A very, verrrrrrrrry tension filled and interesting gaming session. We are now really getting into Council and town politics, which I absolutely love (I think Jay does, too- Jason likes it but he is really having the most fun playing the douche bag). Not much happened in terms of big events but the set up for fireworks and general fuckery is now in place. 'Tis going to be a very exciting Christmas and explosive New Year.
Before the actual fun started, Shade told Philip that she would take up the position of Lady Autumn. Then the questions and requests started. She asked more about the sickle and her duties. She also wanted to know more about the Spring Court and the relationship, if any, between the two Courts. The name of the Spring lady was needed by Shade, as well all the names of those affiliated with Autumn. The final question was a bit embarrassing for her to ask. Furiously blushing, she asked Philip if the job demanded certain...recreational...aspects between them. He answered only if she wanted it to. She declined for the present. The poor girl really needs to get laid but....not with the boss.
Now, onto the game proper.
Unknown to Brandon, Shade, and Neil, Uri had a very early meeting with Robert Mason. Their talk was about a power play that was coming perilously close to upsetting the balance in Vegas. Possible names of those involved were bandied about. Skavis, Uri was convinced, was almost certainly involved. However, he doubted that Skavis was working alone. The meeting ended with Uri and Robert agreeing that answers were needed and Uri knew just who to use. Other tidbits of that meeting were 1) Mason was a Black Court Vampire and 2) Ana had been a member of the Spades (the Vegas supernatural hit squad).
At the ungodly hour of 6 am, Uri called Neil, Brandon, and Shade and requested their presence at a meeting that morning. All agreed to show up. The address he gave them turned out to be a house on the edge of town. The boys got there at about the same time and were just chatting outside when Shade walked up. The three went up to the door and were welcomed in by Uri.
Except for a folding table and some chairs, the house was empty. They all sat down and Uri started talking. He explained that he had brokered a deal with Winter and Summer that stated they were not allowed into Vegas without the permission of one Board members. He believed that one of the Board had given that permission to start a play for power. That would be bad. The balance in Vegas was a delicate thing. Neil asked if Summer and Winter wouldn't just ignore that deal. Uri told him that the two Queens, who spoke for all the members of the Court, had sworn on their power to abide by the deal. To break that deal would not be done. As for the Council members, he was fairly sure that Angelica, Locke, Spring, and Autumn were not involved. He also included himself out. Shade brought up a possible connection between the Malvora attack and the Autumn attack. Both groups had been invited to Vegas by Locke. Brandon then asked Uri to swear on his power that he was not involved in either attack. Uri did so. He then pulled out files on each of the Board members and invited the three to look them over.
Fredrick Skavis: His territory was the Northside, where he headed up a pack of Ghouls. He was considered psychotic but mostly harmless. However, he was eager to extend his power base. A known hangout was a bar named the Crucible.
Drusilla Malvora: The head of the Malvora family, her main goals seemed to be rein in her family and maintain the status quo. She intensely disliked Brandon (the reason she has to try and rein in her family).
Melinda Raith: Head of the Raith family, her motives were unknown. She seemed interested in lackeys more then anything. Basically, she used and then discarded them.
Baron Drake: A Red Court vampire, his main motivation was to stay out of the Wizard War. Reserved for a Red Court, he had pretenses of nobility. Known hangouts were the Luxor and a club called The Velvet Room.
Warden Locke: He wanted to ignore people as much as possible and to maintain the status quo. He called the Luxor home.
Thomas Stone: A hydromancer, he was the civil engineer of Hoover Dam. Rarely coming to Vegas, he wanted to keep the White Council out of Vegas.
Lexie: A Wereferret, she was very smart and very interested in power for the shape shifters. She called a local National Park home.
Philip: Lord of Autumn, he was interested in rebuilding power for his Court. He was also motivated to rebuild their numbers.
Puck: Lord of Spring, his interests and motivations seemed to align with Philips.
Angelica Black: She was a Scion of Heaven and a check for Uri's balance, so to speak. Her main motivations were expanding religion in Vegas and protection of the ones under her care.
