Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You're listening to the all night society, an actual play podcast brought to you by Queens court games.
Well, the trial of Jason Newberry has finally come to a close.
The results expected. Yes.
A prince like Kevin Jackson isn't going to submit one of his primagen to final death, no matter how grave the evidence. But consequences will filter down through the city. Based on the coterie's actions. Based on the actions of Maya Lagassi. You did not attend the trial. It would not do well for the Lasambra face to be tied to what was going on in that wood paneled room. But that doesn't mean you're getting off easy. In fact, based on what's about to come, I expect Maya would have much rather been with the primigen. With Ivy and Schmendrick. You've been summoned to this meeting, Maya. You know who you're going to see what is running through your head as you walk those last few blocks to this simple park in a dark corner of Chicago.
[00:01:37] Speaker B: I don't think I will ever work with a small coterie of vampires again. I've gotten too used to having backup, and this is very uncomfortable.
[00:01:47] Speaker A: Have you dressed for the occasion? Prepared anything special?
[00:01:51] Speaker B: I always dress well.
[00:01:52] Speaker A: We know this takes a delicate balance between fashionable and comfortable. Right.
Well, hopefully the person you're meeting this evening won't hold those choices against you as you enter the park. There's only one other person in range. A gentleman sitting down at a city chess set, the pieces already laid out. Will you describe for us the gentleman who's waiting for Maya this evening?
[00:02:23] Speaker C: Yes, of course I am. There, laying out the pieces of the chess set, wearing a charcoal grey suit, pocket square poking out in a old, traditional style less common among the fashions these days, outside of people trying to emulate the cast of mad Men. Hair shaved down low to reveal a tattooed scalp. Showing it off somewhat brazenly. But with the lack of audience in this park, it's not like there's anyone around to feel shocked.
Small signet ring on his left hand. On his pinky finger, which, uncommonly, is the 6th finger on his left hand.
Maya, won't you take a seat, please? I see you've dressed for the occasion.
[00:03:22] Speaker D: I'll incline my head and hand him two folders.
[00:03:26] Speaker B: Written reports for you, and.
[00:03:29] Speaker C: Hmm.
[00:03:30] Speaker B: You can tell the difference. Sierra's has a little kitty sticker on it. It's from Japan. I thought she'd like it.
[00:03:37] Speaker C: I'm sure she loves to be reminded. I open one of the folders, have a quick glance through the paperwork.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: It's all the same information.
[00:03:49] Speaker C: Very good.
Very interesting.
Well, it would be rude of me to read as you sit there, not a couple of feet away.
How have you found the Windy city?
[00:04:04] Speaker B: It was nice. Eventful. Nice. I missed cities with skyscrapers.
[00:04:11] Speaker C: Have you found existence without a pack to support you?
[00:04:17] Speaker B: Honestly. Freeing. It's a little empty, but nice. Although a little more ruined. With the presence of a coterie companions.
[00:04:29] Speaker C: They can be useful. Useful assets, obviously.
I have never seen much of a value to the Camarilla way of.
What do they call it? Enlightened self interest.
Tying yourself to people without the bonds of vitai. And yet, at the same time, I was never a member of a pack. Not since my first joining Sword of Cain Sabat bloodbond was not for me. I was always more useful as a free agent.
Still, times have changed now, haven't they?
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Well, you know what they say. You become responsible for the things you tame. The coterie got me out of some tight places, but I would be lying if I didn't say they got me into them.
[00:05:24] Speaker C: Well, our existence has got to have some excitement, hasn't it?
I've signed you white on the board. I hope you don't mind.
[00:05:34] Speaker B: It's fine.
You're always on brand.
[00:05:38] Speaker C: You know, I'm not much of a chess player myself.
They say it's a great tradition of our clan to play games like this. I, when I worked for the archbishop of Madrid, would have to stand in the corner and watch him gloat over a chessboard as he belittled other canites.
Such a childish way of conducting yourself.
Still, somehow, it added to his. How would you say?
Aura. I suppose it made him feel like a king. Well, he's ash now, and there aren't many of us who remain from that city or that time.
