The Lurkers' Domain

Ehh that blood barely calms my thirst. I need real blood, vampire’s blood. For the last two hundred years I have been developing a great distaste for human blood. It almost no longer provides me any satisfaction at all. I believe that I am starting to develop the Methuselah thirst and yet none of there strengths. Must have been the blood of my accursed sire. His lineage is rich with such cases although most just clamed my sire and his before him went insane. They were all killed before they could explain their hunger. Ohh well it is of no matter I will fined some weak vampire who will make me a good meal.
Now then where to hunt first…

Ahh it has been many years sense I last prowled a street but now I hunt different prey. I think it would be most prudent to find a contact in this vampire society. Civilization has advanced so far from the last time I walked these streets. Such large building and all of these people it most definitely has changed much.

Hmm I see 2 people standing in this large building the sign outside says parking garage. One is a vampire I will speak with him.

“You there I wish to speak with you about a most important mater.”

Corey had already begun to escort Rose to the hotel, and made it to the door before they were interrupted. Corey turned to the doorman and asked him to make sure Rose taken inside, given a fine suite and put it on his tab. He also gave the mask to the doorman and asked that it be given to the concierge to place into his safety deposit box for the night.

He then let Rose know he'd see her later, but for now he had to find out what this gentleman's important matter was, and then he wished her a good night.

Once she was inside safely, he walked back to the vampire who could not even hide his fangs, and from the power running around him in dark colors he figured he was a Tremere. He was not sure what he wanted, but figured he'd better find out.

Corey asked humbly, "Now that my affairs for the evening have been attended to, let me introduce myself. I am Corey Bantes, Malkavian Jester extraordinaire, and you look a bit lost. What is this important matter you need to speak with me about?"

"Yes, malkavien I require you to direct me to your prince I must speak to him a bought a group of 5 methuselahs that will rise within the month.
the detales of this knowledge will be discussed with him alone."

Corey smiles and restrains a laugh. He thinks to himself, and people say I'm insane. "Do you see that loud, vanilla building over there?"

James looks around confused. Corey had done so well to avoid describing things when he was in Rose's company, but now his frustration was evident by his need to explain where Nocturne was. He tried again, saying, "The one with the raspberry music playing and the sharp lights flashing around it?" Damn it all, he thought and sighed.

He took in a deep breath and said, "OK, look, the man you are looking for, the Prince of Vegas, his name is Rex Dominus the fifth. He's at the... new club that just opened called Nocturne, across the strip. It's a... big night for him, so you will probably not get to speak to him tonight. I am his right hand man, the Malkavian Primogen. Anything you need to speak to him about you can tell me."

“If indeed you are the Malkavian Primogen I believe I can discus this with you.”

James glances around nervously to see that no prying eyes or ears may be near.

“There will be within the month, possibly tomorrow possibly a week from now, a group of five through nine methuselahs who a bout one thousand five hundred years ago came here to enter torpor. I believe that I may be able to give a general area to search for their lair but you must destroy them while they sleep but I do not know if we will be able to find them in time. I pray that we do.”

Corey stifles another laugh as he does not want to offend the gentleman. James seems to be sincere, and Corey has heard legends of Latin American and Native American methuselahs, so he chooses not to rule it out.

Instead he suggests, "I realize you may prefer not to discuss this here. But I cannot promise you an audience with Rex tonight. Shall we retire elsewhere so you can tell me more? At your discretion, of course. Would you also like to discuss this with the Tremere Primogen as well?"

Rose was lead to her suite by a gentleman whom worked at the front desk. While in the elevator he asked kindly, "Are you ill miss?" She explained that she must've worked too hard or something being her stomach had taken a bad pitch. He smiled, nodding while opening the door to her suite for her. "Will you be up for a time miss?"

"Maybe an hour, I may retire after a shower."

"I have an idea of what to bring to your room for your ailment. This IS Vegas after all. We have quite an assortment for churned stomachs." He chuckled with a wink in his eyes. She couldn't help but smile, "Thank you." The gentleman walked into her room turning on the light for her, a quick bow and he was quietly closing the door behind him, leaving her stunned inside the beautiful room.

It was a king size spa suite. A regal red canopy hung over the dark wooden headboard; it truly did look as if it belonged in a castle. The theme was executed beautifully throughout the room; from the tapestries hung on the walls, to dark heavy wooden carved furniture. It was stunning. Of course, no less stunning than the white marble triangular hot tub nestled into the corner surrounded by plush white towels and white flowers. The gigantic window was completed with the matching fabric from the canopy and bedspread, regal red with a brocade gold pattern, outside was the inspiring towers to the hotel. It was nothing less than breathtaking. Far into the distance, mixed into the darkness, were the desert mountains.

