Nebb 01-20-2009 09:19 AM<br/>The sound of water dripping grew louder with each step. Moisture gathered on walls and rails as the humidity from the sewers below filled the alleys with a cloud of mist, bringing up a dull stench of death and decay along with it.<br/><br/>Ariel walked the streets of Solace, shrouded in a cloak of invisibility. Aloneâ€¦ and content to be that way.<br/><br/>Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed some movement up ahead. Behind a scrapheap of empty boxes at the back entrance of a Chinese restaurant, nature was finding balance. Ariel paused for a moment, intent on reaffirming her beliefs. Ensuring she never didnâ€™t accidently send a can flying, she neared the scene: A cat was stalking a sewer rat that had stopped for a midnight snack near the dumpster. She watched intent on perhaps learning something... The cat moved, but as and when the mouse did the same. She could see the concentration evident in its eyes as well as the complete control of its body. It didnâ€™t need to practice; it didnâ€™t need to make corrections. It was in control of its inner beast. Ariel felt the Beast within her stir and for a moment the cat looked her way, as if it sensed her presence nearby. The rat scurried away, but not before the cat noticedâ€¦pouncing at the exact same moment; ready all along. A squeal and an attempt at a fight, was all that was heard before the cat crunched down on the ratâ€™s head. Arial watched as it licked its lips and started to bathe, after finishing the head, seemingly not interested in the restâ€¦ only the kill.<br/><br/>A light came on and a window opened up nearby. Leaning out of the window about two stories above them, Ariel noticed a girl, probably in her late twenties, with blond hair, looking down into the alley below. â€œCaramelâ€¦ where are you boy?â€ she whispered, keeping her voice down so as not to wake the neighbours. The catâ€™s tail went up as it recognized its owners voice, jumping up against the dumpster and clambering up along the rear fire escape. Ariel could hear the purring from below as it reached the window of his home. She could also smell the dampness of its furâ€¦ and that of the dead rat. She pondered a moment... an assignment her Sire had given her...not her first, butâ€¦ the first in a unique wayâ€¦ â€œHunt the hunter. Kill the killer. Tonight, I will set you on the path.â€ His words echoed in her mind.<br/><br/>Looking down at the dead rat, she felt the hunger set upon her. Within minutes she had found food and fed.<br/><br/>â€œTime to hurry.â€ She thought to herself as she headed towards the Covenant building of the Ordo Dracul. Giving the bell a quick buzz she gave the street a quick glance to make sure she hadnâ€™t been followed. A smartly dressed man opened the door, youthful and pale features but not a vampire.<br/><br/>â€œGood evening.â€ The young man greeted somberly; then recoiled almost instantly once she lifted her shawl to reveal herself, and the wound to her neck at that. Her menacing look she wore didnâ€™t help either. She wondered for moment if the man would runâ€¦ others had done so on prior occasions.<br/><br/>â€œGood evening. My name is Ariel, I believe I am expected.â€ She said as politely as she could manage.<br/><br/>â€œYesâ€¦ I mean,â€¦ Of course!â€¦ follow meâ€¦.please. Derrin. My name that is. Derrinâ€™s my name.â€ he stammered as he led her to a small waiting room adjacent to the entrance. With a backwards glance the young man sprinted off to find a senior member of the Order.<br/><br/>From there on in, the evening proceeded much as anticipated. Interviewed by a Master in the Order and asked a wide range of questions that, as with other cities, she had answered so many times before, on so many previous occasions. Her reasons for being in the city, news from back home and of course, how could they get hold of her. She had also been asked to deliver a special package by hand to the Order, which she then handed over. The Master simply nodded as he received the wooden box that contained something incredibly heavy in it. She did not know what it was, and she didnâ€™t really care. But it must have been of great value, as she could see the subtle but stern appearance of relief on the Masters face as he held the box in his hands. The meeting went pretty fast from here on in, the Master obviously wanting to get to spend some time with his new little toy. She had overheard one of the Order mention that the item was invaluable to the Order and the word artifact was thrown aroundâ€¦ but such things never concerned her. Ariel was then questioned about her meeting with the Prince, to which she held back much, if not everything that had happened earlier that evening. She took care to cover up her wound, so as to not attract too many questions. Most of the Ordersâ€™ questions bored her to the point of tears, but the final question, the one she had been waiting for, the reason for her being in Solace, was also the only reason she had put up with the â€˜interrogationâ€™ to begin with:<br/><br/>â€œAre your services available?