[00:06:26] Speaker B: I just think that some people enjoy the opportunity to feel like a big man, pushing little pieces. Right?
[00:06:36] Speaker C: Hmm.
Well, speaking of which, Kevin Jackson, the little boy with big shoes to fill the camarilla do seem very fond right now of appointing children in the roles of grown ups.
Your observation, Maya. How long do you think he has on the throne of this city?
[00:07:00] Speaker D: As long as he wants. Or as long as it's convenient. The prince would have you believe he holds Chicago because he alone has the strength to guide it. But anyone with even the slightest political insight understands that the primogen have allowed him to take the throne.
Prince Jackson was the best option at the time.
Chicago has always been ruled by its primogen more than its prince. And so long as he continues to abide his elders, lets them push and nudge him when they need to, there's no need to rock the boat.
[00:07:32] Speaker C: Yes, well, I understand there is a vacancy on the primagin council now. At least for the next century.
[00:07:40] Speaker B: Century?
[00:07:41] Speaker C: Is it not the case that Newberry is now pincushioned? Stashed away somewhere in a box? For 100 years, my sources implied a.
[00:07:55] Speaker D: Harsher punishment was waiting. No bishop would suffer a creature like Newbury to walk in their domain. Perhaps Jackson had a last minute change of heart.
On the other hand, staked for a century, that might be a fate worse than final death.
[00:08:15] Speaker C: Well, it depends on who you believe.
According to some, when you're staked, you can process every minute that passes and do nothing. To others. It is simply asleep. And you wake up whenever the state gets pulled out. And it's as if no time has passed at all. I wonder which would be worse. Probably the first one.
Honestly, I would be surprised if anyone ever takes him out of his shipping container. Or if, indeed there is a shipping container. I mean, why bother? Hundred years is a long time, these nights.
Long time in a city like this.
[00:08:58] Speaker D: I can't imagine a hundred years will change Newberry's attitude. He seems pretty fixed in his ways.
[00:09:06] Speaker C: No, I would imagine that having a shaft of wood, or indeed any kind of shaft, thrust through your chest for a hundred years, is unlikely to change your mood from the point that it gets pushed inside you to the time that it gets extracted. Now, I don't think it's the penitentiary method, is it? You don't learn to feel sorry for what you did.
Newbury is ultimately immaterial to my interests anyhow. I mean, the goings on of Clan Malkavian are, well, erratic.
The situation with our clan in the city, that is my main cause for interest in Chicago.
How do things stand from your view? You have been on the street.
So you as a magister. What do you think the future holds for our clan in this domain?
[00:10:10] Speaker B: Call me a woman of the people. Wow.
I will say the vacancy on the primagin council will make decision making hard for everyone.
Balance is completely thrown off. It would be useful to bring in Sierra. And Jackson is desperate to make his little project pan out.
I think the rest of the city knows that.
[00:10:37] Speaker C: No, I think you are quite correct. Do protect your bishops a little more closely, Maya. Jackson is the greatest laughingstock. For now, this side of the midwest, there are princes who have held the position far longer than he, who believe this experiment of his, this project, this olive branch to Clan La Sombra will be the death of the Camarilla in Chicago. But we know different, don't we?
[00:11:10] Speaker B: Imagine being the prince responsible for destroying a city because of a little passion project.
The prince's ego will not let this treaty fail. You love that about Aventuru. He'll bend to see her as demands as long as they don't get crazy.
[00:11:28] Speaker C: Well, I'll be pouring a little something into my descendant's ear about what she wants from the city.
Don't get me wrong, Maya. I'm not interested in the good of the clan. As if we have ever been some unified body. We're about the farthest thing from it, regardless what anyone says otherwise.
[00:11:55] Speaker B: That is the weakness of the Camarilla. They assume that we're going to play by their rules.
[00:12:02] Speaker C: Exactly. We will capitalize on it. It will be nice and simple. As easy as my removing your undefended bishop.
Well, as I said, it's not my game. Maybe it isn't. Sportsmen like to take out cornerstones like that. But look, your rooks are still in place.
Question is, what you do with them. Whether you use them for the defense or whether you attack with them. If Monsado of Madrid taught me anything, it's knowing which pieces to sacrifice at the right moment.
