Episode 26 - Lineage, Part 2

[00:00:01] Speaker A: You're listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games. Yes, well, if I recall, last time I left you all with quite a mean cliffhanger. Maya and Alex were having a conversation about various kinds of kindred morality while Ivy was leading up to the ritual that will determine perhaps the exact nature of Anastasia's heritage. Is she telling the truth? Or are the visions and voices that she has brought to you the result of the particular malkavian predilections? Well, no sense in putting it off any longer. If for no other reason than Ivy will kill me if we continue to delay Anastasia. Now, having the ritual explained to you well enough, you understand what she needs, and even the exact volume she needs. Has Ivy done a sufficient job tending to your fears? Are you ready to take the knife? [00:01:36] Speaker B: My father always told me that I had to be the bigger person in tough situations. So I will accept my part in this ritual of yours just to be the bigger individual. And I hope you take this gesture as a step towards trust, because I have nothing to hide. [00:02:05] Speaker C: We'll see. [00:02:07] Speaker A: Indeed we will. But not until the ritual is complete. And what an awful storyteller I would be. How violently the tremere listeners would rise up if I did not give you the opportunity to describe in detail what warlock magic looks like. So Anastasia has consented to be the subject of your ritualistic endeavors. Tell me, how do they begin? [00:02:34] Speaker C: Well, as with all blood magic, it begins with blood. Or rather, in this case, Vita. Having removed the chalice and the dagger once again from their boxes and moved the boxes out of the space, they're placed closer to the edge of this island. And I hold out a hand, expecting Anna to place hers in mine. With the dagger firmly grasped in the other. [00:03:02] Speaker B: I just stare at her hand. I'm not really sure what she wants me to do. [00:03:06] Speaker A: Far be it from me to offer advice, but I feel like you're going to have to walk her through this just a little bit. I don't want to say hand holding because it's a bit on the nose. [00:03:19] Speaker C: But also, I mean, that's literally what I have to do. Seeing her not respond at all to me holding out my hand, I will just reach down and grab hers. I don't ask for it. And I hold her hand, palm open, positioned just above the chalice, and holding the dagger in my other hand, I ask her, are you ready? [00:03:44] Speaker B: There's a quick flash of vulnerability and a tiny bit of fear that crosses my face, and I just take a deep breath, roll my shoulders back puff out my chest, and I say, yeah, let's do this. [00:03:58] Speaker C: I nod, taking the dagger, reaching over and slicing down the palm of her hand. [00:04:06] Speaker A: This is an opportunity for me to indulge myself in a question. Anastasia, have you been injured as a vampire before? [00:04:15] Speaker B: I have been injured as a vampire before, but not really. In this type of situation, I would say that I wince instinctively when I see the knife cut, even if I know that I won't feel anything. It's just a habit that has grown with me over time and my hand tenses. I don't say anything though. [00:04:40] Speaker A: No, that would be a show of weakness that you could not possibly give her the satisfaction of right now. But that, Ivy, is something to note. There's no surprise when you cut through flesh, but it's more wax than skin. That instead of the arterial bleeding that comes from a wound like this on a human being, there's just the dull, thick trickle of vita. Takes a bit of work to get it out. But despite all of that, Anastasia is not surprised. And you know there's only one way that someone would learn that lesson, right? And if her story is that she's been kept hostage or cloistered by Jason Newberry, then where would she have learned that lesson? But I am injecting questions that will take us down so many roads. Please, by all means, continue. [00:05:35] Speaker C: Yeah, I kind of have to focus, and I'd rather not be distracted by these questions, but they are definitely mulling about in the back of my head. [00:05:43] Speaker A: If you are letting the questions from the voice in your head distract you, perhaps you have more in common with the Malkavians than you think. [00:05:53] Speaker C: But you're right, it does take a while. Because I do need an awful amount of blood. The chalice is deceptive. It is pretty deep. I would say I need about one rouse check's worth of blood from Anastasia. [00:06:09] Speaker A: I believe that is what the literature commands. So, Anastasia, will you do us the great favor of making that rouse check? [00:06:18] Speaker B: That's a failure. [00:06:20] Speaker A: Yeah. The beast does not like to give willingly that which fuels it. And I understand in the beginning you were trying to make a good show, of appearing strong, of appearing brave. But at this point, that thing inside you, the other voice that distinguishes you from a human being, perks up like a lion prowling. [00:06:47] Speaker B: I let out an involuntary snarl, and then I forcibly quiet it down. [00:06:54] Speaker A: Ivy, you're well on your way to beginning the ritual. Things have begun. Then there's a flash of fangs and something guttural. [00:07:02] Speaker C: Honestly, all that tells me is that she at least wasn't lying about that. She really doesn't know what it means to be kindred. If this is how she's reacting to. Getting a little hungrier. [00:07:14] Speaker A: Really? Of all the things you've seen the beast compel tonight, this is the one that raises your alarms. [00:07:23] Speaker C: Yeah, because she's acting like Alex. Alex is three days old. Being Jason Newberry's childa, she's obviously older than that. But if this is still her reaction, if she still kind of lets out those sorts of responses, I don't know, it just speaks volumes. [00:07:41] Speaker A: Fair enough. Volumes. Not loud enough to make you stop the ritual, though, I presume. [00:07:47] Speaker C: No, it's going to take me an hour to get through this anyway. Time is of the essence. There's not that much night left. [00:07:55] Speaker A: No. What? I'm sure with a little bit of massaging the wound, you can expedite the process. But I don't know how hands on you get when it comes to the donations. In time, you will have collected enough of the essence you require. The chalice does not runth over. That would be wasteful. So you return Anna's hand to her own possession, and