Thread: Making a Call (Attn: JTM)

JTM quickly stands up bat at the ready without skipping a beat.

Did Laz just send a Sabbat here? I have to talk to him about that next time I see him. What the fuck was he thinking?

“Sabbat!!! You? Where are the rest of the fuckers!!!! Used to be? What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Corin? You can actually walk out of that club in one piece. Aint no fucking way!!!! Tell me another one. I hate those Sabbat bastards. You should know that, Corin. It wouldn’t surprise me that they might torch another place or two in this city either. Get ballsy and expliot the court and it's lack of cohesion. Keeping my eyes peeled out for em. Perfect time to do it too, but I've been ready and expecting it. Their main base is outside of Lamar, big hang out down past 160.

He smacks his bat in his hand hard.

“Barbie, take cover will ya? This could get ugly real fast. Now I know for a fact there are Sabbat infiltrators within the city, not just Razor or that fucking snake Marcus. I don't care if the city thinks they are gone either. You wouldn’t happen to be one of them Sabbat bastrads, wait female Sabbat…fucking punk bitches, now would you, Corin? Why don’t you (smack) explain it to me then. I’m listening. ”

She sits calmly looking him in the eyes.

"What that means, JTM, is that I signed a blood contract with the Archon Theo Bell saying that I would have nothing to do with the Sabbat unless it was to bring them down. I no longer use any Sabbat rituals. And the reason that Sabbat ambush happened a few weeks ago is because I set the Sabbat up. I worked hand in hand with Benjamin Walker to do so."

She stands up.

"Now I hate the Sabbat too. They used me, even when I was mortal...I was sixteen when they kidnapped me, raped me, beat me, tied me to a tree and did whatever they wanted to me. It's because of them that I have this...."

She turns around and pulls the back of her shirt down revealing a black crescent moon tattoo between her shoulder blades. She then turns back around and looks at him.

"You cannot know the passion that I have for wanting to destroy the Sabbat. If I could I would tear them all apart myself. 160 years of being their little bitch, their toy...not any more."

She still stands there looking him in the eyes.

"So, my question to you is, can you trust me enough to let me help you take those fuckers out?"

“Oh a contract with Theo “Taco” Bell, cool. (chuckles) And you lived to walk another night. Sabbat ass kicking, one of the things I do best. Rituals? What do you mean Rituals? More mo-jo shit like what Pius has told me about? Is that what they used torch Indigo? If I’d have stuck around at Indigo, I would have dealt with that Sabbat bullshit, but Lydia wanted to party, so I thought it better to escort her out. She freaks at the sight of the Sabbat. Cringy malk crap you know. (laughs).

He thinks about the incident of Indigo getting torched.

"You set up Indigo to go POOF? Not what I heard. Sophy G was personally responsible for it botched job and all that, no mention of Walker, let alone you. He never told me any shit like that, and he usually keeps me in the loop on those matters. Might have to call him, check on his sword, slip that in too, provided he’s not too busy with Amanda “BOOM BOOM” Winter’s that is. (chuckles)”

He smacks his bat again to break the laughter short.

“Look. I don’t wanna hear your life story. If you were into that kinky Gangrel Sabbat shit and rituals…that’s your deal. What you do behind closed doors, aint none of my biz Leave it at that. So they branded your ass, so what? Cattle get that done to them all the time. What makes it any different with you? You are or uhhh…. excuse me… were part of this black crescent moon pack….cool. Were they responsible for the ambush? Did any one see any markings like that…tats? “

He looks at her sizing her up nodding slowly.

“Yeah I think I can trust you for the time being. Anything to reduce the Sabbat population, but know this Corin. I catch you in a lie to me and my bat will be doing the talking from now on, got it. I hate being lied to just as much as finding a Sabbat infiltrator. You got anything else you want to tell me? I’m still listening.”

"I had no idea what was going to happen to Indigo. Constantino and I go back a long way, there's no way I would have let something like that happen to him, or his family."

She pauses

"I only told you what I did because I want you to know why it is I face the sabbat in battle and not fight with them. I will never lie to you JTM, there's no point to it, and believe me, should any sabbat infiltrate I will stand at your side to take them out."

She sits back down.

"So, you ready to begin your lesson? If so I need to know what you already know so I can branch out on that."

