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[VtR] The Aster Courts IC: A Darkness Concrete

2

Posts

  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    "Maybe - maybe not, but talk that mess someplace else, yeah? I feel fuckin' famished," Sway bristled, putting a hand to his temple without really realising he was doing it. As far as he was concerned God either existed and he was a dead man who drank blood, or God didn't exist and he was a dead man who drank blood. He didn't really see where he would fit into any of it. Regardless, theology was something he didn't want to endure; not now.

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    There are places in the Courts you should never go. Things not like us dwell there. -Franny Reynolds, housewife

    A moment or two later, Graves reappears from the utility door under a too-tall, trembling pile of boxes and bags. When he nears the truck, he peers around his stack to see you all standing there, some of you holding weapons.

    "Eh? What happened to yeh lot? Ah well, yeh look no worse for wear. Go on, get yeh in." Graves slides his packages up into the truck, and follows them, shoving vials and bags away into the various freezers. After he's done, he heads to the front, sliding into the seat next to Ecstasy again, barely looking behind himself to make sure you're inside.

    "Alright, chaps - our first stop is the First Estate of course, the local Invictus, nobs and pansies that they are." As he says this, the engine coughs and wheezes into action, the truck taking its first jerky movements towards your next destination. As it weaves between and behind the tenements, many of them marked with the gang graffiti of a white rose, you realize where it must be going, and are unsurprised to find the truck coming to a stop outside of what looks like an old Victorian house behind some of the tenements.

    This is the Caldwell place - rumour has it that the man that once lived here wouldn't give up his plot to the City Council when the Aster Courts were built, banking on his "heritage house" to make them back off. Once the Courts were left to ruin, the Council stopped carrying about the manor house that stood in the way of what would have been Court Thirteen. You've always heard tales about the Caldwell place - no one goes in, no one goes out. It's eternally dark, shades across the windows, dust on the verandah that encircles the entire house. Even more than that, a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire runs around the property, stopping where its wilted grasses and ruined gardens meet the asphalt of the tenements proper. Men in grey suits have been spotted at the house, around the fence - called themselves "Heritage Protection," and the rifles they carry suggested very little room for disagreement. A mystery, and something spooky at that, but nothing to provoke attention from your gang-ends or for you to worry about trucking in. Until now.

    The ice-cream truck rolls to a stop, Graves looking from his seat back at you. "Go on, get yeh out - this is yer stop. We'll go sell in the Court here." As if on cue, the chimes kick in, and the throng begins to emerge from the shadows: junkies, common thugs, and just the lost all alike.

    When you get out, you can see the chain-link fence has a prominent entrance, two large signs warning "BEWARE OF DOGS" and "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT." Standing by the entrance are two tall men, well-muscled yet still cloaked in simple grey suits. Both hold an assault rifle of some sort, a sword sheathed on their hips. One blonde, one brown, both with the same steely eyes and unwavering focus, both wearing white rose pins over their hearts.

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  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph snarls and spits for good measure. "If I wanted to go walk in on a bunch of useless Invictus fucks on my own, I didn't need to play free babysitter to a dealer." Joseph looks the rest of the pack up and down. "Well, okay, let's get on with it, then. Strong showing of unity and all that." He takes the initiative and steps up to the entrance, crossing his arms and looking coolly at the armed men. "Are yeh gonna let me in or should I just help myself?"

  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    "Nah, fuck that," Sway replied, eyeing the white rose Colton had produced with open disdain. "If you're in on twat's tea party waiting for a few crumbs to hit the floor, that's fine. Not my way though, so let's get this over with."

  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph failed to withhold an audible growl. The Beast writhed and screamed inside him. It demanded payment in blood for the humiliation his younger brother had chosen to foist on him. Its revulsion and disdain coursed through him like fire as he eyed the white pin fastened to Colton. He chewed on his lip. Every fiber of his being yearned to express his hatred, but that part of him that clung to humanity was all-too-aware of how a confrontation here would end.