then. [00:08:19] Speaker B: Is it time for the crow? [00:08:23] Speaker C: No, but if you could be a deer and just close your wound. You're dripping Vita all over my floor. [00:08:31] Speaker B: I stare at my wound through my brow, and then I just shake my arm, and more blood splatters everywhere. So I use my other hand to wipe the blood off, but it just smears everywhere. My other hand is now completely covered in blood as well, and the wound still isn't sealed yet. [00:08:52] Speaker C: Can you just seal it, please, instead of making a bigger mess? [00:08:59] Speaker B: You told me not to touch anything. [00:09:01] Speaker C: Do you have, like, a rag or something? Just close it yourself. [00:09:08] Speaker B: I look for literally anything to bandage the wound up. [00:09:13] Speaker C: Oh, my God. Just think about it. Just look at your hand and think about how you have an open wound in your hand and you would like it not to be open anymore. [00:09:25] Speaker B: You sound like you're scolding me. Can you please just give me a bandaid? [00:09:30] Speaker C: It's because I have very, very, very little patience for people who apparently have no idea what they're doing. Just think about it. Just look at your hand. Just look at the wound. Just think about it. Think about it being closed. It will close. [00:09:45] Speaker B: I stare very intently at my arm, and then I get super fascinated watching keel. [00:09:50] Speaker D: Oh. [00:09:50] Speaker B: Why didn't you just say that you. [00:09:52] Speaker A: And Alex are going to be best friends? I can already tell the small fascinations that come out of you, as you realize, very basic facts of vampire existence that is a friendship fit for the silver screen. [00:10:08] Speaker B: I did not know I could do that. [00:10:10] Speaker C: How long have you been a kindred? [00:10:13] Speaker B: Maybe like a year or two. Maybe. Possibly. I don't remember. [00:10:21] Speaker C: I have so many questions. But also I have way too much going on to dive into them right now, so I'll just slowly nod my head as she comes up with this number that is not useful to me at all. And then I return to the task at hand. [00:10:40] Speaker B: I'm looking around, and I see a glass cabinet, and there's my reflection there. So I'm concentrating really hard on willing past wounds to heal as well. [00:10:51] Speaker A: Unfortunately, the age of the scar isn't quite so much that matters. It's which ones you had when you died. Don't know if your father has explained that to you, but the body you died with is the one you have forever. [00:11:07] Speaker B: My face is contorted with this tension as I attempt to heal my past wounds, but with a breath, it is replaced with confusion, and I sigh. And then I turn towards Ivy to watch what she's doing. [00:11:24] Speaker A: Ivy, the spotlight returns to you. [00:11:27] Speaker C: I take the chalice, mostly full, and set it in the center of the island. I place the dagger just to the side of it, out of potential harm's way, and I walk to the edge of the island, placing my hands just on the edge, and I pull myself up and immediately enter into like a cross legged seated position on top of the island, sitting directly in front of the chalice and the knife. So this may get a little boring for you, actually. [00:11:59] Speaker B: I sit down cross legged on the floor but away from her, and I pull out some string to play with as I watch her very intently. I mean, that's my blood. I'm good. [00:12:13] Speaker C: Great. As you watch me very intently, I pick up the dagger, hold it to my own palm, leaving a very small cut, and just drop three single drops of my own vita into the chalice. Hey. [00:12:32] Speaker B: That's so little compared to what you took from me. It's not fair. [00:12:37] Speaker C: Yes, well, mine does the magic. Yours is where the answers lie. [00:12:44] Speaker A: You'll find that's the case with most things involving the tremere. I appreciate your commitment to the role, anastasia, but Ivy wasn't lying about this. Taking an hour, there is going to be 60 minutes of chanting in God knows what language, not a whole lot else going on. So if you wanted to excuse yourself, now is probably the time. [00:13:04] Speaker B: I'm good. That's my liquid, so I want to see what she's going to be up to with it. [00:13:10] Speaker A: Also an impulse many people have when dealing with the tramire. Totally understand well as not to subject the audience to an hour's worth of chanting. If I recall, there was a game of 20 questions going on in the other room. Is that still the case, Alex? Or has Maya's continued prodding at your moral compass caused you to abandon this cause? [00:13:34] Speaker E: So having our little 20 questions tettedet, I feel there's one question maybe probing at me for my own worries or fears or insecurities, or probing me because it's still very fresh in my mind from our entire day and we haven't addressed it at all. Just looking at Maya's face, I can't help but to slip out. Okay, so what about Schmendrick then? Everyone's going to be vague and bad. So what's going to happen to her? I mean, she tried to do the stealing thing and be outsmarting people and now what's going on with her? [00:14:15] Speaker D: I don't know. She's probably staked, maybe dead. Doesn't really matter. She played and she lost. That's what I'm trying to explain to you. No one is going to wait for you to get good. No one is going to wait for you to learn how to play. If Schmenjik I don't know how long she was alive, but didn't learn that in the time she was, then it's her fault that she's at least in torper now. [00:14:40] Speaker E: So then we play this game because everyone's playing it. Is there any way to play a different game? Because at some point in time when does become futile? I mean, we've all seen battle game, right? Sometimes the safest play to make is to not play at all. And if we're in trouble every step of the way we play this game, then why are we playing it? So we don't get got. [00:15:11] Speaker D: Let me maybe put this in a phrase you might understand. When you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. It doesn't matter how much honor you have or how good you think you are. Everyone is just a walking bag of weaknesses to be exploited. [00:15:31] Speaker E: Then why haven't we exploited them all already? [00:15:35] Speaker D: What makes you think I'm not doing that right now? [00:15:38] Speaker E: Then why are you even here? [00:15:40] Speaker D: Mostly because I'm missing half a fucking face. [00:15:44] Speaker E: But then wouldn't