Adventure Status: Unstable 4 (12)
Date: Friday Night

Q: Is Alex at Frozen scoping out the book?
(1d20+0: [20]+0 = 20)
Yes, and Faith, Proposal, Crack

Q: He brought Benji as cover?
(1d20+0: [5]+0 = 5)
No

Q: Is Benji his informant?
(1d20+0: [12]+0 = 12)
Yes, but Persuade, Garbage, Curiosity

---

The music was too loud. I fucking hated coming to this vampire den of depravity. It wasn’t the depravity that irked me it was all the willing innocents he exposed their veins to the blood suckers. Why the fuck you’d want to do that was beyond me. They all deserved a quick blow to the heart with a wooden fucken stake — yes, the myths on that one were true!

Growing up in dens of sin I knew more than own fair share of lore. Hated every minute of those lessons but they stuck to some degree. But right now Benji was laying out the lay of the land and I tried hard to focus on his words. I listened more to his mind than to his words, it was easier to focus on that than my own ears.

“The office is upstairs. Johnny keeps a safe and that’s where Rika says the book is. I don’t know why you want an old dusty tome of bullshit,” he complained again.

I looked around and clocked all the guards and cameras. At least my training had come in handy for something. Too bad any Venatori here would likely put a bullet in my head as much as any vampire here. They frowned upon deserters, but when you get shit on your whole life you kinda don’t respect their authority. I sure as fuck didn’t.

Benji glanced over at the bar and smirked. “Alex, seems you’ve got a fan.” I looked over in the direction Benji indicated and there stood a fucking Venatori. The cross swords at his right temple. He didn’t look like any of the smug bastards I grew up with. The painted black fingernails, the red dyed tips of his hair and the dark eyeliner encircling those big brown fucking eyes. He was clearly not your average shithead. He licked his lips and diverted his gaze.

Benji leaned in and chuckled. “I think he’s hot for you.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” I smirked. “We done here?”

Benji shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Nothing we can do tonight, too many fucking vamps, easier to do it when the suns up.”

“I’ll see you at home,” I said as I stepped away from Benji and made my way over to my peeping tom.

He turned around to face the bar and buried his face in his hands. The slight blush to his ears still visible as I pushed my way past the dickwad standing next to him.

“Watch it asshole,” the guy shouted at me as he carried a pitcher of beer towards his table.

I didn’t apologize as I squeezed in next to the strange Venatori who’d been watching me. “Like what you saw?” I asked.

“Pardon?” he said looking over at me before he recognized me and stood up straight. The red of his ears grew darker and his neck flushed even brighter red. Almost the color of his hoodie he casually wore like armor.

It was only a moment of shock before a bright toothy smile stretched his lips and he leaned back down on the bar and looked over his shoulder at me with a grin. “Maybe.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off his lips. “Don’t see many of your kind around here. Unless you are on official business anyway.” I tapped my right temple.

---

Q: Deceive Nox into believing he’s not Venatori (x2) (6)
(1d20: [13] = 13)
Success
Developer: And…
Animal droppings, Guard, Dungeon
(1d20: [4] = 4)

Q: Nox perceives the magic at Alex’s temple? (x1) (9)
(1d20: [9] = 9)
Success
Developer: NPC Inhibitor
Noxious, Knowledge, City
(1d20: [17] = 17)

---

He grinned at me with a smile. He knew I wasn’t being one-hundred precent truthful, though I didn’t really know how and he didn’t give away anything when he spoke. “I just got into town, my new roommate decided I needed to get laid.”

“So your roommate brings you to a bloodsucker den to get fucked.” I rolled my eyes.

He leaned in close and spoke softly. “Pretty sure he’s testing me.”

“Testing you?” Why on god’s green earth would they have to test a tattoo’d Venatori. We were grown and passed and fully able to take c are of ourselves — at least that was the theory. I hadn’t been gone that long for things to change. He wasn’t that much younger than me, was he?

He was watching something behind my shoulder as he spoke, “Yeah.” His single word was slow like he was paying attention to whatever was going on behind me. I turned to watch the scene unfolding. A man with the Venatori tattoo was being manhandled by two guards. He struggled and my new friend pushed away from the bar. “I gotta go.” He turned to me with a grin, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

He followed the struggling git out and I was torn between following him, or using the distraction to slip into the shadows and figure out my next move.

[!note] GM Intrusion
+1XP Nick is thrown out