torpor. For Jamie's sake Gabor had to deal with something else, and was not able to finish Jamie off, and I ported him out. Given the current hunt for his blood, I send him to Quebec so none can eat him, and Wenzel doesn't have access to him. Sigh, I wish he would quit trying to kill himself, or if he really wants to die, to leave me out of it I'm getting tired of saving his butt.
