Activity Log, June 8, 2001 After nearly three weeks of lying low, the group reconvened. I would ordinarily have been quite upset at their inactivity, but it seems the entire city was treading softly and waiting to hear whether there would be punishment for the riots at court on May seventeenth. Surprisingly enough it seems there were no repercussions, and so the subjects ventured forth to meet for the first time since their attack on Sophia and its aftermath. The group met and decided to go to Staten Island to gain knowledge of Mobea's secrets and possibly to learn the location of Hannah's sire Genevieve. The passage to the island reminded Cliff of Stephen and Jamie, who were currently hiding on the island as they continued to refuse presentation to the Prince for reasons known only to them. Cliff admitted he was rather torn between his loyalty to them and his loyalty to his sire, Julia, the Sheriff, but Hannah assured him that Julia could not afford to prosecute Stephen and Jamie in any case, and so he was doing nothing wrong by keeping silence. On this note, they arrived on Staten Island and found Xu almost immediately, who agreed to fetch Mobea for them. Mobea seemed rather, well, violent. However, the chance to observe her closely was quite invaluable. Her assistant Xu seemed to have some success in calming her, so I was less worried for the lives of the subjects than I otherwise might have been, and I was able to record their fascinating conversation. Mobea claimed to worship an entity known as the 'Huntress'. As this entity was obviously vampiric from context, I was forced to discard early theories about Diana-worship; she claimed that the Sabbat and another group known as the Amici were disgusting heretics and worthy only of death. The only information she shared about Genevieve was that she suspected her of being involved with the Sabbat somehow, but that she had never known her. Perhaps due to frustration, Hannah and Cliff provoked everyone on the ferry on their way home to some quite remarkable feats. By the time they reached Manhattan, everyone on the ferry was dancing wildly and singing some modern song, the only distinguishable lyrics of which were "I get knocked down, and I get up again, and no one's gonna keep me down." They managed to arrange for forty mortals to march past the Battery singing this song. It seemed to amuse them, though I am not certain why they bothered with such foolishness. Ah well, the high spirits of youth. I am sure that I did equally foolish things when I was at Oxford. Naturally, their actions attracted the attention of the Sheriff. Fortunately Cliff's involvement averted Julia's wrath, and Hannah took advantage of the moment to ask Julia about Genevieve. Julia, it seems, had a fairly low opinion of Genevieve. Evidently Jan wanted her help against the Sabbat but Genevieve refused to aid him, and that left many thinking that Genevieve was involved with the Sabbat. They also discussed Jan's position and the affairs of the city with Julia. Julia thought it was entirely possible that someone could be using Oliver to take over the city - possibly the Tremere. Cliff suggested Angel as a possibility, but Julia explained that Angel was only concerned with social matters such as Elysium - and that she was the reason Chinta had failed to get the American Museum of Natural History designated as one, making it unlikely she was in Oliver's camp. At this point, Julia brought the group down to her office, explaining that she was glad she had found them, as there was something she had to talk to them about. The news she imparted was most disturbing. She told them that she had had word of a Sabbat attack in one week's time; the Sabbat would be coming across the Manhattan Bridge, which had already been 'closed for construction' to prevent any breach to the Masquerade. Now, I must admit I know little of tactics, but it seems odd to me that the Sabbat's movements and activities could be predicted this far in advance with such precision - unless Julia has found herself a spy in the Sabbat ranks? I must be sure to be on hand to observe the battle of the bridge, if there is one, as I am quite certain there is much to be learned. While Julia was telling them the details, there was a soft knock at her door. A young woman entered, obviously a member of her staff, with an envelope that had been delivered to Julia. Upon opening the envelope, however, Julia entered quite a violent state and murdered the poor girl before the horrified eyes of the subjects (and my own quite curious ones!). The contents of the envelope - a letter and a finger - did little to explain her fury until Cliff read the note (while Hannah comforted the shaken Sheriff). It seems the finger came from Julia's childe Elena, and the note explained that the 'city