Vampire: Subversion of Indy - Game #3

The new haven has been finished.  It is a huge building, big enough for all of us to have our own space & to run my business out of.  It's strange seeing my company name hanging above the door and to have my very own office and a staff.  Christian wants to me to create some ghouls to help protect our haven during the day and to work for my business as well.  I'm still very reluctant to do so but he has come up with a nice compromise - I will let them know what I intend to do & if they agree, then I will make them a ghoul.  If they disagree, then he will wipe the conversation from their memory & they remain a normal human - thus protecting the masquerade & my conscience.

Tommy's own ghoul showed up on our doorstep, an adorable and tiny chihuahua named Spike.  The dog is a great exmaple of Tommy (and Tobey's) loyalty and a reminder that we need to save them.  I miss both of them very much.  I wish I had told Tommy how I really felt for him before he was taken away by the Kiasyd.  I think my feelings for Christian had clouded the issue but I find myself thinking about Tommy more and more.

Octavio invited us to his new haven/bar for a house warming/grand opening/Valentine's Day party.  The bar is located in an old church in downtown Indy.  I personally find the idea of living in an old church to be very appealing but I think it would bother Christian because of his aversion to crosses.  Octavio had left a cross on the door into the bar & Christian's new ghoul Michelle had to lead him in.  I really don't like Michelle.  She's overly forward - not that I'm any great lady - but he freaking had sex with her right at the table.  GROSS!  I like the other two new ghouls, Chris & Rachel, a lot better. 

Rachel & I got bored sitting upstairs so we went down into the basement because we could hear music coming out of it.  The whole bar was decorated in the different levels of Hell - purgatory, limbo, the abyss.  Well, seeing as how the basement was the abyss part, I should have known what to expect.  There was an area with a dance floor and the rest of it was a giant maze.  Rachel & I decided to check out the maze, against my better judgment, and we found examples of every sort of sin and vice you can imagine.  I even found Alex down there, getting high.  I took a picture of him to show him later.  He's a nasty, jealous bitch and a great example of how vampires hurt people.

Rachel & I went back upstairs and I asked Christian if I could leave but he told me no.  We got into an argument about how I should be having fun but really, the place was a nasty, vile place filled with unspeakable acts.  Christian thought it was nice that vampires had a place where they could be themselves and not have to worry about breaking the masquerade but I said it was a celebration of evil and the dark side of vampires, and I don't feel like I'm that way.  I told him that vampires hurt people and when he asked me how, I brought up his family and told him about Alex, even sending him the picture that I took down in the basement.

Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Miranda and then Octavio proceeded to tear her down and reveal her secret.  Miranda was actually in her 80's when she was turned and her baldness was due to old age, not cancer as we all believed.  Miranda finally let down her obfuscation and let us all see what she really looked like and it was heartbreaking to see her betrayed by her former lover.  The only good thing to come of Octavio's little show was that Christian decided it was time to leave.

Meanwhile, Milla had been researching the way into the Shadow Lands and she finished her research several days after the party at Octavio's.  Christian, Milla, Pathos, Teresa, and I (oh, and Spike) went down into the Monument at the Circle and there she took a drop of blood from each of us and then cast the spell.  We woke up in a cocoon, which she freed us from and warned us not to look directly at the wraiths wandering around.  We started walking in the direction that the Chantry had been located and I noticed that the terrain changed with my thoughts.  I decided to experiment and thought to myself that I would like to have wings to fly and POOF! I grew wings and began to fly.  It was a wondrous experience but unfortunately it began to attract unwanted attention from the roaming spirits.

At one point, Christian was confronted by the spirit of one of his ghouls, whom he had murdered because she had been feeding information about vampires to the Aranum.  Vikki was very angry with Christian, and rightfully so.  She claimed to be feeding them information in order to protect Christian and that she had been in love with him.  Christian was able to persuade her that she was the one who had betrayed him and she went away.

Now we stand before the doors of the Chantry, where we have been warned that the halls are filled with demons.  If it wasn't for the fact that I need the book inside the Chantry to free Tommy & Tobey, I would go home right now... 

Ninja Weight

Ninja weight is that weight that you unexpectedly gain or loose without realizing it's happening.  Ninja weight gain is much more common than ninja weight loss because you don't pay attention to the ninja weight while you're eating a dozen donuts or an entire pot roast. 

However, I am please to report that I have experienced the phenomena known as ninja weight loss.  The last time I weighed myself was back in October 2010 & I weighed 350 lbs (yes I'm posting my actual weight.  I'm a fat ass - you can tell that much by looking at me).  I weighed myself for the first time last week since October & I was at 317.  That did not sound right because I have not been trying to loose weight over the winter.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I've seen ninja weight gain lurking in the refrigerator and in my kitchen cabinets.

So I decided to weigh myself at the gym this morning because I figured it would be a more accurate measurement (it's just like the scale used in the doctor's office).  Lo!  I was at 314 on the gym scale!!!!  I came home & double checked on my scale & it was the same!!!!  So not only have I lost 33 lbs. since last October, I've lost another 3 since last week.  A point of clarification - the 3 lbs that I lost since last week is not ninja weight loss, since I've been trying to loose weight since Feb. 7th.