After reading the files and asking a few more questions, it was decision time. Shade, by virtue of being the Lady, was in without question. She wasn't thrilled about it but, knowing her responsibilities, she had to be involved. Brandon was in. That left Neil. Uri flat out told him that, as of this moment, he could walk away from everything and not be touched by any supernatural repercussions. If he said yes, that out would not be available anymore. Neil said he was in, as well (Yay!). As for when and where to start, Uri told the three that each would receive an invite to the Christmas Party being held the next night. That being all, everyone headed out.
*Rather then going back and forth, I am just going to tell what each person did for the rest of the day.
After a call from Christine confirming their date for the Xmas party, Neil decided to have an exciting time and went off in search of Skavis. He asked around about Skavis' whereabouts and was told the Crucible. Getting there, he headed in to wait for Skavis to show up. To call the Crucible a dive bar was to give it an upgrade. Even the cockroaches and rats avoided the place. Undeterred by the clientele and lack of cleanliness, Neil ordered a drink and waited. Eventually Skavis showed up with a couple of guys and a very unhealthy looking girl. He recognized Neil right away and approached him. After a bit of back and forth, they went into the back for a more intimate chat. After Neil hit him about Ghouls being involved in Ana's attack, Skavis attempted to bluster for a time. However, he was no match for Neil in social combat. Paranoia turned into groveling. Skavis couldn't tell Neil who had hired him. All he had was a piece of paper with phone numbers. He left the room to get it.
While Skavis was gone, the girl came into the room and asked what Neil was doing for him. It was fairly obvious that she did not like Neil one bit. She flat out told him to get out. Neil just smiled and ignored her. She approached him and tried to do...something to him. He could feel something weird on his mind but whatever it was, it didn't work. Just as she was about to take it to the physical level, Skavis came back. After kicking the girl out, he handed Neil the paper and told him that all he had done was to call those to numbers and invite them into Vegas. Satisfied, Neil left. The girl was able to get a parting shot at Neil though. He waved to her as he left. She responded by nailing him on the back of the head with a glass.
Brandon's day was painful as well. However, it was in a totally different way. Needing a suit, he called Neil and asked him where he should go. Armed with the name of a shop, Brandon headed out to seriously deplete his fat stack of cash. He did get a very nice lunch and impeccable service. The tailor promised him it would be ready for the party. Getting home, he was just settling in when there was a knock on his door. Opening it, he saw a luscious, seductive, beautiful woman. Most men would be pleased but not Brandon. The lady was Lucinda Raith, his date for the party. She also happened to be a White Court Vampire. Brandon loathed vampires. It took a bit of social combat but Brandon was able to convince her that he really didn't want to have sex with her. She did talk him into letting her in for awhile. If they were to be believable as a couple for the party, they needed to get to know each other. She stayed for about an hour. Brandon was relieved when she left.
Just starting to relax, Brandon's night was once again interrupted, by the phone this time. It was Neil wanting to meet with Brandon about the paper he got from Skavis. Telling Neil to meet him at his shop, Brandon headed out, stopping for candles on the way. Neil stopped for coffee. At the shop, Brandon cast a spell to locate where the paper came from. It landed on the map in the general area of the Luxor. With that not helping much, they brainstormed a bit and came up with using Neil's contact at the phone company to trace any calls made to the numbers. Satisfied, each headed home for some much needed rest.
Shade left the meeting and called Harold. She needed him to let her into Ana's apartment. Upon opening the door, they saw the place had been completely ransacked. After searching for a time, it was clear that she hadn't left a journal or any notes. Or, if she had, whomever had trashed the place took it. Shade really hadn't thought to find anything but she had to check. Getting back to her shop, Shade made a couple of calls. The first was to Christine. The office was closed, so she just left a message. Shade hadn't forgotten her promise for a talk. The second call was to Heather, aka Lady Spring. Getting her on the line, Shade introduced herself and suggested a meeting. Heather wasn't keen on the idea since she didn't know Shade. A compromise was reached. They would meet up at the party. Thus ended Shade's day.
For Dresden Las Vegas, I have been only doing one post. However, I am going to break this one into two. The next one will only deal with the Xmas party but there were many, many little things that happened that really show how the higher ups think and operate. I really want to include as many as I can to paint the situation properly. Also, I want to do it to really do justice to Lana's story building ability.
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