And I look at you dead in the eyes.
Now, what kind of magister would I be if I wasn't wondering how useful you can truly be here? Now you've played your part.
I know you're planning on traveling elsewhere, but how useful will you be there?
Our line is on precarious ground right now, Maya. And let me be candid with you.
Any kind of loose end that might lead to others believing we're pulling strings or manipulating matters in the background could be dangerous for our long term survival. So what more do you have to bring to this party?
[00:13:37] Speaker B: Sierra has made it very clear that I cannot stay in Chicago. No, I have already had to give up so much when I took this job. By the way, I did not expect it to come at the expense of my haven, an assistant, and a very good pair of luboutons.
I do expect you'll be replacing those.
Thanks in advance.
[00:14:05] Speaker C: Cut me to the core.
[00:14:08] Speaker B: I think it's important to remind you that I did all of this work as a free agent. The report will reflect a decent amount of insight on what I'm starting to see as the prince's new go to right hand. You talk of cornerstones. I will say that I do not think that anyone could accuse us of sabotaging or manipulating any of the other clans. When at least one of the tremere, Miss le Roux, seems somewhat bent on taking them out for us.
She just needs a little push.
[00:14:51] Speaker C: Few things bring me greater pleasure than seeing the pyramid lose another brick. Tell me more about these warlocks and their problems, Maya. What are the tremere's issues in this city?
[00:15:05] Speaker B: It seems as if, at least in regards to Ivy, her ambition is outweighing her ability. She and the current regent don't seem to get along. And I do believe that may have something to do with her being placed in the city by her sire.
[00:15:25] Speaker C: Ah, Ivy Larue. Prodigal child of Gabrielle Antonescu. I knew her briefly when I was on an operation in Las Vegas. Dreadful domain, all veneer and no substance.
But I wasn't around to play the slots. I stick a few slots in other people. Yes, Gabrielle is an interesting one, so I can only imagine that child would be so interesting, too. But if I can make an assessment, a bit of a leap, and I will jump my other knight forward a rank or two.
Gabrielle will not just sit idly in the background while her child starts occupying positions and toppling regents. Unless Gabrielle wants something out of that arrangement. You don't become regent of Las Vegas unless you're a very greedy person.
Greed sums up Gabrielle Antonescu.
[00:16:44] Speaker D: I had it on gluttony. I had assumed the chantry would eat itself based on what I've seen.
[00:16:52] Speaker C: Give it time.
In my experience, tremere like to gobble up every little piece of territory they can get. Then they don't know what to do with it, because they are not a. I suppose you might call them a political clan. They have a reach to them, but they have no grasp. And that results in them cannibalizing their own territory.
They extend too far. It's a military kind of issue. They can never support themselves to the lengths they wish to reach. And because they have no allies or friends, no one else will support them either. It's a cycle. The tramir always goes through it. It's pathetic.
[00:17:37] Speaker B: Well, you may be right about that. It seems that Ivy really struggles making decisions for herself when she doesn't have her mommy to protect her.
[00:17:48] Speaker C: Well, this is the problem, Maya.
Sometimes, my girl, sometimes tremere gets so consumed with the desire, the ambition to excel, because they are told so often following their embrace, they are better than they ever could be, that they are better than their peers, that when it finally comes time to exert themselves, they fall flat on their face. It's amusing to watch. Especially when they start flinging stones at each other.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: An astute observation.
With the help of Ivy, I think the chantry will tear itself apart just fine, and there won't be a lasombra anywhere near it.
[00:18:38] Speaker C: Well, this serves us Malkavians without a primogen tremere without a chantry. Like I said, I'm not interested in bettering the lot of Clan la Sombra. But my master, and we all have them, is very interested in capitalizing in domains with such fractures. The emperor of D. C.
He would see us take advantage of such a wound in this city's fabric. We compliment each other, Maya. I do appreciate having you as a council. Temporary as it is, unlife is a little more fun when you're consorting with people on your level.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: Well, I appreciate that. Would you rather play questions?
Hesitation, one love.
[00:19:35] Speaker C: Do you have any questions for me, Maya?
