[i:f32eb7564f]Cairo, Chantry of House and Clan Tremere[/i:f32eb7564f]

"What do you mean, he's gone?" Abetorios glared at a high ranking apprentice. "He's just not... there." Came the reply. "He's not in torpor, it's like his body is an empty shell."
Abetorius nodded slowly. "Nevertheless, the work must continue, we may have little time."
At his unspoken command, trolleys of medical equipment were wheeled forwards.

[i:f32eb7564f]In Twilight[/i:f32eb7564f]

The garou had broken Julius and his coterie into Lodin's haven, on the CCTV monitor, Sheriff could be seen ready to take down the hostages at a single word from the Prince. Lodin sat behind his desk, smiling. "Checkmate, I believe." He said. One of the garou vanished from sight, reappearing on the monitor, embattled with Sheriff. Julius used the distraction to cast "Trust of Childlike Faith" upon Lodin, yet somehow his magic failed, as he succumbed to Lodin's dominance. On the monitor, he could see the garou dead and the hostages being slain. In their rage the remaining garou turned upon him, rending his flesh...

..."But this is not how it happened" Screamed Julius...

..."True," Came the stranger's voice, "Gives you something to think about, doesn't it."

[i:f32eb7564f]Vienna, Domus Magnus of House and Clan Tremere[/i:f32eb7564f]

Meerlinda read the message, over and over. "Julius Darrant has apparently befallen some disaster". She hit the reply button.

[b:f32eb7564f][i:f32eb7564f]To: Astor Morathi <morathi@tremnet.net>
From: Councillor Meerlinda <meerlinda@tremnet.net>
Subject: Re: Status of Julius Darrant, Pontifex of the 3rd Circle

Head to Cairo, stay secret, stay hidden. I will investigate and contact you again when I know more.[/i:f32eb7564f][/b:f32eb7564f]

Meerlinda entered her private laboratory and began to work.

Eveshka sat staring at her computer screen. On it was a reply from Madame Guil, the Toreador Justicar. It contained the number for Councillor Meerlinda. Just getting the information required Eveshka to become highly indebted to Madame Guil. The actual amount of the debt she was not sure she wanted to know. Madame Guil said that she would smooth it out so that Meerlinda would be expecting her call, but one did not simply phone up Meerlinda. She looked at the telephone number. With her hands shaking like those of a fearful child, she began to press the numbers. Her finger hovered over the final digit for a moment. In her experience with the Tremere, she had always found it best to be thought of as a brainless trollope. Direct contact with one as high as Meerlinda could change all of that. She would forever be known.

Her finger dropped onto the final digit and let it's harsh tone hold out for a long time before she took her finger off the digit. With her eyes closed she heard the phone start to ring.

ring ring

[i:f9054d71ae] Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer [/i:f9054d71ae]

ring ring

[i:f9054d71ae] Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer [/i:f9054d71ae]

ring

"Bon soir, Comtesse," said a silky voice she had only heard about. "I've been expecting you."

"Cuh-councillor Meerlinda, please forgive my intrusion," said Eveshka very nervously.

Silence from the other end.

"I do not know what has happened but I felt a dear friend of mine call out to me in great pain."

Silence.

"Pontifex Darrant went to Cairo on information he and I had discovered about," said Eveshka.

"The Scroll of Shal-Ka-Mense," interrupted Meerlinda. "I am aware of this, Apprentice Morathi has already sent me a communique on the matter."


"She... she has?" asked Eve.

"Indeed. Although your contacting me personally on his behalf shows great strength of character on your part Comtesse Eveshka, if not great loyalty to Julius."

"I cannot help but feel somewhat responsible Councillor," said Eve.

"As you should feel," came the cold reply from Meerlinda. "Now, what is it you seek from me, that you could not get through your own manipulations, which i have come to see over the years, are not insignificant."

"Petty intrigues, and political posturing I am adept at. This is something completely out of my league. Is there a way that I can get what information I have to you so that it can be used to get him back? I am not at libery to leave my realm."

Meerlinda laughed myrthlessly.

"Your realm," she asked with a bit of that laughter.

This time it was Eveshka's turn to be silent.

