The City of the Dead

Ken's Vampire Game

Session Eleven

Wednesday Night

Helena begins the night by feeding. Later, she calls Jennifer to discuss her problems with the woman in the photo. Jennifer mentions that the woman has disappeared from the images. Helena offers to ask the Toreador and some of the other vampires about the woman to see if they could provide any help, but Jennifer declines.

While researching in the State Library, Jennifer finds a note on her desk with "come see me 10 30 Monday" and an address written on it.

Thursday Night

Daria gives Helena a call. When Helena asks Daria what she has been up to, a slightly distressed-sounding Daria tells her that she has been hiding out in her house because there are some strange people who're messing with her who she is trying to avoid. When Helena presses for more information, Daria says that it isn't really a problem for her to worry about.

Helena asks Daria if she knows anything about the Serpent Daughters - a group within the Outsiders, but Daria doesn't know anything. Helena tells her that she has learnt that they are a strange sort of cult who do weird stuff like cut each other into pieces and put hooks through each other's bodies. Helena is curious because the cult-like, ritualistic behaviour could be related to the defacements in the necropolis. Helena and Daria agree that they should ask Jennifer about it.

While discussing possible avenues in their investigation, Daria suggests that it may be an idea to go and see if the Nosferatu have any information. She says that they seem to keenly watch what is going on around them, so maybe they've seen something helpful. Agreeing that it may be an idea, Helena gives Daria the address of her new haven and waits for her to pick her up.

However as Daria is preparing to get in her four-wheel drive and leave, she is overwhelmed by the sound of her tap dripping resonating in a grating, methodical pattern in her mind. Yelling out with fear and frustration, she runs to her car and finds that there is mud splattered around the wheels and in puddles around them forming symbols that she has been finding elsewhere.

In the mean time, Helena calls Jennifer to see if she wants to come along as well.

When Jennifer answers Helena's call, she asks her to call her back in a couple of minutes in a distressed voice. After a moment, Helena calls back, but as Jennifer goes to answer Helena's call, she can hear Helena begin to speak before there is an interruption in the line. Another voice breaks into the transmission on Jennifer's end of the line. "Hello Jennifer" the voice says in an even, menacing tone. "This is Heresy. Where's Ginger, Jennifer?"

Helena can hear Jennifer answer the call from her end of the line, but after a moment her voice cuts out and all that she can hear is static. Confused, Helena waits until she can hear Jennifer's voice again, and asks her what happened with the line. In a worn-out, frustrated voice Jennifer tells Helena that there are invisible people messing with us. Helena, baffled, tries to get more information out of Jennifer but she doesn't have any more to give. She says that Alfred says that it sounds like it could be Malkavians screwing around with them.

Eventually Helena asks Jennifer if she wants to join herself and Daria in asking the Nosferatu if they have any useful information. Jennifer agrees and they organise to meet her outside of the State Library where she is doing some research.

Outside of the library, the three girls talk in Daria's car. Daria tells Helena about the dancers around the fire, and about their meeting with Frederick. In trying to explain the situation to Helena, Daria begins to trace out a "pattern" that the dancers were following on a piece of paper. As she traces out a series of loops, Daria seems to become entranced in the process, drawing frantically and obsessively. Helena, confused, tries to snap her out of the trance. She looks on the paper, and although she can see that the pattern resembles a vague circle around the fire, there certainly doesn't appear to be any significance or complexity to it despite Daria's insistence that there is.

Jennifer tells Daria and Helena about the interruption in the phone conversation. She goes on to explain that the woman who followed her home from the docklands and who was in the photo had the same voice as the voice of the woman over the phone. She tells them about her suspicions that it could be a Malkavian named Kris following her, as she could have known Ginger and that Ginger didn't like Melbourne.

Daria asks Jennifer if she found any useful information while doing research in the State Library. She says that she found out some stuff about Romanian Orthodox accusing Catholics of being Satanists and vice versa, and that instances of defacement reduced after the Christian defeat in the area.

Suddenly as they are talking, Helena becomes distressed and seems to speak to a voice that none of the other girls can hear. She yells things like "no, we've said no, get out of my mind! That's not what we want!" When Helena's ravings seem to subside, she looks up to a confused Daria and Jennifer. In a somewhat sheepish, embarrassed tone, Helena tells the girls that she is being hassled by Vaughn, the Toreador representative and extremely powerful 6th generation vampire.