that put you at a weakness for us to take advantage of? [00:15:48] Speaker D: Oh, puppy. Do you really think I'm scared of you right now? And if I was, do you think I would show it? [00:15:57] Speaker E: No. I think you know exactly where you are. I don't think you'd be talking to a guy who used your own shoe to kill someone physically stronger than you in a weakened state if you didn't feel you could trust us enough to help you. Trusting to help. And I know you think that that's a weakness. And maybe in this game it is. For the end of the day. Sounds to me there's still a little humanity knocking around in you, too. [00:16:27] Speaker D: I'm trying to do you a favor, kid. [00:16:30] Speaker E: I know. I don't think you'd be fighting with me for the fun of it. [00:16:36] Speaker D: Are you sure? Ask Ivy. I'm pretty combative. [00:16:39] Speaker E: Yeah. The energy I get from her is that you two have a certain relationship. We don't have that. I think you two have this. You know, like when your mom and your auntie fight in the kitchen and you love each other, but you also hate each other just enough. It's like that. Maybe. [00:16:59] Speaker D: Apt. [00:17:00] Speaker E: But I don't have that. I don't think. [00:17:04] Speaker A: Oh, God. [00:17:04] Speaker E: Do I? No. Doesn't matter. Point is, I don't think you'd be fighting this so much if you didn't honestly believe you wanted to help me. Even if it was to use me as a pawn later. Because if I die, that's one less pawn for you. Right? But if you can help me, maybe because you care just a little bit, who knows? [00:17:29] Speaker D: He has the capacity for learning. [00:17:31] Speaker E: Sounding pretty weak, sis. [00:17:36] Speaker D: I'm going to ignore the dance that he's doing. You're right. I feel bad for you. And I think that's about as close to caring for you right now as I'm going to get. You were embraced at the wrong place at the wrong time. Because you just happened. No, actually, you put yourself in that situation, didn't you, buddy? [00:17:59] Speaker E: Yeah. I had the choice to not do the dumb thing, and I did the dumb thing. And look at me now. I'm having a conversation with two face. [00:18:12] Speaker D: All right, you get one kid. [00:18:14] Speaker B: Who's getting one. [00:18:15] Speaker C: What? [00:18:16] Speaker A: Ha ha. [00:18:17] Speaker E: Hey. [00:18:19] Speaker D: You are weirdly silent. [00:18:22] Speaker A: That is only one of many things, I think, that will be attracting your attention in this moment. Yes, Anastasia is quite sneaky that you'll learn more about as time to come. But I imagine your surprise that her silent entrance will soon be usurped, overshadowed by Ivy's choice of outfit. Because chanting isn't the end of the ritual, is it? Miss Larue? [00:18:51] Speaker C: No, there is a little bit more. [00:18:53] Speaker A: Well, before we indulge everyone by describing those steps, let us take care of the small administrative matter of your role, if you would be so kind. That is four successes, more than enough to accomplish your goal. You read into the history of Anastasia's blood. You are familiar with Jason Newberry's Vita from some other sources. All the dots line up. She is indeed who she claims to be. [00:19:24] Speaker C: Fascinating. [00:19:26] Speaker B: We good? Am I good? Like, are we done? What's going on now? [00:19:31] Speaker A: Now, if you'll tell us how you reached that conclusion. [00:19:35] Speaker C: It is as you said. It's an hour of chanting. It's the same chant over and over. Does Anastasia speak Latin? If Anastasia spoke Latin, she'd be able to figure out the chant, but I'm guessing she doesn't. But once the hour is complete, there's a sort of swirl that happens in an otherwise still chalice full of vita like ripples from a stone on top of an otherwise still lake. I dump the chalice and its contents onto the island in front of me, creating a giant pool of vita, way more vita than that chalice should hold. And I place my hands down inside it, and I start reading the rippling effect throughout the blood, searching through all of the history that the vita contains to find the answers that I'm looking for. [00:20:33] Speaker A: It's a messy process, but you can't disagree with its effectiveness. A less generous interpretation would draw parallels to finger painting, but I don't know anyone from who'd do that. The point at the end is that Ivy has achieved her answer, in addition to a staggering degree of mess. And as Anastasia and the warlock present themselves to our newfound friends in the library, they cut quite a striking pair. [00:21:06] Speaker B: I just want to point out that I'm a little bit sulky that you were so upset about me flinging my droplets of blood when you are literally covered in all of my blood. [00:21:17] Speaker C: It's my house. I can make the mess. It's not your house. Don't make a mess in it. [00:21:23] Speaker B: Yeah, but you're, like, swimming in my blood. It's a bit gross. Does it feel good swimming in my. [00:21:29] Speaker C: Huh. I have a tea towel in my hand, and I've been systematically trying to wipe off as much as I could, knowing that Griegor is going to do the wash later. But as she asks how it feels, something comes over me, and I reach out, and I just put a still, slightly Vita covered hand on her cheek and just drag it down, leaving just a couple little traces from my fingers on her cheekbone. [00:21:59] Speaker A: Someone's been hanging out with Maya too much. Anastasia, are you going to take that? [00:22:04] Speaker B: Oh, gross. I don't want it back after you've been in it. [00:22:08] Speaker D: Aside from making new Urukai. You done here? [00:22:12] Speaker C: I let my head fall to the side as I look at Maya. Yeah, we're done. [00:22:20] Speaker D: So did you actually learn anything, or were you just finger painting? That's my blood. Of course it is, sweetie. [00:22:28] Speaker E: How much did you give? You look like you lost a super soaker fight. [00:22:34] Speaker B: She just kept taking. [00:22:36] Speaker D: Yeah, that's Ivy for you. She's all, take, never give. [00:22:43] Speaker C: Yes, she is who she says she is. [00:22:49] Speaker D: So now I can kill. [00:22:53] Speaker E: Wait, okay, so she's the childa of Newberry. That's huge. [00:23:03] Speaker C: Yes, it is. [00:23:05] Speaker E: So I don't know a lot of things. I know that he's a bad guy and has done bad things to us, and if we have his childa, then that's a big thing, right? That's a game we can play, right, Maya? There's a game afoot. [00:23:22] Speaker D: Yes. That