Episode 30 - Warming Up

[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queen's court games. [00:00:37] Speaker B: Our evening begins in a location we haven't visited before. Indeed, one that is quite a surprise. Calamity, having recognized some important shortcomings in the abilities of her comrades, has taken Alex to one of Chicago's many, many indoor firearms ranges. This one tucked away on the north side of the city where the average incomes increase and the diversity is remarkably lower. Where firearms are not so much a fact of life, but a social symbol. Well, Alex, I have to say I'm a bit surprised at the turn of interest that you've taken. You strike me, no offense, as the kind of person who, once they have something that works, doesn't really feel the need to elaborate further. You know that you can beat people black and blue, you can rip them limb from limb. All it takes is a little bit of blood, a little bit of thinking, and you become a muscled monster, a machine of destruction. And I would think that would be enough for you, adding firearms to it. Sure you could, but that's a level of learning that to this date you haven't really connoted to me that you're into. So the fact that you're into this, I'm surprised. [00:01:59] Speaker C: Well, first and foremost, don't get it wrong, I love the personal hands on approach, as I've learned when I slayed that kindred, that getting my hands on something is the most thrilling part of the challenge. But then there is that little idiot inside of me who grew up watching Rambo and grew up watching all of those action movies. And when I see that big gun that I know is going to punch a hole into the one thing that really makes me doubt my place on the chain of combatants and supremacy, I think to myself, I'm not good at that. But, oh, if I could be, I don't know. I was handed a machete by a very strong woman and I'm very happy with that. But if I could take that gun rack around into that cylinder and pull the trigger and see it explode, oh, yeah, I think that could do just fine. [00:03:11] Speaker B: Well, hold that thought for a second, because I need to ask, ivy, is there a television in the manor? [00:03:17] Speaker D: I think if you head into the servant's quarter, there's a little roundish one that I think only displays in black and white. I don't know, I've never watched. [00:03:28] Speaker B: Hmm. So the movies would have had to have come from Alex's phone. You get to hear Rambo through tiny little tinny iPhone speakers. [00:03:39] Speaker D: Yes. But just like any other mother who tries to entertain their children with an iPhone, I make sure that he has headphones so I don't have to hear it. [00:03:48] Speaker B: For someone who's been dead for 40 years, this is very modern parenting. Lock them in the room with a tablet, a device. Let them enjoy themselves. [00:03:55] Speaker E: Mommy has work to do. [00:03:57] Speaker D: The problem is, it doesn't stop him from making the sound effects, so I don't know if it's better or worse. [00:04:02] Speaker E: Oh, Alex. [00:04:03] Speaker B: There is no way I'm stopping the story right now until I hear some of those sound effects. [00:04:17] Speaker C: And then there's a log that's sharpened. He's like home alone on steroids. This guy's the best. [00:04:23] Speaker B: Oh, I'm sure Ivy must love hearing that. In fairness, the walls in the manor are old. [00:04:29] Speaker E: They're probably fairly thick. [00:04:30] Speaker B: But there has to be a moment where, Ivy, you're walking down to get some reagent or another from a closet or to fatherhorn Zucheski. And that is what you hear on the other side of the door. And I want to zoom in on that moment, because what I'm really interested in is your facial expression as you hear. [00:04:47] Speaker D: Know, I've never been to war, per se. I mean, obviously, I've been in a couple less than stellar scraps, but the phrase thousand yard stare comes to mind. If I had blood that still pumped through my veins, you would see that little vein just above your temple kind of bulge in anger as I hear these sounds. Because I'm not used to sounds. The ducheski don't make sounds, and I like things to not make sound. And so I stare off into the beyond distance, this throbbing sort of pain mimicking itself in my head. And I just tighten my fist and close my eyes and wish that when I open them, he's gone. And then I open my eyes, and he's not gone. He's still there, still making the noises. [00:05:50] Speaker B: It's not my fault, Ivy. They drew first blood. Ooh. All night. You can look forward to that. But I have digressed. Much as I would love this scene to turn into Ivy just grinding her teeth, dulling her fangs in anger, we were on a different kind of mission, if I recall. Calamity, I am not an expert in these things. If I wanted to teach a young bruja how to shoot in Chicago, generally can't wander off too far. Lord knows what waits outside city limits. Where would I go? [00:06:28] Speaker F: Well, as with any good kindred, I do have my connections. One such connection does have a private range. I suppose that'll have to do. [00:06:39] Speaker B: Calling in a favor does teach the young lad very well. [00:06:44] Speaker F: Call it charity. I always did have a bit of a soft heart. [00:06:48] Speaker B: Nothing else? He's got pluck. Right. Interesting to see where he'll be in a decade or two, if he makes it. And that, after all, is why we are here. When you say private range, this is attached to someone's home. [00:07:02] Speaker F: Yes, let's call it that. [00:07:05] Speaker B: Very well. We can dispense with the cars and the arrival. Alex, you'll have to uber. I doubt that Ivy's going to let you borrow her vehicle. And yours is still the subject of an ongoing investigation. That said, we find ourselves in the stall of this private firing range. For those of you who've not been inside one, you can imagine a long tunnel, maybe 15 yards. Because it's indoors. You'll have sound baffles on the left and the right on the walls above. Normal fluorescent lighting in the rear, targets set up in front of angled walls. Ideally, if a round isn't going to stop, you want it to deflect upwards as opposed to coming back towards you. Alex and Calamity will be sitting in one of these stalls. There's a small shelf in front of you where you can keep your ammunition or the weapons you're not using currently. And aside from that, it's just open air between you and your target. Calamity, I'm going to go off on a limb and say you haven't been through a professional firearms instruction course. [00:08:12] Speaker E: Do we start with the safety brief. [00:08:14] Speaker B: Or do we just start with here's the end that makes the loud noises and a gesture towards the end of the range. [00:08:20] Speaker F: Considering that I've been firing off a gun since I was knee high to a pit bull, I think we can dispense with the safety. I just want to make sure the little fucker doesn't shoot himself in the knee. [00:08:31] Speaker B: On the bright side, if he does shoot himself, it won't be that hard to fix. [00:08:36] Speaker F: Thank God. All right, puppy, you know how to hold one of these things? [00:08:42] Speaker C: Puppy, have you been talking to Ivy about me? [00:08:44] Speaker F: Why would I do a thing like that? [00:08:46] Speaker C: Nothing? No. So, guns. No. [00:08:53] Speaker F: Oh, Lord Jesus, help me. All right, kid. So this is the muzzle and the barrel and the trigger and the stock. You want to make sure the muzzle is facing the thing that you want to shoot. [00:09:08] Speaker C: Okay. So I point the muzzle at the target. And then I put the stock, like, in my armpit or on my arm. [00:09:21] Speaker F: Or go for the shoulder there. And I'll step forward and I'll make sure this kid isn't going to lose an arm when the kickback from the shotgun hits him. [00:09:35] Speaker B: Alex, that's got to be an interesting feeling. [00:09:38] Speaker C: Yeah, I know people say that my heart can't pump blood, but it does. It's very blush of life right now. [00:09:48] Speaker B: Never thought I'd hear that used as a euphemism, but please continue. [00:09:51] Speaker F: I'm sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable, puppy? [00:09:55] Speaker C: No, sugar. Really, ma'am. Miss Gun, madam. I don't know, Cal. [00:10:05] Speaker F: Works just fine. [00:10:07] Speaker A: Pup. [00:10:08] Speaker B: Cal. [00:10:09] Speaker C: Okay, Cal. [00:10:10] Speaker B: This is obviously the first time Alex has had these feelings. Calamity, is this usually how your firearms instruction sessions go? [00:10:19] Speaker F: It's usually a bit less fumbling and stammering, but it's odly charming. [00:10:28] Speaker B: Well, stammering as you are, we have a way to determine how well this lesson is sticking, given the circumstances. Just for fun, Alex, will you roll wits and firearms? [00:10:41] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:10:43] Speaker F: Is there assistance that I can offer on that? [00:10:46] Speaker B: I would say yes, but you're also giving him a penalty in the moment for different reasons. [00:10:52] Speaker C: I have no dots and firearms, so I'm just going on wits alone here. [00:10:57] Speaker B: God help us. [00:10:58] Speaker C: And that's one success. [00:11:01] Speaker B: Yeah. Calamity, I can't put my finger on it, but he is not paying the kind of attention that he should. It's obviously not the case that he can't find his shoulder or doesn't know what the stock is. It just becomes apparent that every time you try to move his arm to hold it correctly, you don't want to lock your elbows. You need to actually have the stock pressed up against your shoulder. Don't leave any space. You're trying to impart these very simple lessons, and his head's just not in the game. [00:11:31] Speaker F: Oh, puppy. [00:11:36] Speaker C: I'm sorry, Cal. Miss Calamity, I've never been good at this. Believe me, I'd like to be. This looks like a lot of fun. We can either keep trying, or maybe do you have, like, silver boxing gloves or something? [00:11:52] Speaker F: Well, it's also not something that you're going to pick up on day one, sugar, so practice makes progress. Remember that. [00:12:00] Speaker C: Practice makes progress. Okay, so I get an excuse to shoot big guns for a while. I think that is okay. [00:12:10] Speaker F: Tell Ivy if she gives you any kickback, it comes directly from. [00:12:16] Speaker C: Yes. Thank you. Thank you, Cal. [00:12:20] Speaker B: Well, ammunition isn't cheap, and range time isn't either. Alex, you have to put a couple in the target at least. [00:12:29] Speaker C: Okay, well, here goes nothing. I'm trying to remember what calamity taught me this point and some things I've seen on YouTube. Put my chin on the stock that's pressed against my shoulder. I slowly slide my chin to my cheeks. My eyes are going down the sight. And because YouTube has living people who breathe, I pretend to try and do breathing techniques to hold my breath. There is no breath to hold. But what can I say? I'm nervous. I take my finger off the trigger guard and I slowly squeeze the trigger. [00:13:05] Speaker B: In confined quarters such as these, the roar of the shotgun is going to be so impressive. The gun belches the fire and shot down the range. The good news about a shotgun is you don't have to be anything close to an expert. It's the Macintosh of firearms. Point, click. Distant. 