Home Base - Tyler Crown

[Ninja]

The Stone City Chantry was just like you'd remembered. It had the secret "bat cave" entrance around back in the forests near the private graveyard. The old Victorian tower still had a gargoyle sitting on top. The windows were all brightly lit, even though at least half of them were fake. After making it to the main foyer, you smelled the distinctive incense common to Tremere chantries across the globe. It was a blood and sage mixture that helped apprentices focus. Making your way down the spiral staircase you felt several rituals recognize your presence.

Nearing the casting chambers, you heard a familiar Irish voice talking to herself. Taking just a second to listen in, you could tell it was Deborah, Dragon's sire, and your on-again off-again rival. It had been some time since you'd spoken with her or compared notes. She sounded somewhat frustrated. Taking a peek, you could see she was talking to a tape recorder. The lab had several beakers bubbling. One large one was fogged over, and two more matching ones had different colored liquids in. The Thaumaturge in you had no idea what she was working on. None of the formulas you'd seen belonged to any ritual you knew. The scientist in you was curious to know what she was up too.

...And Taki hadn't checked in yet.

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler lightly knocked on the door and made his presence known, greeting Debora as would be expected and asked for permission to enter. His eyes stayed on the equipment in front of her. "You sound frustrated. Perhaps I can lend another mind or ear?" He added nonchalantly. He didn't intend to intrude, and he seldom allowed others in on his own experiments, but he also knew the value of having another opinion.

[Ninja]

Deborah turned sharply, startled. Her hair swung behind her. "You heard that?" She sounded as surprised as she looked. "You're welcome to take a look. It's something I've been dabbling with for the better part of a century and it is still an epic failure." She waved you in to take a look. It wasn't anything familiar without a serious look.

OOC: Intelligence + Occult difficulty 8

"So are you worried?" Deborah asked, leaving the question open ended while peering at a pair of beakers she was mixing. She glanced away from her eyeballed measurements to look in your direction. Then she looked back at her work.

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler nodded and entered. "Probably not as much as I should be. Everyone is expecting me to come in and be hard-assed on them like I was. That's simply not me anymore. Though I'll admit, even without that, the city is certainly a mess." Tyler looked over the ritual and thought. "Have you tried reducing the heat? It looks like you're cooking that mixture off too fast." He looked at Deborah. "Rituals are too much of an exact science for me. I'll stick to making paths." There was no condescending tone, and he wasn't bragging. Merely admitting she was outside of his realm of expertise. He smiled. He was in a fairly good mood and wasn't interested in reviving old rivalries. Aside from his Princely duties he was looking forward to enjoying himself in his home town. What good was power, after all, if you couldn't sit back and marvel at how awesome you were once in awhile. "I know there's a lot of Kindred out there rooting for me to fail, and I'm sure they're hoping I get myself killed in the process." He looked at her with raised eyebrows and a slight smile. "What do you think?" He moved to the side of the table she was standing on so he could better see what she was doing.

[Ninja]

Deborah gave you an absurd look when you questioned her about the temperature. You could tell she wasn't sure if she was supposed to be insulted or not, and so for a brief second she looked stunned. Then with confidence and composure, she set the beakers down and carefully turned to face you directly, with full attention. "I don't think anyone thinks you will fail, let alone actually expects you too." Deborah paused then ran a finger through her hair, brushing it behind her ear.

"You may see the city in disarray, but I myself find your situation somewhat enviable. There is no better time in the history of Braddock to be a Tremere. It is true that Asterarche's rule was beneficial to several of us, Logan didn't do much worse. Cassidy, Anna's biggest threat to you from within is asleep for what? The next decade? You are prince and Taki, your personal lackey, can enforce your will to any of the neonates that would bother you. You see where my own concentration lies," she stopped and waved a hand at her work. You still couldn't piece together what exactly she was doing. Judging from the noticeable ingredients she was making some sort of copy. A copy of Thaumaturgy's fundamentals? Why would anyone want to do the same work to use the discipline twice?

OOC: You can Wits + Occult 6 to figure it out now.

Deborah continued. "The Assamites will be willing to deal on your terms if it means they can have recognized domain. If you give them that, you have very expensive and highly efficient muscle at the cost of what? Some Ventrue domain and the so called Caitiff Sandbox?" She scoffed. "I'll take that deal. With the Assamites and the Tremere now allied, the Setites and Ravnos will be less inclined to cross you. If you really wanted to piss in someone's cornflakes, give the Brujah a chunk of Centerville. It'll make the Nosferatu think twice about giving Sabina support because they'll think you're already suspicious of an alliance. Meanwhile," Deborah paused long enough to take some air. She moved forward and turned, leaning against her marble top table.