[00:19:38] Speaker B: I'd like to know where I'm going next, but I feel as if this meeting has more to do with your wishing to gloat about what happens.
[00:19:51] Speaker C: No, don't be mistaken. I wouldn't waste an asset.
And sending you to somewhere in the depths of Minnesota and North Dakota would be utterly pointless. That would be amusing. But utterly pointless.
Sierra may have ordered you out of the city, but our masters have other plans. You'll be remaining here. Whatever Chicago's young prince has planned, we know he'll be making your coterie a part of it. And the emperor of DC prefers you remain in a position of influence over those affairs.
[00:20:32] Speaker D: That's a lot to take in.
Not that I let him see my surprise. It's just I thought Sierra was in the chain of command, so to speak, that if she was giving me an order, it's because someone higher up had told her to do so.
Now, hearing that contradicted, either things are moving faster than I thought, or she decided to exile me from Chicago on her own initiative.
I'm not sure which of those is.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: More unsettling, but that's not a road.
[00:21:03] Speaker D: I can go down. The second you start second guessing who decided what, who ordered who, the whole thing comes unglued. I feel like I would have been able to see descent in the ranks.
[00:21:14] Speaker B: Or a power play before it happened.
[00:21:16] Speaker D: So I pride myself in that.
No, I'm not going to be paranoid about it. And I definitely can't be paranoid about it here. Not now.
So I put on a grateful smile, pretending like I knew the plan the whole time. And pretend I'm having some deep, strategic thought about the board.
[00:21:37] Speaker C: While Maya is digesting her mission, for want of a better term, I think we got a little off current affairs. Talking about the future. Don't you hate that?
Your coterie?
The word does roll off the tongue, doesn't it? I understand that they have become somewhat indispensable to the prince of Chicago, though he, at the very least, sees them as trusted counselors. Is that correct?
[00:22:13] Speaker B: I take a moment to compartmentalize what has just happened.
Coterie is an interesting term that the camaria uses. Unfortunately, maybe fortunately, at least two of them are very invested in caring for each other and others, while one actively pushes everyone away. You get one guess as to which one that is.
[00:22:45] Speaker C: Well, would you like me to guess? Is it my turn to answer questions?
No, I know. I know that the tramir has got stars in her eyes.
And it isn't so common for a sewer rat to find kinship. They have long been outsider clans. They embrace outsiders. It is interesting, an observation on our. I suppose, on our people, is that canines like us, Maya, we might hold a middle ground. Yes, we snatch a life from time to time, and we don't shed tears over it, because we do what has to be done. And in that regard, we are not so different from the ventru or even the torridor or the bruja. We like to justify these things to ourselves, and we can. But then you have these freaks and animals.
They cling on to their, I suppose, human sense of ethics and morality for longer than us. But when they lose it, as a student of our kind, it is always fascinating to see how sharp the drop down that cliff can be.
They hold themselves to this high standard. They think we are better than them because we are more cursed than them. Therefore, we have to cling to our mortality with concepts like affection and love and compassion and guilt. And then, of course, eventually they put a foot wrong, or they give in to that guilt, or their loved one dies, or they kill them. And all the way down, straight into the. Awaiting more of the beast.
The same story.
I've been on this earth for over half a millennium, and I have seen this story play out so many times. So, no, it is not surprising to me that a nosferato and a gangrel have grown close to each other. What you should be placing your money on is which one breaks first.
[00:25:18] Speaker B: I move my knight.
The gangrel, Rebecca Mitchell, has already shown that sometimes she will do what is necessary. She just feels terrible about it.
I think it has done us the favor of pushing her from the Camarilla. She doesn't have the stomach for politics necessary to survive among us, no matter how big her heart might be.
[00:25:52] Speaker C: It's one of the ironies, isn't it, Maya? I believe I have you in check idea. It's one of the ironies, isn't it? That the gangrel, they hold dear this idea that they are wolves, that they are outsiders, they live in the wild, that they have nothing to do with our society. And you have done a fine job of pushing this one toward the anarchs, along with the rest of her own actions. And then they have the audacity to complain that they're not offered a seat at the table. Said old saying, isn't it? Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas. Well, the gangrel want to roll around in the muck and then come to court like they are not covered in shit.
