>>34934256
((Archives are located at
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and also at
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>>34934256
Call Cassandra to see if she responds/is home, if she isn't, investigate the house, if she is, act normal and ask to come visit.

>>34934417
Sounds good - and damn, I gotta go check the archives for a recap, its been a while.

>>34934256
[x]Custom
With our expanded senses, can we look and see if there's anything we can detect, magically active, in the house?
Cassandra may not be alone, and it may not only be us after her.
I don't feel like getting staked or blasted by a Hunter.

>>34934526
((This is a very good idea, and I'll happily give you the info as a free action.))

You focus on the house, casting your eyes across it in a way that doesn't quite involve seeing it, and get a sense of one active, powerful source of control, or... thing strongly associated with control. That's probably Cassandra, that would make sense with the standard vampire metaphors. It's up on the second floor somewhere. Also, there's a general feeling of something having happened here, some loss of control. That's about all you can get, unfortunately - you're magic, but you're not clairvoyant.

>>34934256
>[]There’s a side alleyway - maybe you can get round the back

>>34934644
Can a person or being resist being claimed by us?
And by being claimed by us, can we force them to not harm us, at least? How much power would this take? Trivial, Moderate, or Taxing?

>>34934773
((
>Can a person or being resist being claimed by us?
Not without similarly powerful magic - so, no, for anything you're likely to run into (barring the return of the Excrucians).
>And by being claimed by us, can we force them to not harm us, at least? How much power would this take? Trivial, Moderate, or Taxing?
Stuff that's yours is *yours*. The universe itself says so. How precisely that manifests depends on their role in your life, their existing nature and skills, your needs at that point, etc. But they're not going to turn on you and betray you. How much power this takes depends on the nature of the thing or person in question, as noted.

It is also worth noting that the original purpose of the power in question is to magically designate as important and enhanced things that are already yours. The Man In The White Suit, being both a bit of a bastard and the living incarnation of domination and control, has perverted it into its current form, but it's still not really meant to be used on things that aren't mundanely yours. Using it constantly to take ownership over everything you see may have... unexpected side effects.

Just so you know.))

>>34934256
>[]There’s a side alleyway - maybe you can get round the back
It could be a trap.

>>34934417
>>34934452
We do need to have some kind of plan for how to deal with Cassandra.
Some people were for binding her to our will, like how Isabella controlled her. But we don't have the money or connections to support a nice lifestyle, so it'll have to be different.

Some way to feed without bringing attention down on the town, combined with claiming her as ours using our power, would be ideal.

>>34934904
>it's still not really meant to be used on things that aren't mundanely yours.
I was thinking of using it on Cassandra since we need her on a leash.

And I did look into how blood banks operate; holy shit, the stuff is more regulated than radio-isotopes and is worth its weight in gold.
So going after a bank's stockpile after it's all been indexed and recorded isn't good; but we might be able to go after the blood as it's collected (having techs or machines skim a little blood off the top and report a smaller amount than collected).

>>34934644
Okay, then I'd like to [x]There’s a side alleyway - maybe you can get round the back
Unfortunately, our vision doesn't tell us if there's anyone else here, and the aura of loss of control spooks me that someone might have gotten to Cassandra first.

>>34934904
Have we already claimed Isabella? If not then we should, it would probably make her a better minion

>>34935027
The Ice King or whatever his name was (Lord of Winter?), maybe? He's an undead-focused guy, right?

>>34934999
((Well, the definition of 'mundanely yours' is as flexible as most Noble-level magic, i.e. metaphors everywhere. If she surrenders or agrees to work for you, you're probably totally fine. Do note that as a vampire, she definitely falls into the 'wondrous or magical' category rather than the 'mundane' category. Mundane is strictly real-world things and people.

>>34935047
The Man In The White Suit did, way back when. That was what got her de-poisoned and semi-undead. Claiming her away from him... well... I mean, you can do it, if you want. You have the ability.

