Chapter 3: The Breaking of Blood

(Game Session Sept 1 2023) (Game Date is Jan 30 2024)

• The date is Jan 30 2024, 4 months after the Heist. The PCs have settled in nicely and have continued to pursue their individual story lines during this downtime. Fabian Bullard, reeling from a lost of over 4 million dollars, hasn't been seen or heard from since the PCs robbed him blind.
• Max has secured a contract with Andrew Baglino, the senior Vice president of Power Train and Energy Engineering for Tesla. Max's company, Knight Security, will provide the security for the new state of the art facility being built in San Francisco. Also, Austin Steel meets with Max and gives him a Brujah Book that explains how his clan sees the rest of Kindred society. 
• Valmont communes with Dean Hawks  who states that there is a powerful ritual for ghouls called Forever Day. This ritual allows ghouls to only require 1 hour of sleep per day , thus allowing them to watch over their vampire masters better. Hawks states that the ritual is found in the old mansion of the former Prince, Cerrano. The mansion is located near the Satro Baths.Hawks is starting to give Valmont more information but wants to come back to the the land of the living (undead) and is upping the pressure for Valmont to find a body to inhabit.
• Ban finds a piece of paper stuck in an old book in the Mansion Elysium. This paper speaks of a relic called CERRANO's CRUCIBULUM. It states that if you drink blood from it, it will give you an extra XP for every 3 you gain and also increase your discipline's (you gain 2 dots of the ST choosing). The Relic must be kept in your haven. If destroyed, all who have drank from the chalice loose 5 points in disciplines and 2 permanent willpower.
• Valmont tells about the ritual but Ban is holding back on the full information about the relic.
• Draco is invited to the Elysium by the players and they speak for about 90 minutes.He shares a lot of information about the former inhabitants of San Francisco . The PCs and Draco strike up an alliance and Max offers to increase the security of Coit Tower for the information. 
• The PCS ask if Draco knows of any Nosferatu that would like to have a haven under the Mystic Mansion. Draco suggests speaking with Graf Orlock.
• PCs speak with Graf and they come to an agreement to have him live under the Elysium in the old train tunnel.
• The PCs find out where the old Prince's home is and believe that some magic relics may still be there.
• The PC's also learn that the Camarilla Conclave will meet in Europe and at that time, new Justicars will be elected. As such, the players were invited to attend the event.
• It is uncertain if Nathan Kent will remain a justicar. Graf reveals that he has written an extensive history of Nathan Kent and give s the book to the players.

