After Arundel (RP)

Feb 12, 2025 2:39 pm

- Emma -

"Ah?... Ms ... Harper." Uskglass says after a moment just long enough for him to wrack his brain to put a name to a face, it has not been that long since you met, but maybe he really is busy enough that you are not in the forefront of his mind.

"What can I do for you?" He asks, though you get the impression what he really wants to know is: 'how did you get this number?'.

You knew the information you stole liberated from his computer had a short viable window of usefulness, and your busy life has degraded the value of what is left. You swear there was more, unless it was just the stress of waiting for it to copy. How slow was the USB on that old computer? But, aside from all the contact details you could need, you can't find anything in there to help you with this situation.

His tone is affable and friendly enough, but you well remember how quickly he changed the other night.

What do you do?

OOC:

You don't have much by way of leverage, here. Might be you could Persuade him to meet with you? Then you could try Hit the Streets? But what would you offer to get him to drop the charges?
Maybe you try your Playbook Move One Way or Another, but that also needs to make sense in the fiction, so what would you have to offer to make him even consider it?

Emma

Delirium

Feb 12, 2025 3:43 pm

After Arundel (RP)

"I hope I’m not interrupting anything important." She started with a deferential tone "but my husband, David, is facing an investigation at work. Something about ‘breaking and entering’, and ‘stealing priceless relics’. I was hoping maybe you could help me with that situation?" she stopped short from downright accusing him of causing the predicament to begin with. That wouldn’t be helpful. "I don’t know if there is anything I could offer you for your troubles, but if there is, all you have to do is ask"

OOC:

I don’t think Emma has any leverage for a persuade here, and we haven’t established if ‘the Administrator’ is Mortalis? I’m leaving it open and see if he has something to suggest, aside owing him a debt.

vagueGM

Feb 12, 2025 7:26 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

"Uh-huh? Really? Seems like a pattern with you people." He says. "I am not sure how I can help you with your husbands case. I don't know the man."

"What would you have to offer me?" He says, though it sounds a lot more like 'what could you possible have to offer me'. "I am a busy man, Mrs Harper." He says, getting your title right this time. "So I must ask you to get to the point."

What do you do?

OOC:

I rolled the dice and it came up Mortalis.

Emma

Delirium

Feb 12, 2025 7:58 pm

After Arundel (RP)

Emma bit her tongue, rather than answering Uskglass in kind. 'You people'. What could he possibly mean by that? At least he seemed open to negotiation, though it didn’t do her much good. As much as she despised the man, it pained her to admit that she had little to offer him. The only leverage she had was a small piece of information, the one thing that still didn’t add up in her mind when she played back the night in question in her mind. It was a gamble, but at this point, she was willing to take it.

"How about a bit of information? From that night in Arundel?" she teased him before continuing:
"That Lady Halifax. The ‘fine woman beyond reproach.’ What if I told you she was the one who lured me into the Church? That the entire scheme was her idea? That she went out of her way to find something to steal that night?"

OOC:

OK. I'll start something and see if it eventually leads to 'One Way or Another'.

vagueGM

Feb 12, 2025 8:28 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

"Really, Mrs Harper." Uskglass scoffs at your accusation. "Hali," —so it's 'Hali' is it, his use of the familiar name does not bode well for your case— "tells a different story. One where Jacob and Benji threatened and kidnapped you both and forced you to accompany them. For reasons unknown. The fact that this does not fit with your story suggests you were not as innocent in all this as she believes, as does your attempts to cover up information when I offered you support and a way out."

"The video from outside the church distinctly shows her looking scared," [ref] "and trying to get away from your group." [ref]. Unfortunately it is your word against hers, and she is known and trusted, while you are a new and unknown entity and possibly 'a spy for the vampires'.

