presents...
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Love and Madness
Game Date: 07/14/06
Back at the Legion-worshipping chapel that Father Donati convincingly insists is just home to some bandits... The unconscious "bandits" were left where they were; the Donati retreated before Pietra could send in the cavalry. Father Donati implemented his Grand Master Plan, which involved: capturing Mateo Bianco with Odessa Blanchard's help, horribly torturing and mutilating him until he gave up 1) a signed confession listing all of the other cult members, 2) the location of "the Oracle" and 3) a letter naming Angelo chief priest of Legion until Mateo's return. He then turned the now-mute, scarred man over to Gabrielle (who fainted at the sight of him) for alchemical experimentation. With Countess Odessa's help, the Oracle was rescued. Most of the people on the list were nobodies - even the strega were half-blooded bastards Mateo had flushed from the taverns and whorehouses they worked in by watching for tell-tale reactions to his Unboundedness. There was only one noblewoman and her husband (the Grazzi), and they were nobody especially connected. Angelo turned the whole list over to one of the island's archbishops. He wanted to keep it all quiet, and Angelo cooperated. A little sting was set up. Due to the cell-based nature of the sect, and since Angelo only knew two of the members by sight, word of mouth only gathered about 2/3 of the cult for the church to round up. Still, it was quite a coup. A few days later - during the festivities that marked Barone Oreste's betrothal to Donna Pietra Donati - Angelo was debriefed by Cardinal Michel Durand del Falisci. He also met Bishop Jacopo, a man unusually well-informed about the supernatural goings-on which Angelo had encountered. Bishop Jacopo seemed interested in talking to Angelo again, at some future time... Around Sextus 17, Donna Dacia Grazzi heard that her sister and husband were found dead in a canal. The vedova was entirely uncertain as to what to do - the fifty-year old woman was far, far too used to other people telling her what to do. Gianina and Francesca helped her out, suggesting a life in the church. This appealed to her, and her sons were only too eager to be free of the burden of caring for her. Father Donati helped find a place where she would fit in well, and she took orders. On Sextus 23 the Donati left Mondavi Island. On Sextus 25, they reached Caligari Island. Father Donati called again on Beatrice Caligari. She was in the company of "Vincent," a Montaigne nobleman who was collaborating with her on some research. His visits were on a strict, timed schedule not to exceed ninety minutes - calculated to optimize the research they could do without unduly jeopardizing his life. Shortly after Angelo's arrival, he had to leave. Agitazione, she said, had resolved itself. They fell to talking after that, of her sister Morella, now the Imperatix of Montaigne, and of his sister Angela. He left, but returned the next day and the day after, just to talk. After that third conversation, Principe Vincenzo Caligari wanted to speak with him. Principe Vincenzo was concerned about Angelo's intentions towards his adopted daughter. Specifically, he wanted him to have some. Beatrice was the best Fate Witch in Theah, and she would die without issue, since her husband was too terrified to go near her. Angelo did not have a similar issue. (Neither did Vincent Gaulle dul Motte - at least, not for ninety minutes - but he was rather less easy to intimidate, owing his ducal rank.) Angelo was hoping for some pointers - something that might endear him to Beatrice, who was a wholly somber individual - but Vincenzo hardly seemed to understand his questions. The whole Caligari family seemed to tend to the monomaniacal - Beatrice with her Sorte, Vincenzo with his Syrneth artifacts. Anything outside of that focus was just irrelevant. "So," Angelo said to Beatrice at their next visit, "your father wants me to seduce you..." Continue to next game.
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