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The newcomer, if such he was, paid the visit to the Prince required by the traditions...
"...And as for my reason for being in town, I am here to inspect the local chantry. My stay in your domain will not be a long one." The shadowy Tremere in Blake's office sat comfortably, as though it were his own office and Blake were the visitor. A few moments of quiet lay between the two men.
Mabel watched silently. Even were she not Obfuscated, one would be hard pressed to see her at all. She knew Tremere were one of the clans who might be able to, though. Her fear was growing, it was all she could do not to panic. For she recognized the man who claimed to be Erasmus of the Tremere... and then he turned and looked directly at her. Blake followed his gaze, but saw nothing. Mabel was sure the Warlock had seen her, though.
"Then, may your stay be productive and satisfactory. Thank you for presenting yourself." Blake handed the Tremere his card as he spoke. "Call me if you should find a need." The Prince of Dallas considered for a moment. He decided that intraclan business was not his, at the moment, and did not enquire of the Primogen or Regent to this new Tremere elder. Later if necessary he would ask Joseph, who he knew. Better the one you know, he thought.
Erasmus smiled oddly and stood, taking his leave.
Erasmus had some anarchs to execute...
Just after sunset, Claudius phoned Lucille. "Ask any of your clanmates who are interested, to gather tomorrow night at ten." He gave her the location of a former warehouse, often nowadays rented out for a certain kind of private party. "The cover is that it's a party, tell them to dress accordingly." He told her a little of what to expect, though he knew little more.
Similar calls were made to the other primogen, though he informed millie and Aingeal in person.
Lyness, he could not find. Instead of seeking her out, he asked Victoria to pass word along to the Gangrel primogen.
Into this quiet Erasmus appeared as if out of nowhere, carrying a limp form over his shoulder. He left it there, and a few leaned closer to make out the handsome features of the Anarch leader Geeves. He appeared to be deep in torpor.
Erasmus returned with another, then another form, laying them one beside the next. A sword appeared in his hand, and with a swift motion, he brought it down on one anarch neck, then the next. Each corpse collapsed into ash, after time, the newer vampires most slowly and incompletely.
Leaving Geeves for last, he pushed the sword into the leader's chest, opening it with a quick levering motion. The chest cavity gaped and the Tremere's hand reached inside, yanking the bloody heart out. He held it up as he decapitated the last of the anarchs and there were no more bodies to be seen.
"Anarchs will no longer be tolerated," Erasmus said sonorously. "Order must be regained." His gaze swept the room. "By this act, let order be returned where it has frayed."
Alfred Jarome had stood very quietly throughout the meeting, speaking only a few times, to the Club Manager, in over three hours. He had managed to attract no attention, and he liked it that way, for this particular night. He had much to consider. A Tremere elder was executing blood-hunted Anarchs. Why had he waited until Blake was gone? Jarome knew that Erasmus had had nothing to do with the Prince's absence, but perhaps he had taken advantage of the opportunity. It could not be coincidence.
What would Marcelle think of this? As the Ventrue Justicar's lowest ranking Archon, Jarome often tried to determine how his superior would think of a given situation. An opportunity to smoke out more of the anarchs? A destabilization of an already shaky situation? Business as usual? He could not figure it out. He felt a moment of longing to be in Marcelle's presence again
Suppressing the feeling, he watched, and waited. There were few left when Joseph returned with his verdict. The Prince's childe was still there - Vlad had stood quietly near Jarome for most of the night. Their eyes met briefly. Then Jarome turned to regard the Tremere primogen again. The visible blood on the vampire was both distasteful and arousing. Jarome held his posture stiffly. He listened to those around him carefully.
Not a Tremere after all, but a Malkavian? And what would Marcelle think of the news that Joseph had just presented? He wondered whether the Tremere was telling all he knew. He recalled the situation with the Malkavians playing their prank on Joseph, walling up the entrance to his house, just before it had been set afire. Could they be connected? It seemed a stretch to think so. As for Joseph's demand, he thought it was something of an intentional insult to Marcelle.
Jarome approached Claudius quietly. "I will need to make a report of this to the Justicar," he told the Seneschal. "Is there anything you would wish me to tell him from you, regarding the events?" Claudius answered silently, putting the words into Jarome's mind, for the Justicar's ears only. Jarome inclined his head, then went to address Joseph.
To the Tremere primogen he put his question a different way. "In my report to the Justicar," he told Joseph, "I will convey your words spoken here. Is there any amendment or addition you would wish to make to them, for his further edification? I am fully aware that there may be things you would not tell the world, but of which the Camarilla may need to be informed. You are understandably angry at the situation. I would also like specifics on the 'several traditions' that Jack Dale, or Erasmus, broke, in your own words, which I am sure Marcelle will find useful, and how you come to believe that he was a 'controlling influence' among the anarchs he executed tonight." Jarome then awaited Joseph's answer. He thought Joseph had been rash in his speech. The man, whether Tremere or Malkavian, "Erasmus" or "Jack", had executed several blood hunted anarchs publicly. He had apparently done some manipulation and lying, and of course lying about your clan and bloodline was frowned on in the Camarilla, but it was not necessarily an executable offense. Jarome thought it quite likely that the person had broken the Traditions, but he wished to know in what manner, as he knew Marcelle would insist most firmly upon that information were he here himself.
After speaking with Joseph, he went quiet again, though he had made his presence known now, and any of the other few remaining might choose to speak with him, if they had a message for Marcelle, or a complaint or question of some kind.
Then he made his announcement. "As Justicar Marcelle's representative in Dallas, I hereby announce, that any with specific evidence in regards to the crimes of this person Jack Dale, also known as Erasmus, should come to me directly, with no delay. I will hold a hearing immediately on the return of the Prince to the city, and he will decide the question of a blood hunt, as is his right in his domain." He felt the echoes of this message, as those still present understood from his implication that the Prince's return was imminent.