I told Bishop I would take care of things while he was away.
That I would put clan Percival back on the map.
I was confident I could do it, after all it was just a game.
I just wasn’t quite sure how I was going to do it. I had enough material to get us halfway there, something just had to happen to get us all the way.
First I had to take stock of where we were in the game.
Game night was every Saturday night at one of the clubs on the Main Street. Busy place, good visibility, and the group had been meeting there for a while now so they catered to us as needed.
Aesthetically is was a converted industrial building, two floors, with a number of small lounges on the second floor. House music, techno, and an industrial scene so we really didn’t stand out of place in the crowd.
Frequenting one of the lounges, it became our de facto court.
Number wise there was about a dozen of us, myself being the newest to the clan, having recently received the Embrace.
This worked well, it game me time as an outsider compared to the other clans in the game, as who would willingly be blooded into a dying clan that wasn’t expected to last to the end of the season.
KJ was the number one behind Bishop, and in his absence everybody expected me to lean on him. That would be the prudent tactical thing to do, so I instantly demoted him and told the clan I don’t need a number one.
As we sat around together in the lounge I let them know the plan for next week as I put down a silver invitation on the table and pushed it forward.
It announced that next Saturday clan Percival would be hosting a party and that all the other clans would be in attendance.
That it was going to be a party not thrown in some time, and that they would all be fighting to attend.
A party?
The rival clans had been killing us for months, bleeding off our kindred, and mocking us.
Why would they attend anything?
Because the Prince would also be in attendance at the grace of clan Percival.
The Prince?
Confused and nervous the clan members looked to KJ for which I swiftly corrected them.
Yes.
The Prince.
This coming week the only job for all of us was to make sure the other clans got a stack of silver tickets. Not enough for the entirety of each clan, and making sure the junior members of each clan got them first.
Envy, chaos, and infighting was the target.
Just not directed at us for a change.
Clans would arrive seeing other clans already there, and with an entry cap to the club, most of them would spend the evening waiting on line outside.
I had already cleared with the club that we would be having a *birthday party* that night, and they gave me permission to rope off one of the lounges and exclusively use it for the night.
There was also another surprise, but that would have to wait for the night of the party.
The night of the party we all got there early, set things up, and I could understand the nervousness of the group as KJ approached me.
Was I aware, and if I was, what was I thinking?
Was I aware that there were two garou at the entrance to the lounge?
I was.
They were going to be taking care of the ropes for the evening.
What was I thinking?
Image.
We are building a new image of power by making the impossible mundane.
Slipping out of character for a moment, KJ had to know where I got them. I asked around, made some connections, and promised one of the tribes in the city that if they lent me two players for the evening I’d pay for the drinks and owe them an in-game favor in the future.
The novel possibility was to good for the tribe to turn down despite the rules.
Just send me two of the biggest built guys they had and make sure glyphs were printed on their shirts so there would be no doubt.
A few of the arriving rival clan members at first though it was an ambush, but when I waved for them to come in and the garou opened the rope followed by bowing to me.
By 1 AM we were in full swing and the lounge was at capacity. Everybody was genuinely having a good time socializing and dancing and I paid close attention to who was in the room playing the game, and really playing the game. I noticed that KJ became more tense when one of the rival clan members talked and danced with him.
Stephen was his name.
Whispers had begun to stir that the Prince would be arriving soon and the tension was building as soon the sun would be rising.
I had told the two guys manning the ropes that when he arrived, they were to escort him to the corner of the lounge and stand next to me and be silent.
Glances of anticipation turned to curiosity when they appeared and requested to see me.
It was the Prince’s Harpy, and my two guys escorted him to the table in the corner where we sat down.
Well this was something he had never seen before, two garou taking orders from a vampire.
And who was I?
They had never met me before, let alone knew who I was.
Where was Percival?
I informed him that I was filling in for a bit, as Bishop was real life out of the game for a few months, and that I would steward the clan in his absence.
Not KJ?
No.
And this?
A silver invitation placed on the table?
A necessary transgression.
One that could not be forgiven, using the Prince like that.
Yet, wouldn’t’ the Prince be curious to see how it all plays out?
Just last week the four clans here were already dividing up Percival’s territory, and now here they assemble at our command.
Clan Percival isn’t so impotent as he would believe.
He agreed it would be more amusing to watch and see how it plays out.
I caught up with KJ and two of the other clan members the next day for breakfast which turned out to be a late lunch.
They were used to the in-game hours, and I was still dragging.
KJ had just figured it out.
That the Prince was never coming.
Correct, he never was.
No comments:
Post a Comment