Activity Log, December 30, 2000 to December 31, 2000 After some days apart, the group has rejoined. It seems that the subjects have been allocated feeding grounds near each other. Perhaps this is because of the magics, or perhaps simply because of their service together in the great battle against the Sabbat. I would tend to doubt this latter interpretation, however, since Jan would be foolish to create potential cells of resistance against his rule. On the other hand, perhaps Jan had little to do with the allocation of territory within each clan, and their joining together is the result of a far more complex negotiation among the leaders of their clans. In any case, their territory seems to be in Elmhurst-Corona and the area called Rego Park, all in Queens. The group visited Ethan's area first, in Northern Corona, which seemed to have a very active nightlife. While the area seemed quite squalid, there were many people about, at least in the early evenings, patronizing the private clubs and the prostitutes the area seemed to abound in. Almost immediately after arriving in the neighborhood, the group split in two. Ethan and Parker explored one of the seedy clubs in the area. It had a traditional bar in the front, and a fairly seedy gambling setup in the back room, with ladies of the night soliciting customers in both areas. Parker fed from one of them and kicked her in the face when she demanded payment for her time. Despite Parker's brutal treatment of the staff, when Ethan mentioned that he was aware of the establishment's policy of cheating, the manager of the back room told them about a more upscale place, where they were to simply say that Antonio sent them. Upon arriving, they found an unmarked door which hid a much larger and cleaner establishment, with perhaps a hundred locals drinking and gambling in several rooms. Parker almost immediately identified another prostitute and took her upstairs to feed, while Ethan gambled (and tipped heavily) downstairs. In the meantime, Ari and Nathaniel chose a different way to satisfy their hunger. They followed a man onto a deserted street. Nathaniel convinced the man that he was the target of a stickup (to which the man's response was "Tell McCarthy we paid him already this month") while Ari kept watch. Nathaniel fed from the man and stole a gun and an envelope full of money from the unconscious body. I was surprised that he took so much blood from the man -- it was quite touch and go for a while, I assure you, before the medics were able to stabilize him. Perhaps he had no idea how much blood loss would kill a person? I suppose he will learn over time, but I hope he does not kill too many before he learns; the repeated shock might drive him into irretrievable madness, and I cannot afford to lose even one of my subjects. After feeding, they ducked into a nearby bar. Ari ordered the bouncer to let them in, and they were escorted through a rather sleazy club with several tired-looking strippers into a back room. Ari fed from the bouncer while Nathaniel drank the blood of the bar's manager at gun point. While covering up their activities, they received a call from Parker and eventually joined the others at the aforementioned upscale gambling establishment. After some pointless gambling and idle talk, Ethan managed to engage the manager of the place in conversation and discussed the possibility of renting a room in the building. I assume he plans to haven there, but I am surprised he would voluntarily inhabit such a shoddy place. I am sure that slumming has its charms, but they have never appealed to me. In the meantime, however, Nathaniel and Parker's unusual appearance seemed to attract the attention of several of the club's bouncers, who summarily escorted them downstairs and began frisking them. Parker allowed this to happen peacefully, but Nathaniel resisted, breaking one guard's wrist. Fortunately for everyone concerned, Ari and Ethan arrived and were able to smooth over the situation between the two of them. I am certain that the four vampires could have easily overpowered the mortals, but it seems unwise to leave such clear indications of their presence. The group spent the rest of the evening exploring their new territory. Most of it is quite unpalatable, including a major drug district just north of the highway and a run-down commercial area in the west. I must send Elizabeth to explore the neighborhood, but for the moment my own research will have to do. It does seem that they have a section of a relatively nice park, just adjacent to some sort of sports center, and the Tremere's area is a quite comfortable middle-class residential district. They even have an active neighborhood watch, run by an individual named Owen! I wonder whether his clan had any say in where his land was assigned to be. If they did, perhaps he is not in as much disfavor as one might guess from outward appearances, or perhaps Jan only wishes it to appear so. The following evening was New Year's Eve. Given the celebrations that go on in this city, even I was tempted to abandon my post and join the unwashed masses, but fortunately duty prevailed over more frivolous impulses. I was unable to monitor Ethan's activities well, as he spent the early part of the evening apart from the others (though I did garner glimpses of him talking with Melanie and Von Brauer). On the other hand, I have been able to insert more mundane methods of observation into the hotel suite he shares with his lover, and I am certain that eventually he will rehash the evening's events with Sophia. I admit that I am quite surprised at how, shall we say, active they are; I am even more surprised, however, at how careless she is of protecting her secrets. It is possible, of course, that there is simply less to her than she wishes one to think. In any case, the other