After a tense moment, Meerlinda said, "You can simply transfer any information you desire to this IP. It is secure. Send it encrypted if you so desire. It may make you feel better."

Eveshka was silent again. "I don't think I could."

Meerlinda raised her voice a bit, "You don't think you could? It was not I who initiated this contact. If you didn't think you could go through with it, you ..."

"No, no, " interrupted Eve. "You misunderstand me My Lady. I don't know how."

Nothing but laughter came from the other end of the line. Eveshka held the receiver away from her face burning with embarrassment and a rage she knew she could do nothing with until after the call was completed.

"Very well, I shall send a trusted courier to you within the next few minutes who can assist you."

"Within the next few minutes? How could you," began Eveshka.

"We are Tremere my Dear Comtesse," said Meerlinda with a laugh.



P.S. for Gabe, Mora, and whoever else are trying to join in, don't forget that this is still August :) Not up to the present yet.

((yup i know, but i need to know what i'm supposed to discover from the Doctor...if you could let me know i'd greatly appreciate it

Still travelling under her mortal identity of Lucilla Troy, Morathi was settling into her room alone at the Cairo Hilton. Her plane had arrived very low key just before dusk, allowing her to visit local markets to buy attire that would allow her to pass as a native if needed. But for now she was playing the role of Ms Troy on holiday as she had yet to familiarise herself with local customs sufficiently to attempt passing as a native with any degree of success...

Fortunately there were many similarities with her experience of travelling in Turkey to allow her to maintain a discrete profile as just another tourist without being a magnet for the peddlers and less desirable elements. It was partly an issue of body language, act like you knew the rules and the social predators would seek easier, less alert prey.

Stepping out onto the balcony of her room, Morathi looked down upon the illuminated Cairo below. Julius would be out there somewhere, as she looked she flipped open her sat-phone and called Eveshka to inform her she had arrived and intended to start figuring out local politics in Cairo, and Julius' probable location as soon as possible, wondering if she noted a more guarded tone towards her in her Mentor's voice....

[img:ade57179f9]http://www.rtfract.com/rtfract/cairo5.jpg[/img:ade57179f9]

Much as logic called for her to start an investigation at the local chantry, Morathi heeded the wisdom of Councillor Meerlinda's directives to stay secret, and stay hidden. From her brief time in Cairo, she had already been disturbed by the apparent lack of covert indicators of a Chantry, the subtle waypoints that would allow a member of House and Clan to find the safehouse a chantry represented. The Chantry was not welcoming visitations by fellow Tremere, and if so it would certainly not welcome her waltzing in as an official inspector of Chantry standards and practices...

No... It would be best if she settled into the local vampiric nightlife discretely, she would maintain her role as Ms Lucilla Troy, play the tourist, visit some ruins and perhaps locate a Toreador or Setite that could be talked into providing her with an idea of the local politics...

[i:8ae615f3bb] 9:45 PM The Sorbonne, Paris [/i:8ae615f3bb]

Gabriel sat in Dr. Malik's office looking at the esteemed Professor of Anthropology and Linguistics. The Seneschal of Cascadia sat reading the professor’s aura while he looked over the notes that Gabriel had brought.

"Mr. O'brien, as I told Lady Shuvolov, I have not the faintest clue what this means. It is just jibberish. Some of it is a progenitor of Farsi, others Sanskirt, others appear to be similar to early Egyptian glyphs, while still others almost look like Cuniform. It's as if the writer was either very uneducated, or SO educated that it is a coded dialect," said Dr. Malik.

Gabriel nodded, seeing his aura showing the tension indicative of dishonesty.

“I do not know what this means,” finished Dr. Malik.

Again Gabriel nodded.


(I’m stopping here to let you decide what you wish to do. i.e. dominate him and force him to talk, or whatever.))

Gabriel stood, qued by the impatient rapping of the middle aged man's foot against the floor. Taking the notes back into his posession, he allowed himself to be led to the door. As Dr. Malik opened the simple oak door leading to the crowded London streets, Gabriel stopped and extended a hand.