15 yards down, the paper target is now spattered teeny little buckshot sized holes. To his great credit, calamity, Alex has neither dropped the weapon nor fallen over. So, I mean, more credit than I was willing to give him. [00:13:41] Speaker F: It's a start, for sure. To be fair, with a buck like that, it doesn't really matter how close you are, you'll hit something. [00:13:50] Speaker B: Indeed. Alex, what does it feel like? You like having the fury of God's own thunder in your hands? [00:13:57] Speaker C: The newly formed undead brain of Alex. I can feel the rush of excitement. Like the first time you see fireworks as a child. The bright colors, the sounds. I am ecstatic. And I can't help but feel like deep in my chest. The beast loves this damage. Loves the potential, the destruction. And there's a rush. Euphoric and powerful. Oh, yeah. That'll do just fine. [00:14:34] Speaker F: Easy, puppy. [00:14:36] Speaker B: This, I imagine, is why calamity did not load more than one shell. Zalix makes the reflexive action to rack the slide shell, ejecting. There's nothing new to feed you. Pull the trigger and it is just an unsatisfying click. [00:14:52] Speaker C: Miss Calamity, can I have one more shotgun shell, please? [00:14:57] Speaker F: Just because you asked me so nicely, pup. [00:15:01] Speaker C: Rock and roll. [00:15:03] Speaker B: If not for nothing, it behooves you to teach him how to reload it. [00:15:06] Speaker F: It's true. And I will do just that. [00:15:10] Speaker B: Alex. It must be a new experience to have a shot so ready. Back in the chamber. [00:15:16] Speaker C: You know, at least this time I don't need a few minutes alone with a magazine to get my chamber reloaded. [00:15:21] Speaker E: It's kind of nice. [00:15:22] Speaker B: Now I understand why so many republicans own them. But, yes, one more shot to go. [00:15:28] Speaker C: As I open up the slide, thumb the bullet in there. That satisfying sound. Putting it back into place. Squeeze the trigger with a little less hesitation this time. Now, more excitement. [00:15:43] Speaker B: Ooh, calamity. You can see him getting eager. [00:15:47] Speaker F: Oh, it's sweet, really. There's potential there. [00:15:51] Speaker B: Something special about rage when harnessed. Have you worked with Bruha before? [00:15:57] Speaker F: Not much, considering. Most bruha tend to run with the anarchs and, well, anarchs and me don't exactly get along, no matter what city I'm in. But as said, when that rage has a focus, when it has a purpose, there's something delicious about it. [00:16:21] Speaker B: Seems both of you are enjoying this moment. I would say for slightly different reasons, but I'm not entirely sure if that's true. So, what do you say you make it through the whole box of shells? 20 or 40, depending on how prepared you came for this occasion. And Alex. Yeah? You're getting the hang of it. If you wanted to spend some of your experience points on a dot of firearms, I think that would be in order. Choice is yours. [00:16:47] Speaker C: I think that would be an appropriate spenditure of my time, yes. [00:16:52] Speaker B: Very well. We'll handle the bookkeeping a little bit later. For now, as the smell of cordite fills the room, floating up into your undead nostrils, we can say you spent, I don't know, ten or 15 minutes, maybe half an hour, working the bugs out of the system. Fixing those small flaws in technique that can get somebody killed. There's no telling if you'll remember any of these lessons when it comes time to face down the werewolf threat. But that's why you practice. So it becomes reflex. And you don't have to let logic brain get in the mix of things. Then again, I think we can all agree there's not a lot of logic brain when it comes to Alex. [00:17:34] Speaker F: When it comes to the brouha as. [00:17:35] Speaker B: A whole, let's be honest, doubly disadvantaged our young friend. But, Alex, you have taken the lessons to heart. We will say. [00:17:44] Speaker C: Yes. [00:17:44] Speaker B: You have one dot in firearms. Is that the end of the lessons for the evening, calamity? Or are there things you'd still like to know about your partner in violence? [00:17:57] Speaker F: Well, there's a couple of things I'd like to know. But I think that might mean dinner first. [00:18:04] Speaker C: Are we going hunting? I can put on my apex suit. I look really freaking cool. I look like a superhero. I'm really proud of it. [00:18:11] Speaker F: Oh, my goodness. [00:18:13] Speaker B: It's critically important for you to know that he's not joking. [00:18:18] Speaker F: I'm sorry, pup. Wouldn't you say? Apex suit. [00:18:24] Speaker C: Okay, so now this is a secret between you and me. Because I have to keep everyone safe. But I am a superhero, and my superhero name is Apex. It's like Alex, but it's a p. [00:18:37] Speaker F: Instead of an l. And you're the apex predator. [00:18:42] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:18:43] Speaker C: I put on this super cool suit. It's got, like, this awesome looking, like a symbol on the chest, but it's all, like, black matte armor. And I go out and I beat up bad guys and I eat douchebags. [00:19:02] Speaker F: It would be at this time where I would have to try to make sure that I am not laughing at the dear, sweet, young kindred standing in front of me. Because as ridiculous as that is, it's also, again, odly charming. [00:19:19] Speaker B: I mean, not for nothing, Ivy has said it in the past. Not to Alex's face. She would never give him that kind of validation. But there is something about his enthusiasm and naivete that reminds you of times when you were human. Before the edge was worn down by the vagaries of an undead life. [00:19:39] Speaker F: It's been a long time since I've seen someone with that much pluck. 980 years. [00:19:46] Speaker B: Honestly, pluck he has in abundance. I don't know, Alex, dinner first. Hunting is a bit of a solitary thing. Even when it came to your adventure with Maya, you both went your separate ways. When it came time to finally sink your teeth into something with that off the table. I think the only way you know how to flirt with vampires is to throw farm equipment, if I remember correctly. [00:20:12] Speaker C: Or them. Yeah. [00:20:14] Speaker B: When you say was flirting with Ivy, that's what was happening back. Maybe, I don't know, you and I can dig into the differences between a platonic throwing somebody and a romantic throwing somebody later. For now, is there more training to accomplish? [00:20:39] Speaker C: Do I need to know anything? If I do get hand to hand with them, is there any techniques I should know? Like, do I rip off the jaw? Do I just tear the heart out? What would you recommend? [00:20:52] Speaker F: Well, the heart's going to be a little difficult to get to pup, but you want to keep yourself away from those claws. Have you been shot? [00:21:02] Speaker C: Yeah, recently. Dude shot me with a shotgun and it was cool. I didn't feel anything. [00:21:11] Speaker F: Well, something to keep in mind when you're facing up a guru. It's not going to feel cool. It's going to feel like he's shredding your insides, because that's what they do. So keep away from the claws. Keep away from the teeth. [00:21:27] Speaker C: Okay. Don't touch the claws. Don't touch the teeth. [00:21:32] Speaker E: Got it. [00:21:32] Speaker F: Or at the very least, don't let them touch you. [00:21:36] Speaker C: Okay. Let them touch you. I think I can do that. [00:21:40] Speaker F: Really? Oh, you think you can play keep away with a guru, and I will absolutely try to take this little puppy to the. [00:21:49] Speaker B: Mmm, close quarters. Well, you have the leverage. Calamity, will you roll strength and brawl for me? [00:21:57] Speaker F: I sure will. That'll be six successes. [00:22:03] Speaker B: Damn, that's a mountain. The dice, Alex. You can roll decks and athletics, but you will be at a penalty because I think it's safe to say this one's coming at you while you're flat footed. So why don't you call it negative? Two dice between friends. [00:22:21] Speaker C: Okay? That is one success. [00:22:26] Speaker B: Oh, Jesus. You are on your back before you have time to think. You're still smiling because you thought you were clever. And then like a flash flood, like a strike of lightning, just wham. One moment you are vertical. One moment you are horizontal, pinned to the ground by what I presume is an incredibly smug gangrel. [00:22:54] Speaker F: That would be a correct assumption. [00:22:56] Speaker C: There's an incredulous look of being impressed, a level of being impressed that is trying very hard to suppress the rage that is building for being thrown on my back like this. But I'm very impressed nonetheless, as I just chuckle. Okay, point proven. So I'm going to have to do the flipping when I see them. Got it. [00:23:23] Speaker F: Flipping, throwing, playing keep away. You just want to make sure that that pretty little face of yours doesn't get fucked up like mine did. [00:23:32] Speaker C: You think I'm pretty? [00:23:33] Speaker F: Don't let it go to your head, pup. [00:23:37] Speaker C: Okay. [00:23:38] Speaker B: Something tells me he's not going to follow that instruction. [00:23:41] Speaker F: No. [00:23:44] Speaker B: Was it just the one throw, then? I don't want to put too fine a point on it, but I feel like engaging in more close quarters combatives might be teaching him the wrong lesson. [00:23:56] Speaker F: To be frank about it, I feel like if I toss him around much more, he might actually like it. [00:24:03] Speaker B: Yeah, you do want people to be interested in the craft. It's easier to pick up skills that you're interested in. But this. [00:24:12] Speaker F: Maybe later. [00:24:14] Speaker C: Well, now, wait a minute, wait a minute. You did a really good job of throwing me when I was caught unawares. And we are going to be hunting together after all. Maybe I need to show you what I can do when I am fully mobilizing my potential. [00:24:28] Speaker F: Oh, you want to flex your muscles a bit, pup? [00:24:31] Speaker C: I mean, slam for slam. I think I deserve at least that much. [00:24:37] Speaker F: Oh, you are just something else, aren't? Um, and to be fair, Alex, you still have a gangrel kind of sitting on your chest. [00:24:48] Speaker C: I mean, it's only temporary. [00:24:50] Speaker B: Oh, you're gonna fix that? [00:24:53] Speaker C: Yeah. I think the challenge has gone on long enough. I take one leg and I hook it around the back of one of hers, and with that, I take my stronger arm, grab her, and begin to flip us both so that we roll over and I'm back on top. [00:25:10] Speaker B: It's a bold plan, cotton. Let's see how it works for him. Will you roll strength and brawl, please? Calamity, for yours, I will take strength and athletics. [00:25:21] Speaker F: That is three successes, and comparatively, that would be four successes. [00:25:29] Speaker