'Hali' has done a good job of covering her tracks, even her actions on the night lend credence to her story. She has not accused you, and even gave you a way out —even if a heads-up would have been useful so you could coordinate. You don't know what conversations (and threats) may have come before you were introduced. It may only be your trust in Benji that makes you think she was not, in fact, coerced into being there. Uskglass has not mentioned your case —surely he knows you are talking about that and not another case against your husband?— nor has he mentioned what is being done against Benji —surely that does not go into the mortal legal system?.

If only you knew more about how these things worked. Uskglass has been patient, but that is wearing thin, maybe you can nudge him to reveal something? Maybe Hali could help finagle you out of this?

What do you do?

Emma

Delirium

Feb 12, 2025 9:19 pm

After Arundel (RP)

"Mr. Uskglass" she said softly "How well do you know Benji? Do you honestly believe he would coerce anyone into stealing from you?"

She was sure Lady Halifax was lying, but she couldn't understand why she was trying to cover up for Emma, and pin the blame on Benji. Benji has been a part of the city for centuries, while she was a nobody. What use was she to Hali? She didn’t know what game she was playing, but she didn’t care for it. And she couldn’t believe Uskglass was actually buying into it.

"I’m telling you, something’s off," she insisted, though her voice began to waver. Had Hali only incriminated Jacob, Emma would have believed her version of the story. But not Benji. Not the kind, charming gentleman she had come to know over the last few nights. No, she could never accept that.

But how could she convince Uskglass? It was all a matter of who he trusted, and it was clear he knew Hali better. He would take her side, without question. And it didn’t help that Benji refused to name Jacob. It only made him seem more guilty in the eyes of the Administrator, and perhaps rightly so.

She sighed, trying to control her voice. She didn't want to sound emotional, but her exasperation was clearly coming through
"I’m sorry. I... I don’t know what to say" she not only failed to impress the Administrator, but worse, she was casting herself in a bad light.

She paused to gather her thoughts. There was only one option left. "Please, Mr. Uskglass" she pleaded "I know how this looks, but I swear I would never have joined them if I had known what they were planning. I was just a guest—Eliot's guest. It was supposed to be my debut, my first night out! Why would I start my very first evening committing a felony?"

She tried to keep herself from crying over the phone. This was all so unfair! "You have to believe me. I found myself in a terrible situation, and I made a bad decision in the heat of the moment. I didn’t know who to trust, and the thought of being alone in a room full of vampires... I couldn’t risk that. Please... can’t you forgive me just this once?" the desperation creeped into her voice:
"I promise, I could be of use to you in the future. Just... please. Let this slide."

OOC:

would this be enough to trigger 'One Way or Another' ?

vagueGM

Feb 12, 2025 9:54 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

"I do not know Benji." Uskglass responds. "He was not even on our radar before he made that speech. Now, suddenly, people are paying attention to what he has to say and his boss is missing. Convenient timing, you have to admit. The same boss who sponsored you for the party he did not make it to.

"I ask you, Mrs Harper. How well do you know Benji?" He retorts. "This Jacob was his driver on the night. He was explicitly not invited to the party, but we found his car on the grounds afterwards, traced it to him. We don't know how he got out, but he has closed up shop and, to use the common parlance, done a bunk..."

He leaves the sentence hanging, as though there is more and we wants to see if you will bite, if you know anything about that, or are curious. He does not deign to respond to your worry over 'being alone in a room full of vampires', he knows you hung out with Elliot, and even mentioned that you were warned of the dangers of your being there and associating with their type that night and rebuffed the warner. He also does not mention that vampires were not the only things there, no need to bring mortals even more into the know, after all.

The fact that he has stayed on the phone with you so long indicates he is not without sympathy. But he washed his hands of you that night does not see the profit in getting involved again.

What do you do?

OOC:

Delirium says:

would this be enough to trigger 'One Way or Another' ?

Possibly?
Do you rise to the bait of showing concern or interest in Jacob's situation?
Does Emma know that Benji has been frequenting Jacob's shop? Uskglass may think he has information about Benji that you might find interesting, though it probably just deals with Benji being watched and caught up some artifact hunt (a second artifact to the one apparently stolen by your party), most of which you —tangentially— know already.

