[X] [SON] I'll put a stake through Son's heart and let another Kindred decide his fate.
-[X] I'll let Bronwyn deal with her Primogen on behalf of the other Malkavians.
A few moments pass as you wrestle with the temptation to end things and turn Newberry to ash here and now. After all, he's already proven himself a threat to innocent mortals. Why should you risk releasing Son back onto the board because some power player in the Chicago court thought they could make a pawn out of him? Better to be safe than sorry.
Aside from the anger, there are the darker parts of yourself to worry about. They whisper sweet reminders of how easy it'd be for you to take the Malkavian Primogen's power for yourself. They speak only the truth when they say the act would be the most intense pleasure you could ever hope to experience in your entire existence as one of the Damned. There would be no shame, the Beast whispers, of drinking deep from the veins of this beaten and battered excuse for a vampire.
You force yourself to set the wrath and the lust aside and focus. If you are unwilling to take matters into your own hands, you must decide who should decide what to do with Son. Kathy is the Kindred most directly wronged by the Malkavian Primogen, but you're also one of the Prince's Hounds. Shouldn't Prince Jackson be the one to decide the fate of one of his advisors on the Primogen Council?
However, it might be better to allow the Malkavians of Chicago to decide what to do with their Primogen. While the Lunatics are disorganized even at the best times, you know of one Kindred who might be able to command their respect: Bronwyn, owner of the Blue Velvet and the Chicago court's unofficial spymaster. Handing Son over to her would allow the children of Malkav to keep things in-house, so to speak, and score you some points with the only clan that rivals your own when it comes to spying.
Your mind made up, you get back on your feet and draw your wooden stake. As you loom over Son with your weapon in a reverse grip, he extends an arm in a hopeless attempt to resist. However, the sharpened point of your stake is deaf to his feeble pleas, and a paralyzed Son collapses onto the ground. You've never been on the receiving end of a wooden stake, but you can't imagine enjoying the sensation of perceiving the world while being utterly helpless to affect it. Son can still see, hear, smell, and feel, but in his current state, he's little more than a puppet with his strings cut.
As you hoist Son over your left shoulder like a sack of potatoes, your other hand fiddles with your burner phone. As Kathy picks up the other end of the line, you raise the flip phone to your ear and utter a simple phrase. "It's done."
On the other end of the line, Kathy lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Artie. You have no idea how much this means to me. I'm glad I went to you for help."
"Hey, I get it. Family is important," you reply as memories of your brother pass through your mind. The fond memories of Nick give you a moment of peace, only to be poisoned by intrusive thoughts of something happening to your big brother. Nick has already been kidnapped once by hunters - who else might go after him as an indirect way of hurting you?
"Yeah, I owe you," Kathy says, snapping you back to reality. Her voice then begins dripping with venom, the verbal poison made practically incandescent by the anger only a Kindred's Beast could unleash. "My only regret is that I didn't get to turn the bastard to ash myself."
"I'm sorry I couldn't let you in on the fun," you say, affecting a chuckle even as you wince. While you technically haven't said anything untrue, not correcting Kathy that Son is still alive, albeit staked through the heart, still feels like telling a lie. Still, it's for the best, you tell yourself. The last thing Kathy needs is an excuse to indulge in righteous anger. "That said, tonight took a lot out of me. Do you mind if I head back to my haven?"
"Not at all. I'm almost at Gagandeep's. We'll talk later."
Kathy hangs up, leaving you free to walk back and think about how you'll store Son's body inside your room at Eleanor's house until Aurelio can pick him up.
You have earned four Experience Points.
- You discovered the identity of the Kindred threatening Kathy's family.
- You earned a Life Boon from Kathy Glens.
- You saved Sravya from the fangs of Jason Newberry.
- You came out on top in a physical confrontation with the Malkavian Primogen.
Available Experience:
3 7
Backgrounds
- Boon from Kathy Glens (Boon 4)
For protecting her family from the predations of Jason Newberry, Baby Chorus's lead guitar owes you a life debt.
-
Your meeting with Bronwyn is held not at the Blue Velvet but in an office in Chicago's central business district. As a Sewer Rat, you've heard the rumors about Bronwyn's workspace in the Loop, about how she meets with human traffickers within these walls to supply blood for the Blue Velvet. Then there are the whispers that Bronwyn got the Prince to declare a Blood Hunt on several Kindred who had otherwise been thought clean. Well, as innocent as bloodsucking monsters can be.
"Bronwyn," you say as you sit on the other side of her desk at her wordless invitation. Unlike the cerulean-tinted elegance of the Blue Velvet, the office here is spartan and not meant to be hosting guests, be they kine or Kindred. Still, you can't help but notice that there isn't a speck of dust in sight. You also note that Bronwyn, the consummate hostess, hasn't offered you a drink. It's doubtful that such courtesy slipped her mind, so you take it as a sign of how seriously she's taking this.