Rose stepped into the bathroom to find the elegance carried in there just as well. White flowers with plush white towels of every size hung on the chrome towel rack, waiting to be used. She took off the dress and hung it carefully on the inside door hanger. Turning on the water of the shower, she undressed and unpinned her hair, allowing her red locks to tumble past her shoulders. The water felt incredible and now her body finally began to complain of how tired her muscles were.

Fresh from the strip club and then to the Ball was way more taxing than she realized. She hoped her dog Luna would be okay for one night without her; it was painfully against her routine not to be home. Rose smiled at the thought that Luna is probably tearing everything apart right now, mad at her for breaking a daily tradition.

Finally done, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself up into the hotel bathrobe and slippers. This is when she realized she again had no clothes with her being that they were stolen from her car.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. "Who is it?"

"Concierge, I have a package for you." Looking through the peephole, it was the gentleman who walked her up to her room. Opening the door, he had a room service tray, and a shirt box. "This here is our house specialty soup and tea, guaranteed to get you back on your feet in no time. Plus Mr. Bantes has requested that I deliver this to you personally," he said motioning to the shirt box. Then he held up a hotel envelope, "This is from the hotel, to you complimentary."

"Thank you, I don't have any money to tip you right now….." She started to apologize, but he waved it off saying he was well taken care of, and thanked her for her gesture. Heading back to the door, once again he bowed and wished a good night.

Opening the shirt box, lined in tissue was a comfortable black t-shirt, a black pair of jeans, and a black pair of sandals. Rose's smile was from one ear to the other at this gift. She shook her head saying, "You are too much, Mr. Bantes." Opening the envelope there was inside a collection of cards. One was a gift card to a nearby mall, the other was a complimentary dinner and spa treatment, and the last were two tickets to the 'Tournament of Kings.'

"Wow," was the only word that could come from her lips. Looking at the tray with silver covers, she lifted them up and found a cup of hot water with a plate filled with different kinds of teas, sugars, and creams. Lifting the cover of the other plate was a big bowl of hot chicken noodle soup with an assortment of crackers and breads. "Whoever you are Mr. Corey Bantes, I owe you one." She sat down at the little chair and table, looking out the window, enjoying her cup of tea.

Shortly after, with the lights out in the room, lying on the king-sized bed, looking out of the humongous window, she could only enjoy the view. The full moon rose high in the sky at that hour, moonlight spilt onto her bed chilling her skin. It was so beautiful, she thought to herself drowsily as finally her eyes closed for the night.

James looks off toward the horizon

Hmmn yes that would be most acceptable.

Corey walks James across the street, fully aware of what time it is. As the horizon grows violet with the promise kept of a new day, Corey finds many guests from Nocturne are making their way to the valet in front of the entrance.

Gregory Vendredi, still charming the guests, nodded to Corey as he and James approached him. Gregory smiled, "Corey, Nico said you missed all the fun inside. Rex is looking for you. Who is this gentleman?"

Corey's mind spun slightly as he wondered what had transpired while he was away. Brought back to the situation at hand, he replied, "He seeks audience with Rex, and I think all of us should sit down and listen to what he has to say. However, as he is Tremere, I figured I could entrust him to You for now. I'll find out what Rex needs and let him know the Primogen should be called together."

Gregory was shocked that Corey dumped the man at his feet, especially when he was obviously quite busy. But as dawn was rising soon he knew he'd be making his exit anyway. What better excuse to leave sooner than to commiserate with a fellow warlock.

Corey nodded to both men and then made his way back inside Nocturne, seeking to finish the evening and discover what he had missed. The guard at the Check desk saw him enter and told him that Rex, Nico and Morgan were on the 11th floor.

He quietly cursed to himself, "Sweet chocolate Jesus, what did I miss?"

So my good sir where might we be off to.

Greg flagged down the Valet to have him bring him his car. He also nodded his goodbyes to the security guards who would need to be on extra guard without Gregory's preternatural abilities.

As he waited for the car, Greg looked his new companion up one side and down the other trying to understand what he is getting into. He answered, "Well, unless you have a haven you prefer to retire to today, you are welcome to take a room at my residence, the Stardust Hotel. It's right down the street and we'll be out of the sun's wrath post haste."

With that, the Valet pulled up with Gregory's car; a 1958 black Cadillac convertible, with a vintage Nevada license plate that reads "TGIF". Before exiting the ride, the valet flipped the switch for the ragtop to come up and rolled up the dark tinted windows. The valet smiled and said, "Always a pleasure, Mr. V.," as Greg slipped him a handsome tip.

Before Greg got in to his car, me motioned to his fellow Tremere and said, "Shall we ride, Mister...?"

I have been, how shall I say, inaccessible for quite some time and have not yet established a haven, that is one of several things that I wished to speak with your prince about. Also I have never before seen such a contraption as this what, may I ask, is it and how dose it function.