    He spoke slowly. "It's as Sway says. This is the Courts, kid, not a gala event at the Barber Institute." He spits again. "I'm not going to pretend to be something I'm not, and neither should you."

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    Rhys - the brown-haired one of the two - smiles and speaks with a gravelly rumble. "Very well. If you'll vouch for them, Mister Jarvis, they may enter. If you have brought your friends to audience with our Lord Regent, you might want to speak with Seneschal Dunning first. You know the Lord doesn't like to be disturbed." Rhys nods to Callum, who rolls the mesh gate back with one giant hand, offering passage into the manor proper.

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  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    "A little class could certainly help you lot." Isaac grins and follows Colton in through the gate. He had always been curious about the place and figured a "civilized" person like himself would have no problem here. "We are here to meet people, remember? Not start shit with the local suits. So keep up a unified front and if if you can say something nice with a word that is longer than three syllables keep your fang hole shut."

    He tips an imaginary hat at a guard. "Gents"

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    "Mrs. McCarthy used to warn me about coming 'round this place. Now I know why." Johnny gives a small wave to the guards as he passes through the gate. "Don't worry Colton, I'm not here to ruin your fun... just want some answers is all." He looks back at Graves, handing out his wares, "Should we trust him though?"

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    You walk across the cobblestone path towards the house, between the decaying weeds and blackened flower beds. It feels odd under your feet - the raised stones and gaps between them hinting at artistry and care, not the smooth industrial concrete that makes up the Courts, the wet slick of trash and guts, or even the dirt of places left unmade. The boards of the verandah creak as you step on them, flex, quiver. Thick cobwebs run from the underpinnings of the awnings to the smoky, dirty brick walls - and even up against the guttering glass lamp inset by the doorway. You look at the mechanism - a fluted cup around a sputtering flame out of an old metal element, blackened with soot. Gas light?

    The door itself is surprisingly clean - the brass handle has been polished to a shine, the thick oak of the door lustrous, and it opens easily on greased hinges belying its weight. Stepping inside is like being sent back a hundred or more years - more of the gas lamps dot the walls, all showing off dusty carpeting, yellowing wallpaper, and heavy furniture in a variety of woods now dead. The entrance displays what would have been the glamour Caldwell hoped for - two sweeping curved staircases to the left and right, huge windows now darkened with blackout curtains and tape, and a massive glass chandelier tinkling in the breeze of your entrance. Your rotten noses smell nothing but dust and decay here.

    In the middle of the room a podium stands, a tall man behind it. He turns to face you, dressed in a butler's uniform so conservative it involves a starched collar with the ubiquitous white rose crowded on his chest; his face is pale, lined, a man who hasn't seen the sun in many days. His dark eyes and thin eyebrows quiver for a moment under his slicked-back hair. "Gentlemen, I presume. What is the purpose of your calling upon the First Estate?"

    Arivia on
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  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    edited October 2011
    Sway carried himself in a way that projected ignorance of the weight of his surroundings, blind to the gravitas of the one receiving them. His lifeless eyes all but picked up the trinkets, gave them a shake and tossed them aside as they passed over the room. The truth was that he was more concerned with making it crystal clear that the moldy old estate and its moldy old world, the antiques, the flowers pinned to their hearts and the courtly bullshit peppering every dressed up, base act they committed - none of it rang out where he was from - all they could smell was the rot.

    He stepped forward, wordless as he awaited a response from butler man.

    Glandmine on
  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    "Very well, then." Seneschal Dunning moves to a pulley on the wall and pulls; off in the distance of the manor house you can hear the chime of a bell. "Our Lord Regent Stuart will see you in the great hall. You know the way, Colton." Colton nods and leads you through the double doors behind the Seneschal, into a long hallway pierced with other doors and shrouded with dusty, tied-up and never used curtains. At the far end is another pair of double-doors, and he opens these again, gesturing you through.