But they will always be covered in shit. They're good at what they do, but they fool themselves into thinking they are somehow better and more entitled to what they have than they are. Sad, really.
[00:27:04] Speaker B: I was always told, if you don't do politics, politics will do you.
Surprisingly, it seems that her distaste for the Camaria is not due to anything I've done that's been all her and some help from Newberry. This investigation has only served to push her further into the arms of the anarchs, one specific one. But the anarchs all the same.
[00:27:35] Speaker C: The anarch movement. You know, there's something tragic about a vampire that takes centuries to realize that they are meant for the anarch movement. When I look at the anarch movement, I see a flaccid penis. And there is nothing attractive about a flaccid penis.
Yes, it has function.
It might become something with a little bit of stimulation and effort, but until then, all it is is a limp dick. And I am yet to be convinced that the anarchs, let alone the anarchs of Chicago, will ever be anything more than what I've just described. Apologies if that's a little too vulgar, my girl.
I was one of the first to push for us to take sanctuary within the camarilla instead of the anarchs. There were some among the amici noctus, our brethren, who stated when it was time for us to pack up our bags and leave the failing sabat, that we would be better at home in the anarchs, we could control them more easily. They had more in common with our philosophy that we would never be accepted within the ranks of the ivory tower. Can you imagine? Can you imagine the fall from grace that would come with aligning yourself with such a group of half cocks.
Though I am convinced I made the right choice and I am not a politician.
Sometimes logic is plain and simple. She's welcome to the anarchs, this gangrel. I'm sure she will suit them and they will suit her.
[00:29:22] Speaker B: Speaking of tools, the leader, so you might call them of the anarchs, will know what to do with Rebecca. But Rebecca's hesitation will keep her working for Jackson. And I think Anita knows this and will use her against him.
[00:29:42] Speaker C: Well, more fool Anita.
While yes, I am sure you are correct, Rebecca Mitchell will be used by both parties, at some point she will snap, because it's what all gangrel do. And I would not wish to be on the wrong side of a broken gangrel of her age. Would you?
I don't think you're going to be getting out of check anytime soon, old girl.
[00:30:13] Speaker B: I move my king away out of check.
[00:30:19] Speaker C: See, if you had focused all of your efforts on my bishops, I wouldn't have to keep putting you back in this position now would I?
[00:30:32] Speaker B: To be fair, you don't have to do anything.
You could give me the game.
[00:30:37] Speaker C: Now you're saying I should call the game? I could, couldn't. I could give you the game. Give you the game, the pieces and the board. Sometimes feels like I've been playing it a long time.
[00:30:50] Speaker B: Hundred year nap doesn't sound as bad anymore, does it?
[00:30:54] Speaker C: I reckon I am one of very few canines that has not experienced an extended torpur at some point during my existence. As a canite, I've always been active. And as I say, I'm not a politician. I think I would grow tired of sitting at tables and playing chess, literally or figuratively, with my opponents or my underlings or my betters. I have survived and stayed alert by being dispatched to places with messages.
Sometimes that message is a lethal one more often than not. Or in bodyguarding someone against someone quite as lethal as myself, or nearly as much, it does keep you awake knowing that you are making enemies and that you are dicing with final death. And in that regard, I have to say that my own life has to date, been a success.
[00:32:04] Speaker B: I'll move my king out of check again.
I'm physically incapable of not trying to take what I can get when it comes to my own ambition.
Having a good relationship with my elders, the amici, the emperor of DC, all of these suit my ambition.
However, that drive feels very counter to the basic will to survive in this goddamn unlife.
I can't say I've enjoyed being shot at, nearly set on fire, and all other manner of delightful things that I've gotten to experience out here. But I don't know that I get a choice anymore.
It's not just ambition, though, is it?
[00:32:53] Speaker C: Is it not?
[00:32:55] Speaker B: I'm a hand of the amicius. I'm working for you and your boss and your boss's boss. And you get to sit alone. Maybe not you specifically, but you sit on your thrones and watch me risk my life for your whims. At some point, it would be nice to call those shots and let other people risk their asses for me.
