The Snuggly Duckling

[balthazar]

"So that's the way it's going to be is it? Very well."

Brecon reaches inside his coat and pulls out what looks like a lightsaber handle. At the touch of a button, a metal rod three and a half feet long springs out the top. He aims a swing at the nearest thug.

[CCC]

Charles steps forward, smashing the bottle over the head of the vampire; hopefully covering him in rum. If successful, he'll light the lighter but not throw it.

"Back off!" he warns the vampire.

[Kajin]

Coming back around for another go after missing Brecon the first time, the two fast thugs come at Brecon once more.
Thug Four rolls Fists -1 Vs Weapons +3. Thug Four takes a 2 stress hit for bringing a fist to a sword fight.
Thug Three rolls Weapons +1 Vs Weapons +2
Brecon sees them both coming and parries their attacks with ease. The idiot stupid enough to charge a guy holding a fake lightsaber earns himself a wonderfully bruised set of knuckles.

Felix, the slightly bent parking meter still in hand, sets his sights on the Vampire.
Felix rolls Weapons +2 Vs Athletics +3
And curses as the Vampire dodges out of the way of his strike.

"You fool! You think you can challenge ME?!" The Vampire shouts as he attacks Felix in retaliation.
Gremory rolls Fists +2 Vs Athletics +5
The Vampire howls its frustration as it misses its opponent a second time. "I am Arthur Gremory, and I refuse to be upstaged by a bunch of pathetic upstarts!"

Brecon rolls Weapons +7 Vs Athletics -1. Eight shifts generated at Weapon: 1 for a nine stress hit. Thug Four takes a severe consequence and his third stress box is checked off.
Brecon swings his faux lightsaber at the Thug that just attacked him, landing a vicious blow to the poor guy's head. The thug falls to the ground in a spray of shattered teeth.

Charles rolls Weapons +3 vs Athletics +2. Maneuver succeeded! Arthur Gremory gains the aspect (Covered in Rum)
Ozymandius tags the new aspect, rolling Fists +5 Vs Athletics +2. Three shifts generated at Weapon: 2 for a five stress hit. Gremory takes a moderate consequence. His natural armor doesn't cover his stomach, so his first stress box is ticked off.
Running up behind Gremory as he's distracted by Felix, Charles successfully smashes the bottle of high proof Pirate Booze on the Vampire's head. Following behind Charles, Ozymandius punches Gremory in the stomach right when he turns around to attack the lucky Changeling. Doubling over and coughing up blood from the vicious attack, it takes Gremory a second to realize what Charles is saying. Looking around, the Vampire assesses the situation. Two of the Infected gang members have gone down so far, one of them by the traitor they were pursuing and the other by a teenager cosplaying as a Jedi. What's more, a large number of hostile-looking spectators have gathered at the entrance of the Snuggly Duckling. More than a few of them are armed with items that look suspiciously like spellcasting gear. Jack, the cook who was tending to the stove, has a Mossberg shotgun leveled straight at Gremory's head.

Deciding that the whole situation is far more trouble than it's worth, Gremory backs off. "Fine, have it your way. Come on guys, we're outta here." Turning to leave, he runs down a nearby alley like a bat out of hell. The remaining thugs pick up their unconscious comrades and beat the hastiest retreat they can manage.

Brecon Sagar' Stress:
Physical: [] [] []
Mental: [X] [] [] []
Social: [] []

Charles Cane's Stress:
Physical: [] []
Mental: [] [] []
Social: [] [] [] []

Ozymandius' Stress:
Physical: [] [] [] []
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []
Hunger: [] [] [] []

Neil Hewlett's Stress:
Physical: [] [] [] []
Mental: [] [] []
Social: [] [] []

Felix (NPC Ally One):
Physical: [] [] [] [X] | [] [], Mild Consequence: (Just a Scratch)
Mental: [] [] []
Social: [] [] []
Hunger: [] [] [] []

========================================================================================

Gremory the Vampire's Stress: (Taken Out: Fled)
Physical: [X] [] [] | [] [] (Armor: 1) Moderate Consequence (Coughing up Blood)
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

Infected One (Strong): (Taken Out: Fled)
Physical: [] [] []
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

Infected Two (Strong): (Taken Out: Unconscious)
Physical: [] [] [] Severe Consequence: (Shattered Ribs)
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

Infected Three (Fast): (Taken Out: Fled)
Physical: [] [] []
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

Infected Four (Fast): (Taken Out: Unconscious)
Physical: [] [X] [X] Sever Consequence: (Fractured Jaw)
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

Infected Five (Tough): (Taken Out: Fled)
Physical: [] [] [] | [] [] (Armor: 1)
Mental: [] []
Social: [] []

[balthazar]

Brecon gives the fake lightsaber a twirl to get most of the blood and teeth off of it, before pounding it on the ground until it closes with a soft click, at which point, it disappears back into his coat.

"Is everyone alright?"

[Ruan]

Oz, watching the vampire retreat, grumbles something under his breath. He rather pointedly walks well away from anyone who is or may be a magic user and pulls out a cell phone to make a quick call (Resources: 3). A short, terse conversation follows, ended by a quick flick to close the phone. He stands there for a moment, then swears aloud and heads back toward the rest of the group.

"White Council hit the Red Court here in town a while back. Considering the increase in general stupidity among the Reds, what with the random murders and all, I'm going to guess that the wizards managed to kill the local Noble... leaving the small fry to go amok."

[CCC]

"Be careful of broken glass." calls out Charles, looking down at the wreck of the rum bottle. He tosses the bit he's still holding into a nearby rubbish bin, flicks off the lighter, and puts it in his pocket. Then he turns to face the stranger with the girl who'd been at the centre of the... disagreement.