    The hall beyond is tall and wide, with huge windows cut into one side that would show light had there been any. It was obviously designed for entertaining; you can see a great table that dominates the centre of the room, with a number of chairs set up around it, all upholstered in thinning velvet. At the far end, what can only be described as a throne has been set up on a dais - a tall chair, edged in gold. A man sits in it, darkened in the shadows of the chair, but he straightens up, revealing an old and worn face.

    He calls out: "Come over, come over children. Come to pay your respects to the First Estate?" His voice is unlike any other you've heard today - educated, cultured, the kind of Received Pronounciation you would hear on the BBC.

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  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    Isaac takes a couple steps forward and makes a deep bow. It seems a little awkward, but most of the things he does tend to come off that way.

    "Greetings Lord Stuart.", Isaac comes back up from the bow, pushing a long strip of greasy hair away from his hawk-like nose. "We apologize for the intrusion, but we heard word of your great ... organization and decided to stop by and introduce ourselves since we were in the area and all."

    "It is surprising to find a place of such class out here. You would think it doesn't exist in Aster..." Isaac grins his awkward grin before breaking into a brief coughing fit. Again he is forced to cough into his sleeve until the hacking convulsions pass.

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    Johnny remembered what Mrs. McCarthy told him when he was a boy "If you don't know what to do, just do what the person to the left is doing."

    Following Colton's lead, Johnny bows his head and mumbles, "Lord Regent Stuart." He felt awkward doing it and it showed, bowing his head wasn't something that came easy to Johnny in life and unlife.

  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph was determined to keep his mouth shut and ride out this portion of the field trip, but this was too far. His limited patience snaps and he turns on Colton.

    "Wait one damn moment. If you want to be the puppy of some damn Lord, that's your grovelly, ass-kissing business. Don't pull the rest of us into begging and performing for table scraps."

    Joseph snorts as he looks around. "I'm just here to take in the sights. Can't say I'm impressed."

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    "Well, let's impress you then, Carthian. I'm glad you have come to see true power in the Courts." Stuart smiles, and rises from his throne, grabbing a long golden straight cane and twirling it in the air as he walks towards you.

    "You are right, Mister Jarvis: doing favours is how we all get ahead, whether it be as Kine or Kindred. Respect - the foundation of the First Estate, the very tradition which has allowed us to rule the night for a thousand years and more. Respect must be earned - and while we codify it -" and with this, he gives a great slash of the cane in the air, pointing it at Joseph "- in the language of our wonderful halls here, it ultimately comes from the things we do for each other. Whether those actions be in peace or in war, they are how we survive as people, not as Beasts."

    He pauses, and turns to Joseph again, striding forward, looking him in the eye. "So, Carthian. I am not going to call you a mutt, or a mongrel, or impugn you in any other way. What I do offer you is some respect - not as one covenant looking down on another, but as men. Are you willing to see me eye to eye, as men, not a monster?"

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  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph clenches his fists at his side as tight as he can, feeling his nails pierce his palms.

    Kill him. Rend him in twain! Defile every inch of his body! Destroy him!

    Joseph matches Stuart's gaze with half-lidded eyes. "That's a lot of nice talk. It sounds like you know the value of traded favors. So since we're here already: what do you want, and more importantly..." Joseph grins, "What will you give us in return? 'Respect' is nice, but I have no use for a pat on the head."

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    "That depends, my friend-to-be: what do you want?

    You're new, uncoordinated, newborn lambs shaky on solid ground. You're lost, and without direction.

    I'd be lying to you if I said things are peaceful around here, safe, or even quiet. None of us want that monstrous horror to hang us all in front of the sun; yet we're all too broken to take him on. There's opportunity here, gentlemen - the question is: where do you want to be, with who, and what do you want to do with it?

    So, if you perform a simple task for me - something menial to our kind - then I will be happy to grant you my favour, some peace, and a favour for you to redeem in the future, no matter where your plans may take you."