• The date is Feb 7 2024, and the PCs meet up at the Elysium to discuss if they are going to seek out Cerrano's Crucible. 
• Cerrano was the old Prince of San Francisco who ruled the area from 1850 to 1906. He left the city after the Great earthquake as he deemed the area unlivable after the mass destruction. 
• Ban, Max, Valmont, Jarvis and Graf unanimously agree that they are going to seek out Cerrano's old haven and attempt to find the Crucible.
• The group drives out toward the Sutro Baths and finds Cerrano's old mansion. The home was abandoned over 100 years ago but it radiates a sense of foreboding and is riddled with magic and wards to protect it.
• The home has numerous ward vs Kine (human) around its exterior.
• The group enters the home and begins to systematically search the first floor. They note that the mansion is broken down with soot and water damaged floors. The home hasn't been lived in since 1906.
• Its odd that no one has looted or destroyed the home since then.
• It looks like Cerrano left in a hurry in 1906 as there are still plates left on tables. Max and Ban end up finding a pewter jug and both undergo the vessel of transference when touching it.
• Ban finds an old full wine bottle encased in a metal outer covering. It is unknown what liquid is inside.
• The group makes their way around the first floor and discover a room with a ward vs Lupines on the inside of the door. The room is filled with bones and it appear that this room once held a werewolf in it. However, the ward was broken and the door open.
• The PCs then encounter a lupine in the hallway and a brief stand off happens...until Max opens fire on the Lupine. The other members of the party follow suit and shoot the werewolf. 
• Max then throws a frag grenade into the room and it explodes-injuring the Lupine further. The Lupine then exits the room and uses its talons and damages Max and Ban with aggravated damage.
• Max then throws a second phosphorous grenade into the room causing the lupine to take further damage and blowing its arm off in the process
• The Lupine escapes out the window and into the forest, leaving a trail of blood. The PCs follow the werewolf into the forest and corner it in an old mausoleum.
• The PCs kill the mortally wounded lupine and take its head. They go back to the home to continue their treasure hunt.
• They decide to go down to the basement level and discover a small locked chest with ward vs kindred on it. They place the chest in Max's truck and continue to search the home. they do not know what is inside it.
• They find an small room with a painting of Cerrano on it. The canvas is made of skin. Its very old and very large. They leave it covered and leave the painting where it is.
• They find a room with a strange rune on the door. When they open it, they find a ward on the floor. Max gets too close to the ward and the illusion drops, revealing a fiery pit and Max hears "Who is there from its depths. Convinced that it was a demon, they leave quickly!
• They search the basement level and find a secret door to a very well preserved room with countless books and items, including the crucible!
• The group takes the cup and Ban also pulls a random book off the shelf.
• They notice a small hallway in the corner of the room and find what looks like an apparition floating in the hall way. It calls out to Valmont "Don't leave me. Vangard? DON'T leave me!!"
• The group flees in almost terror and drives back to their haven/Elysium where they USE THE CRUCIBLE the next day!
• Ban, max, Valmont, Jarvis and Graf all drink form it and all gain 2 dots in their disciplines! 
• Max grains one dot Presence (level 3) and  earns OUT OF CLAN Protean (level 1). Max upgrades to level 2 with saved XP
• Ban gains one dot it Dominate (level 2) and OUT OF CLAN Potence level 1
• Valmont gains one point Celerity (level 3) and one point presense (level 1)
• Graf earns dots in Potence and Animalism , bringing both to level 5!
• Jarvis earns dots in Presence and Fortitude, bring both up to level 5!

WHAT EVIL HAVE THEY DISCOVERED? CAN THEY KEEP THE CRUCIBLE's EXISTENCE A SECRET? WHAT WILL FOLLOW...

• Three weeks has past since the last chapter (Feb 29 2024).
• Receive a message from Nathan Kent that he, Orion and Austin are heading to Europe for the Conclave. He is leaving Fenris in San Fran while he is away. The Justicar vote will happen on March 3 2024 in Europe and Kent, Orion and Austin have left San Fran to attend the vote.
• The four horsemen will likely make 'landfall' while Kent is away. He warns the PCs to be very careful.
• Ban attempts to read the book he took from Cerrano's home. He goes blind to moment he reads the first line. (He will have to spend three blood points every new night to counter the curse, as told by Fenris)
• The Group decides to open the chest that they found/stole from Cerrano's home. In side they  find a large Chinese key and "sand". After dumping out the sand, the note that the bag is like a bag of holding. The sand then comes together in a form that Jarvis recognizes as Lodin, the ex prince of Chicago.
• Its very odd that Lodin would be "found" inside Cerrano's old home. The players take Lodin and place him inside the "Torpor" vault in their Elysium.
• While in the Mansion, Trina Von Dutch (Brujah Anarch from the Fang) is pounding on the door. Max opens it up and she is absolutely frantic. She says that an unknown powerful vampire killed Declan O'Houlihan inside their hide out. Trina is absolutely terrified.
• The group decides to head over to pier 22 1/2 (the fang hideout) to investigate. Trina is left inside with Jarvis.
• The characters arrive and notice 2 snipers: one on the roof of the Fang hang out  and the other on a 6th storey building across the street. Ban uses his movement of mind to fly up to the 6th floor and sneaks up behind the sniper and kills him with his sword. Max and Valmont walk up the stairs but when the reach the roof door, the find it wedged shut. 
• Max and Valmont decide not to kick open the door and walk back down. Ban flies across the street and dispatches the second sniper easily. 
• When Max and Valmont reach the first floor, they are attacked by the Sabbat assassin Renwick.Both Valmont and Max and attacked several times by the super humanly fast Renwick, suffering damage as a result.
• Valmont shoots the Nosferatu several times until his gun jams and then flees toward the front lobby. Max uses his protean claws and guts Renwick, who flees out the back door. Max frenzies but uses willpower not to follow Renwick.
• Ban kills the second sniper on the roof of the Fang hideout but then notices sabbath members Sandor and Jace standing a block away. Then Ban sees Jace push a detonator and the fang building explodes.
• The building is completely destroyed and sends Ban flying back nearly a block. Injured, Ban makes his way back to the Elysium. 
• When Ban, Max and Valmont get back to the Elysium, they enter the front lobby to find a pool of blood and Jarvis states that he had to kill Trina as she attempted to kill him. 
• While talking, the players hear footsteps INSIDE the mansion and LODIN appears. For several minutes they chat but soon discover that it is in fact DEAN HAWKES who has somehow possessed the body of LODIN and is back in the world of the living.
• HAWKES states that he is extremely valuable to the players as he has more information about San Fransisco than almost any other kindred alive today.
• Where will this "alliance" go? What information does HAWKES have? Are there deeper secrets? 