[00:33:20] Speaker C: Well, don't insult me, Maya. Intentionally or not, I have no desire to be anything but a follower. I am not interested in calling my own shots, in being the boss or being the king or being a prince or an archbishop or any other thing. I have been in someone's service all the way back to when I was a breathing mortal and a knight of the realm. I still had to pledge fealty, loyalty, and put my life on the line for someone above me. But the trick is being satisfied with that and taking pleasure from that.
Because when you are a perpetual lieutenant, you are not the one whose head will end up on the block when everything goes horribly wrong. You are not the one that they're going to try to oust.
You are not the one with a bullseye.
As long as you find missions that you can enjoy and take satisfaction and growth from them. And look at me. I sound like a caring sire.
Then you will thrive in this existence. It's when you start to try and punch up at that ceiling above your head. That's when people start taking notice of you. That eventually you would really rather wish they hadn't.
[00:34:58] Speaker B: Dolly Parton has lied to me. Then I cannot help but be driven to punch up through that glass ceiling, now can't I?
[00:35:07] Speaker C: Oh, I commend it. I admire it.
I think almost every canite, every living being wants more than they have.
It's a certain art of Zen, I suppose, to realize what you are happy having and what you are happy not having. And it takes time to get to that stage. I understand that. You need to find that stage for yourself.
There are some who never find it. And eventually they burn out.
Gloriously, like galaxies, but eventually they burn out.
[00:35:47] Speaker B: I take it you're speaking from experience.
[00:35:50] Speaker C: No. I achieved this status quite early on and have maintained it. Some might look at me and say, well, there's a disappointment. He has all the potential. Do you know how many times I was offered archbishop Ricks in the Sabbat. Many times. And each time I declined. It was not in my interest to rule over others. Yes, I can dispatch others. Like you said, I can sit down and send minions to do my biding, but equally, I can go and do that bidding and enjoy it.
I'm not trying to give you career advice or unlife guidance.
You are not speaking to the right canite for that. What I am saying is, I suppose, halfway a warning that if you make an overt show of always reaching upward and trying to take something new, you will eventually find that hand cut off, and it will be fed to you finger by finger, sometimes repeatedly, until you learn the lesson that there are people above us who do not wish to lose their position.
The emperor who I mentioned, our founder, many others.
I think you're doing quite, quite well, Maya, looking at your report. And I look at it, incredible details, manipulations.
Such fantastic record keeping of your coterie mates. There is something remarkable to your work that will only improve. Just be cautious of whose attention you receive.
[00:37:45] Speaker B: I'm flattered. It's a lesson I wish we could impart to our nosferatu friend. And I indicate the document.
She seems hell bent on flouting the prince's prohibition on technology. Well, the Camaria's prohibition on technology, thankfully, she's also hell bent on being as kind as she can in this world, and it is going to destroy her. I've helped ensure that.
Oh, Schmendric has a vendetta against the circulatory system. This brings her in conflict with Bronwyn, who, as we both know now, is stepping up to take over as primogen for the Malkavians. She specifically expressed that she wanted to take charge of two arsonists who tried to set her and the coterie on fire. And I made that happen.
[00:38:49] Speaker C: Bravo.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: Thank you. Now she gets to decide what she's going to do with the two new pets, and I get to call in a favor with her on behalf of Bronwyn.
[00:39:03] Speaker C: You know, it's a funny thing, isn't it? That you can act against the best interest of the Camarilla and be the most Camarilla of anyone.
I dare say we can do more damage against this sect by being a part of it than when we were at war with it. And the irony is, there will be members of that sect who applaud you for this. They will delight in the fall of their own, because this is what the Camarilla is all about. This is why they could never win this poor Schmendric character. I don't have any pity for her. You understand?
Fixated on humanity using technology, making an enemy of the soon to be nominal malkavian primogen. Let's hope those sewer tunnels in Chicago go deep, for her sake, because someone's going to be looking for her. If it's not the Inquisition, it's going to be the Malkavians. If it's not the Malkavians, it'll be the circulatory system, and if it's not them, it's going to be someone else.
