Part 10: X - The Hunted Hunter

Here's what the upper deck of the Asylum's mainroom looks like. Before we head up to talk to Therese, let's talk to the bartender again.



What do you know about Therese and Jeanette?

They cut me a check every two weeks. End of discussion.

Alright, well, let's cut to the chase.

I need someone to tell my troubles to.



My pet iguana just died....



... Why does something like that happen...?



... The only thing I have to look forward to now is death.

Right. You gonna buy a drink or what?

No. But I feel much better having told someone. Thank you. Goodbye.



That hotel sure was something. Therese better call off this feud, after all we went through to get this pendant and banish that ghost.



Oh, it's Jeanette. Maybe she knows where Therese is.



It's in our best interest to be as nice as possible, even if that means faking interest in her.

Actually, I was hoping I'd run into you.

Really? Do I often pogostick through your thoughts wearing nothing but a smile? Be honest.... or don't.

[Seduction] All the time, Jeanette. What do I do in your thoughts?

What all suede kittens do... on hands and knees, you lap up the milk of me... and we purr, kitten, like dragonflies buzzing around frog bellies.

Uh...

Kinky.



This is a problem. At the same time that we need to please Jeanette, we need to keep this pendant for Therese.

I'm not giving it to anyone but Therese.



No. Please, calm down.

She's always betlittling me. She's the smart one, she's the favorite, she's the successful one. Well, it's not fair! I'm not a fool! This club's success is just as much my doing as it is hers!

I understand. But I still can't give it to you.

Do you understand what it's like to have your own flesh and blood ripping you apart on a daily basis for two lifetimes? Can you?

I'm sorry to hear that, Jeanette, but I really need to give it to Therese.

Troika gives us an easy way out though: be nice but don't give the pendant away.




Yes, we should do this.

What would put a smile on that face?

Do you know Gallery Noir, down the street? I happen to know there's a charity event being organized there. Lots of influential Santa Monicans slithering in for token appearances. But there's one thing they don't know...

The whole event's been set up by a Kindred trying to establish their own power clique in our city. And we can't let that happen, can we? So I need some brilliant young upstart to spoil the milk.

[Seduction] For you, anything.

I promise this won't take long. Take this knife. Give the paintings in the gallery a good slashing. Don't get caught and don't turn it into a massacre. And steal the charity box, would you? Buy yourself something velvet.

Alright, I'll go slash the paintings.

I'm sure Therese will be thrilled to honor your agreement when you get back. But in the meantime, get to the museum and ruin those paintings, then pay me a visit. I want to hear all about it.... Hurry up, I can only amuse myself for so long.

I'd never intentionally keep you waiting, Jeanette. Goodbye.

Oh, and there was something about the paintings... Hmm, what was it...? I can't remember. Oh well, have fun, duckling!

That's a not-so-subtle hint that there's a puzzle involved.



With Jeanette here, we can look through Therese's computer. Expectedly, we can't look through Jeanette's computer right now.



The email first. The password is 1baroness3.

1 posted:

<Subject> Nectar of the Gods
<From> Vandal Cleaver

Miss Voerman, your humble servant has done his all to provide you with yet another batch of the finest sanguine spirits. And I apologize for not pouring it when you asked, last time. Forgive me - unlike you, I'm an imperfect being.

Vandal, the worker at the blood bank. Remember, he's a ghoul, so Therese must be his master. This relationship was hinted at, previously:


"Queen bitch" - he was talking about Therese, prince of Santa Monica. How fitting of Therese to only ghoul Vandal because he can provide her with a steady supply of human blood - fitting because it's a relationship of business, not feeling. Furthermore, you can tell this is true because of Vandal's email to Therese. The language is so formal, professional; devoid of feeling. That stands in contrast to when we actually spoke to him at the blood bank, not to mention he referred to her as the "queen bitch".

2 posted:

<Subject> Halting Construction
<From> Julian Johnson

Look, Miss Voerman. I'm really sorry to do this, but the men won't work there any more. THey say it's haunted.

He must be referring to the Ocean House Hotel. We saw the construction there, and this explains why Therese wanted us to solve the problem.

3 posted:

<Subject> re: Santa Monica is MY city!!
<From> Jeanette

Why are you always so mean? Bertie's not so bad once you get to know him. You're the disgusting one!

This is in response to Therese's angry email to Jeanette, which we read previously.



Now for the contacts. The password was business.

lacroix posted:

<213> 555-4508, Ext 702, Camarilla Prince of LA

tung posted:

bertram@schrecknet.vtm, local Nosferatu

johnson posted:

<310> 555-3657, jj@cconstruction.vtm, Community Construction

J.J.: Julian Johnson. Must be the same guy who sent her an email about the hotel.

miller posted:

<213> 555-2617, theflow@undergroundsound.vtm, Disk Jockey

vandal posted:

<310> 555-7280, Blood Bank Manager

labeau posted:

<818> 555-9072, Art Coordinator

Art Coordinator? Hmm...





Well, before we head to the gallery, we should take on Knox's quest. To recap, Knox was trying to stalk some "Asian dude" that might be a vampire. He caught wise, and is now stalkng Knox. We're supposed to take care of him. Knox gave us a driver's license that the guy dropped, which belonged to someone named Virgil Crumb. We went to Kilpatrick's and found information on Crumb in Arthur's computer. We learned that Crumb died, and his body is being held in the city morgue.