"Well, I thank you for your time indeed Professor Malik." Gabriel said, flashing a false smile of support. The once brown and amber waves which ensconced the doctor slowly paled as relief washed over him. "If you stumble across anything, feel free to contact me at the number I left you. As it is, I will be in London for a few days, so perhaps I may call upon you again?"

"Of course." Dr. Malik ushered him out the door, and Gabriel found himself upon the street. Behind him, up the well kept stoop, the clacks of bolts locking into place were issued from behind the door. The Ventrue pulled his tan trench tighter, securing the belt snuggly around his waste before drawing his phone out from his jacket pocket.

The other end did not complete a full ring before Tyler's raspy voice answered curtly.

"Malik wouldn't cooperate." Gabriel said flatly, pausing at the head of one of the city's many subway entrances. The night was darker than usual, heavy stormclouds blocking what little light the moon would have offered. The city sat in a blank void, it's denizens scurrying home from work, unaware of the carnivores amongst them. "Start digging."

"Alright, can do. What exactly do you want?"

"I left a bug in his office, I want you listening in. Tell Noshad to look up phone bills, frequent or long distance numbers. I want credit card reports, find out where he shops, eats, drinks...anything and everything. Get your hands on his bank statements, lets get some dirt."

"You got it Mr. O." Tyler sang, his ego apparently bolstered by Gabriel's faith in him in these matters.

"Address me like that again and there won't be enough of you left over for the rats to gnaw on." Gabriel said evenly, snapping the phone shut and stepping onto the train. As the vehicle pitched forward, Gabriel wondered what would keep Dr. Malik from being upfront, aside from the fact that he'd be sharing details with a complete stranger.

These affairs could be so tedious, unwilling mortals. A Sabbat would simply have dominated him into an encyclopedia of information, but Gabriel had learned more than once the hard way that bursting into a city and spreading your vampiric powers on influencial mortals was a sure fire way to earn an undead enemy...not to mention unwanted attention. Besides, why ruin the fun..?

[i:8860fa51ff]Somewhere in the Middle East[/i:8860fa51ff]

The robed figure nodded to the image before him. "Our paths, it seems then, are linked. I will do this thing you ask. We will discuss the price later." The image nodded in return, a few blonde hairs falling out of place as the image faded. "Faisal, come here!"

"Yes, master?"

"You will go to Cairo, here are your instructions."

"Yes, master."

[i:8860fa51ff]Cairo, Chantry of House and Clan Tremere[/i:8860fa51ff]

"Bring him back!" Shouted Abetorius. The Apprentice cringed, "From where, Councillor? I do not understand where he is. His body is here, but his essence, his soul, I cannot find."

For the first time in this escapade, Abetorius began to know doubt. This was not going to plan. An empty shell was not what he had intended at all. Julius' memories could be doctored later, but this was beyond his arts. In another time, he might have contacted his Sire for help, but her current favourite was the subject of his problems. For the first time, in as long as he could remember, he felt very alone.

[i:8860fa51ff]In Twilight[/i:8860fa51ff]

The youngest and sole surviving founder of the Order of Hermes addressed the gathered members of his House. "...and so, House Diedne must be eliminated. Their link to the fey constitutes a danger to the plans I have for us, for our future, for our survival. The Dominion encroaches upon upon our lands further each day and so we diminish." Tremere's eyes narrowed. "I for one, plan to live forever and will not allow anything, not even the coming Age of Reason, to stand in my way. The Order stands in confusion and chaos. Since House Tytalus were convicted of Diabolism, the seeds of distrust have been sown throughout our order. Now is the time for us to act, act to preserve our House."

"Aye and see what makes 'em tick?" Came a voice from the back of the room. Tremere grinned, "They taught us spontaneous magic, I imagine they have a trick or two up their sleeves. If anyone should come across anything... interesting... please ensure it reaches our Domus Magnus in Transylvania." Tremere drew himself to his full height and spoke formally, "On this, the Fourteenth Day of June, in the Year of our Lord One Thousand and Seventy Eight, by the authority invested in me, as Primus of House Tremere, I declare a Wizard's March in force upon House Diedne. For their crimes, they are renounced from the Order of Hermes."