>>34935065
The Winter King uses desiccated husks as minions, yes. You are *reasonably* sure that he'd show up as a giant glaring neon sign of 'in control'. If he were here in person.))

>>34935118
>Claiming her away from him
We're the Man's subordinate, and while we have our own source of power, we're more powerful working for him than against him. For now.

MH, could you remind us if we claimed Jill as ours?
Would claiming Jill absolve her of the Fae pacts that she is beholden to? I think that the geas the old Spring King put on her is still in effect, or could that have been nullified once he lost the throne?
And since Jill is a powerful telekinetic, would she count as 'wondrous or magical'?

>>34935065
>>34935118
((Oh, and just to be clear, for the Winter King's husks, think more 'Otzi the Iceman' and frostbitten mountain climbers than stereotypical rotting zombies. They're in-theme with his 'ice and cold' thing.))

>>34935188
In answer to question 1, no, you haven't.
In answer to question 3, yes, definitely. Telekinesis is not a real-world people thing, whatever Uri Geller claims.
In answer to question 2... try it and find out. ))

>>34935027
>>34934925
>>34934660

>>34934417
>>34934452
((Also, I've been a bit too busy typing answers to note it, but voting closed a while ago.))

>>34935237
>try it and find out
Then we should look at Jill with our control-vision.
Fae pacts are forms of control, and we should be able to see them, and see whether they become affected when we try to claim her.
Though I am a little afraid that Jill might experience some kind of backlash if allowing herself to be broken out of the contract can be twisted to be interpreted as breaking the contract.
Something we might want ask the Man, in the greater context of what'll happen if we try to Claim something that is already Claimed by someone else.

>>34935273
You take out your phone and ponder just calling Cassandra up and asking her if that's her upstairs, but... something doesn't feel right here. You glance around. No-one else is in sight. Time to be sneaky.

You slip down an alleyway between this house and the one next door, and find a tall wooden wall surrounding the back yard. Fortunately there's a shed that backs up against the wall, with a flat roof that you can easily grab the edge of with a quick jump. You haul yourself up onto the roof, balancing carefully to avoid breaking through.

The back yard is dull concrete, with a washing line strung between the back of the house and the nearest corner of the shed, a variety of male and female clothing hanging from it. The back door is closed, but from your vantage point you can see that one of the large windows at the rear of the second floor is completely smashed. Only a few small shards of glass remain in the frame. It looks like someone was thrown or jumped through it, but there's no body or traces of blood in the yard. And no pieces of glass, either.

This is obviously not good. There's no obvious ladder or other way to climb up to the window, but you're strong enough and fast enough that you could maybe jump it, with a run-up across the shed roof.

[]Try the jump. ((Roll 2d6))
[]Try to break open the back door instead. ((Roll 2d6 again. If you try it first, it's locked.))
[]Go back round to the front and enter through the open door. ((No roll, but it'll take longer.))
[]Custom

Rolled 3, 1 = 4 (2d6)

>>34935982
JUMP

Rolled 5, 5 = 10 (2d6)

>>34935982
>[]Try the jump. ((Roll 2d6))

>>34935982
Jump.

Rolled 2, 3 = 5 (2d6)

>>34935982

>Try to break open the back door instead

Rolled 2, 6 = 8 (2d6)

>>34935982
>Jump

>>34936053
>>34936070
Well, shit.

>>34935982
>[]Go back round to the front and enter through the open door. ((No roll, but it'll take longer.))
It's not like we detected anything changing, or active forces, when we looked.
Why take unnecessary risks with no perceivable payoff?

>>34936053
>>34936070
>>34936075
>>34936139

>>34936113
>>34936289
((Jumping wins. Unfortunately, even with your improved strength, a 4 isn't *quite* good enough.))

>>34936525
Goddammit. There goes any advantage of surprise, and ending up looking like a buffoon.

Will we at least be uninjured?

>>34936525
You take a few steps back, judging the length of the roof, and make a running leap. Unfortunately, just at the edge of the roof, your foot catches on something. You try to recover, pushing off hard with your other foot and reaching out with your arms, but you fall just short of the window ledge. You slam into the side of the building and then fall down onto the hard surface of the yard with a loud thud.

