[North Shore Nights] Chapter Three: Deepening Night.

Garrison Blake


Blake is quiet. Were he to speak, he is unsure the scream raging inside him would not escape. He steels himself. The carnage - the desecration - in front of him would unman many men. Then he approaches. He shuts off his primal self, the Beast beating against its cage, howling for flight. Instead, he trains his eye first on the carnage and then on the warehouse. The only thing to do in a time like this is to get to work. Find out what happened. So he puts his mind to work, looking for any type of clue...
 
To Valentine


A few rings, then a beat. "Yoooooo, what is up, V-Man? We're at eighty-six, matches are starting to pop up."
 
To Blake


Well, some of the blood is older than the rest. One trail near your foot is probably a few nights old. Meaning whatever did it simply waited here, killing and dragging. Some blood is fresh, some old. That's about all you can find currently. The number of skulls matches the number of cots.
 
Valentine


"Jimmy, I have two questions for you. Are any of those matches known to be residing in the warehouse retreat, and two, has anyone realised you're searching? I need the answers to both yesterday."
 
Garrison Blake


The Gangrel nods. This was a deliberate, slow process. That much is clear. Blake looks at the bodies and the severed extremities, examining the cuts - how were they were removed from the body? Do they look clean, like they were removed with a knife and/or scalpel, or ragged, like with a claw or simply torn off?
 
To Valentine


"Uhhh, no, no one outside my coterie would know, really. We've been here most of the past few nights besides when we go to sleep. And the matches, only two out of the five do. Though one of the other three is already dead, he's the one who went batshit the night you got your title. The other two dwell at safehouses. One at Cunningham and the other out in the industrial park. Why?"
 
To Blake


Bit of both it looks like. Some are clean cuts while others are hacked and ragged cuts, some of the bones are splintered in odd ways. Suggesting something cut through flesh and tougher tissues, then simply wrenched them off.
 
Valentine


"Alright. Jimmy, give me the names you have, then I want you to stop the search and go. Don't tell anyone what you're doing, just go. And hide. I'll be in touch."
 
Garrison Blake


Lastly, Blake searches the ground, looking for any sort of tracks through the blood. Are there human tracks? Animal tracks? Or something different?
 
To Valentine


"O...kay. Um, we have Layne Tonby in Cunningham, Desmond Lollys in the IP, Eric Freeman who haunts the Drears, he's the one you shanked, Old Kenneth also of the Drears, and Sean Carter of the living Carters. That's all I got...guess I'll get goin'."
 
To Blake


There are a few, one is humanoid, shaped like a human's but without toes and very long. And you only find another that is very much not human, sort of the like the elongated toe of a bird talon.
 
Valentine


"Stay safe. I'll be in touch. If it's not me calling, don't answer the phone."


Valentine snaps the phone shut. "The search I had Jimmy running is incomplete, but five names had come up. Sean Carter, Layne Tonby, Desmond Lollys, Eric Freeman, and Old Kenneth. Sean Carter is one of the Carter family, living branch at least. Eric Freeman earned me my title, and is therefore dead. Layne Tonby was staying here, and is presumably also dead. Old Kenneth haunts the Drears, and Lollys is in the IP."


Pocketing his phone again, Valentine starts to pace. "These five came from Boston at the right time period to be associated with Kyle Martin. Two of these five are dead now, and one of them was here. The other died shortly before all this kicked off. Executed."


He looks up to meet Musgrave's gaze. "We need to find the others, I think. If this is a coincidence, I'll eat your hat."
 
Garrison Blake


Blake approaches Musgrave, bowing with fist in hand. "Looks like this took some time, Sheriff. There are some blood trails that are several nights old. Other trails are fresh. Looks like whatever this thing is waited until it got what it needed. The extremities have incision marks, but it looks like whatever was doing it got impatient. It started cutting, then finally just ripped them off. Finally, there are some tracks. One is humanoid, but it is very long and there are no toes. A second track is NOT human. Resembles an elongated toe of a bird talon. Now, Demon Boy had a humanoid shape, but I didn't get a look at its feet. So I can't say whether it had toes or not. Nor can I verify a bird talon. I'm going to get some pictures of these symbols. They may mean something. Not to me, but this sort of thing is not my bailiwick. I'll keep looking."
 
To Valentine


"It is a tasty hat." Musgrave says, cleaning his fingernails with his bowie knife. "Hmm. I'll send a team to the Industrial Park to find Lollys, I think I know who that is. If you want to find Kenneth, have at it, it's your neck of town anyhow. Carter though, hell, the living Carters are spread all round this area. Did the little spook have an idea of where that may be?"
 
Valentine


Valentine shakes his head. "No, just that he's a vampire, Unaligned and in Roanton. Belham or Lucrecia would be of help there, if someone wants to go talk to them. I wouldn't bother with Victarion or Yohn, though. I'll head to the Drears after Old Kenneth right away."
 
To Blake


Musgrave nods to you. "We got some pictures earlier too, have at it. Maybe someone can figure this symbol shit out. I've got a crew searching the tunnels around here in a little while. Nothing reported in. I've got another coming through the storm drains from the west, with one of our local spook's coterie."
 
Valentine


Valentine nods. "Lady, I wouldn't have it any other way. Anyone else tagging along?"
 
To Valentine, Blake and Ouro


Musgrave will spend the rest of his time directing men to begin disposal of the bodies and cleaning up the sleeping area. His radio crackles with static reports from his men in the sewers every so often.


csssssss...found that EPA team from September that went missin'...not much left...


"Huh, they found that EPA team...Oh well, sucks to be them." Musgrave laughs.
 
Garrison Blake


"Sure. Let me finish taking some pictures and sending them to some of the Dragons. Then we can leave. Ouro, don't know if you want to study these symbols or come with us. Up to you. I'll send them to Yuri."


Blake snaps pictures of the symbols with his cell phone, then texts those pictures to Yuri. He includes the following text:


"Mass slaughter at the warehouse. 30 dead. Bodies mutilated. Extremities arranged in symbols. Pictures included. Don't know if they mean anything. Can you investigate? Could be important. B"


With that done, Garrison nods. "Okay. Let's go."
 
Valentine


Valentine's tired of the charnel-smell. "Whoever's coming, we're leaving. Now. Musgrave, we'll be in touch."
 
To Valentine and Blake


And you do. Not five minutes later, you, Blake and Selene are walking along Cunningham back toward Main Street. But where to find Old Kenneth, that was the question. Some noted feeding spots were Dirge, the soup kitchens of the Salvation Army and under the overpass out by the highway. The Canal was a good area too...
 
Valentine


Valentine stands at the entrance to the Drears, considering. "There are three good feeding spots here. The Canal, Dirge and the SA kitchens. We have two choices; we can split up and hit each simultaneously or we can stick together and visit them one by one. Thoughts?"
 
To Valentine


Selene looks thoughtful, the tip of a finger tracing her lips, "Much as I'd like to split up, staying together seems the more survivable course."
 
Garrison Blake


"If the thing that took apart those Kindred in the warehouse is out in the Drears, I highly doubt we could survive it individually. Well, perhaps you, Ms. Selene, would be able to survive. But. I think it better to travel together. The benefits of speed will mean little if we're destroyed."
 
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