For the young Magus Julius, who had only that day received his Sigil from his proud [i:8860fa51ff]parens[/i:8860fa51ff], Nicolai, who stood beside him, this was indeed an exciting...

...time...

...passes. The massed forces of House Tremere, accompanied by elements of House Flambeau (who could never miss a fight) are moving on the Domus Magnus of House Diedne, deep within the territory of the Hibernian Tribunal. Julius moved with his brothers, chasing the fleeing Diedne magi, unceremoniusly blasting them aside like so many flies, their [i:8860fa51ff]Parma Magica[/i:8860fa51ff] unable to defend them against the attacks of so many mages simultaneously.

Back at the seat of House Diedne, Tremere magi had finished looting the library for all it contained and a group of Flambeau were eagerly preparing a ritual which would blast the building into smouldering ruins. Julius and his brothers headed back to watch the fireworks, leaving the ever eager Flambeau to finish chasing down the remaining magi, no.. no longer magi. Magi were members of the Order of Hermes. These were renounced, hedge wizards and soon to be dead.

Even as the completion of the carefully prepared ritual cast a great fireball into the sky, a magus appeared in front of Julius, scorched, still smoking. "Diedne!" Shouted Julius, eager to score another kill for the day. "Honourless dogs." Snarled the Diedne mage. "Face me in the Certámen circle and we'll see who is stronger."

"I'll do it." Said Julius, even as his friends began the incantations which would end the life of the Diedne before him. "Julius, don't." Warned Erichto, a sister from his home covenant. "This is a Diedne, renounced from the Order. Beneath contempt and not deserving." Julius smiled, the same smile he always smiled, the one which conveyed his self confidence. "I'll deal with this one. Form the circle." Reluctantly, his companions wove the certámen ritual. Julius and the Diedne were now enclosed. No magic could escape the circle. "As challenged, I choose the technique of Creo." Began Julius, "Then I choose the form of Animál" replied the Diedne.

So the duel began. Each certámen was different, reflecting the types of magic chosen by the combatants. In this case, Creo Animál, each mage created greater and more powerful beasts, which battled in the center of the circle. At first, Julius had an easy lead, his knowledge of Creo outstripping the the Diedne mage, but as the battle progressed, the Diednes in depth knowledge of the form of Animál begane to win through, until finally Julius' defences were overrun. The Diedne laughed in triumph. By tradition, the winner of a Certámen duel was permitted to cast one free spell at the loser and even as Julius friends tried to use their own magic to prevent it, the Diedne caused brambles to spear through Julius' body, invading his limbs and vital organs with thorny growth, then releasing his agony by pulling his body apart. So much bloody flesh left in pieces upon the ground.

"Do you yet see the lesson?" Came the stranger's voice.

Julius took a deep breath, "Perhaps, though not the reason for it."

[b:8860fa51ff]Hermetic Glossary[/b:8860fa51ff]

Animál: "Animal"; This is the magical Form associated with manipulation of animals, the mind of animals and animal matter.
Creo: "I create"; This is the magical Technique associated with creation and restoration.
Certámen: "Contest"; This is a form of non-lethal duelling between magi.
Covenant: This is the term for a community of magi living together
Domus magna: (pl. Domi magnae) The location of the covenant or resident where the Primus of House lives.
Parens: (pl. parentes) "parent". The term given to one's former master, in a gender-neutral sense.
Parma Magica: trans. Magical Shield. A ritual all Hermetic mages use to provide them with some degree of magic resistance.
Primus: (pl. primi, f. prima, f.pl. primae) Short for "primus magus", or "first magus", it is a term denoting the Head of a particular House.

((OOC: Certámen: "Contest"; This is a form of non-lethal duelling between magi.

This tradition continues into the time of the Tremere, but very few under the rank of regent are even aware of it, much less how to invoke it. However Blood Certámen: may result in lethal duelling between vampiric magi, and is often regarded a hallmark of a loyal Tremere. Its also incidently how Morathi slew her Renegade Sire. Victory goes to the vampire with the most finesse and broadest knowledge, not the one with the greater raw power. ))

[i:fe58d13557][b:fe58d13557]Edit[/b:fe58d13557][/i:fe58d13557] I'll insert Mora's dangerous liasons here Julius when my blood is a little less 40% vol :oops: PS: Happy new Year :lol:

((Gabe, Mora, Julius, and whomever else is following this: I am working on the scroll itself and will need help with someone who knows html and all that crap so that i can actually post bits of it on the message board, or alternatively, if someone has some bandwidth they could spare ::coughs:: Julius ::coughs::: I could post the whole thing there.