First, ow. You don't think you've broken anything, and you're not entirely certain you can bruise any more, but that still hurt. Second, that was a pretty loud noise you made when you slammed into the wall, and another loud noise when you hit the ground. Third, plan 'jump through the window' is probably out. Looks like you'll need to use the door. You pick yourself up off the ground, unlatch the back gate (fortunately there's no lock on that, at least) and walk round to the front door.

The ground floor hallway is quiet and dark. There's a living room and a kitchen further back, and a corridor leading through to the back door. You freeze when you hear a faint noise from upstairs, but nothing more happens. Might be the wind coming through the broken window, or something.

That illusion is quickly dispelled once you head up the stairs. You can see a second living room on this floor, large and open with a couple of sofas, at the end of a short corridor. There's another door off this corridor, and you can see more on the far walls of the living room, plus two large windows, one broken.

There's a man sprawled on the floor of the corridor, lying on his front. He's not moving, and he doesn't seem to be breathing. You smell blood.

[]Investigate the body.
[]Move further in, see if you can find the source of that noise.
[]Get the fuck out of here.
[]Custom

>>34937022
[]Investigate the body, use our magic vision
Look for puncture wounds and signs of struggle, such as bruises. Also see if there is any remnants of magic, and lines of control, on the body. Also use the vision to examine the room and make sure there aren't any wards written into the doorframes or floor.

>>34937101
Oh, and DONT TOUCH ANYTHING. at least, not directly. Use a pen or something indirect if we need to move anything.
We need to be careful of both magical and mundane forensics in this world.

>>34937022
[]Move further in, see if you can find the source of that noise.

he's dead, let's find the culprit

>>34937022
>[]Move further in, see if you can find the source of that noise.

>>34937232
>>34937354
>>34937101
((Okay, two to one to moving on. Writing.))

>>34937232
>>34937354
>he's dead
>in a setting where things don't always die when killed
>MC is an undead, and so is the house's owner
This had better not come back to bite us.

>>34937547
You consider turning the body over and taking a closer look, but you don't really have a good way of doing that without leaving your own traces everywhere and destroying the forensic evidence, and it's not like you'd really know what to look for. A quick scan with your augmented vision doesn't reveal anything useful, although there is a vague and rapidly fading sense of control associated with the body and one of the rooms nearby. Hard to interpret, but maybe it was his room when he was alive, or something.

You step over the man's body and head into the living room. There's a jacket slung over one of the sofas, books and dirty plates on the tables - looks like quite a busy household. On the floor near the broken window are a substantial number of large shards of glass.

You hear another muffled noise come from one of the side rooms. You try to quietly make your way over and put your head around the door.

You can see Cassandra, and another woman you don't recognise. At first you think they're locked in a passionate embrace. Then you see that Cassandra's hand is clamped firmly over the woman's mouth, and her face is buried in the woman's neck. The other woman's legs occasionally twitch violently.

You start to back away, but Cassandra's head jerks up suddenly and she turns, carrying the limp woman in her arms with her. Her mouth and lower face are wet and red. The woman's throat is practically torn open - if she's still alive at all, she's beyond medical attention.

'Oh, Chris!' she smiles. 'I guess that must have been you making that noise earlier? I was a little worried. Come in, let me just put this down - did you want to talk?'

What do you want to say?

>>34938444

MH, I suggest not giving writein only prompts again, this quest is too slow for it.

As for what to say...
>Couldn't you be more subtle? Or at least less lethal? YOur killing spree is attracting attention, you know?

I don't even know why we are bothering with Cassandra

>>34938444
"Yes, sorry to interrupt. I do hope that you have a way to make sure that these people won't be missed. You aren't leaving behind evidence for people to find, right?"

>>34938444
heh, this is a kind of "ah, lets be civil, we're all monsters here"

>Complain about her making a mess and attracting attention. Her leaving a body count is a real drain on things around here. And, it offends our sensibilities.

