** Story Recap ** Session 6 (May 1)

For the reasons which follow, we are now two weeks in the future. Give Russell a big pat on the back, haha.

Absent this time were Eleazar (Mike), Kamiko (Cam), and Chris's character (I forget the name off the top of my head). (Are you coming back you two??)

Plot: The coterie, such as it is, resumed its investigations into the mysterious band seen (more or less) leaving the scene of the Elysium bombing. Owen (Russell) successfully larcenied his way into the building in the Lower East Side where Arthur had previously tracked the group to while Belden, who had accompanied him, stood watch outside and kept an eye on the surrounding area (which was, by the way, at the East-most end of Delancey Street next to and partially overshadowed by the Williamsburg Bridge at the intersection with Pitt Street; the building of group of strangers faced a lot of at least a dozen 30+ story housing projects).

Shannon, meanwhile, having failed to strike an amenable agreement with Telemundo for the use of her rather incriminating posthumous footage of the late former-governor Eliot Spitzer, met with a contact from the New York Post with whom she was able to reach a deal, netting her a cool grand as she assigned the rights to all the pictures and video she took. Feeling famished, she then went off to feed. At the same time, Void, now loaded down with enough hardware to sink an aircraft carrier, received a message from his compatriots, calling upon him to report to a local cell's hideout (which happened to be the same building Owen and Belden were investigating). Det. Price went on his own reconnoiter to gather footage from any CCTV cameras with a view to the building; he successfully entered into evidence at least 20 tapes from a nearby housing project.

Owen, now successfully inside the corner building used by the mysterious band, made his way up to the top floor and made his way inside when one of the group took a venture down the stairs. Inside, he found the group--comprised of about 5 individuals including the woman who had just exited--a relatively non-descript band of either mercenaries or terrorists, each armed with a curved blade as long as a sword and various other weapons ranging from pistols to semi-autos. He also observed one member of the group assembling what appeared to be bombs made of 1lb bricks of plastique. Belden cornered the woman as she exited the building and 'compeled' her to "take him on a tour" of the apartment above after having called Arthur to the scene to assist.

Then, the shit hit the fan.

As the woman approached the top floor the rest of her colleagues in arms stopped her with quizzical, suspicious looks as to why she was escorting two complete strangers into their... *ahem*... "place"... One of the men decided to take the initiative and lunged with his sheathed scimitar (or whatever the hell it was) at Arthur (who attempted to haul his lame, limping ass the hell out).

It was then that Owen decided it would be a good idea to arm one of the plastique explosives. Which subsequently went off in his face, miraculously igniting only 1 of the other 5 bricks in the nearby box. Everyone in the 20-yard blast-radius was either immediately knocked torpid or met final death as the top third of the building (and two adjoining ones) literally blew off, sending huge asteroidal chunks of brick and concrete flying off in every direction, smashing into cars driving on the Williamsburg bridge (which was only 20 feet away) and causing upwards of a 12 car pileup. At least 12 mortals died in the explosion.

In the aftermath, only Belden, Arthur, Max, and two of the now-homeless (literally) group survived--and Owen, who clung to unlife 1 point of bashing damage away from meeting his maker. Max was the only kindred left conscious. He, Shannon, and Void--the latter having since arrived (for varying reasons), dug out the bodies of Belden, Owen, Arthur, and the two 'surviving' other kindred (who Void secreted away with his mystic arts).

In the two weeks that followed, Arthur kept Owen and Belden safe in his haven, feeding them a supply of dog blood intravenously.

--> The aftermath of the event will be detailed in the forthcoming addendum to this recap.[list=1][*]

In the two weeks since, a number of shocking developments have rocked kindred society. Prince Genevieve has been supplanted by the prince of Brooklyn, a Circle of the Crone elder calling herself Oracle Mehrunisan, an enigmatic figure. Apparently, Genevieves enemies saw the recent events in her domain as a sign of weakness on her already precarious hold over her city and moved against her. The prince herself is taking refuge in a hidden location, working solely through intermediaries. Her hold has been significantly weakened as former allies hide their allegiances, most of whom were based on convenience. Arthur, Belden, Owen, and Void espouse loyalty to the new Oracle of Manhattan while their personal feelings on the matter remain uncertain...

In the meantime, the Oracle sanctioned (and mandated) Max Price's continuing investigation into both the Elysium bombing and the mysterious group observed leaving the scene. Apparently, the Oracle was not behind the attack, or so she wants everyone to believe and no one has evidence either way.

Where last we left off, the Oracle tasked newly awakened Belden and Owen, under Arthurs tutelage, with contiuning to investigate the "most unnatural" occurrences at Columbia University (the Oracle, a self proclaimed guardian of nature, apparently finds influence of the demonic quite abhorrent).

** The other members of the group who werent at the session, talk to me about what your characters did during the last two weeks.

Experience: Unlimited spending allowed, 3 xp to all players who werent there at the session for time passed.