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  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    Sway felt his blood bite at him as he watched conflict swept aside by honeyed words. He wondered if the whole courtesy routine was a ruse to exhaust the Beast. He felt his own shake the ladder. The stench of burned men hung heavier on him for a moment.

    "Tell us the task then. And what your favour means 'round my way. Turf?"

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    "Turf? Perhaps. Feeding ground? Of course - or a safe house, should you choose. But that is not for you to choose - the favour is shared among you all.

    Now, as to the task: there's a small gang that's moved into our territory near by. The Red Dogs, they call themselves: mere mortals, nothing more. You can find them by watching their tags - a red claw on the concrete walls shows you the way. Of course, you'll need to wear these while killing them." Stuart outstretches a hand, his palm holding four of the white rose pins he and Colton wear.

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  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph accepts one of the four pins, and slides it in his pocket. "Sounds like an easy enough job."

  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    Isaac takes one of the pins, studying it with keen eyes for a moment before vanishing it into his pocket.

    "If you don't mind me asking. Who exactly are these dogs we have to put down? Why are they any bother to you?"

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    Johnny quietly takes a pin.

    "A unified front," he says to himself.

    He repeats the mantra over and over in his head. He would let them know what he really thought soon enough.

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    The Lord Regent smiles at Isaac's question.

    "Why it's simple: these are the Aster Courts after all, not Oxford or Eton." He chuckles. "Like most everyone else here, we run more than a few criminal activities ourselves. I'm sure men of strength like yourself can understand that you simply don't want another group edging in on your grounds to sell, swindle, or steal."

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  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    Isaac's face twists a bit. Something about this seems a little odd. It isn't that he is against killing someone. Lots of people deserve to die. But, why would this group be asking them to take out a simple gang of thugs? Isn't this easily within their sphere of influence? All they would need is a single nosferatu to go down there, put there fear in them, and everyone is done before tea time.

    That said, Isaac knows that he needs all the favors he can get.

  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    Sway twisted the pin of the rose between thumb and forefinger before looking up at the Regent. For a fleeting moment, the flesh around his eyes seemed charred and ruined - a glimpse barely there, barely carnate - a trick of the light.

    "We're making ghosts, not witnesses. So why fly your flag doin' it?"

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    Stuart grins evilly. "In the Courts, no one talks, but everyone sees. You are right - if you do your job correctly, none of the dogs will live to tell the tale. However, those in the tenements around their abattoir-to-be will, and the tale of the White Roses will live on."

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  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    The Haunt palmed the rose into his pocket, next to a lock-knife and a wad of dirty notes.

    "The tale of Red Dogs murked by White Roses - for a favour to be named. I got no problem with that."

    He looks back at the others, arms folded.

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2011
    "I'm done here," Johnny says with a tinge of disdain in his voice. His interest in this gathering had waned considerably, wanting nothing more than to leave. He clutches the white rose in his hand, feeling it press into his skin, hoping that it might just break under pressure. Johnny had attempted to maintain his composure, but this was too much.

    He locks eyes with the Regent, "Goodbye," and turns around and walks out.

    Suicide Slyde on
  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    "Good luck, my friends." Stuart turns around and strolls back to his seat as you leave the Caldwell Estate.

    On your way out, you see someone gesture to Colton, an older woman in glasses and a lab coat for some reason, who takes his ear and speaks to him quietly for a moment before he rejoins you all as you exit.

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  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    Joseph laughs bitterly. "Were you always so naive or has time softened my memory? What did you think he was gonna do? Tell us to go to a dance club and engage in diplomatic discussion with its Kindred proprietor?"

  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    Wearied by the sibling rivalry, Sway inserted himself, deciding to take Joseph's side.

    "That's jokes that... zulu-man complaining 'bout badman work. Fuck off, blud. Like if you simper enough he'll let you balance his chequebook, be ambassador to the Godheads or the Circle? Nah, you're in his pocket and he's bent over with Cromwell hanging out the back of him, same as everybody 'round here."