means there is something fishy happening here. In particular, I don't recall. If Newberry had permission to sire a. [00:23:33] Speaker C: Child based on my general kindred knowledge, would I know who Jason Newberry's childa are? [00:23:42] Speaker A: That is a question that we would answer with intelligence and politics. I believe that's only two successes, but. [00:23:50] Speaker C: I kind of want a willpower reroll, because I feel like I should know. And maybe it's just the blood is a little confusing, because all I can think of is, oh, no. Jason Newberry. Jason Newberry. Because I've been walking through the blood that's been trying to give me information about sires, but right now I'm looking for Childa. [00:24:10] Speaker A: That does seem like the kind of thing you need willpower to cut through, doesn't it? [00:24:13] Speaker C: It does. [00:24:14] Speaker A: Choice is yours and yours alone. [00:24:17] Speaker C: Well, that's an additional one success for three successes. [00:24:21] Speaker A: Well, three successes would give you the answer, I believe, to your question and also slightly to Maya's question, you would know that in Chicago, Jason Newberry has one known child. That is Evan Klein. He's the bassist for baby chorus. Spends some time hanging out with a toriador whose name escapes me, but also the sheriff, Damien. They play together. To Maya's question, there's absolutely no way of knowing whether or not Newberry had permission, but it is unlikely that he would flaunt the prince's rules. So it is possible that he was given an open ended invitation to embrace that in exchange for some kind of favor? The prince said, you can have another one. Let me know when you found it. It's also possible that given at the moment, we're kind of leaning towards Anastasia not having been let out of the house, that it is a secret. But of all the things you've managed to peel out of Jason Newberry's pathologies, it is that he is meticulous and wouldn't take a risk like that unless he had a very good reason to. So both things are possible. But evidence points towards he had permission for a child, if not this specific child. [00:25:42] Speaker C: Well, here's the thing. I only know of one child that Jason Newberry has sired, and based on some very interesting things that have come up in the last hour or so, I'm not 100% convinced that she's ever actually been outside and interacted with kindred society in any way, shape, or form. So it's very likely that she's a secret. And he may have had permission to sire and then kept her a secret for some reason. Because it feels weird that he would just so brazenly break the prince's rules like that. But at this point, I have no honest idea. [00:26:32] Speaker D: I'm not putting a secret tilde past him. [00:26:35] Speaker A: Well, independent of whether or not Jason Newberry had permission, that's a bit moot at this point, right? Adding charges on top of charges. He's already in torpor for a hundred years. And more to the point, it doesn't answer a burning question that Ivy has been tangling at for a while. Which is, why is she here? What does she want now? Ivy has some of those answers. You haven't shared them with the rest of the class. Anastasia, so far, you haven't struck me as the kind of person who has discretion in abundance. So I assume that information is coming out one way or another. [00:27:12] Speaker B: I'm just here looking for my dad. I know he wants my help with something, and I don't know what kind of crimes he might have done to you guys, but he's a good dad. I miss him. [00:27:26] Speaker C: The kind of dad who keeps you locked in a basement for one or two years. [00:27:32] Speaker B: However long it was, he was keeping me safe. [00:27:38] Speaker C: I lock eyes with Maya. She didn't even know she could close her own wounds. [00:27:44] Speaker D: Logic to some of that. Although I don't know that I like it. [00:27:50] Speaker C: Alex is three days old, and he knows he can close his wounds. [00:27:54] Speaker D: Yes, but Alex also thinks he's a superhero. [00:27:56] Speaker C: Well, look, we all have delusions, and I gesture in Anastasia's direction. [00:28:02] Speaker D: Point still stands. Jason Newberry is a torper and slowly working his way to a very well earned death. [00:28:11] Speaker C: Maybe. [00:28:12] Speaker D: Hopefully. [00:28:16] Speaker C: Look, Anastasia mentioned that Newberry has been communicating with her. If he's in torpor, that means that he's found some way to communicate telepathically across the cobweb while in torpor, which is scary. The other option is that he's staked and somebody is continuing to keep him fed, which is also scary. [00:28:48] Speaker D: You have not mentioned the third option which is that Anna is fucking crazy. Because she's a Malkevian. [00:28:58] Speaker C: Yes, also a possibility. [00:29:01] Speaker D: Think I round on Anastasia. How do you know it's your dad? [00:29:05] Speaker B: It's his voice. I know my dad's voice and no. [00:29:08] Speaker D: One can imitate that. [00:29:10] Speaker B: I'd be able to figure out if it was a dupe right away. We are hella close. [00:29:16] Speaker D: Has he given you information that you wouldn't just have known in your own head? [00:29:23] Speaker B: Not really information. He just checks in on me, sees how I'm doing, wants to know what I'm up to. Gives me errands to do normal stuff. But he hasn't been in touch for a while so I'm just wondering if he's okay and if he needs to be let out of tourport or whatever that is. I mean, I'll probably have to do that. [00:29:43] Speaker C: So you still haven't really answered my question from earlier. Which was? Why are you here? [00:29:53] Speaker B: I've seen the tables have turned. You wouldn't answer any of my questions about the ritual and now you're asking all the baby questions to me. [00:30:02] Speaker C: These are just normal questions in a general line of questioning. [00:30:06] Speaker B: You're doing a lot of taking and not answering any of mine. Where's the knife? Now it's my turn to cut you open and figure this stuff out. [00:30:17] Speaker D: See what I. [00:30:18] Speaker C: That's what I said Maya. [00:30:21] Speaker D: I'm just saying you could stand to give a little. If you read the book, it would talk about giving as much as you take. [00:30:27] Speaker C: Anyway, I gave a lot of time and effort to find out whether or not she was telling the truth. [00:30:33] Speaker B: I've been telling the truth the entire time. It was your decision. Know. Do the chanting and the cutting and the dancing and the