"Delacruz," Bronwyn curtly replies as she leans forward, placing her elbows atop her desk and steepling her fingers together. Her gaze is wary but not entirely hostile. "Last night, someone informed me that I'd find something interesting if I were to open the trunk of a particular car left inside the parking garage near the Blue Velvet. Would you care to guess what was inside?"
"One unfortunate Son," you reply carefully. You never know who might be listening in these nights. "I was running an errand for someone else in our social club, and he got in the way."
"I see…Was our 'friend' flouting any club rules?"
Has Son violated the Traditions?
"The second," you reply, referring to the Tradition of Domain. "Though it's debatable enough that I decided not to argue the case with club leadership. Plus, I figured it'd be best if your 'therapy group' were to decide what to do with their leader. From what I hear, he isn't quite the beloved patriarch he wants the rest of the club to see him as."
Bronwyn hums as she leans back into the leather of her office chair, seemingly satisfied with your explanation. "I've heard plenty of rumors about our 'friend,' and all of them disturb me. Not having to attend another 'group therapy session' with him is worth popping a bottle of champagne for."
"May I ask what'll happen?" you ask, morbid curiosity getting the better of you.
Bronwyn doesn't so much as smile as she bares her teeth, vampire fangs betraying the Beast's temper. "I've heard rumors that there'll be 'blankbody activity' at Lakeshore Hospital's medical waste disposal facility about an hour before five. As a concerned citizen, is it not my civic duty to inform federal law enforcement of the threat?"
You feel your lips pulling taut to match Bronwyn's grin. "Well, as a veteran of the US Army, how could I possibly discourage you from taking steps to protect your fellow Americans?"
Bronwyn nods, her vicious smile fading as she leans forward to regard you carefully. "I won't deny that you've done a valuable service to me, my kin - possibly the whole city. What is it that you want in return?"
What should you ask of the Kindred most likely to become the Chicago Malkavians' next Primogen? A few options stand out to you. Firstly, you could take the opportunity to learn new vampiric gifts. Like the Nosferatu, the Malkavians also have the power to turn invisible with the Obfuscate Discipline. However, they also enhance their perception with Auspex and sway minds with Dominate. Honing your senses to supernatural levels appeals to the artist inside you, but perhaps there's a way to gain the sort of insight the Children of Malkav are notorious for. On the other hand, controlling minds with Dominate would be an effective, if ethically dubious, way of preserving the Masquerade.
However, you've also heard rumors that Bronwyn possesses limited shapeshifting ability - the kind typically associated with Clan Gangrel and the Ministry. While she probably can't teach you how to turn into a bat or a wolf, she could pass along the basics of the Protean Discipline, like making your eyes glow red or changing your body's mass and density.
Then there are Bronwyn's connections to the Circulatory System, the international human trafficking network that smuggles vessels between domains. While your stomach turns at the thought of getting involved with modern-day slavery, you can't help but admit that the Circulatory System's fleet of vehicles would be invaluable to Crossguard Security. They aren't armored vans so much as civilianized APCs, complete with firing ports so that passengers can shoot at targets outside without leaving the safety of the vehicle's armored chassis. Such secure transit would be handy should you travel outside Chicago to domains like Milwaukee and Gary.
Last but not least, you could always have Bronwyn owe you a favor or two. Having the next Malkavian Primogen in your debt is no small thing. Of course, you could curry favor with Bronwyn by waiving repayment for removing Jason Newberry from the board. Having one of the Primogen as your mawla could open many doors for you in the future.
After careful consideration, you open your mouth to reply to Bronwyn.
You have two points to spend on rewards from the future Primogen of Chicago's Malkavians.
[ ] [BRONWYN] "I'd be interested in leasing some of the Circulatory System's armored vans." (2 points)
Artie and Crossguard Security will have access to the Circulatory System's fleet of armored vehicles.
[ ] [BRONWYN] "I'm looking for a tutor to help me hone my skill in the Auspex Discipline. Teach me how to…" (2 points)
-[ ] "...heighten my senses to a preternatural degree."
-[ ] "...see the world in the same way as the Children of Malkav."
[ ] [BRONWYN] "I want to learn how to use the Dominate Discipline to…" (1 point)
-[ ] "...cloud people's memories and make them forget the last few minutes."
-[ ] "...compel people to obey my commands."
[ ] [BRONWYN] "Is there any truth to the rumor that you used the Protean Discipline to…" (1 point)
-[ ] "...help destroy Gary's steel industry using nothing but your gleaming red eyes?"
-[ ] "...survive getting thrown out a skyscraper window during the War of Chicago?"
[ ] [BRONWYN] "I'd like you to owe me a favor - a big favor." (1 point)
[ ] [BRONWYN] "Nothing comes to mind for now, but you owe me two major boons." (2 points)
[ ] [BRONWYN] "Nothing. Just have a table ready for me at the Blue Velvet whenever I ask." (2 points)
Gain Bronwyn as a four-dot Mawla.