Greg stopped for a moment and realized he had not fully sized up his new companion. But with dawn rising he did not have much time. Small talk could happen in the Caddy if he could convince him he was in no danger.

Greg cleared his throat and said, "Forgive me my manners. My name is Gregory Vendredi, and I have not slept as long as you have, so I am unfamiliar with the disorientation you must be experiencing right now. As I am however well-versed with the means of our times, allow me first to show you a modern car. Like a carriage or coach if you like. One that no longer needs to burden a horse for it's power. It is a self-contained vehicle, which I can control. It will get us to my haven quickly. At least as long as the roads are not full of our fellow commuters.

"There is a silver handle on the door by you. Just press the button and pull the handle towards you. The top which just came up will shade us from the sun's rays until we can make our way inside my haven."

James looks the handle for a moment, opens the door, sits down on the seat, and begins to examine the interior.

Ah yes a most ingenious contraption later you must tell me more abut it, but now we must be off to your haven if that pleases you. Maybe on the way you could tell me more about this, car.

With his companion, who has still not introduced himself, safely in his car, Gregory puts the car in gear and begins to make his way onto the Strip. Traffic always sucks on the Strip, as the city never sleeps. Tourists, gamblers, and employess alike are driving the small street trying to make their way to their destination with little regard to their fellow commuters.

Even still, Gregory loves to drive his Caddy. Within its chassis the world outside him fades away to a harmless buzz. The traffic makes what would be a 10-minute walk into a 15-minute drive. But it's 15 minutes of bliss for Greg.

Greg turns to his new friend and asks, "So, if you don't mind my asking, exactly how long have you slept and where did you sleep your torpor?"

As Gregory speaks James snaps back to focus from his study of the people and things outside the car.

“hmm what, oh yes you’ll have to pardon my rudeness my name is James Morolin of the clan Tremere and I’m afraid my last stay in torpor was some what more extended than I would have liked it to be. I was interned so to speak in a graveyard where I figured my lifeless appearance would hide me best from prying eyes. I have been in torpor to the best of my abilities in time keeping now for nearly a century. Before this last stay in torpor I was in and out of sleep for a little more than one hundred and twenty five years waking up every decade or so, so that I could keep up on current events and move about a bit waiting for a major sign of vampire activity. I always had awoken for only a couple of weeks looking for the methuselahs that I was sent to find. I had narrowed down the sight of their hiding place to this what was at the time a small town.”
“When I last interned my self I seemed to have done slightly to good of a job. I normally put my self into a large looking memorial that would attract grave robbers who would then exhume me and give me a good breakfast. I would then stuff their lifeless corps into the grave that I previously occupied and seal it up. It worked like a charm till this last time it seems that no one robes graves any more. Except for that most ridiculous cretin who seems to have exhumed my body for a practical joke. I think he won’t be doing it again any time soon.”

James smiles a whistful smile as he remembers the most amusing start that he gave the boy.

Greg knew that Woodlawn cemetery had been in Las Vegas roughly a century, back when the city was barely a railroad town. The cemetery was north of the old Ranch back then... about 1904. Before that though, there was not much, so Greg presumed James travelled quite a bit and Vegas was his last stop.

They were nearly to the Stardust now, so while waiting for the light to change, Greg said, "A pleasure to meet you then, Mr. Morolin. If my memory of the area serves, I bet you placed yourself in what became Woodlawn Cemetery north of town. You are right about your guess on interment. It probably has been 100 years. In that case, I imagine you are overwhelmed by how this desert oasis came to be. The Stardust is a great place to learn about the history of the town, as it has seen Vegas grow.

"Las Vegas was little more than a city block and a ranch when you came out this way. Do you think the Methuselahs you are looking for could be further out in the desert still, or had the city built on top of them?"

“In answer to your first statement yes it is quite a sight I must say, the advances in technology have been quite stark and exciting almost over whelming in fact. As to the methuselahs I’m not sure as to whether the town has been built on top of them. I have only a general knowledge of where they are and over this last century I’m guessing that they have drawn closer to the waking realm and should be much easer to detect. After we get to this stardust hotel that you speak of we may have to try to find the methuselahs. Have you a map of the city I could study at the hotel?”

Greg finally arrives at the valet parking for the Stardust Hotel and parks the car in the short line. Jimmy the Valet instantly recognizes the Caddy and makes his way down to meet Greg, then notices he has a passenger and decides to open the door for the gentleman. "Good morning sir," he says to James and then nods greetings to Greg.

Greg grabs his Rand McNally atlas from behind his seat and gets out of the Cadillac. He tosses the keys to Jimmy and winks to him, knowing Jimmy will take good care of his car.