C: Well, on that note, I think it's only appropriate that I spend a willpower to reroll some of those less than savory numbers. [00:25:35] Speaker B: Yeah, you can't embarrass yourself like this. You put a lot of effort into this throw, and if she's just giggling on top of you at the end of it. Oh, man. [00:25:45] Speaker C: Well, with the willpower reroll, I have two successes, but one of them is a ten, and I believe those two tens would make that six successes. [00:25:56] Speaker B: Critical indeed. And calamity, my, how the turns have tabled. It's not as quick as your maneuver was. It is obvious that Alex is a creature of strength, as opposed to speed. He wrenches you into the position he desires, and now, if the smug remains on your face, it is staring up at a gleaming bruha. [00:26:27] Speaker F: Oh, you are too fun by half, puppy. [00:26:30] Speaker C: With a sheepish grin, I retort back. Well, I'm glad I'm good for a good time. I'm going to go now. [00:26:43] Speaker F: You're done with me already? [00:26:47] Speaker C: No, I'm going to be honest with you. Yeah, I'm very proud of the fact that I was able to kill a gangrel with a shoe. That's very exciting for me. But I'm going to face something that I've never experienced before, and I just want to make sure I am as prepared as possible. Yeah, I know I'm very strong. I know I'm very capable. But I also know I'm very new at this and I can do this. I know I can do this. But if you can be patient with me, I think I'd really like to have your experience. [00:27:23] Speaker B: Oh, you hear that, calamity? He'd like to experience you. [00:27:27] Speaker F: Well, I wouldn't say I'm new to the area, but it's been a long time since I've enjoyed Chicago proper. All right, puppy, why don't we see what you can do, all right? [00:27:43] Speaker C: Gladly. [00:27:46] Speaker B: Just for me, can we clarify what we're rolling here? Because I'm starting to lose the intent. [00:27:53] Speaker C: Brawling. Strength and brawl, right? [00:27:55] Speaker E: That's what we're doing. [00:27:57] Speaker B: Oh, yeah, definitely that, right? [00:28:00] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:01] Speaker F: Decks and grapple. Decks and grapple. [00:28:03] Speaker C: Yeah. Grappling and boxing and fighting stuff. [00:28:06] Speaker F: Grappling? Yeah. [00:28:07] Speaker C: It's like Rocky one or two. We're just going to have a good old fashioned beat fest punching, you know what I mean? [00:28:17] Speaker B: I'm going to let that hang in silence just so everybody can take a deep breath. There's someone in the audience right now who's giggling really loud, and I want to give them a second to kind of come back into the show. Well, I presume neither one of you actually wants to hurt the other, so we won't be rolling damage, but let's put it this way, we'll call it a contest. The first person to rack up three wins in opposed roles is considered the victor of the bout. Does that sound fair? [00:28:45] Speaker F: Yeah, that sounds fair to me. [00:28:48] Speaker B: It doesn't seem fair to me that if you're entering into an even keeled battle that you would start in this position. Right. So is it fair to say that you would both come to your feet, square off? I'm picturing a wrestling ring with two people crouched down, ready to go. Does that sound fair? [00:29:10] Speaker F: Seems fair to me, yeah. [00:29:13] Speaker C: I think my strength is well suited in this position. [00:29:16] Speaker F: We'll see. [00:29:18] Speaker B: All right, then, what are the rules for this bout? I'm going to come out and tell you I don't know a lot about wrestling or mma fighting or how it's supposed to work. So how would you frame this contest? What will victory mean? [00:29:34] Speaker F: Let's call it tap out. I get you to the mat and you can't move. I win. [00:29:41] Speaker C: Okay, submission rules. I think I can get behind that very well. [00:29:49] Speaker B: Well, in this case, calamity, you have the initiative. The first move is yours. [00:29:55] Speaker F: I want to circle the opponent, figure out what I'm dealing with before I actually make a move because, well, that's worked well for me in the past. And then I'm just going to move fast like I always do. I'm going to take a seat out from under him. [00:30:09] Speaker B: In that case, strengths and brawl from you, Alex. I'll take Dex. And athletics. [00:30:17] Speaker C: That is four successes. That's critical. [00:30:21] Speaker F: And that'll be five successes. [00:30:24] Speaker B: Oh, that has got to feel terrible. [00:30:27] Speaker E: Alex, because you were textbook. [00:30:30] Speaker B: Perfect defensive posture, explosive positioning. The gracie's would be proud. And yet calamity lacked the flourish. But nevertheless, you're on the ground again. [00:30:46] Speaker C: Trying really hard not to let the beast take over for this moment, but instead using that as fuel for combative prowess. I am going to try to use my legs to pull her closer in and then sitting up, grabbing her and locking in a guillotine choke. [00:31:06] Speaker B: Seems fair to me. This is going to be strength and brawl versus strength and brawl. [00:31:15] Speaker C: And the dice are not polite. That is going to be three successes. [00:31:21] Speaker B: With a ten still a chance you might pull this one out. [00:31:26] Speaker F: Not quite. That is eight successes. [00:31:30] Speaker C: Holy God. [00:31:32] Speaker B: Alex has willpower on the table if you're willing to spend it. [00:31:37] Speaker C: I don't want to sound cocky, but I think it's safe if I do because I don't want to get mad. So I'm going to do the willpower. [00:31:46] Speaker B: Fingers crossed. [00:31:49] Speaker C: Okay, so I think I've inherited Maya's dice rolling luck because I just did a willpower and that was still zero successes. [00:31:58] Speaker B: Again, not an expert in this kind of fighting, but Calambia, you are able to deflect or reverse whatever maneuver Alex is trying to pull off. What does that look like? [00:32:08] Speaker F: It looks like if the pup is rearing up for an attack, he just gets slammed back down to the mat with a smile. [00:32:16] Speaker B: Of course, calamity is only one win away from seizing the match and she has the momentum. What's the last move you're going to use to put this pup correctly? In his place? [00:32:29] Speaker F: I want to see if I can throw him out of the ring. [00:32:33] Speaker B: Excellent. Let's call that strength and athletics for you, Alex. Let's call it dexterity and athletics. [00:32:41] Speaker C: That is four successes. [00:32:46] Speaker F: I got three successes, but I can. [00:32:49] Speaker B: Willpower it if you'd like. How much do you want to win? Is it more important to straight sweep the match? One, two, three, or are you willing to let it drag out, play with. [00:33:02] Speaker C: Him a little longer, as fun as. [00:33:06] Speaker F: It is to put him in his place? Well, sometimes you got to let the. [00:33:12] Speaker B: Pup win, or at least, I mean, his poor pride. If you were just to straight through, take it down. Yeah, I know. [00:33:22] Speaker F: Like I said, bleeding heart. [00:33:24] Speaker B: He's going to need that confidence when it comes time for werewolf fighting. You can't take his legs out for under him. Literally and metaphorically. [00:33:32] Speaker F: Of course not. [00:33:35] Speaker B: But then the momentum turns to you, Alex. You manage to sidestep the throw enough to where she can't get quite the amount of leverage that she needs. How do you turn that to your advantage? [00:33:48] Speaker C: As she reaches out to grab ahold of me, my instincts make me kind of duck under step to the side. And now I have this great moment to seize the opportunity. Looking at her flank. I take one arm up around her neck and the other by the small of her back. I look at her and I raise one eyebrow arched high. Growing up, I used to love watching wrestling, and this is one of the most electrifying slams in sports entertainment. As I wrap my arms around your neck, I bend and lift with the knees because I am going to put you on the rock bottom. [00:34:25] Speaker B: Very well. Let's go. Strength and brawl versus dexterity and athletics. [00:34:32] Speaker C: Okay, so that is five successes, and. [00:34:37] Speaker F: That'S just a four. [00:34:39] Speaker B: This is turning out to be something different. Look, calamity, you let him have the one. Are you going to put an end to this, or are you okay letting it drag out? [00:34:52] Speaker F: Let him have it. He's going to need that pride of his when we go up against something that'll really rustle his jimmy's. [00:35:00] Speaker B: Then we arrive at two. Two. The next win will determine the victor. Alex, you made the last attack, which means, calamity. The moment of truth. You've been toying with him long enough. Scrappling, scrambling. Now you're back on just even enough footing, and you need the move that's going to end this once and for all. You gave him his confidence, but you still need to come out on top. What's the move? [00:35:37] Speaker F: Well, he's just slammed me onto my back in a rather spectacular fashion. If I had any breath left, it probably would have come out in quite a rush. But he's still got an arm on me, and I can use that. So I would like to use my weight to turn him on his back again. [00:35:56] Speaker B: All right, strength and brawl versus strength and brawl. It's just hands and leverage and twisting hips and flexing biceps. This is raw power. [00:36:10] Speaker C: Five successes and a crit. [00:36:17] Speaker F: Well, that's a five straight. [00:36:20] Speaker B: Ooh, that teeny little edge. All right, Alex. The two of you are struggling for this final moment of dominance. It's just raw power, sheer aggression. But there's one thing, one little thing that you know because you've trained in this, it's not animalistic. You have all the muscle, yes, but this is about technique. What's that one teeny edge that lets you pull out the w here with everything? [00:36:55] Speaker C: It always comes down to dominant leverage as a hand rises up against me. I know full well that without shoulders or hips, she can't go anywhere. Putting up one knee to stop her hips from rolling over mine shut off her main mobility for leverage, using the other to let her grab me by the back of my hair. If she so chooses the other one of mine will go planting right to her shoulder. And with great strength, I stop her from rolling me over, and I pin her back down. I slide my knee across her belly, and I put her into a full mount. As I look in the eye and. [00:37:33] Speaker F: Say, pinja, my puppy, you've got promise. [00:37:40] Speaker C: Like I said, I'm a quick learner, and I think I'm okay for a good. [00:37:47] Speaker F: Hmm. I'll be the judge of that. [00:37:50] Speaker B: Keep that in your head, Alex. You can update your spinder bio. [00:37:54] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. I should probably get rid of it. I install the app on my phone. [00:37:59] Speaker B: Well, if nothing else but look at things. You won't need to be searching, at least for the near future. Found