swimming and whatever else you were doing. [00:30:47] Speaker A: Also, Ivy's complaining, but we all know she likes it. [00:30:51] Speaker D: Right? Now you've come to us telling us that you are the child of someone who's tried to kill us multiple times and I harbor no goodwill towards. If you're looking for help from us, we need a very good reason to know why? Because right now, he is at the bottom of our list of people we want to owe favors to. [00:31:13] Speaker C: Okay, Anna, look. When does your dad talk to you? [00:31:20] Speaker B: Whenever he feels like it. [00:31:24] Speaker C: Pause, waiting for her to elaborate, and when she doesn't, I just say, does he have a specific time of day that he likes? Does he talk to you over his morning cup of coffee? [00:31:41] Speaker B: I would say it's pretty random. It's just whenever he likes, but sometimes it can get a little embarrassing, like if I'm brushing my teeth. Mostly it's at night. [00:31:51] Speaker C: Well, fantastic. I clap my hands together. It doesn't sound like this is something that we're going to resolve anytime in the. Oh, I don't know, next hour and a so. And I walk over to the door and I'll pull on the little string that dangles, and you can hear a little bell chime. So what's going to happen is I'm going to have the ducheski set up some rooms for you all, and I'm going to go deal with my regent's ghoul. And tomorrow night, with any luck, now that you've found us, your dad will have something to say to you. [00:32:31] Speaker E: Are we having a sleepover? I haven't done one of those in years, and I am dying to get to know Anastasia better because I think we're going to become fast friends. [00:32:45] Speaker C: My eyelids flutter as I start to stare at the ceiling, and just. My head hurts. A small throb. When did my manner become the home for wayward kindred? [00:32:59] Speaker A: If I recall, that was the night that the regent assigned it to you. You're not the first person to put something they don't know what to do with in a room in this house. But all of that said, there are conversations to be had amongst different people. Ivy running off to deal with Annika. Maya grateful now that Alex has found a new play friend, and godly knows what those two are going to talk about, given their naivete and lack of experience. But all of that will happen safely away from the burning hospital, safely away from the remains of Alex's victims, and, at least for now, safely away from any brewing consequences to the masquerade. In the meantime, let's continue with you. Ivy. Schmendrick is gone. Annika knows why. I presume you have questions. I also presume that Maya is not going to let you ask them alone. [00:34:04] Speaker C: Well, given our history, I fear that, unfortunately, you may be right. Doesn't seem like Maya is going to make it easy on me. [00:34:14] Speaker A: Maya, is that true? [00:34:16] Speaker F: What? That I don't want to leave Ivy to figure out the next steps on her own, as if she's the leader. [00:34:23] Speaker C: Of this little gang? [00:34:25] Speaker A: Well, that part, but also the demeanor that's attached to it. [00:34:29] Speaker F: Oh, Ivy's always been a bitch. You know, speaking of puppies. [00:34:34] Speaker A: I mean, when you're right, you're right. I'm not here to take sides, but I think it's just that you bring out a certain side of Ivy. She's patient with Alex. I wonder what the difference is. Annika is a tramir ghoul. Thus, she is well behaved. All ghouls, of course, terrified to a certain extent of their masters. But this one especially. So once you've finished exploring Anastasia's bloodline, you will find Annika exactly where she was told to be. In this case, sitting in one of the large overstuffed chairs and quietly paging through a book illustrated something, probably sigils tied to witchcraft through the ages before she notices you. Because it's a super engaging book for someone of her interests. You can just hear her muttering quiet to herself. Real. Real. Not real real. No, not since the. This one's from a tv show. [00:35:42] Speaker C: I walk in and I look over her shoulder. I say, oh, yeah, I know. They were really, really big into the latin that season, weren't they? [00:35:50] Speaker A: Oh, God. Oh, sorry, Miss Larue. I still am not used to how quiet you all can be. I mean, not you. Sorry. [00:36:03] Speaker C: No, it's fine, Annika. It's been a very stressful night, so don't worry about the formalities. [00:36:13] Speaker A: Right now, it's very important for you to know up front. I had no idea this was going to happen, okay? I'm not to blame for any of. [00:36:23] Speaker C: I am. I absolutely believe you. And I'll walk around the big overstuffed chair, and I'll take a seat at the one across from her. It should be noted there's only two chairs in this, so that's fine. Good. Look, Annika, it's totally fine. Why don't you just start at the beginning? And tell me what? [00:36:44] Speaker A: Well, you see, that depends a lot on which beginning you want to start at. Can you be a little more specific? [00:36:57] Speaker F: Let's go from the appearance of people wielding anti kindred shotguns and work our way backwards. [00:37:07] Speaker A: That's Schmendrick's thing. Or was her thing. Look, okay, there's no way around it. It's family business. She looks over to Maya and back to you. [00:37:26] Speaker F: It is not just family business anymore. [00:37:32] Speaker C: I lean forward in the chair and I put my elbows on my knees and just kind of try and take a slightly more relaxed look. And I say, is there any information that you can give us about the family business without giving away all the details? Just kind of a high level overview when it's not just family members. [00:37:55] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay, so you know how our boss talks about the blood lab as, like, a family project, a family restaurant, right? [00:38:10] Speaker C: Yes, of course. [00:38:12] Speaker A: It's more like there's a side business that's also wholesaling. [00:38:20] Speaker C: This is something that he's involved in. [00:38:23] Speaker A: Oh, my God. Do you think it's just me? Ivy, I'm not insane. I don't think I have a death wish to do that. Stealing out from under. Oh, my God. [00:38:31] Speaker C: No, look, I'm just asking. I have to ask, right? [00:38:38] Speaker A: It's just for people who have really particular tastes or maybe something that she hasn't acquired in her own collection. Sometimes du Sable fills that market. We'll say. [00:38:55] Speaker C: Sure. Okay. And tonight