Fall of the Camarilla

[I'm slightly unclear on what I should be doing lol...]

I go back to the apartment, sleep a few hours, then look for Antonius so I can ask him about some of the books I read. [That reminds me I also want to figure out how to prevent Salman from finding anything else out lol--I guess I'll ask Antonius if he has any "dots" (lol i can't remember what the in-game word is) in the mind arcanum...]

Antonius is already back when you wake up and he's having a simple breakfast of bread and garum (fish paste that Romans had with almost everything)
[well, you need to enlist Antonius' help in keeping your secrets secret and you should probably ask him about what you've learned from the book. It seems to me like the only way you're going to be able to find out more information about this ritual is to find this "Umbral, the Dark One" guy and talk to him personally (which will involve magic if the guy's already dead). Obviously it will be difficult to locate him but I'd start with asking Antonius. So you've got two things to do: 1) talk to Antonius about the Quintus (Salman) problem and 2) talk to Antonius about Umbral]

I sit across from Antonius while he's eating and dive right into my questions. [Ew fish paste?] "I finished reading most of the books on your list, but they all had some essential pieces missing... The best of them explained a ritual for summoning a pride demon, but didn't give the demon's name or the ritual chant that was used. I was thinking of looking for the author, someone called 'Umbral the Dark One'. Have you heard of him?"

["Ew" is right. You don't know the half of it]
"Hmm let me see... The name rings a bell... Ah yes, as I recall, and old friend named Gustus goes by 'Umbral' when he writes. If he hasn't moved since then, I still have his address. My guess is that your best shot is to talk to him in person and get him to fill you in on the details you're missing. Oh and he's a Sleeper" says Antonius in his usual slightly soft, bored sounding voice as he hands you a slip of parchment with an address on it.

"Great! Hmmm he's a sleeper? Interesting... That reminds me, when we were on our way back here you met Quintus. He seems a little too interested in my affairs and I'd like to prevent him from learning any sensitive information. Any suggestions?" [I can't remember how much I told Antonius about my vampire/goddess situation. Remind me please if you feel so inclined... Oh and I have that third dot in space now so can I help Antonius put a ban on the sanctum or whatever it's called?]

"Hm... I don't think I can be of much help to you there. To be honest, rather than worry about your undead friends, you might want to focus on finding Gustus. Once you've summoned a demon, gaining the power to silence your friend should be trivial. Here's his address" So saying, he hands you a slip of parchment with Gustus' address.

[Item gained: "Gustus' Address"]


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"Thank you." I take the address and (assuming I have enough time) go about finding Gustus. [Do I know whether the address is nearby or do I need to pack provisions just in case?]

(Yes the address is in Rome, you won't need any supplies to get there and since you're both non-vampires, you have all the time in the world; i.e. you don't have to worry about sunrise)
The address leads you to a lower upper-end villa.

(How much do you know about Roman villas in the city?)


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(k, you might want to read up a bit on roman villas on like wikipedia or something)
The shop at the front of his house is busy as people come and go, perusing the stands. You double check the address and this is definitely the place.

(Really you can't just tell me? I don't have time to look up roman things on wikipedia right now! ) I enter the shop and look around (what kind of a shop is it?) and try to find someone that works or lives there who might be able to tell me where to find Gustus.

(Thanks for the info!) I knock on the door. (Most exciting post EVER! )

After a few knocks, a haggard old slave woman answers the door. She looks you up and down before inquiring as to your business. "And who might you be? Do you have some business with the master?"

"Hmm..."
The serva (slave woman) looks at you suspiciously for a moment and says, "And what might this 'urgent' business be?"

(Ugh really she can't just let me in? Are you determined to make this difficult for me? Can I cast a spell to make her shut up and let me in? If I can I'd like to use my dots in mind/fate to cast a covert spell that will make me appear either friendly enough or intimidating enough that she'll let me in). "If I had the time to stand around chatting about it, it wouldn't be 'urgent' business now would it? Please, I need to speak with him--if you're quick about it I'll make it worth your while." (I do have $800 at my disposal--I'll bribe her if I have to).