Show us how you respond, and possibly roll the Move, we can then use it to steer how the conversation concludes.
No matter Move's outcome, if he agrees to Overlook a Harm, you will owe him for that, in addition to anything else the Move might bring. Emma might not understand the importance of this, yet, but that does not change the facts.

oopsylon

Feb 12, 2025 11:08 pm

After Arundel (RP)

When they arrive at Hyde Park (or more accurately, a grassy little traffic island at the corner of Hyde Park), Benji greets Still Water first, briefly touching the horse’s nose, before leading Miriam over to the statue of Lord Byron and his dog, Boatswain. He bows to each of them in turn. "Good evening, Byron, Boatswain. I wondered if I might have a word? It’s about a book belonging to Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square. By Mary Wollstonecraft, with annotations from Byron, apparently. Are you familiar?"

Rolls

Benji: Put a Face to a Name - Wild - (2d6+0)

(26) = 8

Emma

Delirium

Feb 13, 2025 5:35 am

After Arundel (RP)

Mr. Uskglass brushed aside her plea without so much as a word. He didn’t acknowledge her vulnerability, the desperation in her voice, or the honesty she has shown. Instead, he circled back to Benji and Jacob as if Emma herself didn’t matter at all. She tried to swallow the rising panic in her chest. How could she prove she had any value to him? That she actually mattered?

"Benji is centuries old" she struggled to keep her voice steady "He plays the violin in Piccadilly Circus for spare change. The dress I wore that evening cost him his entire worldly possessions. He’s seen Vampire Lords rise and fall, probably more than he can even remember, and yet he has never gotten involved. You can’t possibly think a man like that would orchestrate the disappearance of Eliot, after all these years?"
She was in part hoping to prove she was more than just a pretty face, but mostly, she couldn’t bear the thought of Benji being blamed for Eliot’s disappearance. It's not like Benji shed any tears over the Vampire Lord (who did?), and she wouldn't even put murder on the spur of the moment as out of the realms of possibility. But the WAY Eliot disappeared? Benji was more likely to snap the Vampire Lord's neck if it got to that, then pull a disappearing act on Eliot's car somewhere along the way to Arundel.

"I don’t know anything about this Jacob" she added, with no small hint of bitterness "except that he was Benji’s friend, and that he ditched me at the party, and apparently the city, without offering an apology for stringing me along"

And Hali? She didn’t trust her either. No matter how she spun it, Emma wasn’t ‘kidnapped’ that night. The woman was lying, though Emma couldn’t quite figure out what the endgame was.

"Do you know anything about Eliot’s disappearance?" she posed her own question "You’d think people would be more concerned. His absence is going to cause infighting among his successors, and it’s going to be bloody, with plenty of collateral damage. Does anyone even care?"

She let her words hang for a brief moment. She realized Uskglass had no reason to care about the chaos. He would probably even welcome it. She was sure there would be many debts owed to him, and many other powerful figures, by the time the dust settled and a victor emerged. A little bit of turmoil in the city was probably good for him. Still...

"I thought the city had bigger things to focus on. Like the rain that never stops falling. In that context, Eliot’s disappearance seems a little… inconvenient, don’t you think?" she knew she was throwing out half-baked conspiracy theories with nothing to substantiate them, but that was all she had left.

"Mr. Uskglass" she finally sighed "Can’t you just put me on probation or something? You could always crush me like a bug whenever you feel like it, but is now really the best time for that? Let me help you! One extra pair of eyes on the streets, with everything that has been going on. It can't do any harm..."

OOC:

Rolling 'One Way or Another', though 'Let it Out' - Convince an NPC to act on their kindness, role, or own best interest could possibly fit as well?

Rolls

Emma: One Way or Another (+Heart) - (2d6+2)

(61) + 2 = 9

vagueGM

Feb 13, 2025 1:38 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

You can almost hear Uskglass shake his head in disappointment at you lack of understanding. "Yes, Mrs Harper," he explains. "A relatively young vampire, and at a good age to be thinking about his own power-base.

