COUNCIL OF VENICE
REPORT #3
ON THE PARISIAN CRISIS
REPORT AUTHOR: DARIUS POWELL
Large Scale Events:
Let’s start with the obvious, shall we?
Antoine Savoy has been assassinated by an unknown force.
This is, of course, unspeakably tragic. Venice sends its deepest condolences to his daughter, Emily Savoy.
The city will persevere, of that I have no doubt. Knight-Captain Cassandra Havelock is the city’s interim Officer Regent. Her first course of action is to reinstate Gertrude Laroux to the Templar Order, conveying upon her the rank of Knight-Captain. Laroux and Havelock will be handling the city’s duties as Regents until a new Crown Officer is chosen by a Venetian committee..
Valerie Xi has gone missing. The woman is doubtlessly out partying and engaging in illicit eactivities. I will be covering the things she should have been reporting on. I doubt any of us will be poorer for it.
Underground Expeditions:
Isa Vanderbilt corners Bousquet. The man is already shaken from a visit from the Inquisition. Vanderbilt convinces the man to go underground and make up for his earlier inaction; she tracks him through an ancient rune. The man goes underground and begins the dirty work of sealing the chokepoints that are allowing in monsters, being sure to remain in contact with Gillian Zhuge.
Gillian Zhuge continues to move through the city, focusing on Bousquet - former necromancer and Duval’s right hand man. Bousquet agrees to work with the Inquisition and will lead Inquisition troops underground to help battle back the Monster Surge. He has given up his office and is now focusing on redemption through fighting back the forces of the underground. Between the support of Vanderbilt and Zhuge, Bousquet will be a force to be reckoned with for the monsters of Paris’s sewers and catacombs.
Asmod LeBlanc ventures underground, and finds the ghost of one of the Strix’s victims as well as evidence of leylines.. The ghost reminds Asmod that the Strix is deadly, and intelligent - raising the question of whether it’s current accommodations are enough to stop it from wreaking havoc one day.
Grace Mereland goes underground to explore. She finds not just a corpse golem - but a Phoenician underground that is safe and thriving. She makes an agreement with the Phoenicians until the city is safe and secure.
Cassandra Havelock goes underground with Tobias Graf and Bergdis Hildirdottir, two old Templars from the days where Paris was a collection of villages. She manages to win the two old grumps over, derailing Hildirdottir’s plans for a Phoenician defection, and they find a mysterious statue of a barefoot wanderer.
Abigail Williams and Vane Graves go underground under the request of Cassandra Havelock. They find the bodies of many Templar (fused into a singular golem). These corpses could solve as a valuable clue as to the necromancer’s skill level and identity. They also realize that the Templar forces have been whittled down by attrition and disaster to the point where they are legitimately the best people for this mission - Paris is weaker than initially expected.
Russell Kobayashi, Arthur Price, Targ, Nickoli Vandask, and Valerie Xi head down to the catacombs. I suppose Xi managed to do something of use before vanishing to do whatever it is she does in her off hours. They encounter several creatures, and drive back the monster surge further. More importantly, they find a victim - Rich Matalon.
Sarah Willis and Eleanor Blackwell traverse the underground in search of relics. They find several - and bring them up to the surface for further study. Only time will tell what secrets these relics hold, and how they can help save Paris.
A large expedition of Illuminati go underground in the largest group Underground adventure yet. They mark down the location of several relics and fight off dozens of beasts. However, the most critical part of their trip underground is that they find an egg shaped relic. Klaus von Richter, along with his wife, Angelique Richter make off with the relic, literally soaring into the skies with it. Their - and the egg’s - current location is unknown.
Anna Maris and her team members (known as Crab Squad), as yet undaunted by the mental havoc played on their technomancer, mount still another expedition into the lower catacombs. They encounter something no one has, thus far... Though it does bear similarities to Xi's original report
Astrid Archer mounted an expedition, going down into the Catacombs with Willow. Along the way they meet Eleanor Blackwell, provoking a conflict as Astrid is harassed by flying creatures. The group encounter another golem and take it down, managing to claim a relic from deep within the bowels of Paris. The group agree to meet with Russell Kobayashi and study the relic and its effects.
Wheeling and Dealing:
Alice Glenisle meets with Landers Brausser. The two discuss Savoy, and Brausser reveals that Savoy’s inaction made the city far worse than it could have been otherwise. The man was so inept he allowed cemeteries to be raided, the Strix to use Duval, and other horrific acts out of either cowardice or lack of caring. The gravity of the conversation wears down upon poor Brausser, and he weeps in Glenisle’s arms. Being eternally eight years old is rather hard, after all.
The Illuminati get involved via Stephen Grant when Abigail Williams and Vane Graves appeal for a task force to help deal with the menace below ground. Grant allows this, but he will not interfere with Savoy or his leadership - after all, the man is doing enough to help the Illuminati as it is. It seems we can safely rule the Illuminati out as suspects in the Savoy killing.
