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Dank, Dark, Dire
Topic Started: Nov 14 2012, 04:16 PM (1,262 Views)
KosST
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The night of the journey underground arrives. Antoine had told the Kindred to meet him in the lobby of the Flamingo, a hotel that maintains as a regency.

The Flamingo is the oldest resort/casino still in operation on the strip. It has a colorful, sordid history rooted deep in the culture of the city itself. However, due to it's age and lack of recent development, it attracts less attention than it did in decades past. It isn't a high traffic tourist area, and the crowds it attracts go there for nostalgia rather than excitement. With the trademark pink color and neon lights ever present, it was modern some time ago.

The lobby is not nearly as busy as that of the Bellagio only two nights past. While Kine still mingle and check in, the numbers are certainly smaller. Antoine sits in a small chair in the lobby, awaiting the motley group. He is as out of place as the other Kindred in this environment, but nobody seems to notice or care.

Once it seems like everybody is present, Antoine stands and leads the group out of the front door. Out waiting is a limo. A driver opens the door for Antoine and the group to enter. Antoine looks at his guests, particularly the Brides. "Don't have to take it, but figured we might as well splurge just the once."

The limo then leaves the hotel, and begins driving towards a destitute part of the city. Those who join in the limo discuss on the way there. Those who choose to drive separately can meet at the next location.
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KosST
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Limo:
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Kara
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Ariadne arrives early, slinking into the lobby and toward Antoine, looking distinctly uncomfortable all the while. In fact, she seems even more ill at ease than the night of the gathering, despite the Flamingo being much less crowded than the Bellagio.

Still, when the time comes to move, she slides into the limo with little hesitation.

Also limo:
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KosST
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Limo
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Kara
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Limo
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tpenrod
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Sebastian arrives soon after Antoine, making his way over to the Primogen. He gives a sly tip of his hat, but says nothing. There is a discernible sign of worry across his face as he follows into the Limousine.

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E: Forgot to add spoiler tags for Limo exchanges
Edited by tpenrod, Nov 15 2012, 10:22 AM.
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Daniel
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Dana looks at the Crone leader as if he's lost his mind. "You wanna take that anywhere near the tunnels? Hope your insurance covers 'torn to shit by hobos' somewhere. We'll just follow you."

The three then rev their cycles, barely constraining the power of the engines as they fall into a V formation behind the expensive vehicle.
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KosST
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Antoine smiles at the statement of Dana. "Eh, I figure we're about to trudge in some dark tunnel, might as well get a bit of luxury before we're in the muck." But he makes no effort to stop them from taking their familiar mode of transportation.

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The group drives through the streets on their way to their destination. Traffic is bad initially, as getting off the strip and onto off-roads takes a bit of time. Eventually, the limo moves to a dilapidated off-ramp that is separated from main thoroughfares by some makeshift construction signs and concrete barriers. The vehicles maneuver around the barriers and approach what appears to be drain and flood tunnels.

When the vehicles are still some distances away, the limo stops, and the gathered Kindred exit. A human woman exits the limo as well. Antoine is now wearing a bright orange construction vest and a miner's cap with a light attached to it. He has a number of other construction vests available to maintain the ruse. "There are people that live in these tunnels. They'll freak out when they see us in large numbers, and the vests won't stop that. Still, it's better than no cover at all. But, figure if any of you weren't prepped to see Kine, you might want to prepare yourself for that inevitability."

Antoine turns toward the woman. "No more than three, maybe four hours on the outside. Still, if things get tangled, move to contingency. Tell Hank to keep an eye on the bikes as well." The woman offers a simple nod before returning into the limo's interior. The limo's lights flicker off, but it stays put near the entrance to the tunnels.

Antoine then turns back to the Kindred. "Well, guess we got nothing else to wait around for. Shall we?"

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Holy
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Salvador remains quiet for the duration, almost seemingly torn when the Brides choose to bike. When Whiskey cuts him an incredulous look, he climbs into the limousine before it shoots off.

The man seems even more out of place with the neon-orange hugging his chest, but that doesn't stop him to stepping forward at the Primogen's call.
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Kara
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Ariadne picks up one of the vests, holding it in her hands even as she steps out of the limo. She glances between the Kindred now wearing the same thing, but lowers the garment. "I can just...stay out of sight."

e: limos are not vans
Edited by Kara, Nov 16 2012, 09:11 AM.
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tpenrod
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Sebastian takes one of the Orange vests after exiting, reluctantly removing his hat to place a helmet atop his head. He hands the hat to the Female Kine.

" Hold onto this for me, will you? And don't mind the rabbit. He won't bite. " Sebastian says with a smirk.