"And like all young people. He is unpredictable. We don't know much about him, except what we have seen in the past few days. Usurping his lords latest pet." By this he means you, you have heard this sentiment often enough you can't fault Uskglass from using the common idiom. "Stepping up to speak on behalf of vampires while there were others, more senior to him, in the room." He does not comment that everyone, himself included, probably preferred Benji over the alternative like Alasdair, but he is not wrong about how it appears. "We don't know what he is going to do next."

Uskglass does not mention the continued connection with Jacob's 'shop' —a known place of power in the city. He is not in the business of revealing information, information is power.

"'More concerned'?" Uskglass sounds genuinely confused. "Elliot Parry's disappearance is is a pretty big concern, at a time like this. Stability is what is called for, and Parry was a stabilising force. He understood the benefit of avoiding a street war, his rise to power was amidst an extermination effort, so he knew well enough to stay on our good side.

"He was a business man. We all can only hope whoever his successor is is half as rational as he was." He is now fishing for information you don't have. "If not Benji, who do you see taking over? Ideally we could find where Parry is and return to the status quo. If you know anything, feel free to share."

"'Bigger than'?" Again he sounds confused as to what you are getting at, then realisation dawns. "Oh, my dear. I must apologise. I am a daft old man, and missed the allusions. You think your case occupies any of my attention?" It sounds like he genuinely forgot about that part. "That's what the courts are for, and we can spare one junior lawyer, it is pretty open and shut. If you husband got caught up in the proceedings, I am sorry, but I know nothing of this or his investigation, the courts are a mess, I sympathise with your plight, I really do, but what did you expect? Even if you are as innocent as you claim, the people you hang out with matter. I have no interest in 'squashing you like a bug', in truth I had completely forgotten you." (just like a bug)

"Tell you what I will do. Mrs Harper. I will instruct our legal team to drop the charges against you. Someone will be in touch. You can then demonstrate the value of your 'eyes on the street', and we will see where to go from there. Again, I am sorry you got caught up in all this, choose your friends more wisely in the future?"

What do you do?

OOC:

Someone from legal will be in touch (off-screen), it may take time for the courts to catch up, but David should be able to put his investigation team in contact with Uskgalss' people, so this should only slow his promotion a bit.

People will be in touch about your promise to help. You also Owe Uskglass a Debt for Overlooking a Harm. If you are not able to deliver on your offer to 'help' they may call in that Debt for something less pleasant.

Emma

Delirium

Feb 13, 2025 2:14 pm

After Arundel (RP)

Emma struggled to believe Uskglass actually thought Benji was responsible for Eliot’s disappearance. The accusation was flimsy at best, without a shred of evidence to back it up. She wanted to believe he was more intelligent than that, but maybe she misjudged him. Maybe he was just another bully in a nice suit. He already called her a "pet," insinuated she was little more than property, and put her down throughout the entire conversation. Charming man. Yet another "Henry" in her life that she would now have deal with.

"I don’t know too many vampires, but I can ask around if you want," She forced her voice to remain steady "I’ll get back to your associate with anything useful I come across."

Emma was eager to end the call the moment he agreed to drop the charges. She knew continuing the conversation would only give him more chances to insult her, and she might yet end with her foot in her mouth.

"Thanks for your help. And your advice" she tried to be cordial, to the end "I’ll do my best to make sure you won’t regret your decision."

vagueGM

Feb 13, 2025 2:38 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

"Good. Good." Uskglass says to you last promise to do your best. "Well, good day, Mrs Harper."

You hear him put his phone down... like literally put it down instead of pressing a button to hang up. You hear a straining chair creak as he stands and a fading, muttered complaint: "Now I have to change my number as well..."

OOC:

This is concluded. You can finish up telling David the good news (he never doubted you for a moment), or take it as read and redirect us to the Paying the Price thread and your meet with Persephone.

