paris ♔ tried to save myself but myself keeps slipping away

[necessaryevil]

♬ Facade (reprise) - Jekyll & Hyde

WHO || Faith Lehane, Max Rast, Lissa Dragomir, Helen Magnus
WHAT || The Knights investigate a string of vampire attacks in France
WHERE ||Paris, France
WHEN || April 11th, 2015 [backdated].
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

One vampire attack is cause for worry enough, but when bodies are found with telltale puncture wounds and heavy loss of blood become a recurring nightmare across any city, alarm bells are raised.  Such is the case recently in Paris, where Wynn suspects that either a careless clan has moved in, or some lone vamps are stirring up trouble.  With the locations of the bodies marked out in the eight block radius where the deaths have been occurring, the team arrives in the late evening, staring at the rows of apartment blocks, small businesses, and pubs that comprise this section of town.

Comments

[msattentionspan]

[She nods and feels a sense of relief that he didn't press too hard on this.]

I'll try to go easy on the guy. [Which might be difficult considering the state she left him in.

AND OFF SHE GOES ~ She heads off back the way they came, this time she's much better at backtracking. (navigate 19)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she finds her way back to where she left the guy on the street, even managing to circumvent going back in the vamp bar. But there's no sign of him when she returns to the spot. She can, however, also backtrack to the building he'd led her to before ]

[msattentionspan]

[When that first location comes up empty, she's definitely going to try and head back to that apartment he was trying to lure her into. (navigate 16 if she needs it?)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she finds it easily enough, the windows dark, no one in sight. the front door, however, is locked. ]

[msattentionspan]

[Well, Faith is not one for knocking, so she's going to try and pick the lock. (disable device 18)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ it takes her a second, but finally she feels the tumblers click into place with a satisfying noise, and the door creaks open for her, leading into a long, dusty hallway, whose old wood floor is covered by a moth-eaten rug. ]

[msattentionspan]

[A proud grin flashes onto her features before she steps slowly into the hallway and starts to check things out. (spot 17 | listen 22 | move silently 16)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she notices a slightly ajar door further down the hall, that seems to open onto a set of stairs leading downward. but it's dark as shit down there so............... ]

[msattentionspan]

[She pulls out her phone and turns her brightness on her screen WAY up to use it as a flashlight! Then she'll be pushing that door open and trying to see what she can see just from the top of the stairs with her phone-light. (spot 19)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ what she sees is... a fucking light-blinded vampire shying away from the sudden INTENSE BEAM OF LIGHT IN ITS FACE where it was lurking at the base of the steps. it hisses in anger, shielding its eyes, and she can't really see his face to recognize if it's her friend or not, but that looks like some straight up murder basement shit down there. ]

[msattentionspan]

[HA HA HA. (that was faith laughing at the face of danger) Though, really, she's not going to go down there. She'll just let them come to her...

At the very least, she'll just wait for one to get closer to the top of the stairs and grab it out, then shut the door behind her and beat the shit out of it, while she uses her back foot to keep the door lodged shut as best she can. At least... this is her plan.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ if that is her readied action, she can make a grapple attack at it when it charges up the stairs! idr if she has improved grapple. if she doesn't, let me know so he can make his attack of opportunity, otherwise she makes a grapple check (D20+BAB+str mod) vs his, which was a 28. ]

[msattentionspan]

[He tries to hit her, but misses as she reaches to grab him (grapple 36) and pull him out of the stairwell. Once he's free of the door, she'll try to close that quick and put her weight against it with her hip.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ she does so, and the vampire squirms in her grip - indeed, the same familiar guy she had followed out of the bar, all flirtation drained from his feral expression now as he gnashes his fangs towards her neck, but she holds him at bay. ]

[msattentionspan]

I told you that you should get that looked at.

[Not that she has time for smalltalk.]

So, did you bring me out here thinking I'd be a vampire snack or a vampire bride? Because, if you were going for the bride route, you might want to start living in a nicer place. [She studies his fangy face.] Have you been luring a lot of girls out here? Offering them a drink and a good time? [(intimidate 23)]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the fangs retract finally, as he glares daggers at her, but stops struggling in her grip. ] And why shouldn't we? [ he laughs sharply ] This is what we are. Why should we bend to the rules of those ancient fools who think they know better than we? We should be free to do as we like. To kill who we like.

[msattentionspan]

Right and so the same applies for me, right? [She gives him a look that says she could probably push hard enough and his neck would just snap his head right off.]

See the killing, I get it. You can blame that on nature, on that whole predatory thing. It's a good excuse. Food chain, all of that. What I don't get is the frame-jobs. That to me, that's a cry for attention. That's asking for someone like me to come to your house and kick down a door - though I did just pick that lock - and kill the lot of you.

Because, that's what I am. I'm a murderer.

[behindcloseddoors]

[ he certainly looks uneasy in her grip, especially with that pronouncement. ] It's called covering our tracks. Make the humans look like the murderers.

The Elder vampires think we're fools to kill as openly as we do, but we've taken steps to make us difficult to trace. [ a beat, before he begrudgingly admits through gritted teeth ] To most, at least.

[msattentionspan]

You say cover your tracks - I saw cowardly move. But hey, I did weigh a body and sink it in a lake. We all have our flaws.

[Faith looks at him, though. Elder vampires?] So how many of you are out there doing this kill as you please gig?

[behindcloseddoors]

[ he hesitates again, before admitting: ] Six of us. There were seven, but Henri got scared off.

[msattentionspan]

Is he not allowed in your super secret lair now or did someone scare him off?

[She's curious about the Elders too...] Are the five others in this basement?

[behindcloseddoors]

He left the city. Told us not to come looking for him. [ he glances down the steps ] It's just me.

[msattentionspan]

[She glares at him.]

Where would I find the rest of your rag-tag crew?

[behindcloseddoors]

I'm not their keeper. We meet at the bar every night. You saw some of them in there.

[msattentionspan]

When you find a victim do you do the killing on your own or do you round everyone up?