Bashir calls Withrow and asks him to come to Dizney. Withrow has heard about the things going down in Orlando, and Bashir comments that he has some experience with the Garou, and that the place of power in the MK has been split open like a melon. And doesn't he want to see what kind of juicy ripe fruit is waiting inside? Withrow agrees redily (albeit suspiciously), and they arrange to meet on Night 4.
Kenneth/Desmond arrived the night before, and wakes up. He is staying in a timeshare at Celebration. He is sending Elyse our for a silver cigarette case and silver cigarette holder and lighter. She will also make a visit to the local Hippie Magick store and to set up a ceremonial blood-magick ritual/talk by Kenneth to create a few allies worth of Herd. Kenneth checks out Celebration a bit, then heads to Pleasure Island to check out the scene there. It's too busy and noisy, so he asks the bartender about a better venue for info-gathering and music-listening. The bartender directs him to go see Roger Waters at Riverside, so he does.
David Talbot arrives in the morning. He is staying at Riverside. He gets in and checks out the travel agency. He finds a coin and the shattered lightbulb. From the coin, he can see that the lightbulb had been broken during a struggle between Sue Ellen (Martin McCall's secretary) and a man with a silver streak in his hair. Then he heads back to the bar at Riverside to gather more information. He actives a rote Freudian slip as he enters the bar. He also activates third eye. He talks to the bartender, Roger Waters, who advises against going to the MK. Roger has heard many rumors about who (or what) has taken over MK--from aliens, to overthrowing vampires, to garou. David asks where would be a good place to observe the MK from and Rogers suggest the California Grill (atop the Contemporary). David makes reservations for 2 a.m., on the patio.
John Makivana wakes up in his Dizney apartment and reports to work at Epcot. He finds that his usual supply closet (where he gets his buckets and mops and all) has been turned into offices. This is unusual because normally changes like this are broadcast a month in advance, with reminders up until the day of the change. He activates supernal to get a sense of what's going on, and gives the dark-haired lady the stink-eye. [Marguarite setting up shop in Japantown.] He sees Hans by the new offices and stops to talk to him. Hans informs him that there has been an attack on the MK by Garou and asks John to keep his ears open and let him know anything he sees or hears that could be of consequence. John's shift ends at midnight and he heads over to the Riverside bar to see his friend Roger Waters. He activates knife fist on his wooden sword (so that it acts like a real sword) and hard air. He also spends a point of mana to make his armor last all day (3 points).
John and David are introduced by Roger Waters. They trade sect and order information. David offers to help John contact members of his sect, and invites him to dinner at the California Grill.
Kenneth enters the bar and aura-checks the crowd. David notes the aura-check and views him suspiciously. John third eyes him, but he registers as a mortal. (His ring is in his pocket.) Kenneth introduces himself as Desmond Stonecypher, a researcher who is studying the workings of Dizney. Kenneth tries to aura-check David, but fails. David recognizes the name and they discuss Desmond's travel/booking arrangements. David asks about his ring, and Desmond produces it, letting the two mages know his supernatural identity. Desmond also asks if he can accompany them to the California Grill.
The three travel via ferry to Downtown Dizney, to pick up the monorail on the west side. While walking through the crowds, David notices that people (mortals) exiting from Pleasure Island are... odd. He uses mage sight to check in on them. Kenneth also tries a aura roll. They all discover that the drunks are particularly drunk and happy. They decide to proceed onward anyway, but before they leave, David is handed a flyer for a Magic Shop by a junior member of his order.
The get on the Monorail at Downtown Dizney and travel through the Contemporary and out the other side, to the edge of the MK. At the MK, the party notices something moving in the woods, as do the other passengers in the monorail. Only Kenneth notices the white vans pulling through the parking lot and letting out their blue and white-shirted cargo. Kenneth attempts to ride the senses (eyes and ears only) one of the blue shirts. John cuts a hole in reality and steps out into the parking lot, by where a van is emptying of white coats. He follows the white coats into the park and to the gate, but cuts out again and lands on top of the monorail (car 5; rest of party is in car 4). David is looking out the window and seens a small pack of garou chasing the monorail as it passes by the left side of MK. Kenneth's spell continues and he follows the blue shirt through the main entrance and towards Tomorrowland. He sees a minor skirmish between young garou and some mortals in the Rose Garden.