Emma

Delirium

Feb 13, 2025 3:20 pm

After Arundel (RP)

The immediate threat has passed. His decision to drop the charges didn’t exactly free her from his grasp, but it was a small victory. She tried to ignore the lingering discomfort of having agreed to work with someone like him. Maybe his chosen contact person would be more congenial. She could only hope…

She decided to send a quick text message to Kat before walking out of the bedroom to give David the good news. The Russian model looked like a wild party animal, if her Instagram was anything to go by. She could have suggested the two of them hit ‘The Box’, but she felt that yet another cocaine-fueled night of debauchery wouldn’t be particularly noteworthy. What she needed to do was offer something different—an experience Kat wouldn’t typically go for. A quiet, cozy night in, where they could actually talk and enjoy themselves. Maybe some group games, a few laughs. Something... different.

"Hey, Kat! How’s it going? How would you feel about a chill night at my place tonight? Just me, my husband, and a few friends?"

Not waiting for a reply (she couldn’t count on Kat being awake just yet), she strolled back to the kitchen, where David was waiting for her

"All taken care of!" she couldn't help but smile at the sight of her husband. She closed his laptop with a soft click before leaning in over the kitchen counter "What do you want to do now?" she looked at him with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

vagueGM

Feb 14, 2025 7:19 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Benji -

You know the statue of Byron is a lonely one, which seems appropriate from the man himself. You still don't know how closely the statues cleave to the people they are based on, whether any of the man 'imbues', as it were, or how much the personality of the sculptor shapes the entity.

Byron is famed for bringing the first stories of 'vampires' to England and the English consciousness, in both a fragment written as part of the ghost story 'competition' that spawned Frankenstein and published without his consent or blessing, and a note in a letter denying authorship of the novel The Vampire (possibly Polidori) where —in addition to a stated "personal dislike to 'Vampires'"— he states: "the little acquaintance I have with them would by no means induce me to reveal their secrets.", implying some knowledge of 'secrets' to reveal.

If he does not know your nature, it might not be in your best interest to reveal your secrets. But, so far, he shows polite interest.

"That old battle-axe is reading my notes?" He enquires, sounding intrigued, though inscrutably hard to read as to whether this is considered a good thing. Fawcett was after his time, so the statue of him may only know of the statue of her. "These would be the ones on the 'nature of women' in Mary: A Fiction, I wager, though I annotate other works of that dread mother-in-law."

The term 'dread mother-in-law' does not evoke images of Mary Shelley (as Jacob indicated), somewhere the message may have confused her with her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, the proto-feminist.

"I saw you greet the horse." He says with approval. "That is a lonely beast, trapped in a form it does not understand, and in a place it does not like." He could well be talking about himself as well, life in the park could have been grand, but the encroaching road network has cut him out of the park, and stranded him on a island that is dangerous to get to and seldom visited.

What do you do?

Emma

Delirium

Feb 14, 2025 9:00 pm

After Arundel (RP)

******

Emma looked much more at ease when she finally emerged from the bedroom a couple of hours later; calmer than she had felt in days. David was already drifting to sleep before she finished her shower, and once she slipped into a soft, loose sweater, she gently closed the door behind her to keep him from waking, and tip-toped to the living room, where Sarah lay on the couch, looking lost in thought.

She settled onto the small, one-person couch beside her, and took a moment to simply sit in silence as Sarah adjusted to her presence.
"Hey" she finally said, offering the young woman a gentle smile "How are you holding up?"

vagueGM

Feb 14, 2025 9:18 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

"Fine." Sarah says, seemingly not much bothered by the total upheaval of her life. This is the new normal now, it seems, and she has taken it in stride. She has not said anything about work, and, so far as you know, has not left your flat except where you dragged her out. Hopefully she contacted her work and let them know she would not be in? But she does not seem too cut up about that, like she has accepted that you are taking care of everything, and that is just the way it is now.