yourself a partner in sweaty tumbling one way or another. Unfortunately, I think that is where our little exercise will have to end. As you pick each other up off the floor, retreat from this home range and return to your night. Although Alex and Ivy have accomplished quite a bit over the last few nights, we would be remiss if we did not return to our Lasambra malkavian duo and see what they have been getting up to while Rosa Hernandez's schemes play on. [00:38:45] Speaker E: I'm not 100% sure what an evening alone with Anna has in store or how it rates on the acceptability scale. The entertaining scale. I do suspect no matter how bad it is, it's going to be better than whatever Ivy and Alex are getting themselves into. Meeting new vampires is always troublesome. More so under these circumstances. And a gangrelt boot. This newberry thing might be getting slightly out of hand, but I do think. [00:39:15] Speaker B: It'S better than all of that. Would you agree? [00:39:19] Speaker A: Depends. It's all relative, right? [00:39:23] Speaker E: I suppose I know. [00:39:26] Speaker B: If I had to choose between them, I think curiosity alone would drive me. [00:39:31] Speaker E: Towards the situation you find yourself in. [00:39:34] Speaker A: I'm more inclined towards curiosity than stupid bravado. We both know that. [00:39:39] Speaker E: Well, then I suppose it doesn't matter where Ivy and Alex are going. If Alex is there, there's going to be stupid bravado. [00:39:46] Speaker A: Exactly. [00:39:47] Speaker E: Thus, we arrive in this uber by default. Anastasia, how are you holding up? You survived your first elysium. Seemed pretty exciting. [00:39:58] Speaker G: I feel curious and overwhelmed at the exact same time. I never realized how big and complicated and boring the outer vampire world really is. But also, I feel kind of sleepy and I just want to take a nap. [00:40:17] Speaker E: A classic introvert story, right? You spend 6 hours preparing for the party, 1 hour at the party, 12 hours decompressing from the party. [00:40:25] Speaker G: Yeah. It's almost like I have a hangover. [00:40:28] Speaker E: A social hangover, Maya, you've had a few of those, haven't you? [00:40:33] Speaker A: I don't want to talk about. [00:40:35] Speaker E: Oh, well, unfortunately, you're going to have to talk about something. The drive out of downtown is going to take significantly longer. You left Elysium just in time for the clubber's commute. So while traffic in Pilsen not so. [00:40:50] Speaker B: Bad, you are going to be spending. [00:40:52] Speaker E: A bit longer than you want to on the streets. [00:40:55] Speaker B: In between the gilded skyscrapers of the. [00:40:57] Speaker E: Windy city and having experienced as much of Anastasia as I have so far, I cannot imagine she is going to tolerate that trip in silence. [00:41:08] Speaker G: Are we going to have a sleepover? [00:41:12] Speaker A: Yes, Anna, we're going to have a sleepover. [00:41:16] Speaker G: Do you want to eat popcorn. [00:41:21] Speaker A: Anna? I can't eat popcorn unless it's a very specific metaphor or watch a movie. I can watch a movie. Yes, we're going to watch movies. And braid each other's hair and put bras in the freezer. [00:41:40] Speaker G: This is way better than a dumb vampire party full of old people that are boring and suck and are angry all the time. [00:41:50] Speaker A: I give a hard look to the driver. [00:41:53] Speaker E: I can only imagine what's going through his head. [00:41:57] Speaker A: Yeah, they really do have a habit of sucking the energy out of a room. I can't imagine if they were real monsters. [00:42:06] Speaker E: A wink and nod to the masquerade. [00:42:10] Speaker A: Who's going to believe this guy anyway? [00:42:13] Speaker B: No. [00:42:14] Speaker E: One of the easiest things to do is hide in plain sight, so long as one or two of you do it. Besides, it's Chicago at this hour. [00:42:21] Speaker B: Wouldn't be surprised if there was an. [00:42:23] Speaker E: Actual vampire rave going around somewhere that just branded itself actual vampire rave with literally real vampires, and people still wouldn't pick it up. [00:42:33] Speaker A: In fairness, I'm banking on that. [00:42:37] Speaker B: Well, I like your odds in that sense. [00:42:41] Speaker E: Small talk on the driver side. Eventually, you will be required to exit the vehicle, head yourself out into the Pilsen neighborhood. It's older homes, not quite the teensy, tiny 500 square footers that popped up everywhere after World War II. This is more of a kind of housing still. Lots of brick, lots of two story walk ups that have been torn apart and made into two expensive apartments, no doubt one of which belongs to Anastasia. So when your uber driver turns the overhead light on and announces that you have arrived, it is at the end of a cul de sac. The area is wooded, gently lit, just enough streetlights to say that this neighborhood takes crime seriously. Or at least this neighborhood is wealthy enough that they can convince the city to take crime. Seriously? The lawns are manicured in a way that most of Chicago isn't. And there are the small hallmarks of homemaking here and there on porches, rocking chairs, swings, plants outside. Say what you will about Anna, but she lives in a pretty nice part of town. [00:43:53] Speaker A: That's the first suspicious thing, to be honest. [00:43:57] Speaker G: I like it here because it's pretty and quiet and people leave me alone. I can do whatever I want. And it's near a bunch of really cool coffee shops and libraries and some other cool things. [00:44:08] Speaker A: Full offense, Anna. You sort of don't strike me as the kind of person who could afford the rent in this kind of neighborhood unless you were actively seeking to lower it for everyone else. [00:44:22] Speaker G: Oh, I don't pay rent. [00:44:24] Speaker A: So what, you just convinced someone to let you live in their basement? [00:44:30] Speaker G: Oh, no. I have a whole brownstone all to myself. [00:44:35] Speaker A: Okay, you understand why I'm confused then. [00:44:41] Speaker G: You don't like the color brown? [00:44:43] Speaker A: Anna, there are two kinds of people in this world who get their rent paid for free. Sugar babies and the children of the independently wealthy. And actually, come to think of it, I think you are both. [00:44:55] Speaker G: I'm sweet like a cupcake sometimes. [00:45:00] Speaker B: Does Hannah actually know what a sugar baby is? [00:45:04] Speaker G: Somebody who's super nice to everyone and should be respected more and treated better because she's super nice to everybody and has really funny jokes. And people should laugh at the jokes because they're funny and stuff. [00:45:22] Speaker E: Yeah, we'll go with that. Still does not quite answer Maya's question. But given Anna's situation, given what you know about vampires, it can't be that hard to come to the correct conclusion, right? [00:45:36] Speaker A: Well, if we get really lucky, we'll see Jason's name on the. [00:45:40] Speaker E: Oh, Newberry is many things, but I. [00:45:44] Speaker B: Don'T think sloppy is on the list. [00:45:47] Speaker E: Still never know. Can always check that mailbox. It's a fairly short walk up the sidewalk. [00:45:53] Speaker B: Wow. [00:45:55] Speaker E: The concrete is even the lawn has been edged here. [00:46:00] Speaker A: I know property and this is not a cheap area to live in. And it's a lot of money to spend on, I don't know, a random baby protege? [00:46:16] Speaker E: Is your brain telling you that it doesn't make sense because Anastasia is Anastasia, or is your brain telling you, oh, God, that means Anastasia is like Anastasia. [00:46:30] Speaker A: It is the latter. I can't imagine that take. I can't imagine Newberry would take such good care of just a random follower. Especially considering this is what, his secret childa. [00:46:47] Speaker E: No, it doesn't quite strike me as the type either. Well, Anastasia having established that you are living in a life of millennial luxury. Why don't you give us the tour? Standing on the sidewalk, looking up at the brownstone, it's only going to be a matter of moments before Maya nudges you inside. Tell us what that walk is like and what the view is as you open the front door. [00:47:14] Speaker G: Okay, so my neighbor to the left is a really nice old lady, and she always says hello to me when she sees me, and I always say hello back to her. And then my neighbor on the other side and the other brownstone that's painted with green and blue, with yellow window finishing. He's a little bit more grumpy, but he's like a retired lawyer, and he always tells me about his super stressful days, and then his heart is giving out and stuff. But he seems like he could be nicer in his younger years, maybe before he went to law school, I don't know. But then also on the sidewalk and stuff, there used to be cracks in it, but then somebody came and got rid of all the cracks. So it's pretty smooth now. And I like to use it for sidewalk art, like with chalk and stuff in the summer. And then this doorbell is my favorite part of the entire building facade because. [00:48:11] Speaker A: Anna, please, let's just go inside so we can maybe change out of these. And they indicate the dresses. [00:48:21] Speaker G: Okay. But this doorbell is really cool. It's, like, in the shape of a lion head. And sometimes it looks like it's winking at me. [00:48:28] Speaker E: So the door opens up. Is it a landing? Is it a foyer? [00:48:34] Speaker G: It's a foyer. And it's got, like, the double staircase up to the upper floor. And there's plants and hardly any furniture, but there's definitely a lot of plants, like, in all types of different pots. And there's lots of paintings hanging up on the walls. [00:48:58] Speaker A: Yeah, I'm sure the plants are very interesting. I'm definitely going to spend some time in the foyer, poking around, looking for any obvious male that's been left out. [00:49:14] Speaker E: Well, while Anastasia is explaining the genius and species and likely origin story of all the plants in this area. Wouldn't be a Chicago brownstone foyer without those nice little corrugated metal keyed mailboxes. [00:49:28] Speaker A: All right, easiest thing to do is rifle through people's papers. Does the mailbox look like it's full? [00:49:38] Speaker G: It's super full, but I don't touch it at all. I'm supposed to empty it, I guess, but it's, like, in chronological order, and I don't want to really want to mess with that. [00:49:53] Speaker E: Well, word of God says you have a mailbox that is likely so stuffed, it probably hasn't latched easy enough. [00:50:03] Speaker A: I'm just going to pull a handful from the mean. [00:50:07] Speaker E: The second you open that, it's tumbling out like you're in a weird Pixar cartoon. Like a fire hose of mail coming out. However, long ago Jason Newberry disappeared, that was probably the last time someone actually put the effort in to clean this thing out. On the bright side, you have all the pizza coupons and dental office advertisements. And do you want to change your cable tv provider notices? You're never going to run out. You're set for the rest