was what, a scheduled pickup? [00:39:05] Speaker A: No, there wasn't anything scheduled about it. I always get told in advance. I think they knew. I think they weren't there for me or for merchandise. [00:39:21] Speaker C: They didn't take anything aside from Schmendrick when they left? [00:39:27] Speaker A: No. And the timing was so suspicious. I mean, normally they come in much later at night. Just to mean, even at two in the morning, there are people around. It's a university town, so it's always later. But they, I guess, start at the beginning. Annika Schmendrick showed up, I guess maybe 15 or 20 minutes before you did. She came upstairs, started to do her techno stuff. Something about how she had to, I don't know, restart the firewall. Because the Gibson was. I wasn't paying attention. She had all that set up and was ready to go back downstairs and I guess, let you all in. And that's when the three of them arrived. One came up the stairwell, the other two to the elevator. I mean, Ivy, she didn't stand a chance. [00:40:24] Speaker D: Shit. [00:40:26] Speaker A: And then, I mean, you were kind of there for the rest of it. [00:40:32] Speaker D: Did you hear anything from them as it was happening? Chatter? [00:40:37] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:40:38] Speaker A: They were obviously angry with her. It was something that. Stepping on our turf. And our boss knows you've been looking into her. Now we're going to teach you why you shouldn't have done that. [00:40:51] Speaker C: So Schmendric pissed off the wrong people. Not surprised. She's kind of had it out for Bronwyn for a while. What's up with the bomb? [00:41:05] Speaker A: They were there to cover the tracks. I guess I mean, or punish me. Us. I don't know. [00:41:12] Speaker F: Is there security footage that is uploaded somewhere that isn't local? [00:41:18] Speaker C: Schmendrick took care of all of that. [00:41:21] Speaker F: Damn. You know, it would have been really smart if we know, taken any id off of any of the people we killed. [00:41:27] Speaker C: There wasn't a lot of time for that. [00:41:29] Speaker A: In fairness, I think one of the first things they teach you at vampire enforcer school is not to carry your driver's license when you're going around committing crime. [00:41:38] Speaker C: That and also your cell phone. Just don't get pulled over. [00:41:41] Speaker A: Obviously, Ivy. I mean, I don't can. Of course I can speculate. I've got this brain, right? Did Schmendrick give the wrong impression about cooperating with us if Bronwyn felt threatened that Schmendric was trying to overcut? I don't know. You know how people can be or not people. No offense, but a light bulb kind. [00:42:08] Speaker C: Of goes off in my head and I'll turn around in the chair and stare into the corner of the room and say, maya, that guy, that person that you got for Schmendrick, where did you get him from? [00:42:26] Speaker F: Bronwyn. [00:42:26] Speaker D: Duh. [00:42:28] Speaker C: Right. And what were the terms of his release? [00:42:33] Speaker F: Pretty simple. Boon for boon. [00:42:35] Speaker C: Shit. It's never simple. Boon for boon. Shit. And of all the people in the world who would not know that, it's Schmendrick. [00:42:45] Speaker A: Fuck. [00:42:46] Speaker F: I'm sorry. Schmendrick is how old? As far as kindred are concerned, 30 or 40. She would have known. That's insane. That she wouldn't. [00:42:57] Speaker C: That's putting an awful lot of faith in somebody who made it her job to stay as far removed from politics as she possibly could. She did, like, four things really, really well and a bunch of other stuff really poorly and kindred. Politics was one of those things that she was just never any good at. [00:43:15] Speaker F: I'm sorry. Being a canaanite is about politics. There's nothing else it does you if you don't do it. [00:43:22] Speaker C: Yeah, that's how she became a nosferatu. [00:43:24] Speaker F: It's genuinely not my fault if she didn't know how to play this game. That's insane. Honestly, I'm surprised she lived this long. [00:43:32] Speaker C: Oh, you're not the only one. There were many, many times. Anyway, for utter clarity, Maya, I'm not blaming you for any of this. I'm trying to find all the puzzle pieces and fit them. [00:43:46] Speaker F: Absolutely. But if, you know, as the kids say, if Schmendrick can't hang, that's her problem. [00:43:51] Speaker C: Well, you know what they say, if you can't handle the heat, too fucking soon, right? [00:43:58] Speaker A: Even Annika makes a face like, ooh. [00:44:02] Speaker F: I would grin, except I'm missing the bottom half of my face. [00:44:07] Speaker A: If it's reflexive, that just makes something horrible happen where only one corner of the top lip moves and the rest just hangs there. [00:44:17] Speaker F: It's really nice when your insides match your outsides. [00:44:20] Speaker A: Do you have more for Annika? [00:44:24] Speaker C: Okay, Annika. And I'll swivel around back in the chair, and I'll lean back, crossing my legs. What do we tell? [00:44:36] Speaker A: Uh. And you see this blank slate look go over her face? Annika is not at the level of this enterprise where she gets to make those kind of decisions. You might be the first vampire in the universe to ever ask her opinion on something. That's not really my department. That's why you're here, right? [00:45:01] Speaker C: I'll look over my shoulder at Maya. Hey, Maya. You don't have the ability to rewrite memories, do you? Are you that good yet? [00:45:12] Speaker F: No, I don't have the ability to rewrite memories. I'm more interested in making people do what I want. [00:45:19] Speaker C: Yeah, no, that tracks, because here's the thing, and I'll turn back to Annika. I really can't be tied to this, like Schmendrick being there, that's fine. And playing that angle, that's fine. But I need you to not at all remember that I was there at all, ever that I saved you at. I can't really have that getting back to him because that just looks really bad on me. I'm sure you understand. [00:45:48] Speaker A: I'm not going to tell anybody. Why would I know? Of course, the secrets safe with me. I keep secrets for a living. [00:45:55] Speaker C: I mean, sure, no, I get that, but he's also. You're his ghoul, and I know that your ability to lie to him is definitely going to be a little harder than lying to, say, me, or literally any other kindred. And if he asks you how you got out of the burning building and you say, oh, well, I obviously got out by myself, and he decides to investigate that. [00:46:20] Speaker