John returns to the monorail car, drawing the attention of the third teenager (the one not necking), who is puzzled. The family is still staring out the window and is totally stoked on the appearance of the garou, believing them to be another MK feature.
David telepathically informs both other parties of the garou he has seen. They travel past Epcot and through the Wilderness Lodge (where they see fewer but more relaxed garou) and on through MGM and the Animal Kingdom. They pass through there, through another resort, and are back at the point they got on at. Kenneth checks in with his horse, who is taking tickets at the Carousel of Progress.
Kenneth phones the Dizney PR people and tells them a friend has lost their cel phone. The PR people demure and offer to search the lost-and-found and ask for the friend's contact info. Kenneth says he will have his 'friend' contact them instead.
They have come back around to the Contemporary, but decided to go up and check out the lay of the land and have drinks or snacks (instead of a dinner reservation).
David has received a list of people that work at the MK from Roger Waters. He is scrying on one lady who works as a maid within the Haunted Mansion. She is at work, and is doing her job. She has been brainwashed -- magickally altered -- somehow. She is fully concentrating on her job, and is slightly worried because her collar is not sitting flat. He wishes to check back in on her tomorrow during the day.
John makes another tear in reality and they shift from the lookout point at the California Grill to the top of th teacup ride in Fantasyland. John checks the magic in MK and, damn, but there's a lot of it. They head towards Tomorrowland. As they're walking under the tram poles, they hear a scream and the sounds of the scuffle from over by Space Mountain.
John and David turn on speed disciplines to move quickly (and supernaturally). John arrives first, in time to see a fight taking place. A young punk kid--a boy--is being attacked by two Garou.
Round 1: John activates Lighting bolt, 4 pts agg. David does 3 health levels bashing damage; Garou 2 swings and misses (still in small form); Garou 1 deals 2 damage to John; Kenneth grapples Garou 2 successfully.
Round 2: John does Lightening bolt, 3 pts agg.; David does 4 more; Garou 2 changes form; Garou 1 deals 2 pts to John; Kenneth bites and does 4 pts. agg.
Round 3: John does 5 health levels of lethal damage; David does 4 health levels of damage and Garou 1 goes down. Garou 2 enters Death Rage (+4 to dice pool), and does 3 pts damage to Kenneth. Kenneth does 1 pt agg damage.
Round 4: John does 1 pt lethal damage to Garou 2; David kills Garou 1; Garou 2 does 3 pts to Kenneth; Kenneth disengages from Garou 2 and runs away.
Round 5: John uses unseen hand to try to raise her a few feet off the ground (and fails). David does 5 pts bashing; Garou 2 does 3 pts damage to John.
Round 6: David does 7 pts of bashing damage; Garou 2 wavers, then charges him.
Round 7: David does 3 pts bashing damage and Garou 2 drops.
Garou 1: Str 3 (7) Dex 3 Stam 3; Intel 1 Wits 2 Resolve 3; Pres 1 Manip 1 Comp 3; Brawl 3; Bite +3, Claw +2
Health: 0/12 0/8; Essence 8/10
Garou 2: Str 2 (6) Dex 2 Stam 4; Intel 2 Wits 3 Resolve 2; Pres 1 Manip 2 Comp 2; Brawl 2; Bite +2, Claw +1
Health: 0/12 2/7; Essence 10/10
The battle ends, and the two garou revert to their human form--a young emo kid and his even younger girlfriend.
Richard drinks the dead kid (that the garou killed), gaining 10 pts of blood. John is out cold. The party hoofs it out of MK. They call George to have a cab waiting and head to the magick shop. Kenneth calls Elyse to meet them there with a change of clothes. The life mage heals John and talks with David and Kenneth.