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Kara
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With a quick glance around at the other Kindred, Ariadne pulls the vest over her head. It lays on her slightly rumpled, but she doesn't seem to notice that, or the tousling it did to her hair. She stands still now, apparently not opting for a flashlight or helmet.

"Ready."
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KosST
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Whiskey scowls a bit at the prospect of putting on the orange vest, but after Natasha dons one, he does as well. It looks a bit ridiculous on any of the Brides, as they place them on top of their jackets, but looks particularly out of place on the larger man. But he acquiesces. He also takes a hand flashlight and carries the sledgehammer from the limo.

Natasha for her part seems twitchy already. She edges her way closer to Dana and Whiskey, but seems comforted by the numbers currently. If she escaped on her own, so many Kindred should be more than enough to handle what is down there.

Once everybody else seems geared up, Antoine returns to the front of the limo. He opens the passenger door, and drags out an unwilling form.

"NO! NO I WON'T! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Antoine pulls the bedraggled form of Roache out of the car. He's struggling with the man for a moment, until the wretch falls to the ground again, muttering.

Antoine sighs for a moment, before picking up Roache and locking his focus again. "We need you to show us how you got down there. Once you point out the tunnel, you can run, ok? But you have to help us. Remember the promise you made to me, and I made to you."

Roache shakes his head back and forth in a no motion, but eventually settles down a bit, resigning himself to his fate.
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KosST
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The group begins to work their way into the storm tunnel. There isn't much ambient light at the entrance to the tunnel, the glow of the moon and some light pollution from nearby roads. But even that light is quickly extinguished as they reach the threshold of the tunnel. Turning on their flashlights, the Kindred can see the shafts of light, but little else initially as they adjust to the situation.

The underpass entrance quickly veers off in a direction, and the group continues to follow it. The air is heavy with moisture, a stark contrast to the dry atmosphere that pervades the desert city. Drops of liquid slowly work their way from cracks in the ceiling and walls, and the smell of mold suffuses the atmosphere.

The tunnel continues to wind and weave. The passages narrow somewhat, but there is still enough room for the group to walk side by side. A slight chittering is heard as a rat scurries away, and very faintly rumbling can be heard through the ceiling of the city above. The tunnels slope very very gently, and though the Kindred have walked a moderate distance, they haven't really went down all that much.

A faint light is seen after a while, and the sound of a few voices. Antoine stops for a moment, and looks to Roache and Natasha. Neither figure seems too scared, indicating this isn't the place. Roache mutters "Kine.... we have to go through the Kine..." Antoine looks to the group, offering a simple nod, before slowly proceeding forward.
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Kara
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Ariadne tends toward the back of the group, posture hunched as she skulks behind the rest. From time to time she looks behind them, squinting toward the gloom. There's no overt reaction as they approach the kine - she continues to quietly plod along, tending now for the center of the tunnel, rather than any of the sides, giving the surfaces around her more of her attention than the path ahead.
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KosST
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As the Kindred round another turn, they can hear the murmuring of voices. And while the light down here is from small lamps or flashlights, it glows brightly in the dark tunnels. Antoine shuts off his helmet light as the group approaches a semblance of civilization.

The smell becomes worse with humans around. Garbage, waste, and decaying food mix with the already damp and moldy atmosphere, enough to gag those who breath. Luck for the Kindred.

Roache leads the group towards a small collective of Kine living in the tunnels. All their possessions are here - books, cookware, plastic dressers, a soiled mattress. Their prizes are the discarded remains of other lives, mass produced paintings in broken frames hung like real art. Their lives are depressing even to a group of parasites.

One man, balding and skinny, wearing too few clothes for the cold of the tunnel, notices Roache. He walks up to the man and offers a simple handshake. "Roache! How ya doing? Ain't seen you down here in a while."

Roache nods to the man. "Good to see you too Ian. How's Maddie doing? Any luck at the casinos?"

Ian shakes his head and expels a phlegm-filled cough. Afterwards, he looks to Roach. "Business as usual, though found a few chips here and there." Ian then backpeddles a bit as he sees the larger group of Kindred. "Wha... whoa... hey Roache, uh... every...everything ok buddy? Though... thought... thought we were cool!"

Roache looks back at the Kindred, and shrugs. "No worries. Just some friends, is all. Showing them around."

The bright orange jackets, it seems, were unnecessary.

Ian looks over the group of Kindred warily. A murmur of discontent is heard behind a makeshift wall of plyboard behind Ian. He goes around the other side of the wall and utters a simple "No big deal, hun. Go back to sleep. Just Roache and some new friends."