Somewhat embarrassedly, Helena admits that she has been involved in blood games with Jessamy, Sophie and Peter, and that while they have been wrapt each other's company, they are being hassled by Vaughn, who is jealous and furious that he has not been involved, and that he is not invited. Consequentially, he is hassling Helena by continually entering her mind and taunting her. She says that she is terrified, because he is so powerful and upsetting him may be unwise, but him being involved in their games just doesn't seem to be what the other Toreador want for some reason or another.

Daria asks if drinking their blood is safe. Helena says she has only been drinking small amounts. Jennifer looks confused.

Now that it is becoming quite apparent that Daria and Jennifer have been dabbling in strange and suspicious activities, Helena thinks that for her own sake in relation to her obligations to the Prince and the Knights, she should ask if they've been involved in any strange activities. Both of the girls become extremely alarmed, and despite denying it, their auras flare up with contrary information. Jennifer's aura shows that she is very nervous, and Daria's shows a lot of distress and hostility towards Helena.

Despite telling them that she knows that they aren't telling her the truth, neither of them will reveal any more information, although Daria admits she has been involved in some stuff, some of which she has already shared with Helena and Jennifer, which she would rather wasn't discussed with the Knights or the Prince.

However Helena says that she is concerned that they may have information about the defacements in the necropolis, and that she wants to know everything that she can in order to resolve the problem as soon as possible and gain favour with the Prince and Knights, and quickly be free of her obligations to them. Therefore she is reluctant to let the matter lie if she believes that they may be holding back information.

Yet she isn't able to get any more information out of them. However she does promise not to reveal anything to the Knights or the Prince, but does remind Daria that she has broken her confidence in the past. This sets of a very defensive reaction in Daria, who explains that she has already gone through the circumstances of her disloyalty to Helena before; she was made to be accountable to her clan for everything that was going on. Helena concedes to this, and while on the vein of conversation, asks that neither of the girls discuss anything about being hassled by Vaughn.

Helena raises the topic of the Serpent Daughters with Jennifer, asking her if she knows anything about them, particularly in light of the ritualistic-type defacements in the necropolis. Again, her reaction is defensive - she says that she doesn't know much about the Daughters because she was warned to stay away from them by someone she doesn't want to discuss.

Somewhat put off by the idea of visiting the Nosferatu now, given Daria and Jennifer's encounters, Helena says that it is no longer her preference that they go and speak to the Nosferatu. She thinks that it would perhaps be wiser to stay away from them if they are possibly screwing around with Jennifer and Daria.

Jennifer suggests that they go and check out other cemeteries to see if there are similar defacements there. After all, they were only investigating the Springvale necropolis because Bradley's car crashing into it had brought their attention to this necropolis. Wondering how none of them had thought of this earlier, the girls set off to investigate some of the other cemeteries around Melbourne.

None of their searches prove to be fruitful until they search the Fawkner Cemetery. Daria comes across a particular gravesite that has small burnt patch near its base that is scattered with flakes of communion wafers. Small plaques crosses on them are stuck around the grave. Jennifer touches the burn marks on the ground and pulls her hand away immediately in excruciating pain - the pain is unlike the strange, tingling feeling that she encountered in Springvale. Overcome with agony, she chews at her hand to try and distract herself from the pain, but despite the teeth marks in her hand, the pain from the burn is still more agonising. When she looks at her hand, she sees that the tips of her fingers had been burnt completely off.

While Daria and Helena try to offer sympathy and help, there isn't really anything that they can do for her. Jennifer decides to go home.

Friday Night

Jennifer goes to the bar at the Uni to feed to try to heal her wound, which she does successfully.

Daria has many adventures... Ow, my face!

Helena gives Alfred a call. When he picks up, Helena tells him that the girls had the idea of searching the other cemeteries, and told him of their findings in the Fawkner Cemetery. He tells her to wait for him at Fawkner.

At the cemetery, Alfred looks at the site and discusses it with the girls while Robert takes photographs of it. After his own investigation, Alfred says that this site is unrelated to the Springvale sites - here the ground has been consecrated; it is holy ground.

Alfred kicks over the small plaques and spills a little of his blood on the ground. He says that this will take care of the consecrated earth.