2022-06-13

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INCIDENT REPORT

Elegy in Wien, Act II — Orpheus and Euridice

"Music is the most romantic of all the arts; one might even say that it alone is purely romantic. The lyre of Orpheus opened the gates of Orcus. Music unlocks for man an unfamiliar world having nothing in common with the one which surrounds him."

—E. T. A. Hoffman

Devour Thy Oppressor:

The coterie has arisen this evening knowing that it is the night of the séance where they may be able to obtain the skull of Vienna’s most pious composer, Joseph Haydn. It is acting as a focus for the séance, which is being held in the Votivkirche, an ostentatious cathedral built as a public apology for the failed assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Joseph with “donations” for its construction being collected by his brother, the Archduke Ferdinand. Margerete’s ghoul servitor, Gruber, has procured the five tickets necessary for the party to attend this most exclusive of events.

Sister Judith completes her nightly prayers to find Marcus Chatelain waiting for her in the main hall of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. He muses as to which side the patron saint of stonemasons might have been on when Clan Tremere were butchering his fellow Nosferatu to create gargoyles. He has come to tell Sister Judith that her zeal for putting down the Tremere dogs was appreciated by himself, and Baron Kazimir. An unknown player to the coterie, Baron Kazimir has invited Judith to meet with him in two nights time to discuss taking the fight to the Pyramid instead of playing the typical Camarilla cat’s paw games.

As they are speaking Judith can get a better look at the Gallic Latin on his sword, which she reads aloud to him as “Sacred is the blood of my enemy, for it feeds my hunger. Devour only the oppressor.” He is impressed that she caught the inscription of his personal credo and tells her that he decided when he was embraced as a gladiator in the Colosseum at Nimes, that he would only feed upon those who sought to oppress him. A philosophy he carried with him into the many decades of brutal fighting in the Carpathian Mountains during the Omen War.

The Roman Arena at Nimes, France.

Before heading to the rendezvous with the others, Fabienne dons the well-practiced costume of a harlot, and her driver knows exactly where she intends to go. They pull up in front of a brothel where the Madame tells Fabienne that she is pleased to see her and has a client waiting in the usual room. Fabienne enters to find a man lounging on the bed in anticipation, after confirming what he is there for, she punctures the man’s ear with a sharpened fingernail and gets her nightly fix of precious blood.

Doctor Engel has woken up hungry and heads to the patient ward that she oversees. There she finds a man with a very sickly-looking leg, the foot almost gone, it is black and pocked with syphilitic sores. With the patient sedated, she brings over her surgeon’s tools and removes the offending appendage expertly at the knee. She returns to her office to consume her prize, the sickly stench of the flesh concerns her not, and she even stashes a bit for a midnight snack later.

Procure Some Curses:

The coterie assembles At the Skull before heading to the séance, here they decided that Sister Judith and Fabienne need a bit of a change in costume before attending the soiree. The butler of the house brings down a chest full of women’s outfits, each different in style and taste, and a bit outdated. Jezmina excuses herself to the powder room and uses her mastery of the flesh to manipulate her features into a more high-born visage. When she returns, the coterie is aghast, who is this woman? Jezmina explains that this is the character of Countess Fredericka von Graf, which she often uses to move about in high society.

Fabienne, Margerete, and Jezmina decided to stop by one of the fashionable clothiers on their way to the séance and as soon as Jezmina enters, she is recognized as the Countess. The proprietor of the establishment is overjoyed to have such a regal lady in his establishment and quickly sends footmen with gowns and garments of all kinds for her and her companions to try on. Everyone manages to find an outfit they like, despite Sister Judith tugging and pulling on the sleeves and collar of her dress, much to the dismay of two attending tailors.

"Pull out your purses and procure some curses!"

As the coterie approaches the church, they see a sketchy looking man with a dirty yellow conjuror’s tent set up on the sidewalk outside amidst the throng of pedestrians and other such booths selling magic mirrors, talismans, and decks of the Cards of Marseille. The man is propositioning young couples walking by to tell their fortunes, but as the coterie approaches, he excitedly whips open his coat and offers to sell them some spells for the low, low price of one kiss a piece.

Sister Judith is the first taker, and plants an icy cold peck on Vinculus’ dirty cheek in exchange for the Spell to Discover What My Enemy is Doing Presently. On the yellowed parchment is written, in surprisingly ornate script:

• To perform this spell, place around a mirror or silver bowl containing water, an arrangement of dead flowers of any variety, then draw a circle on the surface with one finger. Then, quarter the circle, and strike it three times while speaking this incantation: “ostende mihi adversarium meum.” At the moment the spell is cast, any mirror that happens to show happens to show the caster's enemy in it will then pass that same image to the caster's mirror.

