Activity Log, May 17, 2001 The group was in a perfect frenzy of activity for several days - perfect conditions for observing, if I do say so myself. They had attempted a number of things to wake the sleeping Jamie, though none so far had succeeded, and they had also been trying to defend themselves against further attacks by whoever was behind the 'warnings' they had received over a month before. However, it was not for several days that they all gathered together again and events were set in motion once more. What brought them together, this time, was the sudden realization that their assault on Sophia was likely to provoke a response. Given their mysterious enemy, they could not understand why they had not yet been harmed. Cliff proposed that Celeste was somehow behind the attacks against them, but the only motivation he was able to suggest was that she was making a bid for the position of Prince. He suggested bringing in other Archons or even a Justicar to neutralize her. Fortunately, Hannah suggested it was equally likely to be a test, to see how the group would react to stress, or even an action Celeste had taken at the bidding of someone else, and the talk of turning to the Camarilla authorities quickly died. Hannah seemed rather nervous because of her attack on her sire. Cliff suggested blackmailing Sophia somehow to keep her quiet; Hannah thought they might be left alone because their actions were weakening Jan, and so there might be forces who wanted to see them go free. Cliff suggested instead that perhaps it was the status they had gained from destroying the monster below the city that protected them - the monstrous thing he claimed to know was of the Nosferatu. I must say, it seems most unlikely to me that the Nosferatu would permit one of their own to engage in such ravages, but I do recall a similar case in Paris. I shall have to have Elizabeth research the matter. In any case, it quickly became apparent that their discussions were to no good end, as Hannah received a telephone call from Alice, who wanted to know where she could be found. Hannah told her, and while waiting for Alice to arrive, the two made sure that there was no evidence of Stephen and Jamie in the apartment. As soon as Alice arrived, Hannah asked whether they might have some of her blood. This was, perhaps, unwise, as Alice seemed very upset that they wished to use her so. She delivered her message - that Hannah was to come to court that evening - and quickly departed. It would be quite a shame if the group's tenuous connection with Alice were to be severed, as I think she would be a most useful conduit to learn more about the truly powerful among the Kindred. I shall have to see whether I can influence her to forget her irritation with them. Before heading to court, Cliff and Hannah agreed that they would try to wake Jamie so that she and Stephen could find safety. (Hannah also suggested it would be best, considering that some Kindred could read minds, if they did not know where the two were when they went to court.) Hannah then went to meet Julia and beg blood from her - and with the assurances of Cliff that it was for a good purpose, she was able to obtain some. I must say that I am quite surprised how much Julia trusts those of her blood. Were I of the Kindred, I would allow none to have that sort of arcane link to me. I am sure her emotional attachment to her childer and grandchilder will be her downfall, eventually. Ah well. In the meantime, Cliff had brought blood from the dead beast beneath the city, and began to close Jamie's wounds through medical means. When Hannah returned, the combination of Julia's potent blood and the beast's heart-blood brought Jamie from her unnatural sleep to a natural one. Stephen clumsily thanked the two, but they had little time for him, as they had to rush to court. Stephen disappeared, with the sleeping Jamie, into the night without telling either of the subjects where he was going. Given that they had been specifically summoned by Alice, I expected that court would be rather exciting, but it turned out to surpass even my expectations. I was able to witness some events that not even Wallingford can claim to have seen! Nearly as soon as they entered court, the subjects - along with Stanislaw and Kate - were hauled in front of the Prince and confronted with their crimes in attacking Sophia. The Prince mentioned that their attack seemed unprovoked, and Stanislaw almost immediately lost his temper, attacking Alice in front of the entire court. I was quite surprised, though, to see that instead of many people leaping to the defense of the Prince, the status quo, and the Camarilla, the fight quickly spread through the entire assembled crowd. A number of the younger Kindred seemed to be specifically howling for Alice's blood - but Hannah and Cliff defended Alice most effectively. Between shouting from Jan and a quite impressive display of social intimidation from Hannah, the room was calmed somewhat - at least the open fighting was ended! But the very fact that such an impressive brawl came about in court suggests that Jan's hold on the throne is correspondingly weak, and this night's events must have strengthened his enemies a great deal. Jan attempted to hear from both sides of the matter, once things had been quieted down. Stanislaw burst out with words, this time, rather than blows, exclaiming that Sophia Gagnon had deliberately fascinated his childe Larry and stolen him away. Alice attempted to calm him, but he shouted at her that HER childe had not abandoned her and so she had no right to speak. (Most interesting - I shall have to investigate Alice's childe. Perhaps they are young enough to be tagged or subverted?) Sophia defended herself by claiming no responsibility for Larry's actions. Unfortunately for him, Jan seemed a bit at sea with the whole issue. Oliver Blackwell, however, immediately stepped forward with a suggested solution. Larry would be forbidden to see Sophia for six months, during which time Stanislaw might change his mind. After some debate, even Jan acceded to the wisdom of this suggestion, and Sophia, Stanislaw and Larry all swore to this publicly. This, however, did not settle the question of what was to be done with the invaders of Sophia's haven. Jan allowed Stanislaw and Kate to escape with a light punishment - the revocation of some of their feeding grounds - possibly due to their relative popularity. Parker as well received only the death of his illegal animal ghouls. Possibly Jan had angered the Gangrel enough this evening? Hannah, on the other hand, as the errant childe of the offended Sophia, was due for a harsher punishment. Sophia asked Shrike to step forward from the ranks of the Tremere. Shrike spent perhaps ten minutes preparing a ritual around a brazier - Elizabeth has prepared a detailed recording, but the ritual seemed to have certain elements in common with rego and ignem; I shall have to see whether it can be adapted for our use. The resulting fire was used to heat a brand which was then applied to Hannah's face. A shame about the disfigurement, but as it has not healed by the date of this writing I feel confident in saying it is all in the cause of knowledge. After the completion of the branding, the subjects were released to speak with whoever they wished. They spoke with a number of people, including the young Emma, who suggested that unless Hannah had the protection of an elder, Sophia would be free to manipulate her for as long as she wished. Hannah asked the group to help her in the quest to find her sire again, and they agreed to step up their efforts. As they departed in pursuit of this goal, they briefly saw Xu outside court, who told them that "their friends" (I can only assume meaning Stephen and Jamie) were safe on Staten Island. Hannah immediately began to lay their plan into effect, drawing a strange symbol for Xu and asking her to talk to Mobea about Genevieve (her sire) and Marc, who was evidently involved with Genevieve before her disappearance. Xu agreed and disappeared into the night. Cliff and Hannah spent the rest of the evening pursuing possible leads to Genevieve. They spoke with an older man named Jack Grady who seemed of some importance, in the mortal world at least. He suggested that the various independents in the city might know more of Genevieve, as she was independent herself: he recommended the Setites, if they could be found; the Giovanni; or Mobea herself. Talk turned to the question of sires in general, and Cliff discussed Julia's motivations and personality. Evidently the Brujah cares about her childer and the Camarilla, in that order; Jack seemed convinced that she was taking orders from someone, but Cliff claimed not to know who. Grady also mentioned that Jan seemed to have little support other than Julia's - she and the Archons were his major base of support, and that Blackwell seemed a major threat. The group seemed rather dispirited after leaving Grady, and decided to part ways for the night. They promised to meet again soon to deal with events in the city. Transcribed and maintained Elizabeth Kent