“Well when Indigo went down, part of my job and paycheck went with it. I hate losing money. I’ve known Tino or the Don as he likes to be called for several months now. Got a gio referral to look him up when my last gio client went ashy central. Gino told me to look Tino up. Tino needs to straighten out his family too. Get off Emma, off the shuffleboards, and the boat period and clean house with them. Change Alec’s and Sophy G’s damn diapers. Shit!!! They already have enough BABIES in that place, they don’t need more grown up wanna be ones. They are making that place worse than when he was around. He better not forget my postcard to while he’s at it.”

He nods listening.

“K. I’ll hold you to that Corin. Trust me on that. Cool. I do need all the help I can get.”

He still stands thinking.

“Sure. Hmmmm ..Sabbat. Travel in packs, splinter cells etc. Formiddable fighters if they were more organized. They prefer the general chaos and mayhem. Killed many of them in my travels. Notorious for shredding my body armor, just pisses me off to no end. Kicking the shit out of and toppling over elders. They don’t care what gets in their way. Walking breaches if you me. Like that Lasombra fuck Romeo. Still don’t know why he sticks around here. Last time I let him borrow a stake from me too. Holed up on 160. We push em back. They keep coming back for more. Kinda like Osama Bin Laden in that aspect. So I’m ready to strike against em. Never seen a ritual performed but heard about em in passing sorta….thought it was just gossip and bullshit though. Now why don’t you enlighten me on something I don’t know, Corin. Don’t leave anything out, k.”

"I see you've done some homework. Romeo is a good guy, JTM, he's here because he wants to keep this City safe."

She thinks a moment.

"Looks like you're ready for the next step of knowledge about the Sabbat."

Corin goes on to talk to JTM about Antediluvians, and the threat they pose. She then goes on to talk to JTM about the First Anarch Revolt, wherin neonates across Europe rose up and diablerized or killed their elders (the Tzimisce and Lasombra Antediluvians supposedly included), and how the Sabbat and Camarilla formed as a result of it. She describes to him the Code of Milan, and that it supposedly codifies the Sabbat's aims. She tells him stories regarding the various Sabbat civil wars in North America, and that a great deal of the Sects holdings in the United States were lost as a result.

She pauses to see if he's capturing everything she's telling him. Once she's sure he's getting it she continues

She tells him of the various major political camps within the Sabbat, such as: the Status Quo; the Moderates; the Loyalists, who wish to adhere to the original intents of the first Anarch movement and seek freedom from elder oppression; and the Ultra-Conservatives, who believe the purpose of the Sabbat should be the battle against the Antediluvians alone, and have little regard for individual liberty in this war. She tells him of the Inquisition, a group which scours the Sabbat for signs of heresy and infernalism, and of the Black Hand, an elite guild of assassins and spies.

She then tells him about the Tremere antitribu. Then she moves on to explain some of the more common Paths of Enlightment found within the Sabbat, such as the Path of Caine, the Path of Cathari, the Path of Death and the Soul, the Path of the Feral Heart, the Path of Honorable Accord, and the Path of Power and the Inner Voice.

She then moves on to tell him about infernalists, and how they are sometimes capable of learning a form of blood magic known as Dark Thaumaturgy and that the followers of this Path are considered heretics to the Sect and ought be executed very very very soon. She then talks about legendary Sabbat vampires.

Once she is finished she looks at him, waiting for any questions he might have.

JTM looks at Barbie.

“Did you get all that? I hope you did.”

He thinks about what Corin just said to him.

“I do know some Sabbat shit.”

He chuckles at the good old anarch comment. Good stories he’s heard before.

“Code of Milan. Cool. Damn Sabbat civil wars. Cahill would just love that.”

He nods listening to her more.

“Freedom from elder oppression. Been there. Done that. Black hand and infernalists. Know a bit about them actually. Fucking paths. We got some of those walking down those paths here I think actually.”

He hears magic and perks up a bit.

“Renegade Tremere? Dark Magics? What the fuck? Like shit to do with demon summoning? Baali? Crap like that? I think I’m following you, Corin. So far so good. Keep going.”

She smiles as he asks questions, she knows it's the best way to learn and loves the fact that he's taking it all in.

"Yes JTM, there are dark magics that can summon demons. It's not a pretty sight. But from what I've heard, this City has already seen it."