F: Okay, I have two solutions to this problem. The first, I assume we can't kill Annika. [00:46:26] Speaker C: No, we cannot kill Annika. [00:46:28] Speaker A: Yeah, no, we can't kill Annika. She's raising her hand like, yeah, no, I vote not kill Annika. [00:46:35] Speaker F: I get it. [00:46:36] Speaker D: To be fair, if you just stop. [00:46:38] Speaker F: Thinking about the situation, you'll stop forging that memory. [00:46:41] Speaker C: Annika, how long have you been working for. [00:46:46] Speaker A: Mean, in general? Maybe seven years at this point. And then, like, five or six of. She gestures at her wrists. [00:46:56] Speaker C: Right, okay, well, then that's out of the question at this point. You've been working for him for so long, Annika, that you wouldn't lie to him and you wouldn't even be able to tell if he was making you tell him the truth. So I'm not sure we have any other options, unfortunately. [00:47:20] Speaker A: Is there, like, a reason that if I can't lie, you could, right? [00:47:30] Speaker C: Yeah, but then he asks you what happened. [00:47:34] Speaker A: No. I mean, of course I'm going to tell him you were there, but he doesn't have to know why. I mean, what if your friend was there and you were coming to try to stop her from doing something stupid? I mean, no offense, but she's already, what, like under the sheet, under the gurney? You just throw her under the bus, no problem, right? It's a little pitiful, actually, the length that ghouls will go to ensure their self preservation. And as this conversation goes on and she's wondering about her capacity of free will, the things that will happen to her, either at your hand or disables the desperation and the moral flexibility comes on fast. [00:48:14] Speaker D: It's not a lie. I'm just going to use. [00:48:16] Speaker A: Dominate, Annika. [00:48:18] Speaker D: Cover your ears and sing. [00:48:19] Speaker F: Bad romance. [00:48:21] Speaker A: It's immediate. She's already bent to vampiric will, and at this point, the emotional state she's in doesn't exactly leave her prepared to resist. So you give the command and the very next thing kindergartner hands up to the years. And then it's just. I want your ugly, I want your disease I want your everything as long as it's free I want your love. Something love. [00:48:48] Speaker F: All we told Annika was that we were here to deal with. [00:48:55] Speaker C: I mean, what would I even tell du Sable then? Because obviously I can't tell him that we're there to help Schmendrick steal from him. [00:49:05] Speaker F: We don't have to tell du Sable anything. [00:49:07] Speaker D: We have no idea what Schmendrick was actually up to. Right. [00:49:11] Speaker C: Just that we knew that she would be there. We found out that she would be there. And I knew this was a bad idea because it's disabled's place and you were going to stop her. Right. And I didn't know exactly what she was doing and I knew that I would need help. [00:49:35] Speaker D: Did you know exactly what she was doing? [00:49:37] Speaker C: I have no idea. [00:49:40] Speaker A: I want your horror. I want your design. Because you're a criminal. As long as you're mine I want your love. She's getting into it. [00:49:50] Speaker C: All right, if we're going to do this, we need to do it right. We need to have the story straight. I think that involves roping in Alex, because he's there, and disable will be able to get that memory out, but, yeah, okay. I guess that's the best option, right? [00:50:14] Speaker F: Exactly. Telling the truth is always the best course of action. [00:50:18] Speaker A: Walk, fashion baby work it. Move that bitch crazy. Walk, walk, fashion baby. [00:50:26] Speaker C: Can you make her stop? [00:50:28] Speaker D: Oh, you don't like this? [00:50:30] Speaker F: I can pick a different song. You're more into, like, 90s grunge, right? [00:50:34] Speaker C: No, I would like to send her home, and I can't. While she's covering her ears and singing bad romance. [00:50:41] Speaker D: I get up, I walk across the. [00:50:43] Speaker F: Room, and pointedly tap her on the shoulder. [00:50:46] Speaker A: I want you, love and I want you. [00:50:49] Speaker E: What? [00:50:50] Speaker F: Yeah, you're done. [00:50:52] Speaker A: She's just looking confused, the two of you. [00:50:55] Speaker C: Annika. Look, thank you for all the information that you provided tonight. If I have any questions about the family business, I'll be sure to reach out to you. But now I think it's time to get you home. [00:51:11] Speaker A: Yeah, if you say so. [00:51:13] Speaker C: I'm going to call you an Uber. There's a meetup spot, like, two and a half blocks west. So go there. I'll drop the pin. It usually takes them about 15 minutes to show up. You should get there right on time. [00:51:26] Speaker A: Okay. And then you'll call me if anything happens? [00:51:31] Speaker C: I will do that for you if you give me a heads up whenever you speak to. [00:51:39] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, okay, I get it. [00:51:43] Speaker C: Thanks, Annika. [00:51:44] Speaker A: So, she will gather her things, head out the door, floating off into the night. [00:51:54] Speaker C: How you get songs stuck in your head. Vampires just dominate them into your thoughts. [00:51:59] Speaker A: That's my new canon. For now, it seems that you're about to construct an elaborate lie about your involvement in the events at the blood bank. [00:52:11] Speaker F: Again, correction. We are not lying. [00:52:13] Speaker B: Nothing. [00:52:14] Speaker F: What we're talking about next is lying. [00:52:15] Speaker D: We are just making sure the truth. [00:52:17] Speaker F: Is agreed upon by all parties. [00:52:20] Speaker A: Okay. Well, that said, do you want to make sure that Alex agrees on the version of the truth you're about to? [00:52:25] Speaker D: Yes. [00:52:27] Speaker A: How? Well, the dumb waiter's broken. The central elevator works. It's an open, great design, certainly not up to code. But when's the last time an inspector was allowed in this building? It's a relatively quick journey up one, two, three floors. Your arrival announced with a pleasant chime. [00:52:48] Speaker E: It works. [00:52:52] Speaker A: Oh, that comes booming out the door, down the hallway. If you were hoping, Ivy, that this would be another stealthy approach. It appears you've been made. [00:53:02] Speaker C: Alex, can I speak to you for a. [00:53:07] Speaker E: Ivy, your second dumb waiter works just fine. [00:53:11] Speaker C: I know. [00:53:13] Speaker E: Oh, God