Wow, that was one long run on sentence. I am proud of myself.

[b:48f5c76179]Cairo[/b:48f5c76179]

Morathi was enjoying herself. Cairo was an interesting city split up into several social zones called [i:48f5c76179]Khittas[/i:48f5c76179] by the city's remarkably sizable kindred population. She was especially interested in the Khitta under the complete dominion of the local Caitiff prince, which was known as 'Free Cairo'.

Whilst being particularly careful to avoid attracting attention from fellow Tremere, she had made a few contacts within the local Toreador population there under the auspices of considering to arrange an appearance of Lucilla Troy in a singing capacity at a future function of the British Embassy, It seemed that with a little namedropping her Toreador contacts quickly recalled that the name 'Troy' had been associated with Eveshka's own stagename in performances in Rome and Vienna. It had taken little effort to demonstrate she was in fact the same 'Troy'. This cover story she hoped would mask her true objectives in that particular region of Cairo to any kindred that were monitoring her activities.

In actuality her choice of potential venue for her stagename was selected due to practical and topographical considerations. She was after all in Egypt with an British passport so the British Embassy would be the most likely to welcome a performance of one of their citizens. Also she was aware the Cairo Chantry was supposed to be located under the Egyptian Museum, which was convieniently a short walk to the north from the Embassy, and she intended to make sure that she convieniently happened to walk that way after meeting with Embassy representatives.

Returning towards her hotel, Morathi used her sat-phone to check for any messages from Meerlinda, in addition to a few reports from Willow, there was indeed one message. The message was cyptic, but essentially seemed to be informing her to anticipate aid from an unexpected quarter.

Before she had even entered her hotel suite, Morathi's auspex could sense something had entered her room whilst she had been away, something had changed in the feel of the room. Cautiously she entered, closed the door and flicked on the lights, close observation would have noted a slight crackle of electricity dancing across her figertips from the switch for a few seconds as she drew a charge from the hotel's power supply into her body to store for potential release as raw lightning as and when she saw fit. Her vision shifting into spectrums beyond those available to mortals as she scanned her room.

The curtains were undisturbed from the same open state they had been in whilst she had been resting during the day, the spirit within her body craving the feel of sunlight even if its host was not aware to experience it.

[color=darkblue:48f5c76179][i:48f5c76179]<<Behind you...>>[/i:48f5c76179] [/color:48f5c76179]

The spirit within her heart warned, she turned to spot the pale aura of a male kindred that had moved behind her so silently identifying his clan was narrowed down to a short list...

[i:48f5c76179]"I'm guessing you are not the Maid here to place the complimentary chocolates on my pillow are you?...."[/i:48f5c76179]

She smiled at her unexpected visitor, and carefully lowered her hands, it was mostly symbolic as she could call upon her stored charge of lightning at any time and unless intentionally directed otherwise it would simply strike the nearest target. But she suspected if her 'Guest' meant her harm he would have tried by now, especially as she was now aware of him.

[i:48f5c76179]"Perhaps some formalities.... I am Morathi of House and Clan Tremere... And you would be?...."[/i:48f5c76179]

Her guest bowed slightly in formal greeting.

[i:48f5c76179]"Faisal... I come as an envoy of Hassan Ibn Sabbah...."[/i:48f5c76179]

Her 'Guest' was proving to be the soul of Arab charm and good manners, and Morathi in return as his host treated him with the due courtesy one could expect from an English Lady as he started to explain why he had come to her...