Next, Fabienne decides to purchase the Spell of Pathfinding, and slithers her tongue into the titillated vagabond’s ear. On her paper is written:

• Crush three breadcrumbs beneath thy right shoe whilst reciting this incantation: “lux semita, dirige iter meum, incolumem domum.” This shall cause a glittering path of light to appear at the caster’s feet, guiding them safely on their path.

Jezmina is interested to know if Vinculus has any spells that might help rid her of her stalker, known only to her as Silenus. He ponders on this for a moment, then disappears into his tent. Following him in, Jezmina receives the Spell to Make an Obstinate Man Leave Vienna. This scroll reads:

• This spell will make a man believe that every churchyard is haunted by the ghosts that are buried there and every bridge is haunted by the suicides who have jumped from it, until he is too afraid to pass either a bridge or church. Scatter one handful of cemetery dirt on the nearest bridge while saying the man’s name after this incantation: “pestem manes ut expellam te.” One can imagine that since Vienna’s 1,700 bridges are often only about a hundred yards apart and the churches considerably less, this is a major inconvenience.

Before leaving the tent, Jezmina pays the price for the spell with the kiss, drinking a bit of Vinculus’ blood in the process. The strange man’s vitae leaves her feeling curiously insightful, like the answer to every question is just on the periphery of her vision or behind the knowing smile of every stranger.

The Odd Couple:

The ostentatious Votivkirche, in Vienna, Austria.

Spells in hand, the coterie approach the Votivkirche and find an interesting pair of individuals taking tickets at the door. A flaxen haired woman with a disapproving stare, silently scanning everyone who enters, and a flamboyantly dressed man with a mop of black curls, taking tickets with no uncertain amount of flair. The coterie enters one at a time, and Doctor Engel scopes the place with her preternatural senses. She spies a hint of magic on the spells her associates just purchased and catches her first glimpse of the famed “Boston Banshee.”

A seemingly demure woman, she has a strange sort of ephemeral black gauze draped over her that appears to go unnoticed by everyone else. She is hanging on the arm of a well-dressed man that is speaking about her to a small crowd in an almost exaggerated British accent. The pair are curiously dressed all in blacks, whites, and grays, even their hair is devoid of color, and only the man’s red cravat provides any relief from their monochromatic aesthetic. She doesn’t speak often, but when she does it is with a curious accent, not Irish, though close, but perhaps that is how all Americans sound, none of our coterie is quite sure. The woman, whom a suddenly appearing Mirabelle is quick to inform the group, is in fact the medium in question, Miss Samantha Hain, accompanied by Lord Ephraim Wainwright of England.

Walking further into the church, the coterie takes in the scene, thousands of candles burn around the intricately carved marble statues that gaze down upon them. The cathedral’s feature rose window crowns an enormous pipe organ which sits directly behind the ivory and gold main alter. On the dais, a circle of chairs surrounds a great oaken table inscribed with the typical holy symbols found in most catholic artwork. In the center of the table is a small empty pedestal that seems to be awaiting its burden, yet the skull of Joseph Haydn, remains to be seen. Heavy wooden chairs circle the table and concerningly, the one seated directly before the altar seems to have shackles built into the arms.

As the small crowd is settling in, the pair from outside come in and shut the massive church doors, barring them with a long wooden board. They approach the dais, prompting Lord Wainwright to guide Miss Hain to her seat at the head of the table. Once there, he turns to the crowd and entreats them to sit and behold Samantha’s prowess. He admits that even he did not believe she could possess such powers, as his original intent upon meeting her was to debunk her mediumship as just another knee-knocking charlatan of the American Spiritualist Movement. He also introduces the granddaughter of Haydn, there to witness the summoning of this illustrious spirit.

The skull of Joseph Haydn.

As everyone takes their seats, Lord Wainwright shackles Samantha into her chair before moving to the altar and opening a large wooden chest to reveal the ornately displayed skull of the celebrated composer. Sister Judith extends a shadowy tendril beneath the table towards the pair from the door, learning that they have been tasked with receiving the skull from Lord Wainwright after the ceremony. Victoria seems annoyed by his pomp and circumstance, but Azrial is curious as to whether the visiting Regent’s pet mortal can actually do what he claims she can. Placing Haydn’s skull on the pedestal, he is seated, and the séance begins.

THE CONCLAVE

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