The Night After The Party We Don't Talk About

[Manacledairman]

"So where were we before lady valentina and I had our little chat?" He speaks staring at his hands for a moment.

[Madam Zaragoza]

[Manacledairman]

[Posh-Tim]

Keand looks round blinking. He really had been hoping for a prod in the right direction here, he'd gotten so wrapped up in Aldritch and Valentina that he had forgotten where they were. Oh yes, someone had asked about Merlin hadn't they!
"Ah yes, Mer- the wizard of ancient lore. I believe the Sheriff was asking about them. Before I carry on, I have to ask; is this place warded in some way? I imagine it is, being that it is home to such Umm.. Learned members of the Tremere. Either way, if we could refrain from speaking that particular name unless entirely necessary. But yes, I do know of that particular individual. I haven't met her personally but am aware of her activities."
Keane pauses for a moment, his Aura is filled with what would best be described as 'a mild grump'.
"I must say, we have come a fair way from the Coire An Dagda. I would request some kind of boon if those present wish to know the truth of the matter. Otherwise I can provide a number of pretty French stories about knights and round tables. I would not wish to tell you something you already knew as with Duna and I do owe Ancilla Audley a proper story still."

[Madam Zaragoza]

Hermina automatically looks around for her hip flask before remembering that Jean-Jacques has it.

She looks up at the speaker, “Elder Keane, you are a fount of knowledge. What story are you going to tell or are you giving a private storytelling to Ancilla Audley.”

[Laurence]

"I would be willing to offer a minor boon Elder Keane for the truth if the matter...at least as it is seen from your perspective."
Laurence settles back a little into his chair, withdrawing a hip flask and taking a small sip.

[Posh-Tim]

Keane looks at Hermina and smiles.
"I believe that the kind Ancilla has paid for a tale for all those gathered here. That you all might enjoy the shared experience of the tale."
Keane looks a little wistful.
"You know, once I was something akin to something you migh consider a bard. Then I was blessed."
He sighs and shakes his head a little.
"Of course, should she wish a private Audience, she need but ask."
Then Laurence speaks.
"Of which matter, the um, old wizard we were discussing? Very well I shall share something of what I know. Perhaps with a few little tales wound amongst it all."
Again he stops and collects his thoughts again.

[Posh-Tim]

"So, shall we start with the legends? Best to define what people know before we prove how wrong it all is. In the tales the there is Arthur, Son of Uther Pendragon. Arthur was the first great King of England (Angleland if you prefer at the time), born during the Saxon invasion it was a dire time for all those involved. Due to a timely intervention by the wizard in question he was granted the legendary sword, Excalibur, from the stone and went on to throw off the invasion and found England as the greatest empire in the land marry it's most beautiful woman and so forth. Ultimately he was betrayed both by his greatest Knight Lancelot, who sleeps with his queen, and Mordred Another night who exposes the affair. There are further tales where he then tasked his many knights to find the legendary grail." He pauses here to add emphasis. "A legendary chalice which never empties and provides all sorts of healing and other blessings... make of that what you will."
He adjusts himself in his chair, moving slightly closer to Valentina as he gets into full swing.
"And as we all know these are the romantic perversions of a french poet. A lot of the key names and figures are present with none of the actual facts. The wizard themselves was ancient indeed, I do not know where she originated from, it is likely she was considered one of the Tuatha De Danann at some point. I suspect a member of my own clan but I cannot say for certain." A nod toward Dukes. "But that is not relevant now. What is true is that she did, in fact, create Arthur. Though the story of Arthur I could explain at length, the wizard ultimately acted as his progenitor. Casting a vast, if somewhat hurried ritual in order to not only embrace him but grant him with the power to put down the Mordred figure, in this case, Hengist the vampiric leader of the Saxon invaders.
Again, there is a tragic ending. Mer- The wizard invested too much power in the ritual with not enough preparation, something I am sure our Tremere friends would surely warn against, and Arthur was turned into a creature of rage and destruction. He had to be put down, his heart pierced by the very sword he carried, and he turned to stone. Thus the beginning becomes the end."
He thinks for a moment.
"It is part of the old legends that the wizard aged backwards. A fantasy of course but lent some credence by how these stories become reversed. Almost poetic..."
He stares into the middle-distance for a moment. Then shakes his head and comes back round.
"Either way, with Arthur dead, Me- the wizard quit the realm. She left at that time to wander Europe and took some solace in solitude."
Keane thinks about certain parallels for a moment, then considers it's probably best not raised. He looks at Aldritch and Dukes.
"So, Laurence, would you say I have earned your Boon?"

[Jean-Jacques]

Jean Jacques comes back into the room, he strides across the room, nodding to the elders and ancilla as he passes in the following order

Aldrich
Aurelia
Dukes
Hermina
Keane
Audley
Laurence

He stands facing hermina

“Elder Hermina, ze flask EE’s feeled eet ees ee ope enough for your appeteet “

He passes her a flask and re takes his next next to her

[Madam Zaragoza]

She takes the hip flask and unscrews it and smells inside then dips in a finger to taste. She seems more than satisfied. She takes a sip. Her eyes widen and she looks at the flask.

“This is not the flask I gave you Neonate! This ...” she looks at it, turning it around. “This is my spare flask! It was in my room! HOW DARE YOU GO THROUGH THE THINGS IN MY CHAMBER!!!”

Her eyes flash and teeth show as she stands up and looms over him.