Woo hoo!!!!

I Am The Cat!

I want to blog about stuff but it sounds silly and boring when I write it.  I also hate coming up with blog titles but I feel like they are a necessary evil.  Plus, I'm distracted because I'm watching The Real Housewives of Atlanta reunion.  I know, I know - it's a dumb show full of B.S. and useless crap but I still enjoy watching all of the Housewives shows. 

I recently rejoined the gym and I've been working out every day.  I've also been eating a lot better.  I don't know what made things click this time but it's been a lot easier for me to stick to my goals.  It helps having the iPhone apps to track my calorie intake and my exercise.  It really makes you quickly aware of how much the calories add up when you don't eat the right portions.  Even the things you drink add extra calories and knowing that makes it easier to drink water because I want to use those calories for food.  It also makes me pay attention to what the food is like at restaurants or fast food places.

The Atlanta Housewives are a bunch of crazy bitches.  Right now they are fighting about their age and who was famous before the Housewives show.

Anyway, I'm not really trying to follow any diet in particular, I'm just trying to keep my calorie intake under a certain amount every day.  I still allow myself to have certain things that I like as long as I don't over indulge.  The hardest time of the day has been the afternoon, right before dinner but I just have to tell myself that all of my hard work at the gym would be ruined if I over ate.  I like going to the gym in the morning after I drop the boys off at school.  I have plenty of time to work out and to come home and take a shower before I have to get the boys from school.  I have weighed myself once but I'm not sure the scale I have at home is very accurate. 

Valentine's day was nice.  I spent the morning at both of the boys' parties and they seemed to have a lot of fun.  They also got a lot of candy, which they really didn't need.  They still have stuff from Halloween & Christmas so I'm sending some of that to school with Zach for the classroom treat box.  I've been resisting the temptation to go dig into their bags but it's so hard!  Aaron sent me some really pretty flowers for Valentine's Day but we decided to wait to go out to dinner because we didn't want to mess with big crowds of people.

Ok.  So now I have a funny story, which Aaron may or may not like me blogging about but it's more embarrassing toward me than him so I'm telling it anyway.  I wore some pretty lingerie to bed last night and made a big production of taking my robe off because I normally don't wear stuff like that.  So then Aaron points out that the negligee was caught in the front of my g-string.  I laughed about it and said, "Well, at least I don't have toilet paper hanging out of my panties." 

So then I get into bed and we're getting close and Aaron runs his hand down my back and he says, "Um, honey, what's this?" and pulls a white, fuzzy thing out of the back of my panties.  I thought it was a fuzzy from my new robe so I dismissed it when he puts his hand in the same spot and says, "That's not a fuzzy," and pulls a piece of wet toilet paper from the back of my panties.  I DID HAVE FREAKING TOILET PAPER HANGING OUT OF MY PANTIES!!!!  I had caught the toilet paper in my panties as I was pulling them up & when I stood up, it pulled the toilet paper through the toilet and broke it off from the roll.

I had felt something wet rub against my leg when I stood up but I thought it was my robe and that maybe it had touched the water when I was standing up.  So yeah, I jumped up out of the bed and there was wet toilet paper on the floor in the bathroom.  I laughed so hard I thought I was going to wake the boys up.  Good times.

I have to go pee now. 

And I'll be careful with the toilet paper this time.

The Serpent's Skull - Game #3

We discovered more of the other passengers' stories and found that some of them had a reason for wanting to be on the island.  Ishirou had a map showing the location of buried treasure on the island and Gelik said that if he could find the remains of The Night Voice, a Pathfinder Society* ship, he would be restored to good graces within that organization.  Jask, of course, needed to find The Brine Demon for his evidence.  Aerys & Sasha apparently have no ties to the island.

If the Captain & Ieana hadn't disappeared before we recovered from being poisoned on the Jenivere, I would almost accuse Gelik of poisoning us.  In fact, I'll accuse him anyway because he's a nasty, hateful little man.  I hope the cannibals eat him.

We explored the island a little more and found the remains of Captain Kovack & Ieana's campsite in an cove on the other side of Smuggler's Shiv.  It's a lot closer to fresh water so we decided to go back to our original camp & move the other survivor's to the new site. 

We also found 3 more shipwrecks, one of which was The Brine Demon, the ship that Jask told us about.  The remains of the ship looked sturdy enough so we went on board to search for the information that Jask said was stolen from him.  We found little of note until we enter the Captain's quarters, where there is a skeleton dressed in the tatters of once-rich clothing.  The skeleton is clutching a chest made of darkwood in it's arms and after we open it, we find the documentation that will exonerate Jask of all his accused crimes, along with a magical dagger.

We decided to rest upon the ship for the evening & as the sun set a ghost appeared, raving about "traitors" and "mutineers".  It demanded that we hand over the locket & Twanis admitted that he had removed a locket from the chest, as well.  The locket contained the picture of a beautiful, red-haired elven woman & the name "Aeshamara" was inscribed upon it.  The ghost disappeared after Twanis handed the locket over and we were able to take our rest without any harm.