The duo from Luminous Industries then speak to Landers Brausser, head of the Administrative Office and eternal eight year old. The boy shares some insight on current Templar politics, and what the future may look like - and throws his own hat in the ring as a contender for a future after Savoy and Havelock.
Vincent Stillman acquires permanent custody of his new... protege, Anastasia Delacroix, the half demon girl. We will have to keep an eye on this Father Joseph.
Asmod LeBlanc visits Red and White the duo of witches that have been part of Paris’s paranormal government for centuries. He fills them in on some recent events - and convinces them to come out of ‘semi-retirement’ and put themselves on the board as potential rulers of the city.
Investigations and Suspicions
La Tour
Ariel Kohen took the initiative to seeing the owner of La Tour, to find out who could be manipulating Savoy. She hardly gets the simple answers she was hoping for. Perhaps she got... Distracted. Kohen goes back to talk to the Rook. She gets plenty of useful information, yet once again allows herself to be pulled into less useful conversations.
Moira has a few questions for The Rook. Mostly concerning the prophecy, Duval, and his place in this whole sorry mess. She agrees to send any that might need help his way and leaves happily, going a block before realising she hasn't gotten what she came for.
Her second attempt is somewhat - only somewhat - more fruitful.
Secrets of Paris
Sayeh Mahin has come into Paris to visit our favourite deserter-in-perilous-times, Valerie Xi. After being left behind by her stalwart friend - hardly surprising - she soon meets a young woman who promises to show her secret ways through the city.
Catelyn Eames stops in to check with Knight-Captain Havelock. They discuss the Healing House that held Valerie Xi captive and the state of Templars in the city. Their full discussion can be found here.
Russell Kobayashi takes it upon himself to interview Victoire Sampene, claiming to be the editor of a fringe publication. The girl is flattered but ultimately offers nothing of import.
Until, that is, his second attempt, after uncovering evidence of her deception in the picture she gives him. After he confesses his true motives, the girl opens up and reveals that she may have a friend in danger. The two meet with Cass Havelock, who is concerned primarily with keeping the pictures young Sampene provides from the eyes of the public.
Tobias Graf also interviews Victoire Sampene, asking the erstwhile heiress to confirm entry locations into a nest in the subways. She seems convinced that the Templar have everything well in hand. Still more troubling is her eagerness to make the public aware of the danger.
Melanie and Nicodemus
Marsyas Stathakis begins to scour the libraries and archives of Paris, in search of the mysterious ‘Melanie’ who seems to be linked with Nicodemus. His journey takes him to Melanie’s parents, who believe her dead, and then to a priest named Father Joseph, who recoils in fear at the names Melanie and Nicodemus. Finally, an old coworker of Melanie’s gives him some insight. Melanie is apparently a woman who was one of nine children, and she acted out from a hard home life by pursuing cults and shady organizations. She bounced from free love communes to a more religious oriented cult pursuing the biblical figure of Nicodemus. Shortly after, she vanished, and is presumed dead.
Before the assassination of Antoine Savoy, Jessa Wong and Mr. Whiskers investigated Antoine Savoy. The man had been warned as to the presence of Nicodemus by the Administrative Office - and ignored it. It seems Paris has been graced by the presence of this Nicodemus before, and there were procedures that should have been followed when he arrived again. Savoy chose to ignore them. Perhaps the Administrative Office knows more?
After LeBlanc's visit, Ivan Asarov, Russell Kobayashi, and Ian Pertwee meet with the women. They share more about Nicodemus - the fact that he is a lich, he is powerful, and that they can help with the preparation but the Venetian presence in the city must be prepared to stop them. Melanie carries his phylactery, which doubles as a powerful artifact. Either Nicodemus or Melanie could be a serious fight, and the group must prepare accordingly.
The Skateboard Kid
Further investigations into the fae known only as 'Willow' are forthcoming, as well as the identity of her mysterious companion. In the following transcript, Willow is annoyed that someone with her general description has been following around those called to Paris, and has decided to carry out an unsanctioned interview. It ended productively, with an agreement between the two to assist the people of Paris.
Hannibal Symes has also encountered this strange and bothersome youth. This is the only record we have of them ever meeting.
Nikoe discovers that she has been followed by a mysterious teenager on a skateboard. They speak, and the Mathematician invites the youth to her hotel room. Surprisingly, the young hoodlum shows up. Unsurprisingly, it seems to be with criminal intent. Catelyn Eames encounters this child up to no good, and offers breakfast. They seem to strike an alliance. The reference to a ‘secret meeting’ is...troubling.
Martial law on the city has been lifted, and we are working towards a resolution on the monster surge.
I have the utmost faith in you, agents.
Restore Paris to peace.
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