After a bit, the party returns to Martin's townhome. The consume the TAS from Martin's greenhouse/hallow.
The party rests, with Kenneth taking the interior office space with no windows. David spends an hour meditating to get a full night's rest, then takes Martin's car to the travel agency office by 8:30 a.m., stopping by a hardware store to have spare keys to Martin's house (that he leaves for Kenneth and John). Elyse is sleeping on the couch.
David calls his peeps and informs them of Martin's disappearance, and of the unrest in Dizney. Kenneth plans to call Withrow the next day.
David Talbot gets to the office by 8:30 a.m. and puts in a days work at the travel agency. He closes up shop at 5 p.m..
Kenneth and John awake. Kenneth calls Withrow and informs him of the events in Florida. Withrow doesn't have much more info, but promises he will be in town the next day.
At 5 p.m. all three party members receive a message from Hans to meet him at Epcot's Marrakesh at 8 p.m.
The party discusses the call from Hans, and their run-in with him at California Grill the night before. John knows him best, as he is his boss (several levels above) at Dizney. They know he is a vampire, and particularly powerful.
David casts a combined Space 2 and Time 2 spell called augery. He holds the coin from the office and focuses on it, asking, "Will I ever see Martin again?" The answer he recieves is "Yes."
[Long discussion about Predator's Taint, Blood Potency, and general taint occurs.]
[Brief break for Tolkien discussion.]
A discussion about weapons placement ensues on the trip over, Kenneth and John discuss. David rolls his eyes at the pair and gets out, and they follow--eventually. Elyse is instructed by Kenneth to drive on a circuit and wait for him to return.
They enter the park and look around at the Legacy Wall. David looks for a picture of Martin on the wall and finds one. John activates his prime sight to see if the same magickal shroud is over Epcot as is over the MK. The magick over Epcot is not nearly as dense and swirling, but there is still a goodly amount more than usual in effect.
They walk through Innovation Plaza. Kenneth stops and buys a brass paperweight of the Epcot ball. There are Cirque d' Soleil performers on a small stage in the plaza square in front of the fountain. David uses mind to sense mental powers being used nearby. Mostly he senses the performers using telepathy to communicate, a low hum of messages all around the space.
They take the ferry across the lagoon. Kenneth talks to David a bit. They arrive in Morocco and ask for Hans at the front desk, then wait for Hans while smoking from the hookah. John prepares his sword while Kenneth and David talk about Hans and his intentions.
Hans arrives. David erects a mental shield (subtracts dots from any attempt to read his mind or control him; gets a reflexive roll to ID anyone who attempts it). Hans approaches John first, shaking his hand and greeting him warmly. They all meet and Hans knows their names and basic histories. They retire to a back booth and discuss what has happened. Hans tells the party that he has film of them in the park from last night, and wanted to talk to them about what they knew and what has happened. David and John speak in Atlantian and set up a telepathic link to discuss the camera situation.
David gets 3 successes on a science roll to know an element that is unique to cameras. It doesn't help much because the cameras are of such varying ages.
Hans explains all that he knows, including the fact that Judd Erwin would probably return soon. He tells them of the suspected death of the Prince and the rise of Margarite as Prince pro tem.
Hans gives the party new rings, badges, and PDAs that mark them as staff and allow them greater freedoms within the park. He offers them a prime seat for the fireworks, but they demure, preferring to head back to MK with their newfound freedoms. He sets up a ride to get them back out of Epcot and they head towards the MK.
Their entry--with their employee cards--is uneventful. John grabs Kenneth's gun through the hole in reality and returns it to him. They head up Main Street, only to discover that it is blocked off by a rope line just before the circle that contains the famous statue of Mickey and Walt. People are milling around behind the ropeline and several security guards stand beside it. John casts personal invisibility making him completely invisible to normal eyesight and increases the diff of detection spells.