â€<br/><br/>â€œYes indeed.â€ She muttered softly.<br/><br/>â€œVery well, follow me.â€<br/><br/>She was lead through a series of passageways until they got to what almost seemed to be an old hospital ward that had been converted into a dorm of sorts. â€œYou may leave your things here. This haven is safe from the riff-raff and you can sleep here until you are on your feet again.â€<br/><br/>Ariel was then lead to a back exit out of the Order, an almost completely abandoned alleyway, and given a business card. â€œVisit the address on the back of the card. Our handler there is Raymond Weiss. Furthermore, from now on forward, refrain from using the front entrance. This alley is watched from all sides and will provide you safe access to the Order. If you are ever followed, enter the alley but do not stop, instead pass by without even a glance. We monitor all activity surrounding the building and will take measures to help in any way we can.â€ He pointed to a few well hidden camerasâ€™ to prove his point. â€œFailing that, there are sewer entrances on various points around this building that also stretch to this alley. In its hay day, this building use to be part of a fortress, after which it was converted into a hospital and even a bomb shelter. Much of it had been broken down due to building inspectors, but weâ€™ve adapted and we now own most of the block. Please keep in mind that we cannot extend our hand of protection further than the confines of this building.â€<br/><br/>â€œThank you Master Loren.â€<br/>â€œIt is our duty to mind over those of our order.â€ Muttered the Master in a tone that suggested the Order monitored their members very closelyâ€¦ maybe even more closely than was necessary.<br/><br/>Ariel didnâ€™t need the work just yet, but her instincts were not what they should have been and she wondered back for a moment on how slow she had been to react to Memnochâ€™s attack.<br/><br/>Forgotten Wolf 02-20-2009 12:13 AM<br/>The agents fell back with great haste in the confusion that followed the flash-bang using their entry point as their exit as well. Though the mission was ultimately a failure they still caused some casualties on the supernaturalâ€™s side. Though Shey had tried to cover him as best she could, Prince Enoch was now in torpor just like Aviose before him though Enochâ€™s body was half charred from the UV light. Memnoch wasnâ€™t so lucky in finding cover and was now nothing more than ashes in the water and an outline on the wall. A few of the younger mages that came to help also were injured by retaliatory gunfire though the seriousness of the injuries was still unknown at the momentâ€¦ There was also the matter of who would lead the vampires nowâ€¦<br/><br/>************************************************** ******<br/><br/>As the reports of the failed mission came into the TFV Solace operation center, a transmission came in from TFV command calling for the immediate removal of the current commander from command of all Solace operations. Also the second in command (Annabell Whittaker) was to take over as acting commander of the Solace sector until further notice. There was also a tacked on warning to ensure TFVâ€™s existence from the public at all costs and to keep the existence of supernaturals as quiet as possibleâ€¦ Obviously TFV HQ didnâ€™t know how bad things in Solace were getting as of late.<br/><br/>************************************************** ******<br/><br/>Dherris barely knew what was going on, one moment he was helping Cutra and the next moment he was dragged along by the lady from the night before. He wasnâ€™t sure what happened but as soon as she grabbed his hand he was in a daze as he was suddenly hit with a wave of desire that reduced his mind to simply â€˜follow the pretty ladyâ€™.<br/><br/>It wasnâ€™t until Cutra started stumbling away did something start nagging at his mind and shortly after Cutra had left did Dherris finally come to his senses a bit. He pulled away from Sasha trying to clear his head of the haze it was in. â€œWait a minuteâ€¦ She canâ€™t go back thereâ€¦ Sheâ€™s still in bad shape.â€ Dherris said slowly as he began to pull himself out of the haze and start after Cutra. He stumbled and his hand went out to the wall to stop his fall, his claws making a scraping sound as they dragged on the wall for a second.<br/><br/>He took another step or two before he looked at his handâ€¦ claw and stared at it for a second before slowly turning around to look at the woman he had not a clue about other than she was great in bed. â€œWho are you?... and what did you do to me back there?