of your own life. [00:50:38] Speaker A: Amazing kindling for the next fire in Chicago. Who are they addressed to? Not Anna. [00:50:46] Speaker E: No. And not Jason Newberry. Unless he has changed his name to current resident. [00:50:52] Speaker B: If there are utility bills or a. [00:50:56] Speaker E: Rent statement from a landlord, those don't appear to be coming here. [00:51:03] Speaker A: I guess I was being naive. I guess I was being hopeful that it would be that easy. [00:51:11] Speaker G: I'm just staring at the mess on the ground with a small, sad look on my face. I guess I'm never going to magic school. [00:51:20] Speaker E: Now I understand it. They deliver that by owl, not us post. But that said, that is one lead down for Miss Lagasse. [00:51:34] Speaker A: I wish could have been that easy. All right. Anyway, I'll help Anna gather the mail and claim it's in chronological order, and we'll bring it into the house further. [00:51:49] Speaker E: If nothing else, doing your own small part to maintain the masquerade. Well, then. Two vampires, both immaculately dressed for a very fancy night on the town. One of them with an arm full of unwanted mail, now approaching the front door to Anastasia's apartment. Can only imagine the sense of excitement in one of you and impending dread in the other. Anastasia, as you rip the band aid off, revealing your living quarters door spilling open to the inside, what is the first thing that will catch Maya's eye? [00:52:28] Speaker G: A ton of stuffed animals. Like a giant pile of animals from all over the world. There's an exolatto and a rhino and a giant tiger and a lion and some dragons, just like anything you can think of. And they're just all over on the floor in a giant pile with pillows. [00:52:50] Speaker E: And I assume we're not talking, like, ordinary bed size stuffed animals. These are like carnival prize stuffed animals. [00:52:57] Speaker G: Of all shapes and sizes and colors. [00:53:01] Speaker E: Well, there you have it, Maya. God knows what's under that pile. [00:53:05] Speaker A: I saw where Rebecca lived, so I'm not, I guess, as disgusted as I could be. At least it's not a grain silo. [00:53:14] Speaker E: Yeah, no, I expect significantly less bird shit. Unless there's a surprise lurking somewhere with Anna. [00:53:21] Speaker A: Quite possibly. Anna. Who buys your stuffed animals? [00:53:28] Speaker G: Me. I am a self made stuffed animal connoisseur. [00:53:34] Speaker A: Yes, but do you work that? Is this paid for too, by your dad? [00:53:41] Speaker G: No, I use a credit card like everyone else. [00:53:47] Speaker A: Interesting. And I suppose that's how you acquire all of your clothes and other things you need to exist. Yes. [00:53:57] Speaker G: Or sometimes I just make a phone call and I tell the store what I want and they just send it over. But that's only sometimes. [00:54:05] Speaker A: As we're making small talk, I am going to spend time just looking around the room as well. Kind of doing that slow walk and pick up something and put it back down. [00:54:15] Speaker E: Some good old fashioned quiet snooping. [00:54:18] Speaker B: Yep. [00:54:20] Speaker E: I don't expect your ods are going to be especially good. But Anastasia knows best. Aside from stuffed animals, what else takes up space here? And for that matter, where is Maya picking things up? This is the room. Well furnished? Is it well decorated? [00:54:41] Speaker G: There's like side tables and stuff around the edges of the room, like really vintagey looking end tables. And then there's drawings and paintings just, like, slapped onto the walls. [00:54:56] Speaker E: Anything we'd recognize? Are these prints or original works? Farmers market fair. [00:55:03] Speaker G: They're all traditional and original works. Some of them are really nice and detailed, and other of them are just like, scribbles that looks like a preschooler made them. Or like a really angry toddler. [00:55:16] Speaker E: Well, no offense to Anastasia, but I think that narrows down who the artist is. [00:55:21] Speaker G: Can I show Maya something? [00:55:23] Speaker E: Oh, you don't have to ask me if it involves what I assume is slightly antagonizing Maya, you have all the permission you need. [00:55:31] Speaker G: I dive into the stuffed animals pile and I grab out two onesies. One covered in rubber duckies and the other one covered in teapots. And I show them to Maya. Do you want to wear these? They're really comfy. This dress is sort of itchy. [00:55:50] Speaker A: This whole game is just put Maya in stupid outfits. [00:55:55] Speaker E: Anna means well. Did Maya pack a second set of clothes? [00:56:00] Speaker A: I didn't get that far. [00:56:02] Speaker E: Well, it's going to be that dress the rest of the night. [00:56:05] Speaker B: Or the onesie. [00:56:06] Speaker E: Those appear to be your options. [00:56:09] Speaker A: I'll take the teapot. Onesie. Between ducks and teapots, I feel that teapots are at least a little more dignified. Anna, is there a place I can change? [00:56:22] Speaker G: I gesture with my head to the stuffed animal pile. It's pretty rummy. [00:56:30] Speaker A: Is there a bathroom or another room? [00:56:35] Speaker G: Killjoy? Yes, there's one around the corner. [00:56:38] Speaker A: I immediately leave. I don't head straight to the bathroom if there are other rooms in the space. [00:56:46] Speaker E: It's laid out like most brownstones. There would be a living room. Great room. The kitchen is attached, sometimes separate, but it depends on how they tore up the original building. And then a long hallway down the axis of the building because they're much narrower. They're much longer than they are wide. You'd have a bathroom on the left and then one large room or two smaller rooms for bedrooms. [00:57:15] Speaker A: I'm going to take a meandering path towards one of the bedrooms to change. If this was a living person and not the secret child of a person who tried to kill me and also destroy my clan, I would check a medicine cabinet. [00:57:31] Speaker E: Well, the bathroom you correctly intuited is likely bust. No medicine in the cabinet. No one has to use the toilet. It is sterile, both in the literal sense and then also in the decor sense. This is not a room that sees any amount of activity. As for the bedrooms, because there are two. One I would charitably describe as Anna's nest. The other, it looks more like a hobby or activity room, like preschool activity. [00:58:06] Speaker A: Room, mental ward activity room, painting studio, ceramics studio. [00:58:12] Speaker E: Well, it's Anastasia, so all of the above. [00:58:15] Speaker A: Honestly, I walked into that. It's too much to ask that there's just a coffin laying in the middle of one of these rooms where a son, Newberry, is just fucking dead in it. Right. [00:58:29] Speaker E: Well, we know Kevin Jackson buried him somewhere. It would be, let's say, a security issue to bury Newberry in Newberry's house, where his illegal daughter lives. [00:58:44] Speaker A: When you put it like that. As I'm changing, I'll call back to the front room. So when was the last time you saw your. [00:58:54] Speaker G: A couple months, maybe. I don't think it's been half a year yet. But sometimes he just disappears, and then he does his own thing, and then he just surprises me. And then we have a good time and we hang out, and it's great. So I'm just looking forward that if it's been a super long wait, then that means when I do see him again, it's going to be super fun and great. Sometimes we travel. Sometimes we go eat food or pretend to go eat food and watch shows. One time he took me to Mount Everest. That was fun. [00:59:29] Speaker A: I'm having a lot of trouble reconciling the person that I've been hunting and what sounds to be like a wholesome, if distant parent. [00:59:39] Speaker E: There's also a small requirement to take everything Anna says with a massive grain of salt. For example, Jason Newberry went to dinner. I don't know if you can believe. Oh, but Everest was fine between the two. [00:59:53] Speaker A: I'll finish changing up and take some time to actually look at the craft space. Like the craft room. [01:00:00] Speaker E: Well, Anastasia, it is your studio. We hypothesized there would be art supplies, preschool entertainment, a ceramics studio. Which of those things is correct? [01:00:13] Speaker G: I would say it's more of like art studio, but also entertainment center, where I could watch movies and tv and play around with video games if I wanted to. [01:00:25] Speaker E: There you have it. Then, of course, all of these things well outside what you would assume is Anastasia's standard of living if you saw her on the street. That's a $6,000 tv sitting on top of a $200 entertainment center. But every kind of console. A wall full of dvds, but also what looks like it's like a roku or one of those boxes where the movies come from. The Internet. [01:00:52] Speaker G: And a DDR pad. [01:00:55] Speaker E: And a DDR pad. The easels alone. And it is certainly plural. Thousands of dollars, not even counting the canvases on them scattered across the room. A quick estimating eye, which you happen to have. There's easily $50,000 of electronics and art and various things in this room. [01:01:19] Speaker G: Oh, and a random carousel horse. [01:01:23] Speaker E: And a carousel horse. [01:01:26] Speaker A: Anna, I'll call. What is this? I am referring to the carousel horse, but I'm in the other room. [01:01:38] Speaker G: That is Achilles. He's super nice. And he was carved for me on request by my dad at this old carousel museum in Connecticut. And then it was shipped to me all the way here. I like him a lot. He looks angry. I like him when they look angry. [01:02:03] Speaker A: That's a very expensive. A little. I can't help but feel a little bad for Anna right now in the sense that I've seen this sort of doting before. It's usually really absent parents who just think they can buy their kids affection. It's a familiar shape and it's a little disappointing, but only because I kind of feel like Anna's genuinely loves her. [01:02:34] Speaker E: Sire, who seems to be returning the affection in the way that absentee fathers do. An Xbox here, a carousel horse there. [01:02:46] Speaker A: I guess, knowing Newberry, I'm unsurprised to shame. Anna seems like a cool kid, even if she is incredibly weird. [01:02:57] Speaker E: It's hard to say how much of that was from before and how much of that is from after. Still don't know how much of that came in the original Anastasia packaging. Or how much of that is the result of spending time with Jason Newberry. She's been under his thumb for years. At this point, if it's to be believed, he's charted the entire course of her adult life. You saw what he was able to do to Zion. [01:03:22] Speaker B: That was in a few weeks. [01:03:25] Speaker E: Imagine if he had ten times as long to sink his teeth into you. [01:03:31] Speaker A: Newberry broke Zion. This is different. It's like watching the clumsiest parent try to take care of someone. [01:03:41] Speaker E: Well, plenty of time to pontificate on those finer points later, if the thud of padded feet are