#Lore24 – Entry #290 – Sentinel City by Night #16 – Knocking on the Chantry Door
From the Journal of Sheba O’Rourke, Private Investigator
“Wound up taking three nights, but I was finally allowed a visit to the Tremere chantry. By then, the aura in the vial had faded somewhat, but it was still visible, so maybe it wasn’t too late to glean something useful from them. Their place was very much what I’d expected it to be, fancy gothic-style manor in the neighborhood reserved for the rich, old-money types, surrounded by a big fence and plenty of magical auras I wasn’t even about to try and decipher. Just passing through the gates was enough to make my skin crawl. Fun fact: after I’d announced myself on their intercom, the gates opened on their own, but not with any kind of mechanical device.
Of course, I didn’t get a full tour of the place. Once I was inside the front entryway, got to see the grand stairway leading to the upper levels, and several closed doors lining the entry hall; shadows were deep here, deeper than even my heightened perceptions could penetrate, even though there were plenty of candles glowing with arcane, purple flames to light the way. A moment later, one of the side doors opened, and a teenager wearing all black, a t-shirt and jeans, combat boots, and a smattering of your typical goth girl accessories, ushered me toward her. Sitting room was fancy, fireplace was glowing with what looked like a normal fire even if there wasn’t any heat coming off it, though the room was pleasantly warm regardless.
Another Tremere waited for me, this one dressed like some kind of cowgirl, could have just stepped out of the old West at that moment and I probably would’ve believed it. She introduced herself in what sounded like another Texas drawl as Abigail Dawson, and her companion as her apprentice, Elizabeth Powell. At least they were being courteous for all their secrecy, so I introduced myself in kind. Knowing they weren’t likely interested in chitchat, I got right down to business, gave them quick rundown of the situation and passed them the vial.
Though they hid it well, I could tell they were intrigued. They excused themselves to the connecting room, told me to make myself comfortable but not to wander. Could’ve at least left me a magazine or something else to read. Took about an hour before they came back, about half the contents of the vial missing, the magical aura gone. Both of them had a look on their faces like they’d just discovered dog shit on their shoes after they’d already tracked it through the house.
The sorcery in the vial stank of the Tzimisce, they said, likely a modification of a type of blood ritual they often used to frenzy their ghouls when they went to war. The rest they said was a mixture of various mundane chemicals and ingredients, common in street drugs, the exact nature they’d leave to me now that the sorcery had been removed. My first instinct was that my suspicions of Misha Kyle were correct all along, but Abigail said it was unlikely; their people were keeping a close eye on Kyle and had not noted any strange behavior out of her.
Elizabeth then told me that our time was up, and the rest of the mess was mine to sort out, but if more sorcery was discovered, to let them know. Then a curious thing happened; the two shared a look, Abigail nodded at her childe, and then the apprentice told me that shadows loomed around Sentinel City, so the head of the chantry had divined, and trouble was coming. Couldn’t get more specifics out of them, guess they’d loose their mysterious reputation if they made it that easy. Either way, thanked them for their time and left the chantry on the quick, my mind working on the situation as I drove toward Blumenthal’s precinct. Dropped off the remnants of the vial, let him know that I had a vague lead, but would need more time to track it down. Told him it was probably some kind of new street drug from what I’d been told, and to get the word out to his people to be on the lookout for more of it, and that I’d be in touch. Said he’d let me know what the lab techs found out about it.
Got an unwelcome surprise when I got back to my apartment. My backdoor to Emmerson’s computer had been removed, and I was no longer getting copies of her communications. Could’ve been an equipment failure, maybe, but my gut told me otherwise. Someone had found me out.”