Part 6: VI - Bloody Mess
Vicissitude posted:
Well, Tzimisce was not killed by its childer when they diablerized it. Instead, it took over Lugoj and decided to make Lambach its 'witness'. While it originally had Lugoj deposit it in the soily womb of the Carpathian Mountains to kind of gestate into a new form (where it absorbed a good amount of knowledge and power from the demon Kupala who pretty much fuels the clan's Koldunic Sorcery), eventually it was transported to the New World and was plopped down in the deepest sewers of New York City.
Down there, it began to experiment with Metamorphosis. The fleshy hulk of the thing seemed to die, but soon mold began to appear. Then other plant life. All life produced was wholly new and unknown to anyone who saw it. Granted, they didn't get a chance to observe for long before Tzimisce caught and absorbed them into its mass, but if they did get a good long look, they'd have seen that it was developing a new ecosystem at a hyperfast rate. Tzimisce was trying to create new life, fleshy plants and plantlike flesh.
Eventually, it had spread out through spores and other assorted bric-a-brac to basically disperse itself into the existing ecosystem on earth. When it did, its consciousness left and spread out among the entire planet. The dead hulk back in New York remained animate, but it was pretty much just a Vozhd at that point. So many people, animals and even vampires (a LOT of Nosferatu before they sealed up the entrances to its tunnels that they knew about) got absorbed into the old undead frame of the Antediluvian. So technically, Tzimisce is in two places at once. But the real mind and rotten soul of the thing is spread throughout the entire world. The rest is just the shell it left behind.
Uh... that sure is a story.
We'll be heading back to our apartment, first off, for three reasons:
1. It's a good habit to check our email frequently.
2. That money from Malcom should be waiting for us back in our mailbox.
3. If Copper has attempted to assassinate the president, no doubt it's on the news.
There's our blackmail money. Intimidate has a few good options in the early game for getting extra money, but as the game progresses, those options decrease, and Intimidate functions more or less just like any other dialogue skill, excluding dominate.
Nope, nothing new on the news. But there is something new in our email:
We have good reason to dislike LaCroix, but it would probably mean bad news if that blood was tested. Let's get this out of the way before they have time to do it. Back to the hospital.
Instead of going down to the basement, we're going up to the second floor. We know that it's probably up there by process of elimination.
There's a security guard patrolling up here, just like the receptionist said. Remember that we tricked that receptionist into giving us access to the back areas of the clinic by telling her that we're here to fix some network. We can probably trick him into helping us, if we follow similar lines.
I'm here to fix the network. Nurse downstairs told me to talk to you.
Yeah, she called. I don't remember hearing anything about computer problems, but... you'd know better than I would. I'll open the door for you. Follow me.
Uh... is it necessary to bend down like that to unlock a door? At any rate, we're now given access to the server room.
cs door, cs cabinet. "Controlled Substances"?... We can't gain access to those two, since we don't have a high enough hacking score, but maybe we can smooth-talk the security guard into getting us into there...
[Persuade] I need access to your controlled substances room. Sorry, that's off limits. The master CPU driver has to be recoupled right away or it'll be fried! Alright, I'll get the door for you.
Great! Now just to lockpick whatever cabinet is locked...
Unfortunately, it simply cannot be lockpicked. The security camera guarding the room is probably from an earlier time where we had to turn off the camera before taking whatever's in that cabinet. There is a security room, but mucking about with the cameras serves no purpose.
We're in a bad way, here. We can't lockpick the cabinet, but we also can't hack into the computer to unlock the cabinet. What do we do? Well, that security guard has unlocked two rooms for us. It's likely that he has the key to the cabinet. We can't just ask him for it, though, and dominating him - while it would make sense - isn't an option.
So we have to kill him.
Yes, we do get his key, but for some odd reason it doesn't unlock the controlled substances cabinet. I call it odd because a lot of these early quests have multiple ways of completing them; if you're not good at one thing, taking it from another angle is a viable option. This side quest is an outlier: the only way to unlock that cabinet is to hack the computer.
So I had to look the password up on the internet. It doesn't make sense, either. Who is the one who set up this system for the clinic? Probably some computer technician, and the password would probably be a seemingly random combination of letters and numbers, since it contains such sensitive material. It certainly wouldn't be something personal to one of the employees, especially something someone wouldn't want others to know about.
Now ask yourself: who is the girl that Malcom is having an affair with?
Like I said, we don't have to worry about the camera.
And there it is, the only thing in the cabinet. LaCroix told us to drop it off inside of our mailbox. Who would know that we put it in there, though? I'm sure some in the thread would immediately say, "it's the Nosferatu! it's the Nosferatu! They know everything."
The world of darkness sure has some great cop-outs.
Tehan posted:
More likely he just gave some ghoul lackey a key and told them to check the mailbox every morning. Though the game doesn't represent it in gameplay, it does take place over a number of days.
Strange to have vampires mucking about in keeping the werewolves swept under the rug. If LaCroix hadn't intervened it probably would have been a coin-flip to see whether it would be Pentex (Captain Planet villains in service to the primal spirit of corruption and destruction, and also one of the world's largest megacorporations) or the Glass Walkers (urban, tech-savvy werewolf tribe) who stepped in to keep the secret under wraps.
Or maybe this is the Glass Walkers stepping in - they are known to dabble in wafer-thin non-aggression treaties with the Ventrue and Giovanni from time to time, which could very well extend to working together to preserve the Masquerade as well as the Veil (the werewolf equivalent). Or it could just as easily be Pentex working through LaCroix.