to be believed. You are about due for a visit from the carousel horse museum curator as Anastasia comes thundering down the hallway and appears in the door. [01:04:00] Speaker G: I'm also holding a pair of teapot slippers for Maya to wear. I have rubber ducky slippers on over my onesie. [01:04:10] Speaker A: I can't articulate the face I'm making, and I assure you, it isn't pleasant. So your dad got you a carousel horse by way of apology? [01:04:29] Speaker G: No, just because he thought I would like it. This is Achilles. He's super angry. And he was hand carved for me from the carousel museum in Connecticut and shipped over. And I love him. Oh, yeah. He's also given me other things, like these easels. They came all the way from Italy. And this sketchbook came all the way from France. And look what I drew in it. And I open it, and it's a colored pencil drawing of Newberry. [01:05:04] Speaker E: Oh, you recognize that shock of blonde hair and aqualin features anywhere? Unmistakable. [01:05:12] Speaker A: I fight every urge in my body to roll my eyes at the picture. And I'll take the notebook from Anna and start flipping through it. [01:05:26] Speaker G: The next page has a dog sitting on a toilet. And the thinker pose. [01:05:35] Speaker A: Weird, but not the kind of weird I need. [01:05:40] Speaker E: Yeah, just trying to keep in that investigative mindset. Everything here is, like, peeling for it, right? [01:05:47] Speaker G: The next page after that has a loaf of bread fighting a muffin to the death. [01:05:55] Speaker A: Creative. Still not quite what I'm looking for. [01:06:02] Speaker F: Love. [01:06:02] Speaker A: Something unsettling, sinister. [01:06:07] Speaker G: I get the feeling that Maya's not too impressed with my french sketchbook, so I want to show her other stuff. I grab her arm, and I pull her to the other side of the room to where one of the big giant easels are, and there is a cloth over it. And I turn to her, and I say, okay, we'll check this out. Maybe you'll like this. Better. I pull the cloth off, and it's a giant portrait of Maya. And she's, like, posed like one of those Aphrodite women in the oil painting, and her bits are all covered, but super fancy and everything. [01:06:53] Speaker A: I am absolutely speechless. [01:06:57] Speaker G: I think she likes it. [01:07:01] Speaker E: I think she's having a very strong reaction to your art. [01:07:05] Speaker B: Yes, Anna, make a willpower roll for me. [01:07:10] Speaker G: That's one success. [01:07:12] Speaker B: Ooh, that is not a lot. So you're speaking to Maya. You're having a perfectly ordinary conversation, but you feel this presence standing behind you. Entirely familiar, familial, even. Feel the hand come down on your shoulder as this gaunt, blonde, very handsome man stands beside you and pulls you in close. Anna, we've talked about this. You know you're not supposed to tell people what you can do. [01:07:47] Speaker A: I was just sharing my talents. You said I could share my talents with the world. I just can't talk about what you do. [01:07:55] Speaker B: I know, but do you see how this is becoming a problem? Because our friend here, she's very, very curious, and I wouldn't want us to end up in a position where your desire to enthusiastically share your art reveals something about us. About me. [01:08:15] Speaker A: Okay, fine. I won't draw her anymore. [01:08:19] Speaker G: Can I still draw usu. [01:08:21] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. No. And you can draw her as much as you want. [01:08:26] Speaker G: She hit me. [01:08:28] Speaker B: They're like that. [01:08:30] Speaker A: I don't know if I want friends that hit me. [01:08:32] Speaker B: You know, I would never tell you how to live your life and who you wish to associate with, but I kind of agree. We shouldn't hang out with people who hurt us. [01:08:42] Speaker G: Am I going to see you again soon? [01:08:46] Speaker B: Of course. [01:08:47] Speaker G: I miss you. [01:08:51] Speaker B: I miss you, too, Anna. I have to go, but maybe we can play chess after tonight. [01:09:00] Speaker G: Okay. I have a good move ready for you. [01:09:03] Speaker B: I know you do. That's why I picked you. [01:09:05] Speaker F: Bye, dad. [01:09:07] Speaker B: And you feel that slap on the shoulder. Then the presence is gone. That's an interesting conversation, Maya. You were privy to half of it. What's going to happen when Anna realizes that she said all of that out loud? Now, with that cliffhanger firmly planted, we can travel back across Chicago, south to the center of the city, to the Ducheski manor. Whereas, I understand it, there is yet more magic to do, and a tramir mage schemes to keep our night interesting. [01:09:50] Speaker D: It's always an interesting night when I get to do some rituals, isn't it? [01:09:57] Speaker B: Sure. That sounds like something a tremere would say. You understand my hesitation. Not every vampire feels the same way. If you had, say, a toridor chained up in the basement, and you were rubbing your hands together, saying it's time to do some ritual shit. They would not be as excited as you are. [01:10:15] Speaker D: Look, there hasn't been a toriador chained up in the basement in a long time. [01:10:21] Speaker B: You don't know that. You haven't lived here that long. [01:10:26] Speaker D: Okay, I haven't personally chained a toriador up in the. [01:10:32] Speaker B: Oh, but Gregor, you never really know. On the one hand, he saw demure, but on the other hand. [01:10:40] Speaker D: See, this is precisely why I haven't installed cameras. Because you know what? Plausible deniability, right? [01:10:48] Speaker B: Yeah. If there's one thing that shimmer learned over the last 200 years, it's don't make your own evidence of the crimes you are committing against the camarilla. [01:10:57] Speaker D: It's just safer that way. And what I don't know can't hurt them anyway. [01:11:09] Speaker B: Is this a video of you making a gargoyle? I'm trying to understand the gall. [01:11:16] Speaker D: Just had to record it. Just don't worry about it for posterity. [01:11:23] Speaker B: I'm not here to judge. Of course, I do not speak on behalf of the ivory tower. Yes, well, that said, you do run a fairly camarilla aligned ship here at the Dujeski manor. And now that you've acquired another roommate, I'm wondering how that's going. [01:11:46] Speaker D: Honestly, not as badly as I expected. Okay, stay with me here. The last time I had a gangrel anywhere near me, she slept in a birdshit stained silo on a very gross mattress and didn't exactly keep her space tidy. Cal seems to be very different. It's clear that she hasn't been indoors in some time. She likes to keep her muddy boots on and kind of tracks dirt literally everywhere, but otherwise, her space is pretty well kept. I've put her in the east wing. So not super close to me, because, again, I wasn't sure. I didn't know. But so far, it's actually been really nice. [01:12:46] Speaker B: That's a pleasant surprise. [01:12:49] Speaker D: Surprise being the very important word. [01:12:53] Speaker B: Mm hmm. And, Kyle, how are you taking to the living arrangements? Ivy, Maya, two little baby vampires. It's a bit crowded. [01:13:07] Speaker F: It is a bit crowded, but I'll be perfectly honest. I spent the better part of the past three or four decades either sleeping in a car or holed up in some kind of a bunker or other. Real roof, real running water. It's kind of nice. [01:13:29] Speaker B: Nothing else? I would wager money that ivy at least gave you one of the good mattresses. [01:13:35] Speaker F: Don't tell her, but I don't usually sleep on it. [01:13:39] Speaker B: That's very grateful of you. Oh, no, I appreciate that. Thanks so much. Sleeps on the floor. [01:13:45] Speaker F: Yeah. The thing about gangrels are obviously not a monolith. Some of them are hopelessly feral. I think that the term might be. I think it all depends on the furry critters that you keep. Personally, I prefer mountain lions. [01:14:10] Speaker B: Oh, you don't have a mountain lion in the house, do you? [01:14:13] Speaker A: Well, not. [01:14:16] Speaker B: Does ivy know? [01:14:17] Speaker F: Here's the thing. It's not an outside mountain lion, but every once in a while, the shape change just feels a little bit better than running around on two legs. [01:14:29] Speaker B: I see. No, I mean, thinking about that, that makes sense. I'm imagining how good it feels to have a nice big human stretch, and then you see, like, a cat do it, and you're like, oh, I'm so. And now I'm getting there. [01:14:42] Speaker F: I don't think Grigor appreciated it as much, though. He was a little terrified. [01:14:48] Speaker B: I mean, Grigor's seen a lot, so if I had to wager, I would say it was the surprise element that Grigor didn't appreciate. [01:14:56] Speaker F: No, that's. Didn't. Probably should have given some kind of a warning, but it's one of those things. You've been doing it for so long, you kind of forget that. It's weird. [01:15:10] Speaker B: It's hard to go back to having roommates. [01:15:13] Speaker F: Yeah, I feel a little bad. [01:15:16] Speaker B: Ivy, how did that conversation go, imagining your tall, pale gentleman friend knocking on the door? Excuse me, mistress? There seems to be a wild animal in the kitchen. [01:15:30] Speaker D: Yeah, it was a surprise to me, too, the way that he said it, because it was exactly as you say. It was very calm and collected in the way that Grigor always is. So as I'm sitting at my desk in the library, poring over a book, to have him come and knock on the door and tell me that there is an animal in the kitchen when there has never been an animal in this kitchen. Needless to say, I required a little bit more information out of him. [01:16:00] Speaker B: I mean, you say that, but there weren't that many options, right? Obviously a wild animal had not literally walked into the manor. There are, I assume, wards for that kind of thing. [01:16:11] Speaker D: How do you ward against a raccoon? Those don't exist. [01:16:15] Speaker E: You're the witch. [01:16:16] Speaker B: I don't know. [01:16:17] Speaker D: Yeah, and I don't spend my time or reagents warding against trash pandas. [01:16:23] Speaker B: Okay, you know what? [01:16:24] Speaker E: That's fair. [01:16:25] Speaker B: That's on me. [01:16:26] Speaker D: But, yeah, once he clarified giant, lazy, tawny cat lounging. It all kind of came together. All I had to do was ask if there was a scar on the right side of the cat's face. And he was a little taken aback and said, actually, yes. And I said, okay, I see. It's just. It's Cal. She's a gangrel. And he just nodded and walked off. Grigor's been around. He knows enough. [01:17:00] Speaker B: You gotta love that about him. Very difficult to surprise that man. [01:17:05] Speaker D: Indeed. [01:17:06] Speaker B: The same obviously could not be said of Regent du Sable. He was quite surprised when you were digging around the werewolf section of the chantry library. But, hey, I mean, he left you alone in the end. Small victories indeed. [01:17:22] Speaker D: It really helps when he knows that you're kind of the prince's lap dog and that