We continued on in the morning, following Ishirou's map and eventually we found the place where the treasure was supposed to be buried.  We dug until we came to a plug of wood that blocked our way and we also unearthed the skeleton of a dwarf that looked like it had been stabbed.  Ishirou secured himself with some rope and tried to break through the wooden planks carefully but it was rigged to collapse inward.  Thankfully the rope saved him from falling to the bottom, which was filled with stagnant water.

I cast light all the way down the tunnel and we added more rope to Ishirou's line so that we could lower him into the water.  Unfortunately, there were several aquatic ghouls in the water and they ate half of Ishirou before we could pull him up.  I suggested dangling his corpse above the water so that we could just pick the ghouls off but the rest of the party voted against it.  In the end, we lowered Stanley into the water and he cast disrupt undead on the ghouls until they died.  Raven took a potion of water breathing & dove down into the murky water, where she found a cache of money, gems, & several magic items.

*Randy is using a Pathfinder module but we are playing in Forgotten Realms. In this instance, the Pathfinder Society is based out of Candlekeep & is an organization that seeks out information.

Vampire: Subversion of Indy - Game #2

This really isn't our second game but it's the 2nd time I've blogged about the game.

We ended our last game session standing outside of a church in Sabbat controlled Atlanta, GA, where we had just dispatched a Tzimisce and it's nasty flesh-crafted creatures.  Now it was time to enter the church and seek out the Kiasyd for information on The Book of The Dead. 

We go down into the empty cellar of the church & eventually we enter a room with no walls or ceilings and there are bookshelves as far as the eye can see.  We have just entered the library of Alexandria, which was transported here before it could actually be destroyed.  Christian asks the Kiasyd for information on The Book of The Dead & she tells him that she gave him the actual book once before, when he was mortal.  We also ask her for information on opening a door to the Shadow Plane & she says that Christian has also done that before.

She then shows Christian a vision of his past, where as a human, he is obsessed with the occult & demons.  He rapes his brother's fiance & murders her in an obscene ritual & his brother walks in on him in the process.  Christian then makes a deal with Viktor to turn him into a vampire and using a Tremere ritual, he removes his own heart & places it in a safety deposit box.  Viktor erases Christian's memory & he posses his brother's body & assumes his memories in order to avoid a deal he made with Lucifer.  Christian is very skeptical about the truth of this.

The Kiasyd also disintegrates Tommy & Tobey when she finds out the book has been "destroyed".  She said that if we can retrieve the book she will bring the boys back.  Matthias, the Tremere Primogen, had Tommy and Tobey retrieve The Book of The Dead.  He was attempting to cast a spell from the book on New Year's Eve, when the earthquake in Indy disrupted the spell, sending the entire Chantry into the Shadow Realm, where it teeters on the edge of the Abyss.  Matthias was trying to bring a dhampir into existance in order to start Gehanna.  I asked her why anyone would want to bring about the end of the world & she said, "He who can start a thing can end a thing."

We spend 2 days in the library and when we leave, we are greeted by Alex (Christian's ghoul) & Milla, a Lasombra.  She offers to pledge fealty to Christian & The Camarilla in return for his protection because the Archbishop of the Sabbat has called a blood hunt upon her.  Milla is able to communicate with the spirits of the dead & she tells us that Matthias is calling out for help from the Shadow Realm.  Using paths through the shadows, Milla is able to bring us back to Indy in a matter of minutes.

Teresa is in desperate need to hunt so we go to several bars on Mass Ave, where we run into Miranda, the Toreador Primogen, and her new "child", Portia.  Portia is actually a Methuselah who has dominated Miranda & is seeking to do the same with Christian in order to gain control of the city.  Another Methuselah shows up & begins to fight with Portia and we stake Miranda and run away.

Vlad Tepes & Viktor are waiting for us in our car.  We find out that Portia is really Helen of Troy & the other Methuselah is Menelaus & the two are forever locked in eternal struggle.  In fact, all the wars that have ever been fought in the U.S. is a direct result of those 2 vampires and now they are in Indianapolis.

In other news, my sire is actually Saulot.  I was one of his ghouls and when I was attacked by Peiter, I had enough of Saulot's blood in my body that I was turned.  Vlad has offered to restore my humanity or to teach me the path of Golconda.  Christian also wants our blood bond removed so that I can make the decision without any prejudices.

Coming Soon...

This is just a blog to say that I plan on writing up my last Vampire & D&D sessions.  Right now I am going to play a couple games of Zuma & listen to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.  Then I need to take a shower & pick Xander up from school.  Then it will be lunch time.  After that I have to do the laundry and pick up the house.  I may get the blogs written today.  One of them, at least... 

Move Along

I'm upset with a certain someone about something. The sad thing is that I can understand why that someone did what they did but it still upsets me that they did it.

Oh well.

It doesn't mean that I'm submissive. I'm able to view the issue from their perspective. I also realize that their view holds a bit of truth & logic to it whereas mine is purely an emotional reaction.

Oh well. I'll get over it. I always do.