>>34938781
Her murdering people wouldn't be so bad if she could hide it properly and it was in a city large enough where the disappearances could be fade into the background of deaths.
But in this smaller town, it's going to make waves, and while Ajani's little Hunter group are high school wannabe's, her feeding habits could bring down the attention of actual, experienced Hunters.

>>34938640
>>34938685
>>34938781
((Nice consistent theme, excellent.
>>34938640
>I suggest not giving writein only prompts again
You have a point, but getting three non-awkward-sounding sufficiently different dialogue prompts that are also sufficiently similar they all sound like the same character is remarkably hard.))

>>34939022
Understandable.

>>34939022
Dammit, I have to step out for about an hour and a half.
Don't screw this up, guys. Remember that if we need leverage, Cassandra has seen the Man's power. Just don't use it unless absolutely necessary.
Giving her alternative feeding methods that keep us under the radar are what we can offer, or at least looking for them.

>>34939022
"Yes, I did - look, you're making quite a mess, aren't you?"

Cassandra frowns. "I'm going to bury all the bodies somewhere quiet and out of the way when I'm finished, out in the forest probably, and clean up all the blood. Although I would like one little fav -"

"Look, it's not just the blood," you interrupt. "You're making people disappear, they'll be noticed, it's forming a pattern, you're going to attract attention. Ajani and his crew may be idiots, but what if you attract the attention of some real vampire hunter?"

Cassandra frowns. "I made sure to pick a bunch that wouldn't be missed, some students who're taking time out and won't need to be seen for months. And there won't be any hunters if no one knows it was a vampire, it'll just be a disappearance. Although there is one thing I could do with a hand with?"

You raise an eyebrow. "You need a hand? With what, body disposal?"

"Ah... no. A little earlier in the process..."

"A little... you've just drained two people and you want fresh meat?"

"No, I want one specific fresh meat. One of the people who lived here, a girl, I think, she got away. Ran out the front door into the night, couldn't see her to catch her. That's a pain. We can't have witnesses. You're faster than her. Go get her, bring her back here so I can dispose of her. Then we'll discuss other things."

[]"Alright, I'll do it, this once. But then we really need to talk."
[]"Do your own dirty work, Cassandra. Go get her yourself."
[]"What we've got to talk about is more important than that. We'll see about the witness later."
[]Custom

Why did we ever not kill Cassandra?

>>34939706
>[x]"What we've got to talk about is more important than that. We'll see about the witness later."

Sigh, time to be firm handed. We've given the girl leeway, and instead she just hangs herself...mostly.

No, seriously, why did we not murder Cassandra? Why are we not murdering Cassandra right now? She's a loose end and a loose cannon. It's pretty clear we're going to have to end her un-life, preferably sooner rather than later.

>>34939706
>[]"Alright, I'll do it, this once. But then we really need to talk."
Go get her, but put her under our control and leave her somewhere safe, we can't have talk of this getting out to cause problems for us, but we aren't going to kill this witness

>>34939984
Then suggest it, with a plan on how to do it.

Op?

>>34939706
>Other
"I'm not doing your dirty work for you, but I am going to silence your witness, my way. This is why you need to curb your feeding patterns; you let one get away. What happens when I'm not here to clean up after your messes. Or you become one?"

>>34941632
Fine. I suggest we use a quick distraction, like, "who's that" while nodding behind her, then get up on her and beat her to death before chopping off her head and staking her heart, then dragging her corpse out to the backyard and setting it on fire.

>>34941633
no idea where they disappeared to, but I think it might be a bit too early for OP and they might have fallen asleep

>>34940877
We could use our control to mess with the witness' memory. Because regardless of what we do with Cassandra, a witness is a problem that we can't have.
Implant the memory of a crazed madman and that should be able to cover us. Maybe give the description of one of Cassandra's previous male victim.

>>34941706
Cassandra is insanely fast and very strong, and given that Isabella had already seen our improved speed and strength when we talked to her about Cassandra's strengths, I don't see us being strong or fast enough to beat her with a distraction as weak as "Look behind you!".