[00:40:18] Speaker B: She's rife with weaknesses. She's collecting mortals. She's taken up a retainer like Ivy. She's going to cause a lot of her own downfall, with or without my help or Bronwyn's.
[00:40:31] Speaker C: It's concerning, to a degree. Usually, I wouldn't care over much about just one nosferatu with a mortality fixation. However, Chicago is in a precarious state. You know what happened in London. You've heard what happened in other domains. She could become a beacon to these first light operatives, or whatever they're called. Some kind of FBI branch. I don't.
[00:41:07] Speaker B: Oh, they're already here.
[00:41:11] Speaker C: Well, that's my point, Maya.
They're already in Chicago. They're looking for weaknesses. And a vampire as young and pathetic as Schmendrick, well, how difficult would it be for her to start revealing where certain elysia are or havens that she has visited, or where vampires like to feed in the city? She could be their greatest weapon. This isn't your problem, you understand, but I'm going to have to speak to Sierra about this.
[00:41:50] Speaker B: We aren't protected by our particularities with technology.
[00:41:55] Speaker C: There's a ripple effect.
I don't give a tuppany jizz if Schmendrick gets burned at the stake.
What I care about is who she implicates to save herself, or these precious mortals and who they then go on to implicate. How long before it makes a domain like Chicago utterly unfit for the canines within it?
A city is worthless if it has been utterly purged by mortals with phosphorus rounds, and who know where we're all sleeping during the day? Weaknesses like that need to be excised like rotten flesh. Suitably enough for a nosferatu. So, yes, I'll be speaking with Sierra. I appreciate the report on this schmendric. As amusing as she is, she is also a colossal fault line in this domain.
[00:42:58] Speaker B: Regardless to your benefit, or to our benefit, however aligned you think we can be Prince Kevin Jackson has turned his right hand into a clown circus. He puts his trust in people who are going to destroy the city, to destroy canines, to destroy everything.
It may be worth considering a plan to rise from the ashes rather than take over in the chaos.
[00:43:28] Speaker C: Well, I will pass that on to people with more political minded schemes than me, of course.
[00:43:38] Speaker B: Always a perpetual lieutenant. You don't do any of the assigning, just the dirty work.
[00:43:45] Speaker C: Oh, I can express concern, Maya. Do not seek to try to condescend someone as old as me. But it is not my place to suggest that Chicago will be better as a burning ash heap. Or whether it is just good to have a few sparklers set around the perimeter. We'll discuss back in DC what the best course is for this city and act on it.
[00:44:15] Speaker B: I stand from the table.
[00:44:19] Speaker C: Are you accepting that you have lost our game?
[00:44:26] Speaker B: Perhaps there's something to knowing your place in the great chain of being right now. I cannot keep running around the board with you chasing me here. It's just prolonging the inevitable, isn't it?
[00:44:37] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:44:39] Speaker B: Thank you for everything, sir. Tally, but I have things to do.
[00:44:44] Speaker C: Maya, my girl. It has been a pleasure to see you again.
[00:44:51] Speaker B: I turn on a heel to leave. I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt a little guilty. It's always hard when you're trying to play a role as friends, to turn that off again. But since coming to Chicago, I've gotten used to working on my own. And I have to remember that is how things are now. Regardless of the convenience. I have things to do. I already let Talian know that I got presents for Schmendrick. There are presents for Ivy and Rebecca as well. I have research to do. And I've also been thinking about getting into broadcast radio.
[00:45:34] Speaker A: Oh, how easily kindred cut their ties. Maya's been here for all of it. A story that began with a sacrifice. Stories of pawns being moved on boards with or without their knowledge. Now, in the last moments, she faces her own choice whether or not to be a sacrifice. Sir, Tally has made assurances. Maya has doubts the information she's provided to the Amici. Oh, that's going to ripple through Chicago for months and years and decades to come.
In a way, you've made the coterie into your sacrifice bodies. You've installed as rungs on the ladder that you will now climb to DC. And what becomes of the three kindred who only days ago you counted among your friends as much as any kindred has friends.
Well, that's a story for another night.
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