Session 5: Down the Rabbit Hole Report

General Summary

A chase ensues.   Bolting down Mill Avenue, the coterie chases the cloaked stranger into the Desert Sands Memorial Cemetery, losing sight of them completely once they've passed through the gates. They spend some time roving around the graveyard, eventually sniffing out a very weather-worn key that grants them access into a locked mausoleum. Further investigating reveals one of the casket doors actually conceals a secret spider-infested tunnel, burrowing down deep into the earth. Steeling themselves, the coterie climbs down, entering into a long abandoned Nosferatu warren with a few strange puzzles in their way to deter them.   The first of which is an invisible bridge puzzle that only allowed those who used the handrail to cross over a body of glowing water. And the second was a room with a countdown clock and a button that reset the timer. It took no time at all for the coterie to realize that whoever put these traps in place was hoping to prey on one's fears-- that is, using special effects & fear tactics to get people to leave them alone without actually harming anybody. Once the timer on the final door struck zero, it simply fell open, allowing the young kindred access to a series of rooms just stacked full of decadent furniture stacked in haphazard piles throughout the cavern.   Not distracted by the strange amount of wealth on display, John shot through it all in a frenzy & tore open the door the mysterious stranger fled behind. Before he got his hands on the cloaked figure, El was able to snap him out of his frenzy, allowing him to regain control of his anger & proceed through the final room with a level head.   In a last-ditch effort to get the neonates to leave him alone, the stranger flung his hands forward and summoned a mini-earthquake that sent books, paperweights, and the like at the kindred before turning to flee around the corner. Even this small attack fell flat as even the least dexterous of the party was able to simply duck under these projectiles. Just as they were about to catch up with the stranger, they would hear him clatter to the floor and yelp in distress, and as they rounded the corner, they notice his leg had seemingly popped right off.   The leg, now separated from the man, had revealed itself to be a mannequin leg wearing only his boot. With some negotiating, the figure revealed himself to be Chesley Weaver, an awakened whose been hiding down here for perhaps several centuries. Additionally, upon striking an agreement with the coterie, he revealed that he wasn't a man after all-- once Eleanor removed his glasses from his face, it was revealed he was actually just a pair of glasses piloting an invisible mannequin around. He discloses that for some reason unbeknownst to himself, he transferred his soul into these glasses with some contingency spell in place to completely erase his memory upon doing so. All he asks is that the party help him speak to some other magically proficient folks and in exchange he would help the party in any way he could.   Now, with a new ally in tow, the coterie resurfaces to start following another lead-- to figure out what's going on with Reverend Joseph.