She thinks a moment on what she should touch on next. JTM seemed like the perfect pupil for this and it made her happy that she was passing on her knowledge for the better of the Camarilla.

She starts to touch on the paths more, giving the basic theory of them telling him that the Path of Caine is a Path which concerns itself with Noddist teachings and instructs it's followers to hold Caine as the example of the ideal vampire. The Path of Cathari, is a Path based loosely on the Albegensian heresies of the middle ages, which extols vice and indulgence in the physical world. The Path of Death and the Soul, is a Path based arround the ungoing meticulous study of death and the dying. The Path of the Feral Heart, is a Path based on the predatory nature of Cainites and the full embrace of their animal instincts. The Path of Honorable Accord is a Path based around concepts of codified ethics and fealty. The Path of Power and the Inner Voice, is a Path based around the acquisition of power and the importance of individual ambition. Then lastly the Path of Evil Revelations, in which a vampire pledges obedience to an infernal overlord in both an attempt to stave off the advances of the Beast and in exchange for demonic powers.

She then touches on some things that he may already know, but wanting to give him a more broad scope of those things. She lets him know that the clans of Lasombra and Tzmisce make up the majority and ruling class of the Sabbat. She explains a little more about the functioning of a pack, it's positions and what they are (Ductus, Preist, Abbot). She then tells him about the political structure outside of the pack unit and give a rough description of the functions of the Bishops, Arch-Bishops, Cardinals, Prisci, Templars and Regent.

She then starts to explain the more common auctoris ritae, such as the high holidays (Festivo dello Estinto and Palla Grande), Fire Dances or the Wild Hunt. She then moves into giving him knowledge of the Vaulderie, and that it is used to ritually bind packs together through something that resembles the blood bond and that the Vaulderie is capable of breaking existing blood bonds.

"I understand that you may know some of this already. I just want to make sure you get all the information you need to be able to spot these guys."

“Yeah. They have. Twice if you count Springfield. Feeding frenzy over stupidity if you ask me. Just a bunch of rats fighting over one small piece of cheese. (chuckles).

He listens to her going into more detail.

“Ok so the Noddists are like the Oscars for the glory of the ideal vamp prize. Something like that. Indulgence? Don’t mind if I do.”

He takes another swig of his beer.

“Death and dying? Yeah. I like the Sabbat that way. Extra ashy…wonder if they come in grilled like KFC? Predatory? Animal instincts? Ethics? Fealty?”

He looks at her up and down, chuckling somewhat nodding still.

Yep figures a Gangrel would tell me this.

“Now power and individual ambition…that’s the whole anarch creedo. If you want something, you just reach out and take it. Totally understand that from good ol Eddie and the anarchs. But some cammies do that too, hoard it all for themselves when they should share you know what I’m saying. Sacrifcing yourself for power? Now wait a minute…..Kris Kross did something like that up in the park. Demonic moron if you ask me. Make that dead demonic moron JTM style.”

He hates the mention of those two clans.

“Pfft. Lasombra shadowy bastards and their twisted Tzimisce counterparts. I can handle them. So they have powers too…so what? It’s the method and strategy to take em down. If you don’t have control and the ability to use em to gain a distinct advantage…then guess what? You’re the one that’s fucked.”

He chuckles at the mention of holidays.

“They need to give up those holidays and focus on the mortal ones. They are way cooler. Fire Dances and the Wild Hunt…sounds like someone walking over hot coals on purpose. (chuckling). Besides if they search for things in packsand get what they want successfully, that just means someone is out of the loop up here. I tried to warn em once before, but I don’t think the message fully sunk in. So that’s not my fault, is it? Fuck the blood bond thing, like I want lackeys following me everywhere. If I truly wanted that. I’d make some ghouls or some shit like that, more manageable in the long run.”

He checks to see if Barbie got all of that.

“Cool. Got it all. Thanks. Now I know people around here don’t normally do something for nothing either. I’m trying to clear my books of boons you know. Let’s just say I owe you a favor for something later on down the road, I’m not stamping boon on it either, that cool with you? Now it won’t be one of those you get immediately. This March month of requests has already been filled up. But that also gives you some time to think about it….unless there was more you needed to tell me. I mean if you know what you want, make sure Barbie knows to add it to the list k. I’ll see what I can do about it.”

He takes another swig of beer almost finishing it off.