you have not let your tremere duties fall to the wayside. It's really easy to get to do your extracurriculars as long as you've been doing your homework. [01:17:35] Speaker B: You know, I can't decide if it's adorable or tragically naive that you think his willingness to go along has nothing at all to do with the fact that you might die to a werewolf. And that works for him. [01:17:50] Speaker D: I'm fully aware. Thank you. [01:17:54] Speaker B: Oh, we just weren't calling attention to it. [01:17:56] Speaker D: No, we weren't. [01:17:57] Speaker B: But, you know, I didn't get that memo. I'm sorry. [01:18:03] Speaker D: Yeah, thanks for that. [01:18:07] Speaker B: All right, well, I will start writing my apology letter. In the meantime, why don't, Ivy, you tell me what's in store tonight. We have to test this ritual insofar as you can. Obviously not up in your private laboratory. A private b. I don't think it has the space. So where do we start off? How is tonight opening? [01:18:31] Speaker D: As with so many other ritual evenings, it starts with calling the duchesski. I don't need a ton tonight. Well, okay, I need quite a lot, but most of it I don't need from the ducheski. So I'll summon Grigor. I'll ask him to bring the wolf's blood that I got from the chantry. I don't use silver jugs all that often. Usually it's chalices or bowls, so the fact that this requires a jug kind of gets. I wouldn't call it a look of surprise on Grigor's face, because I'm not 100% sure that he's actually capable of that facial expression. But a little bit of curiosity, I suppose. But I'll ask him to bring the wolf's blood and the jug to the basement, and I need to go find Cal. [01:19:23] Speaker B: It's hard to surprise Gregor. I don't know that he knows the details of the ritual, given its rarity, but, I mean, jug made of silver. [01:19:33] Speaker E: Wolf'S blood, it's not that hard to figure out. [01:19:35] Speaker B: And not for nothing, it's literally his job to know those kinds of things, so it wouldn't take him that long to figure out what you're getting into. But for all the surprises that lurk under the surface, obedience is not one of them. That might be your favorite thing about Grigor is that you give him instructions and he just nods. He doesn't speak the occasional, of course, mistress. But aside from, mmm, nothing but good old fashioned going along with it, I wonder if Cal's going to be the same way. [01:20:07] Speaker D: Only one way to find out. [01:20:10] Speaker B: What's the mood as you knock on the door? [01:20:13] Speaker D: Well, how I approach the situation is going to depend entirely on where I find Cal this evening. [01:20:19] Speaker F: Well, Abby, is there some sort of a solarium? Any sort of outdoor space? A courtyard in this little manor yard? [01:20:28] Speaker D: It's a manor. Of course there is. [01:20:32] Speaker B: Yeah, I don't think you can call it a manor legally unless it has a solarium. [01:20:38] Speaker D: Right, exactly. [01:20:40] Speaker B: Otherwise, it's just a sparkling big house. [01:20:43] Speaker F: Best bet would be that solarium. It wouldn't be that hard to follow because it sounds like there's somebody tuning a guitar up there. And admittedly, once the tuning has stopped, it's not the best, but it brings to mind a front porch and fireflies and the low droning sound to cicadas. That would be the picture that would come to mind as this music drifts from the solarium. [01:21:10] Speaker D: I'll walk up, stand in the doorway, and just kind of watch Cal for a little bit, see how long this goes on. If it seems like it's going to go on for a little bit, then I will interrupt and just say, hey, Cal, you busy? [01:21:30] Speaker F: Not at all. What can I do for you, princess? [01:21:34] Speaker D: I'm preparing as best I can for this werewolf hunt that we have coming up, trying to perfect this ritual. I've been running through the steps, timing it perfectly, because every second is going to count when we're in it. Until now, I've been working with an aqueous glycerol solution to mimic the viscosity of blood. But since we're getting closer, I was hoping you could help me run through it with a full host of reagents. [01:22:01] Speaker F: What kind of ritual? [01:22:05] Speaker D: A good one. For fighting Werewolves. [01:22:11] Speaker F: Well, I can't fault you there. I know a little bit, but I don't know everything. [01:22:16] Speaker D: No. Even though this is werewolf related, I'm assuming it's definitely outside your area of expertise. But if you'd follow me to the basement, I can tell you more about it. [01:22:29] Speaker F: All right. As long as you're not going to drain me dry or anything. And I'll put down the guitar and pat on to follow fully barefoot. [01:22:40] Speaker D: I turn around on my heel and just say, oh, no, not fully, and just continue walking. [01:22:48] Speaker F: Cute. [01:22:49] Speaker D: I smile. Blood magic requires blood, you see, so asking you for some is not unreasonable. From the look on her face, it doesn't seem like she's entirely convinced. But we are short on time and she can ask questions while we walk. I can't do all of my rituals in the kitchen. Some of them require just a little bit more space, so the basement's definitely the go to place here. We walk down the stairs and I open the large door, and it's like a whole other house. The vibe feels very similar to the rest of the house, but a little more disused or maybe repurposed is the better word. Because as we walk past the little powder room and head towards the lounge, there's a couple of doors to the right that open. And I have no need for a steam room or a sauna or a jacuzzi. So you'll find all manner of reagents stored there. Bone vials of dried plants, all manner of blood that isn't incredibly rare and hard to find. [01:24:00] Speaker B: This is the creepiest episode of hoarders ever. [01:24:05] Speaker D: Excuse you. It is not hoarders in the slightest. This is incredibly organized. [01:24:12] Speaker B: Is that. That's the key difference how organized the piles of newspaper are? [01:24:17] Speaker D: Exactly. Yes. See, you get it. [01:24:22] Speaker B: Every day is a learning day. [01:24:25] Speaker D: So as we head past the reagent stores, we enter. [01:24:29] Speaker F: Hold on, hold on. You're not going to expect me to just slide on past this. What the. What do you have here? [01:24:38] Speaker D: They're just reagents. And yes, I can actually expect you to just walk on past because that's rule number one. Don't touch anything. [01:24:47] Speaker F: I'm not gonna touch it. I'm just looking. Shit. [01:24:50] Speaker D: Oh, fuck. [01:24:51] Speaker F: I have to change the rules. [01:24:54] Speaker D: As Cal peeks her head in through the doors, I see her eyeing the first room. It used to be the steam room because it is full of different bird feathers. They all serve a different purpose. I can't use, like, a pigeon feather when I need, like, a dove feather. It's very specific. [01:25:17] Speaker F: Makes a certain amount of sense. You wouldn't use a bowie knife? When you need a parent knife. [01:25:22] Speaker D: Yeah, sure. Same vibe. [01:25:27] Speaker F: I'm sorry. I just. There's a little more grand than I'm used to. A lot more space. A lot more shit. [01:25:35] Speaker D: I don't know if I appreciate my thermoturgical reagents being called shit, but in. [01:25:42] Speaker B: Fairness, some of it probably is shit. [01:25:45] Speaker F: That looks like a violet shit right there. [01:25:49] Speaker D: It's guano, okay? It serves a purpose. [01:25:56] Speaker F: My apologies, princess. Lead the way. [01:26:01] Speaker D: I'll lead Cal past the bar, keeping an eye on her. There's nothing in here anymore. I definitely don't use this as a bar, but as we pass under this beautifully carved mahogany arch into this large open space, I'm pretty sure that modern homeowners would actually use this space as some sort of man cave. But everything in here has kind of been pushed to the side. There are some chairs lining the walls. There are bookshelves and things. And then the biggest space in the middle of this 20 x 30 foot room is just open. And there are some stains on the floor from past ritual work, but it's very obvious that this is where I practice, and I have a big grin on my face as I turn around and gesture broadly to the space and say, well, what do you think? [01:26:59] Speaker F: I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. [01:27:02] Speaker D: Thank you. [01:27:05] Speaker F: Well, what are we doing? What do you need? [01:27:06] Speaker D: I spin around to look at the built in countertop towards the back of the room and find, of course, because Grigor is Grigor. The jug and the vial of wolf's blood. And I glide on over, picking them up in my hands, and I turn to face Cal. This is where you come in. I take the jug and the vial, head towards the middle of the room, and set the jug down. [01:27:31] Speaker F: Gonna be an ass. All out of blood. [01:27:33] Speaker D: Well, yes, but again, that's why you're here. Partially why you're here. It's not going to all be your blood. I have a theory I would like to test. A theory? [01:27:50] Speaker F: What kind of a theory? [01:27:53] Speaker D: Okay, so this requires, as you said, a lot of blood. But as I've studied this ritual, reading various manuscripts and notations and tomes, I've discovered that there's nothing that says that the vita used to perform. It must be the sorcerer's. And before you ask, typically, yes, my magic requires my own vita, or it'll specify if it needs somebody else's. So my theory is that this ritual could work with additional vita donations from other kindred, and that somebody who has experience fighting against the loop lines. Or even just somebody with slightly more animalistic tendencies might be able to strengthen the spell. [01:28:43] Speaker F: You want me to give you a little oomph? [01:28:46] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:28:47] Speaker D: I mean, that seems right up your. And I'll wave my hand in a circle, kind of gesturing at her whole body. It's kind of your whole vibe. Right? [01:28:59] Speaker F: And I can't help but be a little bit amused at the gesturing as I sit here with my hands in my pockets, I am what may be the kindred reincarnation of courtney love. And I will crouch, roll up the leg of my worn jeans, and pull a small knife out of the holster from my ankle. Where am I going? [01:29:23] Speaker D: Okay, all right. Hold on. I appreciate all of this energy. This is great. One moment. [01:29:32] Speaker F: Were you expecting more of a fat princess? [01:29:36] Speaker D: Yeah. Typically, people are not super forthcoming with their vita, so I was definitely expecting to have to talk you into it. [01:29:45] Speaker F: I mean, that makes a certain amount of sense. But we're working together, aren't we? [01:29:48] Speaker D: Yes, but you may have no idea how little that matters sometimes. [01:29:54] Speaker F: Matters to me. [01:29:59] Speaker D: And I appreciate that about you. I truly do. I turn towards my supplies, and I grab the vial of wolf blood to open it. I've practiced this enough that I know exactly