(OOC - for Flavor, check out these real-world references. (Check this out). or This nifty youtube video)
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Holy
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"I have a ministry," Salvador speaks up from the darkness. "I know it's easy to get lost down here. Lost from God. Mister Roache said he would introduce us to a few people. Find out the best way to help, even if it's just to stay out of the way."
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tpenrod
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Sebastian seems put off by Salvador's comments on God, but remains quiet. He remains cautiously nervous, glancing around tunnels as the conversation continues, as if beginning to recall memories he would rather forget.
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KosST
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Ian seems confused by Salvador's comments. He walks up to the man a bit.

"Lost? Lost? Nah, we ain't lost. We didn't go walking around and stumble and find ourselves in this tunnel. We came here, man. May not look it to you, but to me it's home."

"Course, guess that story ain't the same for everyone. Some folks came down here, got nowhere else to go. Perhaps you can go ply your pity on them." He gestures off to the left towards another encampment several yards away. It looks more destitute than Ian's encampment somehow, basically a series of tents created by colored cloth and walls built with old boxes or styrofoam. "Maybe they could use your help. Young kids and all."
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Holy
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His brief smile is probably covered in the shadows, but his words aren't. "You have a good spirit, Ian. I'm not here to pity anyone. I certainly understand why people are reluctant to accept hand-outs, and even more reluctant to submit to the judgement of charity tourists."


His gaze strays toward the other encampment, "Confession, mass, counseling. Those aren't hand-outs. Those are aspects of the church deserved by any who want them."
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KosST
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He nods. "Sure, I get you. I ain't got nothing for you, however. But, the folks over there might. Hear the girl crying now and then, and the guy and I talk when she ain't around. Maybe you could do some good over there." He gestures to the other hovel.



Whiskey scowls a bit. "It's nice and all, but we aren't here for that, padre. You want to help these people out, do that later, on your time." Natasha calms the big man with a simple touch, and then she replies. "We can come back here, spend time with these people, if you like. But... well...we do have an appointment..."

Roache for his part returns to chatting with Ian, and Antoine has yet to get impatient.
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Holy
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Killjoy takes the opportunity of Raoche and Ian's engagement to mollify the Brides. "Of course, just thought it might be nice to have a reason to be down here that isn't, you know..." a violation of the Masquerade, he leaves unsaid.
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Kara
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Ariadne stares at Killjoy through the gloom, from behind her hair. "Better to get an idea of how this place is set up. The more we see of it, the better." Her gaze darts further in the direction they've yet to go. "Religion's your focus. Mine... Well, this place is filthy. Need to go further before I'll have a way to improve on that." She looks around, her tone and expression implying that she does in fact mind the dirt and grime, if nothing else.
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KosST
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The brides respond, whispering a bit but only to keep the Kine out of the conversation.

Whiskey frowns. "Roache being friends with these guys seemed to check out enough. So..."

Natasha sighs a bit, but nods to Salvador. "But Roache also seems... off. So a bit of insurance isn't out of the question. So... sorry? I guess?"

Whiskey snorts, but drops the issue for the moment.

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Holy
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Salvador lifts his hands, letting the issue drop, and looks to Antione to get things moving again.
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KosST
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Antoine smiles a bit. "I thought it was a good idea, but whatever. When Roache is done with that guy, we'll keep moving."

He then cocks his head in a direction, trying to hear something. "Anyone else hear that?"

(Folks may feel free to give a Wits + Composure + Auspex roll needing 4 or more sucesses.)

(In addition, everyone should give a Composure + BP roll, targeting 3 successes)
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Daniel
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Dana shrugs towards Salvador. "You wanna work with this trash, you can be my guest. But yeah, we better keep moving. Rather not spend much time down here."

Turning to Ariadne, "And the less time we spend, the less shit you get over your boots. But come on, it cleans out, especially if you let it dry first and kick it onto someone's back," she jokes with a wicked smile.
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Holy
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Salvador freezes in place, taking a half-step closer to Antoine. "It's coming, isn't it." He says to the Primogen, almost under his breath.
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KosST
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Antoine doesn't seem as perturbed, but nods. "Something is wrong. And someone is in danger. We need to move."

Antoine makes a loud "Hmmmm", trying to draw attention to himself from Roache. Roache briefly turns to notice Antoine. Antoine offers a simple "We good?" Roache remains blank-faced, then turns back to Ian.
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Kara
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Ariadne is in the process of turning toward Dana, possibly even to respond, but halfway there her eyes lock onto the darkness and she visibly cringes. Her hands reach up and grip at the orange vest, her eyes shifting from Antoine to Roache and back.
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