damn you. [00:53:18] Speaker D: Okay, I understand academically that I'm a little behind technologically, but you know what an elevator is, right? [00:53:28] Speaker E: I know what an elevator is. It's called a callback. [00:53:33] Speaker D: Oh, God, I'm surrounded by idiots. [00:53:37] Speaker C: Yeah. So anyway, Alex, we need to get our story straight about what happened tonight. [00:53:45] Speaker E: Yeah, so it was self defense. He had a gun. He was coming right for me. [00:53:53] Speaker C: No, Alex, appreciate the energy. We're going to lie. [00:54:01] Speaker E: This is a vampire thing. This is a kindred thing, right? I need to get used to the lying. [00:54:06] Speaker C: Yeah, so a lie. [00:54:10] Speaker D: Stop telling the child it's a lie. You're teaching them bad values. [00:54:16] Speaker C: Okay, we are going to leave out certain truths in our story. How's that? Is that better? Maya, does that make you feel better? [00:54:24] Speaker D: Yes, actually. [00:54:24] Speaker C: Great. Wonderful. Then, Alex, we're going to leave out a few truths just to streamline the story. [00:54:31] Speaker D: It's like. But, you know, more useful. [00:54:35] Speaker A: Okay. [00:54:35] Speaker E: Santa Claus. More useful. Tooth fairy, but more effective. Okay. [00:54:41] Speaker D: Excellent. Gosh, you learned fast. [00:54:43] Speaker E: So what's the story, morning glory? What are we saying? [00:54:47] Speaker C: Okay, so the story that we're using is that we went to the hospital tonight to deal with Schmendrick. To handle Schmendrick, if you like. We weren't there to help her. We were there to stop her, because this is my clan's area of expertise. And once we found out that she had this plan that she made all on her own, separate from all of us, which is true, we decided that it would not be good to let her do this because of the potential implications inside my clan. Does that make sense? [00:55:29] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:55:30] Speaker E: Let me try to parrot this back a bit so I make sure that I understand it in words that sound genuine coming out of me. And Maya, whatever you're thinking, hold that thought. Let me think about this for a minute. Okay. So Schmendric was acting in their own interest, of their own accord. They tried to get involved in something and try to bring us into it. Realizing that this may have some issues down the road, we tried to intervene and stop them. Does all this sound pretty close? [00:56:08] Speaker C: Exactly. And when we showed up, we found out that there were people there that had already started dealing with her. And she was taken out on a stretcher through the elevator, just like we noticed. And then we went because we hadn't seen Annika, which I thought was strange, because I know that Annika works there. And that was when we found Annika and the bomb. And we were able to get Annika safely outside, but we weren't able to recover Schmendric or find out what exactly she had done. [00:56:45] Speaker E: Okay, so when we went there to stop her, she was already in the middle of some event with other people. She was on a stretcher being pulled away. That's when we found Annika yorped. Annika. And then there was the bomb in question, to which, for our own safety, we fled. And then it went off shortly after. Okay, that is consistent that happened, so I can say that that's not hard. [00:57:16] Speaker C: Yes. [00:57:16] Speaker D: All of that happened. [00:57:18] Speaker C: We never interacted with the other people that were there. They fled through the elevator and out, presumably into the night. But in an emergency, we shouldn't take the Elevator. So we ran out the stairs on the opposite side of the building. [00:57:35] Speaker E: Okay, so there was no engagement of any kind. We didn't have time. The bomb went off. Our awareness of the bomb came first, so we decided to flee, like normal people do, down the stairwell. And we're fine. [00:57:53] Speaker C: Yes. [00:57:53] Speaker A: Okay. [00:57:54] Speaker C: Exactly. [00:57:54] Speaker E: I'm on the same page. [00:57:57] Speaker C: Great. Fabulous. [00:58:00] Speaker D: Yeah, that seems like a good plan. This is not my business or my problem anymore. And if you excuse me, I have to repair my fucking face. [00:58:10] Speaker A: So then Maya departs. Quick heel turn to. I'm going to go off on a limb and say you will pick your own bedroom, regardless of what the jekies have pointed out. [00:58:20] Speaker D: I'm fucking stuck here, aren't I? [00:58:23] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:58:24] Speaker A: It would be difficult for you to make it back to your own residence, given the base situation. [00:58:32] Speaker F: Yeah, I'm going to turn on a. [00:58:34] Speaker D: Bare heel and march out of the. [00:58:36] Speaker F: Room to find a place. [00:58:37] Speaker D: I really don't care if a Tuskevsky catches up with me. [00:58:40] Speaker A: I'll find a room with a bed, as you'd like. Also, assuming that Ivy has no more patience left for dealing with the smaller details of the night, you'll excuse Alex and also return to your own quarters. [00:58:53] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. I'm so over tonight. I would like the day's sleep to come as fast as vampirically possible. [00:59:01] Speaker A: Well, I'm sad to say the powers of the true bruja elude you yet, so no mastery of time for you. On the bright side, when the morning comes, yours will at least pass more quickly than Maya's, who will be spending the evening using the powers of the blood to repair the aggravated damage done to her face. And it will certainly pass faster than it does for your Malkavian. Friend. We left her alone upstairs to her own devices. Time to get comfy. I don't believe she's brave enough to get into any trouble. But when Anastasia sleeps, strange things have been known to happen. And if what she says is true about her father creeping into her dreams, then recent developments will give her plenty of things to talk about. Whether or not she decides to share those revelations with you, whether or not you've earned her trust, whether or not after this conference, Jason Newberry still thinks you're useful. Well, that's a story for another night. You've been listening to the all night Society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games. If you enjoyed your stay, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app. For more content, including exclusive art and audio, follow us on Facebook or Instagram at Queenscorp Games or on Twitter at queenscorp Rpg.