â€ He shot accusingly at her though his body was calling out for something different. He used all his willpower to keep himself focused for the moment despite how difficult it was. Something was wrong; his gut was telling him that much but it might be just his body or soul being repulsed by the changes he had undergone.<br/><br/>Nebb 02-21-2009 12:36 PM<br/>The loud bang still rung in Rowanâ€™s ears as he saw the TFV soldiers struggle to their feet and head out the way they came. He only had a few seconds to react, but he made them count, if not for himself, then for those that lost their lives todayâ€¦ Rowan focused his mind on setting a trap up ahead for the TFV leader, pumping what manna he had left into into the spell to ensure it went off flawlessly.<br/><br/>Creating a portal and a portal key, he set the TFV leader as the trigger that would spring the trap and open a portal to his pocket realm, swallowing up the soldier. As it wasnâ€™t an entirely complex spell, Rowan ensured that nothing other than the TFV leaders own body would go through, all clothing, weapons, and physically attached items would remain behind. The trap seemed effective, yet due to their retreat being so quick and the TFV soldiers huddling so close , two soldiers accidentally ran into the portal together with the TFV leader. Since their destination was Rowanâ€™s pocket realm, to the TFV it would only seem that the lights had gone outâ€¦ Rowan hadnâ€™t planned for this, and their oxygen usage would only be about a minute, or two at most. â€œIâ€™ll revive them if it means raising them from the dead.â€ anger brimming around the edges of Rowan's mind.<br/><br/>Seeing Xavier up and about dispatching soldiers again, Rowan had a second to concentrate. Using his attainment he strengthen the ties of loyalty and teamwork between himself and a straggler, an injured TFV team member who was trying to make his escape. Initially Rowanâ€™s thoughts were to strengthen the bond between himself and the TFV leader, but since having lost so many to their merciless tactics, he'd decided it would be best for the Veil to interrogate the leader himself.<br/><br/>â€œSusceptors, report in.â€ a second later his mind was connected with those who guarded his secrets the closest.<br/><br/>The first Susceptor reported in: â€œWeâ€™re still scouring the rooftops trying to locate them. From this vantage point, we may catch a glimpse of them as they make their escape. I take it we have permission to intercept should we find them?â€<br/><br/>â€œWe've establishing a â€˜trackingâ€™ method but we'll need to be fairly close to employ it. But once we â€˜tagâ€™ them, there would be few who would understand the tracking mechanism, given the circumstances. Weâ€™re just waiting on your instructions as to how we should proceed.â€ another Susceptor reported.<br/><br/>Rowanâ€™s head was pounding with calculations, and details about the attack and countermeasures he had to get the Veil to employ. The new Prince and his vassal dead. He hated being so unprepared. He hated it that the TFV got the drop on them, but what he hated even more, was the fact that they had little with which to fight back with. Direct magic was too dangerous in the open and the risk of involving sleepers was too high. There had to be another wayâ€¦<br/><br/>A calmness overcame Rowan, as his â€˜otherâ€™ personality slipped through to take over, as it did in times of immense stress. It was no so much a survival instinct as it was Rowanâ€™s true personality coming a fore. Not many could bare the weight of it, devastatingly devious and cruel as it was: â€œRemain on the rooftops and stay hidden. Ensure your men are adequately armed. If you spot any of them, report back immediately.â€ â€œThe rest of you, stay put. Once we have the enemy in our sights, I'll report the location and you can â€˜tagâ€™ as many of them as you can. Destroy their vehicles if you get a chance, I want them on foot and fighting tooth and nail to make their escape. In the mean time inform SWAT of their attack." 'They wanted bloodshed, now let us see how they enjoy taking down some of their own.' Rowan thought to himself.<br/><br/>The first group of mages kept their eyes peeled for any activity below, while the second group readied themselves for a moments notice, ensuring they had sufficient body armour and protection spells to protect them. Lastly the third group, the Veil's 'think tank' communicated to the local authorities once more and ensured SWAT was on route. Since the Mage headquaters had now been secured, partially anyway, they advised SWAT to continue patrolling the streets surrounding the building and that once any information reaches them, they'd notify them immediately as to the location of the terrorists.<br/><br/>In the mean time Rowan disappeared from beneath the sewers and reappeared in one of the Veilâ€™s secret chambers. Part of the Guardian's labyrinth, this area was occasionally used to weed out impostors and extract information, and that was exactly what Rowan had in mind.