subjects did spend the evening together. They attended a party thrown in a burned-out church in Greenwich Village -- the same church in which Radu made his haven, if I recognize it correctly. I imagine this party was at least partly sponsored by Jan, as a way of subtly reminding his subjects of his great battle against Radu and his conduct in the war. However, the ostensible host was Christine, a young woman wearing a little bit of leather and a great deal of nothing at all. She seems to have invited nearly every sort of rabble, vampiric and not, to attend this gathering. The building was quite packed, but conversation was still possible in the various nooks and alleys of the wreckage. Nathaniel spent most of the time dancing, though he did pick something up from a pile of wreckage. Parker and the Tremere engaged in a number of conversations. A woman named Dara engaged Ari in conversation about his recent experiences, and Slant spoke to Parker about how to hold onto his feeding grounds. Two scruffy-looking individuals, Stephen and Jamie, chatted with both of them as well, though Jamie seemed distinctly hostile to Parker. Christine seemed to be quite an enthusiastic dancer and socializer, and she certainly succeeded in holding the attention of nearly every male in the church (and many of the females) at one point or another. Scandalous, really, but if someone like her were one of my subjects, I can only imagine how much I could learn about this developing society. Unfortunately, I must learn to be content with what I have. Perhaps Stephen and Jamie managed to offend Christine, since they slipped out a back window without speaking to anyone well before midnight. Alice arrived and was greeted by Stanislaw, who, it seems, was also involved in organizing the night's events. Alice did not seem entirely welcome at the party, but Stanislaw went out of his way to provide her with an escort around the room. It seems there is a hierarchy even among the least important vampires, so perhaps Alice's rank in the Catskills camp was not entirely a figment of circumstance. Nathaniel spoke with Alice for a few moments and managed to irritate her on the subject of her still-missing arm, something that certainly should have healed by now, even if the damage was inflicted by fire or claws, but I did not see even a bud of new growth. He also handed her a ring and mentioned the word 'Caissus' -- a word that I know I have heard before. I will have to consult my files. Shortly before midnight, the vampires and a select few guests (including Ethan and a very lovely woman who seems to be his sister) retired through a private door and down an underground passage -- Radu's escape route, perhaps, though it did him little good. The passage ended in stairs which spiraled up to a tall tower, likely a portion of the Tzimisce's laboratory. The room was quite crowded with guests, and it seems to have been quite thoroughly looted by the Camarilla forces. Quite a shame, really, as I am certain I could have learned a great deal. Shortly before midnight, Christine said a few words about celebrating the New Year and the return to New York and pressed a concealed button to open the roof of the room. Fireworks began to burst in the near distance, lending a fairy beauty to the scene. Really quite an amusing party, if one goes in for that sort of thing. It seemed that my subjects did not, however, since Ari, Nathaniel and Parker all moved out to the stairwell. Nathaniel had procured a scrap of paper from somewhere which he seemed to think was of significance, and the three of them pored over it for a few moments, until Ethan barreled by them, dragging his unwilling sister. I am not certain exactly what angered him, as I was more interested in peeping at this scrap of paper the others had managed to obtain. Considering that I recognized many of the runes, I have decided to devote additional study to this, and I replicate it as best possible in the Case Files on this topic. I do wonder what it means and where it came from! After being interrupted by Ethan, the group continued down the stairs and discussed the scrap of paper further in the concealment of the shadows of the tunnel. Ari claimed to recognize the writing as Hebraic characters; I will have to confirm his translation, of course, before I enter it here. The three agreed to give Ari the paper to investigate with the Tremere, and decided to explore some of the rest of Radu's network of tunnels. The first tunnel led into what I recognized immediately as a colombarium. The cross-shaped room, the high arched ceiling, and the hundreds of niches in the walls were immediate signs. Each niche was occupied by a set of bones, some of which seemed rather recent, arranged by size. I assume these were the less deformed victims of Radu's experiments? Or perhaps the entire chamber is the focus for some great ritual? Unfortunately, it seems that all my subjects possess far more ability to see in the dark than I do, and so I was unable to gather much detail. I did notice the Tremere take something from the bones in one of the niches, but I could not see much more than that. I could see even less when they explored the second tunnel, as there was not even light from the ceiling hole of the colombarium. It seemed to have stairs down into the earth, and there was the sound of faint but steady breathing. I could hear the group shifting rock for quite a while -- half an hour at least -- but I could tell little of what they actually accomplished. It was most frustrating indeed! Fortunately for my eyesight and my temper, before doing anything more, they decided to separate for the evening. I was finally able to open the Madeira and have Elizabeth bring me a late supper. Some of these American restaurants are really quite good. Transcribed and maintained Elizabeth Kent