how many milliliters I need, so I measure it out, and I pour it into the bottom of the jug. Now, the problem is, we need to fill this entire thing, and it is quite a lot. I would really like to only fill about a third of it with my own Vita and have Cal provide the rest. I take my nail and I slice down my forearm and let enough Vita drain into it to fill it about a third of the way. And I close the wound, scraping any remaining blood against the rim of the jug, and I motion for Cal to come over. [01:30:52] Speaker B: Well, while you do that, first of all, Ivy, can you give me a rouse check? And then, as that happens, Cal, in just an equitable world, you would expect the jug to be about half full. [01:31:06] Speaker E: When it's your turn. [01:31:08] Speaker B: It is not. Does that catch your eye? [01:31:11] Speaker F: I'd say it does. And I'll watch the blood slowly dribble down her wrist and start to pool over the wolf's blood. And I'll watch as it stops. And I'll watch as she seals the wound. I'll just carefully spin my knife between my fingers. Going to need a fair more amount than that. [01:31:35] Speaker D: Yes. And that's where you come in. [01:31:40] Speaker F: I will step forward, spin the knife again. Look at Abby. We're working together on this, right? [01:31:51] Speaker D: I let out a forced sigh yes, Cal, we are. I know what you're getting at. But here's the thing. I provide blood, you provide blood, and then it will cost me more to cast the ritual itself. We will be, in the end, providing the same amount of blood. [01:32:19] Speaker B: See that right there? That's the kind of legalistic maneuvering that makes people not trust the tremere. [01:32:27] Speaker D: I'm not wrong, and I'm not lying. [01:32:31] Speaker F: No, she's just very good at saying it in a way that would get most people's hackles up. [01:32:38] Speaker B: Yeah, but that's what we like about her. [01:32:42] Speaker F: It is. [01:32:44] Speaker B: Are you going to give in and provide your quote? Share end quote of the bounty? [01:32:54] Speaker F: I'll take the knife. I will draw it over my wrist and hold my bleeding wrist over the jug. [01:33:01] Speaker B: Then I will need two rouse checks from you. [01:33:06] Speaker F: That'll be two. [01:33:08] Speaker B: Oh, well, that is something that will need explaining before I ask that question. Ivy, how did you fare? [01:33:15] Speaker D: Success as well. [01:33:18] Speaker B: Interesting. Well, then, will the both of you explain to me why the beast is so complacent in this moment? [01:33:27] Speaker F: Here's the thing. I've been working on my own for a couple of decades now. Maybe a bit of a loner may not be deep in the belly of kindred politics, but I have an understanding that when you are working with people, when you are expecting someone to have your back, well, it's not really fair to be cagey about it. And for some reason, this little punk goth princess has me willing to extend the olive branch. So that's it? That's all. [01:34:09] Speaker B: And I suppose in your case, if you let that little cruel alien inside your chest come along on the ride, well, it's blood that'll be used to harm werewolves. [01:34:24] Speaker F: And either way, it'll get the job done. [01:34:28] Speaker B: Perhaps the beast recognizes that it's better to invest this sacrifice on something now than have to spend even more putting your body back together in the future. [01:34:39] Speaker F: Exactly. [01:34:42] Speaker B: And Ivy, what's your excuse? What do you tell the creature in your ribs? [01:34:49] Speaker D: It's hard to fight against knowledge. My beast drives my desire to learn new things and experience new things. This is my first time casting this ritual. We've spent so long working on it. And the thrill of being able to try something new, especially with the unknown variable here of blood for this ritual that is not mine. It's exciting. It's enticing. How could my beast be mad at that? [01:35:26] Speaker B: I don't think any of us know exactly how the beast works, and it is, after all, highly individualized. So I'll take your word for it. I'll keep that in mind the next time you have secrets you want to pry out of something. But all of that said, the jug is now filled with the requisite amount. What's the next step? [01:35:49] Speaker D: While it's not an hour of work like the last ritual, it is about 15 minutes of ritual chanting that I have to do over the blood. And I'm all too sure that it's not going to make any sense to Cal. And, of course, I'm not going to answer any questions she may have about the chants, should they arise. But once the 15 minutes have passed, the rest is quite simple. I stand up, Vita in hand, and walk the perimeter of this room, making sure that the trail of blood never breaks. I've practiced walking this path. I know precisely how fast my steps must be and the angle I have to hold the jug as I pour the liquid to be sure that I have enough to complete what I've started. And as the last drop hits the very first one that poured out, completing the circle, I'm sure you'd expect a clap of thunder, a bright flash of light, some wolves howling in the distance. Because that's how magic works, right? But no. There's none of that. The Vita sits dark and thick and completely void of any additional information. I have no way to know if it worked, but I can't help but look upon this ring and be proud. [01:37:27] Speaker F: And I have watched this whole ritual. I have watched this neonate call magic that is so far beyond me, so far beyond my knowledge and my skill in a way that looks so simple and so easy. [01:37:49] Speaker D: Without turning to look at Cal, I say, I never did tell you what this ritual does, did I? No. [01:38:00] Speaker F: But you don't seem the time to explain things. [01:38:03] Speaker B: Quite the contrary. You need to be very careful when asking ivy to explain things. Unless you've got an evening booked. [01:38:13] Speaker D: Oh, no, that's true. And she's about to find out this simple little circle. [01:38:21] Speaker F: This. [01:38:23] Speaker D: And I'll hold my hands up and just point at it, because it is glorious. Any garu that crosses this threshold will be forced into their lupus form for a full day. [01:38:44] Speaker F: You're fucking with me. [01:38:50] Speaker D: I turn and look at her over my shoulder. I'm not. See, I don't need your weapons when. [01:39:02] Speaker F: I can do this, and it'll be like shooting crabs in a fucking barrel. I've seen termear magic. I've seen blood sorcery. But it's never, not a little bit amazing. [01:39:17] Speaker D: This is one of the rituals that came about with Nikolai, it's not a thing that everybody can do. It's not a thing that most tremere know exists. It's a Chicago special storyteller. [01:39:33] Speaker F: Would I have heard the name Nikolai. [01:39:34] Speaker B: Before you could make a politics role? I suppose. But honestly, I don't think so. Contextually, obviously a tremere. But no, I don't think you would know that that is the former regent of Chicago. [01:39:51] Speaker F: Well, then you must be something special indeed, princess. [01:39:56] Speaker D: I smile as she says that because, oh, yeah, I am. [01:40:03] Speaker F: And it's not snide, it's not taunting. It is genuine. [01:40:11] Speaker B: I wonder, Ivy, if there is a small part of you, as the smug satisfaction of a job well done sinks in. I wonder if there's that teeny doubt, wondering if it works. The text made it seem more theoretical than maybe you're comfortable with. It's not clear Nikolai ever got the chance to try it out. Are you worried about that? [01:40:41] Speaker D: I am. But the ritual did something right, so it has to do something. I just. I hope it's what we want, what we need. I would really hate for it to force the garou into some other form. [01:41:06] Speaker B: Instead, or God, to not work at all. But that's between you and me. I doubt that ivy is capable of that level of introspection, that level of worry. You did it, so of course it's going to work the way it should. [01:41:22] Speaker D: Yes, I did it. So the ritual will work because of all of the things that I did. The text is a little spotty. It's fine. I'm sure it's fine. [01:41:37] Speaker B: I suppose we'll find out one way or another. [01:41:42] Speaker F: You are clearly a professional in the same way that I am in completely different circles. Of course, I could never do something like this, and I do not doubt your skill. But I'm a kindred who likes to have backup plans. I saw that you might not exactly be fond of weaponry. Is there something that I can give you as a loner to at least make sure that you got something that'll help you get out if something goes sideways? [01:42:08] Speaker D: I kind of grimace when she brings that up. I don't imagine I was doing a great job of hiding it, but to have it brought up feels awful. I can't imagine so. Unfortunately, I'm not great with any weapon. I don't know how to shoot a gun, and I gesture to my very thin arms. I'm a runner, not a puncher. [01:42:53] Speaker B: So. [01:42:56] Speaker F: What about a blade? [01:42:58] Speaker D: I wouldn't even know how to use it. [01:43:01] Speaker F: Sharpen goes into the other guy. [01:43:05] Speaker D: Yeah. No, I understand that much. But I think it's a much different story when they're willing to be stabbed versus not. And I kind of gesture to the floor. Look, I appreciate it. I do. But I'm support. I do the prep work ahead of time, and I help as I can, but not up close and personal. [01:43:37] Speaker F: I understand that. I'm not expecting you to get into the fray with me or the pup. But if they sent you and they realize that you are on our side, I am worried that you will become a target. That's all. [01:43:55] Speaker D: Well, I'm sure we can find some silver chains or something, right? [01:44:03] Speaker F: Actually, yeah. I think I have a couple of sets of the trunk. At the very least, you swing a heavy chain hard enough and throw it, that thing will take a kneecap out. [01:44:14] Speaker D: I'm not convinced I can even lift a silver chain, depending on the size of the chain. [01:44:20] Speaker B: No, that's what you have Alex for. [01:44:23] Speaker D: Yeah. [01:44:26] Speaker F: You know what? We'll workshop it. We'll workshop it. We'll figure it. [01:44:30] Speaker A: Just. [01:44:31] Speaker F: I would prefer if all of us get out of this in one piece. [01:44:36] Speaker D: Oh, I have no intention of dying that evening. [01:44:40] Speaker F: That's what I like to hear. [01:44:46] Speaker B: Confidence on all sides. We will see if it is warranted. There have been plenty of moments where you've had to stand up to those who meant you harm, Ivy. But even Malinkov, in all of his fury, with all of his Sabat training and decades of war fighting experience, even he couldn't go one to one against Ageru. But hey, you survived the Si and you survived the pyramid. One would hope. There's some overlap between those skills and the skills required to fend off Agaru. But unfortunately, we'll have to wait on that answer, because that's a story for another night. 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