_____________________
((OOC: I've just got my mitts on 'Cairo by Night' and hope to use it in future posts as a source of regional info, but I'm holding back on posting too much in Faisal's character until I've got a reasonable handle on how to portray him worked out in my head... [Never portrayed an Assamite before so I'm working on a crash revision course on the themes and styles involved :P ] ))

[i:5cbf000712] Mid August, Chateau Usse [/i:5cbf000712]

Eveshka sat at her piano playing nothing more artful than four octave scales at blistering speed. Up and down the keys her delicate fingers flew, octave after octave, scale after scale. The sound of the insanity resounded throughout most of the ground floor of the Chateau. The neonates at Court knew better than to intrude upon their Countess when she was playing like this. It usually meant she was anxious. When Countess Eveshka got anxious, her judgement got impaired. When her judgement got impaired, Eveshka became… unpredictable at best. Things at Court had run relatively smooth for the most part, since she had immolated Renard. She had been “anxious” that evening as well.

A soft knock was heard on the door jam of the double doors that stood open to the main ball room, adjoining the small music room in which Eveshka played. The scales abruptly stopped. Montcalm came walking softly into the room with a prettyish woman on his arm. Eveshka’s blush of health failed her and she became as white as any Cappadocian. She stood up, looking resplendent, though anachronistic, in a gown that would have looked completely at home in the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Eveshka curtsied deeply.

“Councillor Meerlinda,” she said softly.

Meerlinda nodded her head graciously.

“Dame Comtesse,” she said. “I thoroughly enjoyed the Tudor Dynasty. None in any of their courts could possibly compare with your divine radiance.”

Eveshka nodded, her blush of health returning. “Thank you My Lady, you do me too much honour to praise me so, even in my own house.”
Meerlinda smiled and laughed, fakely, looking around at the sumptuous chateau. “House you call this?” she laughed fakely again. “Well, I am so happy that you received me so promptly after our last chat.”

“But of course, Councillor,” smiled Eveshka, her façade of confidence returning. “It is not often that I get visitors of such note from House Tremere.”

Meerlinda smiled and nodded. “Indeed,” she said with a tone of dismissal. The two vampiresses regarded one another for a moment. “Comtesse, we need to talk,” she began.

Eveshka nodded and motioned towards a settee, “What is on your mind, Councillor?” asked Eveshka, knowing already what would be the response. Potentially the most beautiful woman existing sat down on the settee as the other woman, nowhere near as beautiful, but exponentially more powerful, stood before her. “We need to discuss some things,” began Meerlinda.

[i:353a0f5626][b:353a0f5626][u:353a0f5626]In Twilight[/u:353a0f5626][/b:353a0f5626][/i:353a0f5626]

A gull circled overhead, calling to the sea, which, as before, washed up against the grey stone of the cliff face. The rain had given way to sunshine, with a fresh salty breeze blowing in from the foam crested waters. Julius breathed deeply, savouring the crisp scent.

At the edge of the cliff, the stranger awaited, the ever present guide who had taken Julius through two strange scenes of past possibilities. As Julius approached, he turned, raising a hand in greeting.

"Welcome back Magus, how was your journey?"

"You should know, I think." Replied Julius, "For the road I walked was one of your making."

"True enough." Smiled the enigmatic stranger. "You should be glad. In my day, twilight was chaos, there were few who could control it and no-one to guide you. Of us all, Only Criamon really understood it."

"The seeker of the Enigma, I read about him. Strange fellow."

"A little like your Malkavian friends, I fancy. Criamon and his followers understood each other, even if no-one else did."

"But why am I here?"

"Questions again? Very well. That one I cannot answer, though I can speculate."

"By all means do."

"As you wish. Julius, it seems that your magic is closest to how it was. You use the forms and techniques like the mages of old, unlike your brethren in House Tremere. Furthermore, unlike modern mages you are not subject to the Paradox and the Dominion. It therefore seems entirely logical that you should be subject to the twilight."

"If we are to be logical, then my next questions must be who are you and what is your interest in me?"

"Maybe one day you will know the answers to both of those questions. For now, it is enough for you to know that I needed you to learn a lesson. For a long time now, your actions have shown a particular quality which is perhaps, not ideal and you lack one which would be prudent to enjoy. Do you understand Julius, have you learned from this experience?"

"You have tried to show my over confidence and my lack of caution. You are, I think, calling me a lucky bastard."