>>34939984
>why did we not murder Cassandra?
We didn't murder her then because at the time we were fighting the beings that want to destroy all creation and return everything to primordial chaos.
As for right now, we're going to try to put her on a leash, seeing as our Boss wants us to collect power and influence for Him, and a vampire would make for a very useful footsoldier, once it can be controlled.

>>34942244
We're also strong and fast, aren't we?

>>34942320
Yes, but we're a being of control, and we need more minions, and a powerful minion like Cassandra is very useful to have

we're not a khornate bloodletter for fucks sake

>>34941706
Anon, do you not know who the MC is, what he is?

Gloria isn't the MC so stop trying to play as her.

We've been through this discussion before, and we didn't kill her back then for the same reasons we're not killing her now.

>>34942345
She is, though.

>>34942367
She is a serial killer who is going to continue to kill until she gets caught, and we know this, which means it can very, very easily bounce back and fuck *us* over. If we protect her, that means that if anybody finds out about her, they may very well find out about us having protected her. You want Ajani's bunch to all come after us?

>>34942374
which is exactly why we want her under our control for fucks sake

>>34942320
Like I said, Cassandra was described as insanely fast and strong after the person we questioned (Isabella) had already seen our enhanced self.
In-character, that can be taken as in comparison to us, which means that we'd be a pretty big disadvantage, seeing as we have no weapon and our magic does not recharge until a plot arc has completed its climax.

Out of character, her archetype (or Skin) is a combat/social type, one that we mechanically cannot match.

>>34942411
>who is going to continue to kill until she gets caught
That's if we don't put her under our control, like Isabella did.

>>34942411
>She is a serial killer who is going to continue to kill until she gets caught
Only if we let her anon, we've got a buttload of new powers to keep her in check for fucks sake

>>34942471
>>34942480
We really, really don't seem to be making much progress on that point.

>>34942411
And now you're just repeating the exact same argument that came up when she first got off of Isabella's leash, go and re-read those threads instead of being stubbornly retarded.

We have already talked about this, thought about this, and come up with a plan for this so stop being retarded.

>>34942498
BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE FUCKING CHANCE

WE ONLY JUST FOUND HER AND IMMEDIATELY INSTEAD OF STICKING TO THE PLAN YOU SUDDENLY TRY TO FUCK EVERYTHING UP

>>34942498
That's because we just got here, and as MH said, all we have to do in order to mystically claim Cassandra as our property is to get her to agree to work with us.

>>34942542
Her being dead also solves the problem.

>>34942564
Oh fuck off you retard

>>34942564
Dude, for fucks sake, stop being a moron, like >>34942558 said, we only just got here, and we have a plan for getting her under our control, so stop being stupid and play the character or fuck off to troll other quests.

So, getting back to the plan. As MH said, we only need to get Cassandra to
>>34935118
>If she surrenders or agrees to work for you
that's all we need in order to use our magic to put her on our leash.

Do you think agreeing to work with her would be enough, or should we try to bargain that she owes us, which might be enough to get the magic to work?

>>34942609
I think we should go along with her for now, 'dealing' with the witness, just make them forget or change their memories and make up a story about how we dealt with them

then we talk with her, first we get an agreement and then maybe try to push for bargaining that she owes us because of the mess we've had to clean up and cover what she's been doing, then we put the leash on her

>>34942659
I don't think we need to make up a story to Cassandra about how we dealt with the witness.
Just keep it at "it's been taken care of" and that we took care of it our way.

((Hey guys, I'm back. Sorry for vanishing. My internet decided to burn down, fall over and sink into a swamp. It seems to be working for now, but now I have to go to work and earn money and so on.

I'm really sorry to have cut short our smoothest-running thread in ages. Monsterhearts Quest will continue next week. Thank you all.))

((Also, now with actual name.))

>>34945011
Okay. Are you going to archive?

>>34945033
((Yeah, I'll sort it in a moment.))