6/16/2007
Mai says ⚠ <i>and JT speaks the truth (not)⚠ </i>:
The following night, we meet at the cathedral. Most of Detroit's kindred are here again. Mai notes that only half of her coterie is present... chickens.
The primogen council asks us why the prince called us forward to defend him and Manfred answers that we do not know, which seems to be unanimously true for us. Alicia then suggests that we should be spoken with separately, and draws me out of the room.
Mai imagines she will be led out of elysium so that Alicia can better interrogate, but instead Alicia just asks questions... not many of which Mai can answer... especially when Alicia asks Mai to make some sense out of what happened the night before during the Delirium effect. Heck, I'm not a Malkavian, ask a Malkavian what happened! Mai remains cordial with Alicia but closes the conversation by saying that she knows the question Alicia is driving at and again, she does not know why Mergatroyd called us forward to defend him and as Alicia should recall, Mai did not defend him.
Alicia warns Mai that she is treading on thin ice, as if Mai didn't already know that, and the two head back to the chamber where the primogen are. Winston is exiting and draws Mai aside. Winston tells Mai that he did not know the Malkavian problems would follow them to Detroit and be exacerbated, and how much Mai would get wrapped up in those problems, and then offers Mai a return to New Orleans as the ambassador. He sells the idea well... Mai would report directly to the new prince and having been named an ambassador before a new prince was instated, would keep her title... Mai would be able to mingle among the court of New Orleans, like the old days.... Mai would be free of Detroit and its problems. He sells the idea so hard that Mai knows he is very very anxious to have her gone from the city... whether this is by the city's choice or his own. Mai tells him she will consider.
⚠ <i>While Mai speaks with Alicia, and Manfred speaks with Abraham, JT is requested to take a seat in front of Godkin, Esmeralda and Myra at the table of the Primogen. Ha - they have it easy. Mendelson is asked to leave the room and attend to the other Kindred court outside the room.
Mendelson does not appear to be pleased. JT is then asked by the majority of the Primogen council that they are not 'having faith' in the unpredictable nature of the current sherriff, Bishop Mendelson. All three Primogen are nodding in agreement that JT should escort the archons around Detroit later in the following nights.
They did not ask JT about Mrygatroid - the pansies.
JT accepts and asks to speak to Esmeralda...however, JT is interrupted by other events.⚠ </i>
Mai returns again, about to enter the chamber, when she sees Manfred outside. She tells him she may leave soon, but before she can ask him to help her figure out what use she can be to the coterie (to which she is still very much attached), they see a figure in the window that may be Ebby. Manfred goes outside after her while Mai flags down the Keeper, who tells her the Sheriff would be best but he is busy and to go to JT instead. So Mai goes to JT who does not want to do anything about Ebby because she is "just a little girl" or some bullcrap like that. Also, while she dragged JT away to tell him this, the Bishop seemed quite angry with JT while Winston talked to him.
⚠ <i>The last time JT spoke to Ebby, she spoke of dolls in her child-like innocence and spoke of how she admired JT (as if she had her first crush). How could this small girl be a threat now? Had this been the reason last night's events turned out the way they did? It appears the coterie is not so forthcoming with any information they have acquired. Better play this with ignorance before judgement since after all, this is a child's mind.⚠ </i>
Manfred returns having not taken care of Ebby, but having stopped a masquerade breach. Some college kids were videotaping the cathedral. Manfred seemed quite proud of himself. We commence talking about whether Ebby is a threat again, and both Manfred and Mai still cannot convince JT that Ebby must be captured. We tell JT she is not herself, but JT does not seem to understand... as if he would know better than those of us with auspex.
We talk about the coterie now... whether the contract is really needed or whether we are simply bound without it. Whether to release members from it (JT is against this). Mai again says she has been asked to leave and asks who will look after Randolf... JT and Manfred are no use with this so Mai decides to ask Aiden later if she can ever track Aiden down.
⚠ <i>JT would rather see every Kindred in Detroit added to the contract than to let the contract be dissolved and mentions this to the two of them.⚠ </i>
About this time, Mai smells smoke. JT believes this also is not a threat ⚠ <i>or JT needs to still speak to Esmeralda⚠ </i> and returns to court while Mai and Manfred go investigate. We find the bishop crucified with wooden stakes and holy relics, smoking, and Ebby is there. Mai goes again to fetch JT. ⚠ <i>Please note, JT is still unable to talk to Esmeralda.⚠ </i> When they return, Ebby is gone, and Manfred unstakes the bishop who does not seem to want to talk about what just happened.
Court lets out, and JT goes chasing after Ebby, and Manfred and Mai follows. They end up at a playground. Upon arriving, the ground starts shaking and a nearby building begins to crumble. Manfred throws JT toward Ebby and out of the way of the building, and the building crashes down. Manfred removes the dust and we see that the rubble has fallen into a pyramid shape. Hmmmm... that's breachy. Mai starts to try to do mortal damage control with presence while Manfred starts to make the pyramid less conspicuous, piece by piece. We find JT on the other side who seems to think these latter effects were Ebby's, quite to our amusement.
JT asks Mai to see if Ebby is in the pyramid, so Mai sends her body out. Ebby is not in the pyramid. Ebby is in the sky. She is 5 miles tall and the buildings are dollhouses. She is reaching down to play with her dolls. She is reaching right for Mai. Mai snaps back and tells JT this.
Guess what.
JT does not believe this. ⚠ <i>JT believes that Ebby has recently acquired powers of delerium and is affecting Mai's mind; perhaps Ebby does not know the power she has acquired.⚠ </i> Anyway, all things being considered, even if Ebby is possessed by the Great One, we can't do anything about it without the entire coterie, so we retire to Pages where we throw about theories about why Mergatroyd thought we would defend him again. During this, someone knocks at the door wanting autographs in regards to the book that Manfred is in but is shooed away...
⚠ <i>JT proposes the theory that Maximo is behind the whole incident and specifically, the hiding of Mrygatroid from the other elders that have come and gone from Detroit in the 3 years that he has been Prince. Maximo was present at the time of arrival of Mrygatroid and could easily have set up for the fall of Detroit's Prince so that he could take over this domain (siting the similarity to South Bend, Indiana's recent events that our coterie is privy to). Since Maximo showed up at exactly the time he did, it is clear that the plan was to crucify Mrygatroid - who would have no rights under Camarilla laws. However, Maximo also underestimated how tough Mrygatroid is how strong the coven's bond is as well.
JT asks for opinions from the others; is it worth telling the archons? Maximo's downfall would do even greater harm to the northern Midwest region over the domains of Chicago, Gary, Milwaukee, now South Bend and every Camarilla territory in between. Manfred and Mai fully accept that this is what Prince's do to become a Prince and state to let it go. Perhaps JT does not understand the ruthlessness of the higher clans; there is no room for honor in Detroit politics.⚠ </i>
Mai simply hopes that the entire coterie will find themselves together to face the Great One before Mai has to leave to New Orleans.
⚠ <i>JT does not stay at Pages of the Ages for the night; he returns to the box to take more vitae of Mrygatroid, he needs to understand why the gargoyle called us...⚠ </i>
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