The stranger laughed, "Yes, young Magus, you have indeed enjoyed more than your share of luck. You might, in future, wish to make a little of your own, by exercising a touch of prudence now and again."

"Why go to all this trouble? Why try to teach me this?"

"Because I need you alive... for the future."

"The future?"

"Yes. You might want to think about that, too. And so, until our paths cross again, I bid you farewell. Enjoy the sunshine, it will likely be a time before you see it again."

"Wait.." Demanded Julius to the fading figure. "Dammit!" He then announced to the empty air. True enough though, the sun was warm and friendly. Julius stretched out his arms and in an instant, a second gull took to the skies, exalting in the feel of the air through his feathers and the hot blood pumping through his body.

[i:353a0f5626][b:353a0f5626][u:353a0f5626]Cairo, Chantry of House and Clan Tremere[/u:353a0f5626][/b:353a0f5626][/i:353a0f5626]

"He's smiling... what does that mean? [b:353a0f5626]What does that mean!?![/b:353a0f5626]"

((This is actually stuff that only Gabe would be finding out through his bugging of Dr. Malik's place, but I figured that those in the home audience who are playing along would like to know what he is finding as well))

Tyler walked into the penthouse room in St. Germain that Gabriel was renting out carrying a sheaf of paper. The Ventrue Seneschal of Cascadia looked up at him from some documents upon which he was working.

“What have you brought for me, Tyler?” asked Gabriel.

“The latest information from Dr. Malik. I’m not sure what any of this means, but it seemed important enough to bring it right over, Mr. O.,” Tyler said.

Gabriel looked at him and held out his hand with interest written all over his face. “Have you read any of it?”

“A bit, seems like there is something going on outside of Cairo,” said Tyler.

Gabriel looked down at the page to which Tyler turned and saw:

[i:754182e717] Unknown Contact in Baghdad – Have you made any further headway in Egypt?

Dr. Malik- We’ve located the Tabernacle under the great Pyramid at Giza. Thus far the Setites are not giving any difficulty. It seems that they are just as interested in this Thothist link as we are, and are quite willing to let us do the leg work.

Unknown Contact in Baghdad – That is fine for now. How is our Toreador “Goddess” fairing? I trust the little clues that were given were swallowed hook, line, and sinker?

Dr. Malik – Yes. She has invested considerable assets in the venture. I believe she has sent a rather wealthy tremere fledgling, whom she has enraptured, down to Cairo to make some inquiries. Together, their financial backing could very well prove sufficient to unearthing the Tabernacle.

Unknown Contact in Baghdad – Hmmm, yes, Julius Darrant and the might of Darrant Industries. I know of Mess’r Darrant. This little marriage will have to be watched. Shuvolov is difficult enough to pin down on her own, Darrant is more powerful than most could ever imagine. –silence- Any more on this upstart Irishman?

Dr. Malik – No sire. I do not think he is doing anything.

Unknown Contact in Baghdad – Good. Good. He would not be too difficult to remove if he does persist though. Very well Salah, you have done well. How goes the translation on the Scroll fragments?

Dr. Malik – I am making progress, but it is difficult without a clearer image from which to work.

Unknown Contact in Baghdad - Keep working.

//////// CONTACT SEVERED AT THIS POINT //////////// [/i:754182e717]

Gabriel looked up at Tyler with an even more curious look on his face.

((thx Eve, i went on vacation before i got a chance to post :) i'll try to write something up tonight when i get home

Gabriel was exasperated. He was finding himself more and more becoming the little fish in an enormous pond. He poured nightly over the cryptic clues that the bug provided him with, and what little information Noshad and Tyler could provide.

He barricaded himself within the hotel suite, refusing to leave. The hotel staff found it strange as the 'do not disturb' sign never left the door, but as their jobs commanded, they left their VIP be. Behind the door however, Gabriel was being submerged ever deeper within the puzzling riddles Dr. Malik had so graciously provided.

The parchments he had obtained in Cascadia mentioned a scroll of some renown, writing and diction suggested of middle eastern origin. However, the dialect and style was either too old or too new to decipher much else of the folders. Dr. Malik had unknowingly shed a little on the mystery, or at least his phone bill did. Calls to Egypt and Baghdad were carefully monitored, but the manner of the conversations were general at bests. Still they had some leads....