• Date: March 2 2024
• Valmont, Ban, Max and Jarvis are sitting in their Elysium and discussing their "circle or trust". They create a list of which kindred are the "cup circle", "the inner circle", "the middle circle" and "the outer circle".
• The group receives two phone calls: on from Didi Giovanni stating that at midnight, there will be a very large Primogen and kindred meeting at the Palace of Fine Arts (Elysium) to discuss the Sabbat Threat.
• Then minutes later, Ms Ling calls the players and tells them that there is a strange paranormal occurrence happening North of the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin county.
• After some discussion, the players and Jarvis decide to "check out" the disturbance to the North and vow just to "take a look" and "not get involved" so they can make the meeting of the Primogen at midnight.
• After they venture over the bridge, Valmont notices swirling "black souls" circling the sky and has a forbidding feeling about it. Then Max notices a large black semi trailer on the side of the road (South Facing) that he has a bad feeling about. The players decide to U-turn and investigate the semi trailer. As they approach, the the truck gets back on the road and drives over the Golden Gate Bridge. The players follow at a distance, keeping their presence "hidden."
• The truck turns off into Golden Gate park and the players follow. They decide to disembark and stealth about 1/4 mile in the forest to keep hidden. They  find the truck parked and note that it is full of Sabbat Shock troops. The players decide to retreat back to their vehicle. 
• The players see Tama the Gargoyle circulating in the air as overwatch.
• When they arrive back at Max's truck, they note all tires are flat and then they are confronted by Kaine and the ex bishop himself, Amritage (leader of the 4 horsemen). Ban fails his terror check and runs into the forest. Jarvis, Max and Valmont are taken prisoner and walked back to the semi and waiting Sabbat. 
• The players see Peter Takin, Malkavian PRIOGEN driving one of the cars with Sabbat members and realize he is a traitor.
• At one point, the group is challenged by a shock troop member and Max says "Come and try me." A circle forms and Max and the Sabbat member go head to head. Max Kills the Sabbat member in a spectacular fashion and diabolizes him. The rest of the crowd cheers and when Armitage says "who wants to try next?" the whole group puts their hands up. 
• Ban eventually stops running and comes face to face with STING and Jan Sobashi (Nathan Kent's former body guard). Ban then notices about a dozen Lupine walking past them toward the semi trailer. Ban then sees Nathan Kent himself and realizes that Kent was not in Europe and that the whole thing was a ploy on the part of the Justicar and Camarilla.
• MAx, Valmont and Jarvis get placed in the back of the semi and they find Dean Hawkes in the back with them. Hawkes then waves his hand and all hell breaks loose outside. The Lupines are attacked by the spirits commanded by Hawkes. KENT, Sting, and Jan enter the fight. Lazo is seen flying above and attacks Dyson Rinzler with a lightning bolt and blows his arm off. Ban engages  Tama and steals 8 blood from him using his thaumaturgy. Mama falls from the sky onto the back of the trailer.
• Three attack helicopters then come from the East (commanded by Felcia  Nocturne) and they fire on the Sabbat. All hell breaks loose and the players realize that this was a massive set up by the Primogen, Justicar Kent and several other members of the San Fran Kindred community (a large contingent of Nosferatu were also on scene).
• A large 1 ton van appears driven by Felcia and Prince Ambrogino. The area is then cleansed and totally torched. 
• The players all jump in the back of the Truck with the sabbat defeated and running in all directions.