Kenneth uses aura sight to view the people beyond the rope line. He focuses on one person and discovers that they are Garou. John uses mage sight (electricity) to try to find the cameras in the smoking area. He turns them off, then cuts another hole in reality. David uses scry to show the armory area so they can teleport there. They step out into the back of the armory which is mostly empty and guarded by one security guard. They quickly search the room, finding crates of riot gear that David and Kenneth put on. David puts on the whole outfit, while Kenneth only wears the vest.
They quickly subdue the guard with David's sap, then lock his unconscious body into one of the gun lockers. They go out into the hallway and look for minds, finding only one in their area--inside the office. David picks the lock and opens the door--which is rigged with explosives. The world goes white and then black as the castle disentegrates into a pile of smoking rubble... with the party trapped underneath.
The party gains 16 XP this game.
The party is unconscious beneath several tons of rubble that used to be a castle. Luckily, large parts of it were faux, so they're not dead. Or more dead, I guess.
David has taken 5 health levels of damage from the blast. Kenneth has taken 3 health levels of damage from the blast. John has taken 6 health levels of damage. Nobody's feeling perky.
Kenneth frenzies (only has 2 successes on Resolve + Composure) while trapped. Rotschrek. He is rending the flesh from his fingers ripping through stone to reach the top. David, fairly calm, looks to see if his PDA is still with him, and it is--miraculously unscathed. He presses the button to make it visible on the network again, and sends an SOS. David then uses mind 3 to telepathically connect with John and keep him from feeling the pain of his injuries, which are severe. [ Well, they were expecting vampires ] He also is able to establish a telepathic link with this action, so he now knows each John's location. John uses his own senses to search for the PDAs of his friends. They are both to the left of him, one above and one below. He performs a series of rituals to buff his strength to 11--the point at which he thinks he can move the rubble above him.
[ Break for discussion of MMORPGs ]
Paradox: (For use with mages.) Roll die pool of (previous roll)+1 for each issue of vulgar magic (the clearly impossible that is visible). Roll is vs. 8 (standard success). Critical failure makes die pool -1. No successes, nothing happens. 1 success = minor paradox havoc; 2 successes = bedlam/anomaly derangement or something impossible takes place; 4 = branding; 5 = manifestation dots of arcanum determine its power. Mages can choose to contain paradox in their own flesh, taking bashing damage equal to the number of successes.
The rubble over top of John explodes outward and he is free, though at the bottom of the hole. The rubble over David explodes outward and he is pulled from the hole by an odd force, and propelled to the soft bank of mossy grass by the castle's moat. He is clear of the smoking castle ruins, and not noticed by the hundreds of garou screaming over its face. He notices that some of them are digging, but with no clear purpose. Others are running, screaming, attacking each other or themselves. He senses mind on the crowd, finding that many of them are compelled, some by forces below others by forces above.
The vampire (Kenneth) finally also breaks surface, about the same time that David touches his mind. They arrange to meet by the marsh, and then together find a way out. As they are discussing this, David's PDA beeps and informs him that Hans has sent a file containing an extraction point--they have 4 minutes to get to the front of the park by the pet clothing shop. David scryes and John cuts another hole in reality. They step through to the extraction point.
Hans has arrived on scene. He brings with him a small army of operatives that get the party and haul them bodily out of the Kingdom. On the way out they see blue shirts at the gate (but they're parted easily by the operatives). They head for a black van across the parking lot and on the way there, spot Elyse's car, empty and parked in the through lane. They are whisked out of the Kingdom and back to Epcot, where they take up residence in Japantown, in a back room where they are fed, clothed, and tended to.
David retroactively uses his mind power to connect with a mouse at the scene of the crime. He instructs the mouse to go down into the pile as far as it can, and report back what it finds. The mouse travels down through the stone and wood, and finds the flat concrete base. It eventually finds a crack in the slab and skitters down it. The connecting is cut abrubtly with a resounding crunch.
Hans and the gang talk. Hans imparts that the vans came from a company based in Clearwater. None of the party make the Scientologist connection, but Marguarite arrives and confirms the connection. The party wants to go to Clearwater and investigate, and Marguarite and Hans agree. They offer to supply the party however they need, and give them a ride back to Martin's place.