* * *
There we go. Just wait a little bit, and I'm sure we'll have some more money waiting for us. Or a time-bomb. Okay, probably money.
Let's head into the other apartment complex in Santa Monica. We have two things to do, there:
1. Give Mercurio some morphine
2. Search Carson's apartment for signs of his whereabouts
Remember, we got that second quest from Arthur Kilpatrick. Regarding the first, I'm sure Mercurio will be happy about the morphine.
I brought you some morphine. Hold still.
Ahh... ohh... Oh, holy Christ I needed that.Indeed. Before, Mercurio told us that he could supply us with guns if we keep his secret. But he didn't tell us where we could get guns immediately. Mercurio being who he is, he probably knows someone.
I had some questions about Santa Monica. Specifically? Know where I can score some guns?
Thanks. Goodbye.
Carson's apartment is just opposite of Mercurio's. Remember: Carson is Kilpatrick's bounty hunter that went missing.
We find this skill book on the table. Skill books are books that increase certain skills, which is obvious. What's not obvious is that you have to have a certain level of research to be able to use each one. The books often come with humorous text. Here's this one's, which is not:
So You Wanna' Shoot Things? posted:
Using a gun is simple, easy, and fun for the whole family. First, get a gun, preferably something for home defence, like an automatic rifle. Second, check to see if the gun is loaded, if not, do so. Third, find a target - we recommend inanimate objects if no muggers are around. Fourth, shoot - feel the power. . . This book increases firearms skill.
On the desk, there's a recorder. This should give us a clue on Carson's whereabouts.
Check, check. Is this thing recording? God, I hate these things. Uh ahem. Anyway... the, uh, McGee case is getting weirder all the time. I found where he's been hiding, and I saw some really creepy stuff down there. There was, uh, no sign of McGee. I'm gonna follow up on another lead I got, too. I updated the files on the computer. Uh, this is Carson, signing off. Man, that sounds stupid!McGee case? Maybe the computer will have more information.
But the stuff of McGee is password-locked. What could be the password?
Well, there's this poster of a model on the wall. Could that be the password?
Now to find out more about McGee. Could it just be a coincidence that Carson disappeared while searching for him?
Maybe, maybe not, but in either case, the tattoo parlor is where we need to go. Another section of the computer tells us not to forget the key to the parlor, which sits on top of the tv.
With that in our inventory, we'll head out.
The tattoo parlor and pawnshop are opposite each other. Who knows what could be waiting for us inside the parlor - we'd better get weapons from the pawnshop, first.
That must be Trip.
Uh, how's it going'? You, um, lookin' to buy or sell or...? What's your name?
Watch out for this guy.
Nice to meet you, Trip. Thanks. You, uh, new to Santa Monica? Yes I am. Is it that obvious? It's not a big surprise. We get new faces through here night after night. Used to be more tourists but now... I dunno, man... it's more like drifters. Why do they come here? Beats me. Santa Monica is dead. I don't know why anyone comes out here anymore.A dead city, fit for dead patrons.
It's going to be worse now with this serial killer on the loose. Yeah, it's freakin' me out, to be honest. I'm open all night and Santa Monica police don't rank amongst the nation's most worthy. Are these killings happening around here? Ohhh. I dunno. I heard someone at the pier got ripped up like that poor bastard in Long Beach the other day. That's what I heard too.And saw.
I'll tell ya, crazy stuff happens all the time and it's like we just get used to it; just go on our way "doot-dee-do'. But this... I dunno, these killings are chilling. Indeed, you should be careful. So did you need anything in particular, or...? I heard this is the place to pick up some weapons.
Mercurio told me you would help me out. Alright... look, I can't have every Jesse and Jaime off the street, ya know, comin' in here askin' about this. It's not cool. Not exactly licensed and these weapons aren't... precisely legal... if you catch my drift, here. I understand. Look... now... I appreciate your business and I'll sell to you but don't tell anyone else, 'k? Keep your nose clean. Of course.Let's see what these 'illegal' weapons are.
Oh man, a knife. He must have imported this from out of the country, it's so hot. Well, we can't let this go unused, so we'll buy it and sell that baseball bat in our inventory.
Alright... here we go!
Man, this place is a dump.
There's not much here, but suddenly, a faint ringing of a telephone breaks the silence.
It must be coming from down the stairs...
What's that on the wall?
Gimble's prosthetics...? Why would this be in the basement of a tatoo parlor?
No time to think - we've got to pick up that phone before the call goes dead.
Hello. Might I speak with Mr. McGee? He doesn't seem to be here at the moment. Can I help you? Well, I'm not sure. I had an appointment with him a few days ago, but he never seemed to show up. Do you know when he'll return? No. Actually, I'm looking for him myself. You are? Isn't that a coincidence? Why are you looking for him?No time to go into details.
I'm a bounty hunter. He just skipped bail a few months ago.
Was that a stutter? This guy might know more than he's telling.
Could you answer a few questions for me? I'd be delighted to. Why don't you come down to my office, and we'll talk about it. Where are you located? I'm at the end of Main Street, a small basement studio. The sign says Gimble's Prosthetics. Just ring the buzzer and I'll let you in. Sounds good. I'll be there in a little while.He seemed oddly happy to answer our questions. Well, it's nice to have someone who's happy to help. This should go well, all things considered. Right?
...Right?