A dull and obviously cautious knock drew Gabriel from his contemplation as he lay stewing within the steaming bath water. He glanced over to the bathroom door and saw the outline of a pair of feet on the other side, pacing anxiously in place. The crisp, musky smell of his own vitae could barely be detected over the sweet oils and various soaps that were strewn throughout the steam-drenched bathroom. Tyler had been essential in their studies over the past several days, and Gabriel had rewarded him handsomely in a rather excessive amount of vitae. It was clear he had been indulging heavily in it.

"Come in." the Ventrue said, drawing himself out of the bath slowly. The ghoul complied and opened the door only to be confronted by his naked master. Tyler stumbled backwards slightly, shocked by Gabriel&#8217;s sheer lack of shame. "Come now Tyler, I'm nearly two centuries old. I'm past modesty with my own lackeys."

"Ah...yes sir." Tyler mumbled, standing his ground. He produced a notepad and several folders from his pouch and held them towards Gabriel. "I...I found what I could on the names mentioned in Dr. Malik's conversation."

"You're referring to Nanna and Enki I take it?" the previous night they had picked up another dialogue from the good doctor, and the unfamiliar names were prevalent in the discussion. Gabriel had decided to take a break and let Tyler do some research.

"Yes sir, apparently Nanna and Enki were ancient Sumerian Deities. Lord of the Water and Goddess of the moon respectively." Gabriel stopped, and pondered as he wrapped a towel around his slender frame.

"Sumerian eh? Well, that would fit in with the Pyramid of Giza wouldn't it" Gabriel said absently as he made wide arches with his hands across the face of the mirror in front of him. As the condensation cleared his reflection became clearer, long pillars of hair clung to his chest and shoulders, darkened by the water's touch.

"It would certainly seem so."

Gabriel tied his hair back and sighed. This wasn't getting any easier. Stepping out into the main room he approached the bed where Noshad lay asleep.

"What about the other names?"

"I couldn't find much reference to Salah Al-Hudin, Ishtar, or Arikel." he said, following closely behind his master. "Well...nothing solid anyway."

The Ventrue stopped for a moment before turning to face Tyler for the first time.

"Well what did you find?"

"Well, I checked out that Kindred library you suggested..." his face lost a bit of color as he spoke "...which was a rather harrowing experience might I add..."

"And...?" Tyler gulped and continued.

"And there are brief mentions of Ishtar and Arikel as Toreadors, some even going so far to say Arikel was the progenitor of the Clan. There's too many rumors and myths to tell what's fact and what's fiction, but one story says that Ishtar took refuge with King Minos briefly before falling to the beast and becoming the legendary Minotaur..."

"Pah..." Gabriel spat, turning his back on Tyler once more with a wave of his hand. "Ridiculous." He sat down on the bed and snatched up the carefully folded clothes that lay there. Slipping into his shirt he glanced up at the waiting ghoul. "Okay, lets think this out. This scroll is obviously very important to quite a few, which means it's powerful in one way or another. They're up to something in Egypt...we still don't know who this 'Toreador Goddess' is...but we perhaps have an ally in this Julius Darrant character.";

"Yes sir, I've dug up some information on him as well for you. Pontifex of Clan Tremere...rumored to have unique powers, very influential. I couldn't manage to locate him however..."

"Well, keep trying. You and Noshad are going to stay here and find out what you can about these leads."

"Very well, shall I arrange transportation for you back to Cascadia then" Tyler asked, taking a gentle step towards the phone.

"No no, I'll be heading to Cairo instead." Gabriel said, fastening the final button on his blue silk shirt.

"Cairo? But sir, perhaps that's a little too close to the action if I may say. They've already taken notice of you."

"Of course they have, would I have come barging into some Doctor's office if I was concerned with that?" Gabriel laughed as he tied his hair back. "I have my own manner of dealing with these things....I also have a contact or two down in Cairo who is well suited for this type of investigation..."

((well there it is, a steaming pile of writing. but i've been on vacation and haven't written in a week, so it'll have to do for now lol