Aluminum baseball bat
box of praying mantises
ancient and incredibly valuable samauri armor
OSHA inspector garb and credentials x3
box of grenades
sniper rifle
2 remote detonated bombs
spool of heavy copper cable, about 50 feet
zip ties
The vampire retires to his interior room; John collapses in the greenhouse, sword in the magics.
David uses magic to sleep for an hour and wake refreshed. He researches for much of the day, then travels to Martin's office to look over the files one more time and see if he can glean more from what isn't there. He returns before the others wake, and reads some more while preparing food and getting things in order for their journey.
What David discovers:
Withrow arrives. Withrow is greeted as a Prince but his tour of Dizney with Hans, the chief of security, has been cancelled. He still has a comped dinner meeting at the Victoria and Albert's, Disney's most expensive and formal fine dining restaurant, after which Withrow is met by a lower ranking security officer and informed of the night's events. Hans will call him after he has met with the party, and let him know about their travel to Clearwater. Withrow will be staying at the Plantation.
Bashir arrives. She will be staying at Riverside.
The party gets 9 XP.
The party wakes in Martin's condo. The van was delivered around 3 or 4 pm and is gassed and ready to go at the street. John cuts a hole in reality and puts the copper wire, 2 bombs, and the armor on his bed, to be retrieved later.
They decide to take the direct route into town. Driver makes 3 wits + alertness checks to see if he notices the tailing vehicle (Hans sent a backup unit). Difficulty is 4x9 (more than 3 successes, 9 or better). Noone succeeds. John use prime site (eyes of the magus) to look at the magic on the outskirts of Clearwater. It's a weave of many different time and mind spells, as far as they can tell.
9 p.m.The party cancels all their magicks before preceding past the barrier. (Probably a wise move.) After a few hundred yards past the wall, John reactivates his armor and prime sight.
They proceed into Clearwater proper, first passing suburban sprawl. They note the houses are all the same, in communities like Dizney only EXACTLY the same. The come into the city proper, a place of tall concrete buildings, parking garages, and lots of modern machinery. David calls his concierge George and asks him to set up room reservations at the Scientologist hotel nearby. They also as for a seaplane to be redied at Disney in case the gang needs a quick getaway.
They concoct a plan to approach as elevator inspectors. There was a Wal-Mart/Home Depot in a mini-mall in suburbia and they return there to procure:
While they are leaving the stores, George calls back and lets them know that the seaplane is available in 3 hours.
10:30p.m.They head to the Scientology Hotel and head for the parking garage. John is invisible in the back of the van. They register and pass through, with tickets for the garage and 3 room keys for room 1002. The parking attendant machine detects the make and model of the van, the license plate, and the three entities inside.
David instructs a praying mantis to ride John up to the room and then to detach and remain in the middle of the first bed, keeping watch on the room. John flies up to the balcony of the room and disables/destroys the lock to enter. He examines the room for sources of snarled electrical energy. The only odd sources he finds are the speakers--which appear to be wired to the fire system--and a POS system with a touchscreen. He leaves the speakers alone but presses the powerbutton on the POS, which flashes a brief message 'on standby' and then goes dark. It still registers as bearing electricity (not being totally off).
He then leaves the room the same way you came and returns to the van.
11:15 p.m.The van enters the CSA parking garage and approaches the mechanical attendant. The same voice from the hotel garage asks them to state their business and David tells them they're there to inspect and repair the elevators. The voice asks for credentials, and a small drawer pops out. David places his fake OSHA credentials inside, and they are sucked away. A few moments pass and the credentials reappear with a parking pass and a printed sheet showing the layout of the parking garage, clearly marked where they should go to unload. They are given a parking space and told that they will be met by a CSA technician at the loading dock.