She has her phone, but not your borrowed earphones —you have not seen her playing music, or dancing, while you guys have been around, that is something she keeps to herself, it would seem— and your walls are thin, but you were not especially subtle about what you dragged David into the bedroom for.

"I am glad you sorted out your troubles." She says in a small voice. She was there when you talked about it with David, she is always awake when there is anyone in the main part of the flat. This is possibly the first time she has expressed an opinion of her own, or shown much interest in anything that was happening. There is a certain optimism in her voice, a —possibly misplaced— confidence that you will sort out any problem, including hers.

What do you do?

Emma

Delirium

Feb 14, 2025 9:43 pm

After Arundel (RP)

Emma smiled and nodded, but her expression softened as she realized just how much Sarah had overheard. The young woman had been so quiet it was easy to forget she was there. She didn't blame her for eavesdropping (how could she possibly help it?), but it did make her pause for a moment.

"Yeah, I'm glad we got that sorted too" she said gently, before continuing "But listen… I’ve been meaning to talk to you" She paused for a second, trying to find the right words "I know you've been through a lot, and that it is taking some time to adjust. But I need to know what really happened to you. I want to help, but I can't if I don't understand everything"

vagueGM

Feb 14, 2025 10:35 pm

After Arundel (RP)

- Emma -

Sarah's chin starts to wobble, as though she is holding back tears. She looks worried for the first time she has been here. You know she does not want to talk about, or even think about, what happened, but might be having a harder time with the sudden confrontation.

"But you know what happened. You wrote about it in your new book." She says in a quiet voice. You recall that she thought it was a dream, and had been trying to convince herself that she imagined everything. She is scared, but might still be in denial.

"I don't know anything else." She says, sounding helpless.

What do you do?

oopsylon

Feb 15, 2025 1:19 am

After Arundel (RP)

Benji looks back at the horse and the torrential rain pouring down its long face, and at Miriam, looking slightly confused and slightly amused by Benji apparently talking to himself, and then back at the statue of Byron. "Aren’t we all," he remarks. "Although I find I quite like the place I am trapped. Anyway, about the book: it has apparently gone missing or been stolen. A friend of mine agreed to find it for her, but he had to leave the city in a hurry, so he’s asked me to pick up where he left off. I’m not much of a detective and it didn’t seem like he had many leads to follow, but he was interested in speaking to you so I thought this would be a good place to start. Do you have any idea who might have taken it?"

vagueGM

Feb 15, 2025 5:14 am

After Arundel (RP)

- Benji -

"Some utter bastard stole a book from a statue!?" Byron demands, 'showing' emotion for the first time, though only you can 'see' it. "I had someone do that to me once. Put it right over there, where I could not reach it, no one came past for weeks, and it just melted before my eyes.

"How long has it been?" He asks, and after confirming that it has been 'days', he concludes. "That does not sound like one of the other Parliamentarians playing a joke. That would have come out by now, before Fawcett called in outside help, it ceases to be funny at this point." He sounds like an academic speaking on the topic of 'funny', like he knows what it means, but there is no trace of humour in his voice.

"My statue in Trinity College, Cambridge, tells me they kept copies they run off individually on their newfangled printing press." He probably mean a printer. Trinity College is a bit far to go, but you may be able to find another college or university in the area that has access? "If it is the substance of the writing she cares about, the binding should not matter." He observes.

"Is that a violin? Or a gangster gun?" He asks, indicating your case, though where Lord Byron would have heard of gangsters (American gangsters, to boot) storing Tommy guns in violin cases, you can't guess. "Are you going to play?" He sounds eager in a laconic way, but it is raining hard, and there is nowhere you could keep your violin dry, the few tress are soaking wet and dripping. Now that you see the location you probably need a water-proof violin, a tent —or tent-sized umbrella— or to fix the weather situation and try later. Byron would appreciate the show, even if you can't tell for sure about Still Water.

What to you do?

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