Welcome to Providence by Night, the continuing recounting of our tabletop Vampire: the Masquerade chronicle. Providence by Night is a low-powered, “street-level” game featuring a group of very new vampires adjusting to unlife in Providence and the vampiric condition. You can read the whole story so far on our main Providence by Night page.
We stay in the past with this week’s update, as Nathan is “welcomed” into unlife.
Nathan’s Prelude – Murder Me Rachael – Summer 2014
Private investigator Nathan Frost, formerly of Providence Police Department, arrived at the office to news of a missing persons case over at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Through his investigations, Nathan discovered that fine arts student Mei Theresa Wong went missing a few weeks ago, having never checked out of her dorm room at the end of semester. Surreptitiously gaining access to the room, Frost rummaged through her belongings and followed the leads to her last known location: a downtown bar famous for its “authentic” Irish cuisine, mahogany bar tops, and college nights. Nathan learned that Theresa had attended the end-of-semester RISD night and was seen leaving with a tall woman with a shaved head. He also learned that after the night was disrupted by bikers wearing Outlaw Motorcycle Club jackets. Nathan noticed a similarly-clad gang member and followed him out of the bar and down a dark alley. The figure broke into a jog and Nathan pursued, the sounds of Twin Cam 96 engines getting closer.
SMACK!
Nathan awoke. He was suspended upside-down from a silk rope, hands zip-tied to his belt. Nathan’s head was on fire – maybe from the assault in the alley, maybe from subsequent blood loss. Either one, Nathan was in a bad way. He could see the remains of his cell phone; smithereens dusting the brown-tiled floor. Straining, he overheard two voices arguing. One a rough female and the other a nasally male:
“This guy’s connected. Found us easily enough. If there’s dirt on him, he’ll find it!”
“I know he’s bad, but Don Coyote will never go for it, Rach. Tatyana just made him Deputy and she takes her job real serious. Or have you forgotten the last time?”
“No, I remember. I also remember what happened to the Malks. And what about the club in ’03? We need numbers now more than ever.”
“Well, I’m not having any part of this. You should just drain him and dump him in the river.”
“Yeah, just walk away. I trusted you, Tex. Coward!”
Seconds later, the woman was upon him. Nathan yelped in pain then moaned as the woman kisses? Sure. She kissed him. Let’s say that. The world grew dim, but a strange metallic taste thrust him back into focus. It was the best taste. Nathan realized what was happening and struggled free from the woman’s embrace. “Just let me go. I won’t tell anyone,” Nathan pleaded. “Oh, I know you won’t,” the woman replied before tearing into her own wrist, showering Nathan’s face in a torrent of blood. Then everything went black again.
Eventually, Nathan’s eyes forced themselves back open. He had never been so hungry. The door opened, and a young Chinese girl in a short black party dress was shoved into the room. Nathan immediately recognized her as the missing RISD student, Theresa. Nathan managed to calm himself and, eventually, Theresa. She tried to help him escape, but the bonds were too expertly tied and Nathan was too weak to hold himself up long enough to test the knots. The lust, his hunger for the girl was overbearing. Nathan extended his fangs and sank them into her arm. The rush was intense, but Nathan was able to pull away in time. Theresa slumped to the ground, unconscious but alive. With the ingestion of her blood, Nathan was able to summon the strength to escape his bonds and carry Theresa out of the abandoned house they were trapped in. Breaking into a neighboring house to steal a cell phone, Nathan secured a ride from an ally at the Providence PD. The squad car took Theresa to the hospital and Nathan to his apartment.
The next night, Nathan woke to two figures at his door, delivering a summons to meet someone calling himself the Prince of Providence.
End Nathan’s Prelude