[ Brief digression on Shiites and Sunnis and Iraq and bin Laden and world history. ]
Adventure at the Clearwater Staffing Agency
11:30 p.m.The van pulls up into the designated parking space. John is still invisible, but turns off his ability to fly so he can use his armor. David aura-checks Nigel, and finds him human, but affected by magic. Kenneth aura-checks Nigel and he appears to have a bluish green faded aura.
Nigel French
Human technician for CSA. Blue shirt.
Nigel takes them down to the first floor. David rides the elevator up and down, "testing" it. Kenneth remains with their minder (Nigel), as does John. John uses his electricity touch to make the meter jump. John also turns off his armor to use his electricity sight to see if Nigel has any further electrical devices. He does, in his pocket (a cel phone/mp3 player).
John whispers into David's ear that he is there. David communicates telepathically to Kenneth: "Elyse. 4th floor." David puts the cart and supplies into the elevator. John gets into the elevator with John. Kenneth remains with Nigel.
David lets John off on the fourth floor, as well as a praying mantis that he sends to look for rooms with only one person in them. John takes the stairs back to the first floor. David is sounding the alarm in intervals of 25 seconds or so on the way down.
John opens the fire door and exits into the first floor. The noise alerts the party, including Trevor (who is just beyond the bend of the hall). David is still on the fourth floor, and sends the mantis left while he goes right.
John: 12 Trevor Trask: 12 Nigel: 10 Kenneth: 10
John tries to pick the pocket of Nigel and succeeds, taking his personal cel phone/mp3 player. Next round, John grabs the PDA off Nigel's belt, and opens a rift into Marguarite's office/his former broom closet. He and Kenneth push Nigel through the rift and into Epcot. John screams, "Scientology? This is Dizney!"
Trevor comes around the corner just as the hole closes and the elevator doors open. Kenneth convinces him that Nigel has gone to the bathroom, which he believes but is curious about. He waits for Nigel to return. He stands there and watches, and John and Kenneth lure him into the elevator by asking him to help. They roll for initiative and top him easily, but when John reaches for the PDA he manages to turn away, fingers skittering off the surface. Kenneth manages to grab the PDA on his action, and they shove him through another portal moments later.
Kenneth and David abandon the PDAs on the third floor in the cafeteria--in a vat of beef soup.
On the fourth floor, David proceeds around until he runs into a nurse, Cindy, who asks him to please put on protective gear if he goes any further. He demures, telling her they are there to work on the elevators. He rolls her mind, and looks to see if she has seen Elyse. She has not. So he makes his goodbyes and goes back to the elevator. When he returns, John and Kenneth have arrived on the fourth floor and they share what they've learned.
1 a.m.They proceed back to the third floor and find the PDAs in the beef stew. They are ruined, so they proceed to one of the offices on the educational floor, in the hopes of finding a computer on the network. The name on the door says "Professor Xavier." David buffs his skills, and hacks the crap out of the professor's computer, finding networks, emails, etc.
They discover a paper trail about the "mausprojekt" leading back to Joel Grey. David sends an email from the professor (posing as Nigel) telling Mandy to wait outside the freight elevators and listen for any irregular noise. They find Xavier's key card in his desk and use it to open the pocket door to the executive elevator. The enter the elevator and proceed to the 2nd floor. Kenneth listens at the door and can hear the rustling of papers. [Where have they heard /that/ sound before, eh?] David assumes astral form, and walks through the pocket door and into the room. He sees a small, wiry man with round glasses and dark eyes sitting behind a large cherry desk, deeply involved in the paperwork in front of him. He approaches and sees that it is spreadsheets, financials, perhaps account balances and such. The man takes no notice of him, so he uses Mind to aura-scan him. He sees nothing--not even a glimmer--and begins to turn away, but just as he starts to let up, a brief flash aura catches him off guard. It is brilliant sky blue, shimmery, and then immediately vanishes, leaving David to wonder if he even saw it at all.
What little he did see, though, was roiling with mental acuity, and the depth of it scares him.