_{Look to the right}

The morgue in located in the basement of the clinic, which we've already partially explored. We saved Lily from this place, Vandal getting upset with us because of it.



Let's see if his scheme has progressed any further since then.

Say, where do you get your blood from now?

Now that you let that one go, I have to go out and find someone else to fill the chair. But it's kind of chilly out and now that my co-pilot's been devoured, I'm flying solo. I need a new body. Find another donor and I'll whip up a fresh batch.

This is another possible sidequest. One we're not doing, unless of course you all want us to do it.

I don't need your blood. Not when I know how you're getting it.

Blood comes from the living. From all kinds, in a red torrent. A crimson seep at the speed of a heartbeat. For each drop a teeny bit of life shed... you don't care how it's got, as long as it is. You'll be begging for it, and not getting any.

Whatever....

Was Therese complicit in all this?



In the laundry room, all that needs to be done to gain access to the morgue is to push back a stopgap wooden board.



And there we go. That must be Virgil.




Yeah, that's him. Maybe there's some more information around here.



Like on this computer in the other room.



The password was Cowbell.

abobo, g posted:

Wounds suggest subject was beaten to death with a baseball bat.

crumb, v posted:

Subject died from heart failure. Personal items in storage B.

"Storage B" must be the locked trunk in the room with the bodies.

doe, j posted:

Subject apparently died of indeterminate causes. Note: Subject's body contained only one pint of blood. Foul play suspected.

falz, d posted:

Severely beaten to death. Something about the way this one looked made me want to lock it in the freezer.

perry, d posted:

Subject apparently choked to death on ham and/or cheese.

We should open that trunk.



In storage B, we find a silver ring, but also this key to something called "Foxy Boxes".



It turns out that this is an actual place in Santa Monica. Why would Virgil have possession of this? Maybe the answer lies inside.



There's a laptop on the desk, and an adorable poster on the wall.



Temple of Goldren Virtue?

>reports



They weren't password protected. "Cainite Observation"... Let's see what these reports are about.

10/12/04 posted:

My initial observations of the city indicate that the Cainites here are both scattered and unorganized. There are three individuals of note, but they seem to be involved in some sort of dispute. I shall continue to watch and listen.

The "three individuals of note ... involved in some sort of dispute" could be Therese, Jeanette, and Tung.

10/18/04 posted:

These Cainites are a curious and fragile race. They waste the gift of their immortality on petty schemings and fleshly gain. We will have little problem making this city our own.

"Making this city our own"?

10/21/04 posted:

It seems that my presence here has been noted by one of the Cainites, as 'Nosferatu' I believe they are called. He has entrusted the responsibility of my surveillance to a bumbling mortal fool. I have begun to follow this so-called spy... a small, amusing respite from my usual duties.

That's how Knox came into the picture, and we came in not long after that... what could the next two reports be about?

10/22/04-1 posted:

It seems that I have drawn the attention of a newcomer, an agent of the prince. I know very little about this individual, but the agent seems much more resourceful than most Cainites I have observed. I will prepare myself in the event that our paths cross.

10/22/04-2 posted:

The agent of whom I spoke before has discovered the corpse of Virgil Crumb. An altercation seems imminent. If I do not survive, let my last report state that Santa Monica is ripe for the taking. You will find little resistance if we come here in force.

That doesn't explain how Virgil Crumb came into the picture in the first place, or how he had the key to this agent's base among his possessions.



Anyway, if an altercation is inevitable, we can imagine what's going to be beyond the only other door in the place.



Yep, that must be the agent. When he sees us, he does a small bow.



Then he draws a katana.

Watch Boss Fight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0YTAtj1bYw



This is a pretty tough boss fight for a character that's not spec'd for combat. This 'cathayan' has the habit of jumping around on the top of the piles of crates scattered around the room. Since we're using a knife, he's coming at us with his katana. If we were using a firearm, he's shoot at us with his crossbow.



His attacks do a lot of damage. That loss is after one hit.



Still, the fight is manageable. Just keep hitting him with 3-hit combos that send him flying and repeat.



He drops his katana and crossbow.




There was also an upper deck to this warehouse-type room.

There are still some unanswered questions to this whole ordeal. Knox might have more to share with us, and if not, we still need to report this to him. Maybe he's seen Tung since we offered to help him.

Back to the club...





I did. You don't have to worry about it any more.

Oh thank god. Oh man. Yes! That thing was hounding me, like, every night. Look, I still haven't heard anything from Bertram, sorry, okay. I'll still let him know, but for now... I have no way to repay you.

Do you have any idea what that thing was?

Bertram said it's like a vampire, but different... ya know. It's like what they have in China instead of vampires. He said lots of 'em have been comin' to California for some reason, I dunno.

That's interesting. I'd better be going.

Damn, what an unsatisfying ending to that quest. We know that he's some sort of Chinese vampire, but no specifics. We don't know why he had Virgil Crumb's license on him, or why Virgil lead us to the vampire's base of operations. Who's he supposedly communicating with? Why are his journals not being sent to anyone? Or were they? Does Knox really not know any more?

Only time will tell if more answers come.