She emits a noncommittal grunt and closes the door, leaving you standing outside wondering if she's coming back to let you in or if she just decided that if she ignores you, you might go away. Just as you're about to knock again and express your disinterest in standing around outside while she screws around inside using the most colorful vocabulary at your disposal, she opens the door again (causeing you to quickly pretend like you were adjusting your hair so that she doesn't notice that you were about to bang on the door again) and says, "He says he will see you now, please follow me."

I follow the annoying woman into the house. (Are there any spells I can use to make someone tell me the truth? I've been looking but haven't found anything in fate or mind... It seems like there should be--am I missing something?)

The old slave woman takes you into a waiting area and tells you to wait there while her master finished a discussion with another visitor. After she leaves the room you can hear muffled voices coming from the room next to the one you're in. If you strain, you can just make out what they're saying.
"Look, no matter how much you beg me, I have already sold the book to another customer. You'll have to tell your master to talk to the person who purchased the book from me if he wants to buy it."
"Very well."
A man in a full black robe walks out of a door near where you're sitting and leaves the domus. A deep voice calls you in from the other room, "Alright, you can come in."

(Oh shit I wasn't expecting that--good one! Can I tell whether or not he's a mage? Btw you didn't answer my question from before...) I silently order Ardian (who's invisible) to keep an eye on where the man in black goes after he leaves (and also to remain well-hidden). I follow the voice into the other room.

You enter to find a balding middle aged slightly overweight man who looks nothing like what the pseudonym 'Umbral the Dark One' makes you think of. Glancing around the study, you notice it is filled with old scrolls and tomes. one of which in particular stands out to you. It is an old book bound in leather and metal with an intricate 3d emblem on the cover
emblem:

This must be the book that the man in black was trying to buy, as it is sitting at a table in front of where "umbral" sits. Luckily for you, you did come here to buy this book, however, your Fate sense tingles just looking at the book. You can tell that this book is no ordinary work of literature. You shift your sight into the magical frequencies (in other words, you activate Mage Sight) and you can see that the eyes of the metal skull on the front burn with a blue flame which is invisible to all but magi. You can tell that powerful magic course through the book by the way that it warps the space and fate threads around it but you cannot identify what that magic is, or what it does.
As you're looking at the book, 'Umbral' addresses you, "Good morning, I don't think we've met before. What can I do for you?"
Because you probably don't remember, you are looking for information on the specifics for summoning the Pride demon you read about in the book you found in Antonius' library. The reason you are talking to this man is that this overweight balding book merchant goes by the pseudonym "Umbral the Dark One" and is the author of the book you read. In it he described the ritual (you can scroll back up to remember what the ritual entailed) however he didn't provide enough information to actually enact it. thus, you are here today to get said missing information (like the demon's true name)

(I appreciate the refresher thanks! But you still didn't answer my question about getting him to tell the truth lol--I'm assuming that's not going to be an issue?)
"My name is Leucothea--it's a pleasure to meet you finally. I read one of your works, (Uhh I don't think you ever gave me a title so let's say I either brought it with me or I have some other means of identifying it...) and I was hoping you'd be so kind as to answer a few of my questions."

There's a mind spell to force them to tell the truth. Are you sure you didn't see it?
"Alright what sort of questions do you want answered?" As he answered you, you hear a strange buzzing sound in your head. *bzzzt* as you listen to the buzz, it slowly resolves into Antonius' voice ""Hello Leucothea, this is Antonius. I'd like to ask you for a favor. You're talking with 'Umbral' right now right? I need you to steal a book that he has in his possession. I desperately need this book and will do whatever it takes to get it. Antonius then proceeds to describe the book with the skull emblem on it and promise any reward you wish for its safe retrieval.

(heehee the mage version of a cell phone... I totally guessed you were going to make me steal it but I was hoping you wouldn't... I still can't find the spell you're talking about--do you know what it's called? If I can I'd like to cast it (provided that it's covert). )
"There was a section that described the summoning of a pride demon that I was curious about... Do you know the true name of the demon? Or the words for the ritual chant that was used?"
As I'm asking my questions, I'm sureying the room for things I might use as distractions or weapons. Are there any torches that might fall off the wall and cause a fire, or windows that could break, or liquids that could spill...?