    The Haunt checked his phone, shaking his head ever so slightly.

    "I got no problem working this, but don't be talking like this is below your paygrade and just on ours."

  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    "You talk about making allies, but what I saw was a child pandering for a gold star. That's good if you want a master, but if you want an ally, you need to earn respect. Even your fancy Lord seemed to understand that better than you do."

    Joseph smirked and shrugged. "I have to admit, he wasn't all that bad for a fussy manorling."

  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    Isaac walks with them and keeps turning over the pin in his fingers. He sighs as the others bicker like school girls. He had heard a lot about the Invictus and that greedy part of him wanted everything they had. Money, power, and not to mention a nice place to live. But something was off. All they had done was talk to a single member of the bloody group and suddenly they were engaged in a vipers nest of politics. Was that really what he wanted from his unlife? Constantly bickering over power and wondering if every favor is actually a trap?

    With a sigh, he shoves the pin into his pocket and strolls outside, ahead of the group, looking for Graves. He wants to have a talk with the old haunt, one business corpse to another.

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    "What the hell is wrong with all of you?!" Anger burned through Johnny's words, "Someone just asks you to kill a whole lot of people and you just shrug?! You start arguing about whether or not this suitable work and respect?!"

    Johnny instinctively ran his hands over his face and through his hair, he hated how it would never grow.

    "I can't believe you. This lot is sure as hell fucked up. I'm not murdering just because some clown sitting on a chair asks me to, I won't."

  • Silas BrownSilas Brown That's hobo style. Registered User regular
    "Don't be a child. We're monsters. Before that we were people living in The Aster Courts, which wasn't much better. This isn't for fun, anyway. If the man has the kind of clout that makes it worthwhile for Colton to start kissing so much ass, he can get us something worthwhile.

    "I wouldn't mind access to a feeding ground where I didn't have to fight off a couple other kindred for a bite."

  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    edited November 2011
    "So the fact that this is a business transaction is supposed to make me more comfortable with this?"

    Johnny sighs and slumps.

    "I get it though, a place to feed means fewer... accidents. But I'm not making a habit of this," he says forcefully, trying to will it to be true.

    Suicide Slyde on
  • GlandmineGlandmine casual nuisance Registered User regular
    Hearing the sigh, Sway threw one of those brow-furrowing 'now what?' looks at Isaac's back before turning to Johnny.

    "S'not like we'll be dragging little kids out their group home and stabbing them in the neck. These are Red Dogs - badmen."

    The Haunt's voice took on a hitch of indignant ire as he continued to justify their plan.

    "Now if we don't snuff 'em out - the whole kennel - that's gonna mean more grief for the people who don't have it coming, people caught in the cross-fire. Gang beef. Disharmony. All that. Inject a bit of order into the Courts; that's the right thing to do. Don't hurt that there's a favour in it for us."

  • AriviaArivia I Like A Challenge Earth-1Registered User regular
    You emerge from the Caldwell Estate, past the gazes of Rhys and Callum, and out into the concrete spans of the Courts proper once again. The ice cream truck is there where you left it, Graves still doing a brisk business in illicit substances. Ecstasy lolls against the open back door of the truck, smoking a cigarette, holding a shotgun loosely in her gaunt hand.

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  • Suicide SlydeSuicide Slyde Haunts your dreams of mountains sunk below the seaRegistered User regular
    Johnny heads towards the back of the truck. He looks first at Ecstasy and then the shotgun.

    "Is that for us or for them?" He asks nodding towards the crowd gathered around the truck.

  • MoosehatIVMoosehatIV Saw a blimp once Registered User regular
    Isaac slips across the ground, heading towards Graves. He waits for a moment in between hurried customers to voice his opinion. "You do a pretty good business. You know, I do a bit of business myself." He grins as another junkie walks past to buy their goods. Isaac breathes deep, he can practically smell their chemical laden blood under the sweat and dirt, "But I could use a mode of distribution..."

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