"Would you like to step inside," he asks, "and tell us just what's going on?"

[Kajin]

"Gimme just a second..." Felix waves the comment off and steps down the alley. Holding his hand over his chest where he took the hit, he grimaces and closes his eyes in concentration.
Felix rolls Discipline +5 Vs Hunger Compel +6, takes a one stress hit to his hunger track.
After taking a moment to compose himself, Felix opens his eyes again and heads back to the group. The young man's face looks a little pale but he doesn't seem too worse for wear at the moment.

Felix nods his head at Oz in acknowledgement. "Yeah, there was a recent raid. The noble of the local faction of Reds was killed during that raid and now all of those that served her have free reign of the city. It's bad out there right now. Real bad. You guys saved me, so you deserve to know what's what," Felix shakes his head, a sad smile on his face. "Bad things are moving around tonight, we should probably get some wall between us and them."

Jack keeps the shotgun on hand as he surveys the surrounding area. The young Asian woman who was washing dishes earlier stands next to him, white rod in hand. They stay where they are until everyone gets inside safely before coming inside, closing and locking the front door to the pub behind them.

[CCC]

Charles follows Felix in, and promptly steps up to the counter for his change. "Thank you," he says, "that was just what was needed."

[Kajin]

Robin nods numbly, giving Charles his requested change. She isn't as annoyingly cheerful as she was earlier. Suzette, still standing next to her at the counter, is frowning severely at the locked door with a gaze so intense it's as if she's trying to see straight through it.

The atmosphere of the Snuggly Duckling is tense and dead quiet despite of the large number of people present. Jack, shotgun still in hand, ushers everyone involved upstairs to the guest area. "Suzette, Robin, you two stay down here and man the fort. Naomi? Upstairs with us, I may need some muscle."

"Alright," Robin replies. Suzette nods her head sharply in response, her expression solemn.

"Hai," the Asian girl with the white rod follows everyone upstairs to the guest rooms.

Leading everyone into the largest of these rooms, Jack waits for everyone to come inside before closing the door. Waiting inside is the young girl from before. On seeing Felix, she seems to visibly relax as he goes over to sit next to her, grabbing onto his sleeve as he lowers himself into the chair.

[CCC]

Charles steps into the upstairs guest room, then looks around at everyone. He waits until everyone's in, then turns towards Felix. "I believe you had something to tell us?" he prompts.

[Kajin]

Felix sighs, leaning back in his chair as he frowns in annoyance. "Yeah, but you should probably get yourselves settled in. There's a bit of a story that needs told, but the short of it is that we're all screwed." Felix pauses for dramatic effect before continuing. "About a year ago, the Mistress Beatrix welcomed a new vampire into the local branch. He called himself Vaz, and he was a small-time Sorcerer seeking sanctuary from the White Council. A gifted evocator he was not, but he was pretty damned good at Thaumaturgy, a fact which Beatrix exploited to aid in the defense of the mansion the Reds used as their headquarters. As a Red Court vampire, Vaz had protection from the White Council. In exchange for harboring him, Beatrix used his talents to defend what was hers and to increase her standing in the Red Court. The partnership worked.

"Then came the raid by the White Council. A lot of the bloodsuckers died during the assault, Beatrix included," Felix smiles, bitter contempt filling his voice as he says the name. "For a short while there weren't that many Reds left in the area. A few days after things died down Vaz showed up out of nowhere, and all of a sudden he has the ability to create new Infected. I have no idea how, because you had to have risen to the ranks of the nobility before you were even capable of doing that. The Infected he created and the Vampires they eventually became are a lot weaker than your standard fare, but he's been creating so many of them. He's been going to all the local gangs of mortal riff-raff and offering them power. Those that accept and swear loyalty to him are turned, and those that don't are used as food. It's like he's trying to create his own army, and he barely has any control over it. The whole thing is a powder keg of power-mad wannabe gangstas hopped up on human blood. There's going to be a lot of people dying if someone doesn't put him down before he has the chance to finish raising his own army."

[CCC]

Charles raises an eyebrow at the news of the growing vampire army. "And where exactly do you come into the story?" he asks. "Why were those fellows outside so eager to take you, personally, apart?"

[Kajin]

"Because he saved me!" The young girl immediately shouts, standing up and knocking the chair she was sitting in to the ground. "They had me and a bunch of others in cages and were going to kill us for our blood. I'd still be there now if Felix hadn't come and gotten me out..." Felix stands up and places his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her.

"Alicia, it's alright now. You're safe here. Not even Vaz is stupid enough to attack neutral ground." After a few moments, Alicia calms down. Shaking his head and taking his seat again, Felix continues. "I've been one of the Infected for a few years now, but I've never been a big fan of how the Reds did things. The only reason I stayed with them... Well, that reason is gone now. So, when I saw that they were rounding up civilians off the streets to feed to the new Infected I couldn't take it anymore. I busted as many of them out as I could and we ran for it. Alicia and I are the only two that managed to get this far. I don't know what happened to all the others. Maybe captured. Maybe worse."

[balthazar]

Brecon steps forward from where he'd been leaning against the wall.

"Well then, I think it might be a good idea to go out and have a look for them before anything worse, as you so delicately put it, happens."

[Ruan]

"Probably too late by now. Unless they managed to find their own protectors, or found a safe place to hide, they'll have just gotten caught again. Those that have been caught... well. Doubt they'll last long, if at all. Those that successfully got away, we'll never find in time to make any difference."

Oz leans back along the wall, folding his arms across his chest.

"Better in my opinion to find the source of the problem - the Reds. Felix, your name is? You've operated with them for some time. You know where their hideouts are. If we're going to 'save' anyone, assuming there's someone to save, they'll be at their largest base."

He raises an eyebrow.

"And you can lead us right there, yes?"