"The Brujah will monitor it's own. At least one elder, probably John, will feel indebted to you because of his increased status. He'll police the Anarchs in a way only elder Brujah can. Then, your only real opposition is the scattered Ventrue, a weary Sabina, and an Insane April to somehow team up with Anna and successfully defeat Michael, who socially, has few rivals." She sounded impressed with him and saw your expression revealing you thought as much.

"Say what you want about Michael being a weener. It takes a certain degree of willpower and confidence to go from being a burned out writer to the prince's bookkeeper to Seneschal and the head of the hardest internal pecking order I've ever seen. Tremere are harsh but Toreador..." Deborah made an unpleasant sound and shook her head slowly. Then she shrugged. "I dunno. It's what I'd do if I were you."

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler nodded his agreement to what she was saying. "I had considered most of that. Though I must admit the bit about the Assamites wasn't something I had considered. They don't have a particularly bright history with me." He was of course referring into his own run in with the clan of assassins. "And I wouldn't call Taki my 'lackey.' She's reliable and I think I'm a pretty good patron to have." He looked at her with raised eyebrows and an innocent look.

Tyler turned his attention back to her notes. "Oh my. That is going to be amazing if you get it working. Simultaneous targets." The scholar in him took over and he made a disappointed face when he couldn't tell at a glance what was going wrong and where. "It might not mean much, but I have a rather extensive personal library. I think there might be a few volumes you'll find helpful." He fished in his pockets and pulled out a keyring, and flipped through and finally pulled off the key to his library. He had other copies. "That big warded door at the back of the library? This will open it. Keep it, I have other copies. The wards are triggered by whomever is not holding the key, so they'll let you through, but not anyone else." He smiled and held the key between his forefinger and thumb out to her.

"I'm hoping you'll be interested in Primogen?" He added cautiously. He wasn't trying to appear a kiss ass, rather Deborah was going to sit on his Primogen Council and Tyler wanted to get the conversation out of the way. "Obviously you could just take it, but I'd prefer you in the position over someone else."

[Ninja]

Deborah stuck out her tongue and smirked. For an instant her smirk reminded you of someone else's trademark facial expression. The deja vue passed readily though, and you looked up, attention focused once more. "Primogen of a clan who controls praxis... hmm..." She snickered, like she was making a bad play at seriously considering your offer. "Oh I suppose, as long as I'm not too busy to do my work."

Deborah really did get serious when you gave her the key. "I don't know. I imagine you have an extensive library at this point. It couldn't hurt to look, and after working on this for nearly two centuries, I'd rather have to share the credit then get no credit." Then she looked thoughtful. "I've some old notes that belonged to Cassidy before he went into Torpor. It looked like designs for a path that allowed you to convert other Thaumaturgy attacks into physical weapons. The example I briefly looked at allowed for the conversion of Hands of Destruction into a sword." She shrugged.

"I was supposed to look at it but he went into torpor and I haven't found the time on my own."

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

Tyler responded to the tongue by sticking his own out. "I wouldn't want any of the credit. I wouldn't dream of stealing your thunder." His tone was equal parts seriousness and flirtatiousness. "Though those notes sound interesting. I wonder how easily it could be adapted to something a little more modern." He was talking about the gun he always carried. His old service revolver. "And being a Primogen for me will have... perks. Which I hope you'll find agreeable." He left it open ended to see how she would interpret it.

[Ninja]

"How agreeable?" Deborah chuckled. It was a sassy British chuckle too. It kind of reminded you of snide Victorian aristocracy, which meant it was genuine. "Well no, of course not. It isn't like you could steal my thunder anyway. I was merely pointing out that I was going to do you a favor. But if you don't want to go down in the history books as one of the kindred who overcomes what even the founders claim is a fundamental limitation of Thaumaturgy, so be it. I have no problem claiming that one for myself. There was really no way to interpret what Deborah was saying as anything more then mild teasing.

When the conversation drifted back to Cassidy's notes, Deborah frowned. Her head went right and then left slowly. "I'm not sure what you mean. The basic melee weapon no matter the type has primitive roots. We ward our staves and swords all the time." Then what you were saying dawned on her. She looked upset that it took her that long to catch on. "I imagine using a gun-" The way she said the word made it seem like a gun was a dirty, taboo object, "would be possible but that a melee weapon is just simpler to work with. I don't know. I guess you'll have to try it and find out, huh?"

[Ac1ds0ld13r]

"Agreeable to the point that I imagine you swooning, and I don't imagine your thunder can be stolen." He eyed her with a crooked smile. "And yes, I suppose I will have to find out. That could be useful on a level that you cannot truly appreciate until you've been shot...Several times." He made a face. Clearly that reminded him of something he would rather not remember. "So, have I missed anything particularly noteworthy or exciting? Aside from Cassidy going into torpor and the whole praxis thing?" It was a general question but his tone and body language implied he meant on a more personal level.