He walks around the car and motions to James to follow him to the Lobby, passing by the leapfrog-dancing water fountains outside the Stardust entrance. He hands the atlas, opened to page 64, to James and says, "Here is a road map of the area, and I put an X on the Stardust hotel here. This diagonal boulevard with the bends is the main road through town, Las Vegas Blvd., known around here as The Strip. It runs parallel to the railroad you may remember, and it is the road you walked down from the cemetery here," and then taps on Woodlawn Cemetery. Near Flamingo Road at the bottom of the Strip on the map he taps again and says, "This is where Nocturne is, where we met.

"We should retire immediately as the sun has almost peaked. I don't nkow about you, but I need to get some rest for the day. You are more than welcome to stay in my suite. It has a spare bed. If you'd rather stay in your own room, I can help you arrange that." And with that, the two vampires have entered the Stardust lobby, safely indoors.

James glances through the map then thinks for a moment.

“Yes, this will be very helpful thank you, would you mined if I borrowed it for the day. Also is there any way I could get a few supplies today I don’t think I will be getting any sleep, so you might prefer if I had another room I wouldn’t want to keep you up. I kneed a 2 foot long 2 inches wide piece of ash, 5 rose stems 2 foot in length, 1oz. of black orchid polin, 20 black rose petals, a mortar and pedestal, and I also kneed a bronze needle 2 inches in length, a cork of about one and a half inches by one inch, a bowl deep enough for the cork to float in freely, and some water. I believe I can pay.”

He reaches into the inner pocket of his long coat, pulls out a bulging leather pouch, and pours out a few 1oz. gold coins.

“Will this be enough?”

Greg was by no means a coin collector, but even he knew if they were real, each coin was worth at least $400 just by weight alone. Maybe even a grand each if they were collectible. While this may be, even one coin was not going to buy James a night at the hotel. That would require either paper or plastic. However, Greg knows the Charles the Concierge quite well. Like any fine concierge, his confidentiality is on par with his resourcefulness. So Greg decided to introduce Charles to James.

To Charles he said, "My friend, James, here needs a room, some supplies, and some errands run. He's got plenty of means to pay you, however, the first errand is to convert some of his currency. He works the same Arts as me, so you may need to send him to see Akabar for most of what he'll need. Myself I need to retire soon. Can you make sure he's taken care of?"

Charles smiled when he saw the bloated leather pouch and understood most of what he'd need to do. "Certainly, Mr. Vendredi. My staff and I will gladly assist him during his stay with us."

With that, Greg offered his hand to James to bid him good day, "If there's nothing else I can help you with, James, I'm going to call it a day."

“Yes Gregory this will be fine, I believe I can handle the rest of this. So Charles how do you do? Gregory said you could help me acquire a few things.”

“Charles have you pencil and paper.”

“Yes sir here is some.”

Charles hands James a piece of paper and James begins to scribble down a list.

“Charles here is a list of the things I will need. I would appreciate it if you could get them to me very quickly. There will be a bonus for you if you do. Ohh and could you change some of these coins into the current currently for me?”

James hands Charles a list of ingredients and seven golden coins.

Charles raised his eyebrow as he reviewed the "list of ingredients" as James put it and definitely agreed that Akabar, Mage of No Small Water, would be the best resource for these items. Then he examined the coins that James presented him. Each one held a good weight and while they showed their age, they still had a sheen that was unmistakable. There was no need present these to the shift boss. He'd just take them to the cage himself for James. But he knew he'd easily get a nickel each, that being $500 per coin.

Charles agreed, "I'll gladly exchange these into cash for you, sir. Will you be joining me for the errands to get the items on this list, or shall I get you into a room now?"

It was difficult not to notice his fangs. Even with this being Halloween and all, knowing Gregory as well as he does, it wouldn't surprise him if James would be needing a dark room soon.

“Hmm no I don’t think I will be joining you. If you could a good room with no windows would suit me fine. Something spacious with thick walls preferably. Remember I would appreciate speed in your acquiring my things.”

Charles noticed his lack of luggage so he wasn't sure how long James would be staying. However, they only had a few rooms without windows, and as such they were always available. They were otherwise quite nice, but for their lack of a view they were very reasonable in price. James used the computer at his concierge desk to be sure one was available and confirmed an open-ended reservation for James Morolin. Then a curious thought came to him as he coded the digital key card for his room, #1401.

Charles asked as discretely as possible, "Sir, when was the last time you stayed in a hotel, if I may ask? Are you familiar with a key like this, or any of the amenities our rooms offer?"

“It has been a, while, sence I have last stayed in a hotel may haps you would show me exactly how it is this key works.”

"My pleasure, sir," Charles responds and shows him the card as he explains, "The normal keys have become too easy to copy, so most modern hotels use cards with magnetic strips. The door knobs have slots that you place this card into, following the direction of the arrow on the card, and wait for a green light to light above the slot. When it does, you can open the door and remove the card. I'll be happy to show you to your room, and answer any other questions you have."