Joel Grey -- mental abilities -- Gnosis + Composure + Presence (10 dice)
David in astral form heads back upstairs to the fourth floor to interview some ghosts. He comes across an old bum, who died in the clinic. He also meets a young woman, her throat torn out--a victim of a lycanthrope attack in triage. He aura-scans the patients (3 humans, 1 vamp, and 1 lycanthrope) and Nurse Cindy (human, minor magickal aura). He also runs across Taibeh, the night shift physician, and discovers her vampiric aura. He contacts John and lets him know that Joel Grey is in the office, but something is weird about him--tremendous power that was there for an instant, and then suddenly gone.
Taibeh Trask
Vampire medical staff. White shirt.
David drops beneath the first floor and into subbasement 1. He finds another medical clinic, but one devoid of ghosts. In one of the rooms, he finds his friend and mentor (and the travel agent whose office and home they are visiting) Martin. Martin's body is soulless, but has no silver cord. David leaves him to investigate. He uses his mind powers to roll the 2 of the 3 staff members whose minds he can feel on the floor. He finds a mage who can tell him a bit about the clinic, but the nurse only remembers the last day. The mage can tell him that the souls from the patients in this part of the building are stored "somewhere else" on "another plane." This terrifies David, who flees back to the party, communicates everything he sees to the others, and they quietly descend to the first floor to discuss their next course of action.
2:30 a.m.They decide to try a sniper shot from the building across the way, and attempt to take Joel Grey that way.
The sniper shot is good, but passes through a construct Joel, which dissipates. Moments later a portal opens behind John and Kenneth and Joel steps out. John pulls the pin on a grenade and drops it, but before it touches the ground, Joel flicks his wrist to create a small portal and zips the grenade through it and into another realm. John drops over the side of the building, but is propelled back up to the roof before he can pass through his own portal.
Joel tells John, "I wish you no harm" and talks the group into talking with him. They finally agree (sort of), and call David, who comes up to the roof to join them.
Joel Grey tells them that his contract is with the former prince of Florida, and that his only business was to step in if some bad fate were to befall the parks. The contract was signed years ago. and was not discontinued when that Prince moved to another Princeship. He informs the party--when they ask why he hadn't contacted the powers that be at the parks--that he is not trustful of the current vampire coterie, and that the CSA believes the garou were perhaps working with someone in Marguarite's organization. (Or, at the least, they suspect they had inside information and assume it would come from one of three places: Marguarite, Jones, or CSA. He knows it's not CSA, and doesn't understand why Jones would do something that would cause him to have to pay so much money, since the contract was a front fee, plus a monthly stipend, then added to any "combat and operations expenses" which are exorbitant.)
They press Grey on several other topics, including the state of Elyse and Martin, and the force under the castle. Joel assures them that Martin and Elyse are safe (as is Martin's secretary), and will be returned once the "situation has been resolved." He claims that he does not know what lies beneath the castle, and that it worries him. He tells the party that the garou digging are not at his behest, but are being pulled by the entity underneath.
Joel makes the party a mild offer. He promises to return Elyse and Martin ahead of schedule--within 48 hours--if the party will return to Marguarite but not inform her of their meeting, and also pass along any interesting information they may discover in the next two days. David calls his order to ask what he should do, and as their priority is the return of Martin, he is instructed to comply. Joel gives the party his card, and bids them farewell. He chides Kenneth for shooting his secretary, Mandy, but does so pleasantly, and then leaves.
The party returns to the van. Kenneth quickly calls Withrow, to ask him the identity of the former Prince that Grey mentioned. Withrow knows exactly who he is talking about--a former almost-Prince who was exiled to the backwater Princeship of Utah, and is rumored to be one crazy motherfucker. His name is Michael Jones, and he is rumored to have a strange coterie of vampires and mage-bound mortals who are up to no good in Salt Lake City. Kenneth also asks Withrow about the CSA and Joel Grey, and Withrow does know the name, and the reputation--one as a consummate professional, who always gets the job done and deals fairly with the letter of the law.
The war conclave. Led by Marguarite and Hans.