did not need a strong Sheriff'. Cliff immediately hurried to Elena's gymnasium to determine whether she was truly gone - she was - while Hannah cleaned up the semi-catatonic Julia and the poor girl's corpse. Cliff was able to determine from security tapes that a number of men (and women, a point I believe he missed) had entered the dojo and subdued Elena. A second note was present, explaining that they should not attempt to find Elena at risk of Elena's life. Cliff decided that one with sufficiently developed perceptions might be able to learn something from the note - a very astute inference! - and called Hannah. The two of them determined that Isabella, Primogen of the Toreador, might be able to aid them. They went down to a site on the docks in the financial district, but they found Isabella most involved in the creation - magical, I must assume - of some sort of foggy sculpture. I cannot say I precisely understood what she is doing, but I believe Jannison in Tokyo studies this sort of thing; I will have to pass it along. Unfortunately for the group, her involvement with her work was sufficient that she was quite curt with the group and claimed to be unable to detect anything from the note. Pshaw. I could have done better myself without the advantages of her vast age! Hannah seemed to feel the same way. She picked up the note herself and tried to concentrate hard, emulating what she had seen her elder do a moment before. I was able to amplify the psychic impressions of the object enough that her crude attempts picked up a picture of a tall, well-built, bearded man writing the note - she and I both had the impression he was doing so under orders. Armed with her new ability, the two returned to the gymnasium, where they learned that Elena was literally beaten into submission before being staked and carted away. Her opponents seemed to have at least some of the vampiric abilities, notably great strength and speed, which suggested to both Cliff and Hannah that this was a political move. Politics aside, they both decided to immediately initiate a search for their friend. They visited Pitt's and asked those there who Elena's friends were. In a surprisingly short amount of time, Sanchez, Emma, Quentin and a fairly disgusting-looking individual named Patch had arrived to discuss the matter. Cliff took charge, assigning tasks to those around. Sanchez was to find Stanislaw and go with him to catch a Sabbat member - I assume to find out whether there was any Sabbat involvement. Emma volunteered to make posters and post them near the havens of the various elders who people had suggested might be involved (including Oliver, Celeste, and Friedrich). Patch was asked to talk to the Nosferatu, Pitt and Quentin were delegated to visit Oliver, and Cliff and Hannah would visit the Battery to see what more they could learn. At the Battery, Julia seemed to be a bit recovered from her devastation, but confessed to the group that she could not act and deliberately put her childe's life in danger. She asked them to deliver a message to Alice - that she was now in charge of the defense against the Sabbat - and assigned four bodyguards to prevent Cliff suffering a similar fate. (She wished to keep him with her, but he insisted on refusing.) Cliff and Hannah immediately returned to Pitt's to meet their friends; they asked Alice to meet them there. Upon arriving, they delivered their message to Alice, explaining that Elena was missing, Julia's hands were tied, and therefore she was in charge. Alice Patch reported that one of the Nosferatu, Irina, had delivered the envelope to the Battery, but the clan had been contracted to silence on the matter. (Cliff most unwisely insulted the Nosferatu repeatedly over this matter and also revealed some lingering resentment over the issue of the death of the great worm. I do hope there are no consequences to his enmity; I should hate to lose him.) Sanchez said the Sabbat he had interrogated knew nothing, while Pitt on the other hand insisted that Oliver knew something but hid it from him. Alice, in the meantime, had asked Patch to arrange delivery of her sword from her haven. When it arrived (via dog courier), she took charge of the meeting and began a threat assessment and assignment of troops. She discussed strategies for fighting the Sabbat on the Manhattan Bridge, including how to prepare it defensively and how to neutralize the catwalks beneath. Cliff volunteered some mortal troops to help, while Hannah suggested they each recruit vampiric allies to fight as well. Hannah also suggested various means to cover the gunfire, including fireworks and construction 'accidents'. The group agreed to part to research various defensive and offensive options and meet again in a few days time. Transcribed and maintained Elizabeth Kent