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Comments
Warren followed as fast as he could, then lingered outside the doorway.
"And that's the end for tonight, class. Tonight's assignment will be an essay on foreign ruins and I would all like to remind you that the Da Vinci code is not an appropriate source for this class.'
And out shuffled a group of twenty-something students, looking nervously at the three people just standing in the hall.
Warren catches students' intimidated glares, but honestly, he feels kind of silly, if only on account of how closely his outfit matches his new companions. But as they leave, he walks into the room.
Mark follows Warren.
Professor Bainbridge is a thin man with a standard crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses. He's dressed in tweed and gives off the impression that he feels that wearing a suit like it is the privilege of those in academia. He waits for the last of the class to leave and beckons the three of you forward.
"You must be the neonates. Come into my office. The walls have ears in places like this."
Bainbridge's office is a mess of books and papers of various ages. The walls are adorned with pictures, one being a conspicuous picture of him and Chuck Berry shaking hands that is autographed. Bainbridge doesn't look a day older.
"There's a lot to work through. Cassandra was quite intelligent and resourceful, so it's hard to imagine anything could make her disappear if she didn't want to." he pauses wistfully. "She would have made an excellent tremere...." he then straightens himself.
"In any case, we were investigating a recent surge in poltergeist sightings... Three this month..."
Mark nods and takes out a notepad and pencil. Carrying them is a habit from his days as a private detective.
"That seems as good a place as any to start. We'll want to go over where she was seen last and things like that, of course, but we have to start somewhere. Tell us about the sightings."
Bainbridge nodded and pulled down a large map of Rhode Island with tacks and yarn strewn along it. "Normally the spiritual activity is limited to Providence... and nearby anomalies such as Dunwich and Innsmouth of course, but those are ghost towns no one ever goes to. unless they have to." Bainbridge rubbed his temples as though trying to exorcise bad memories.
"In any case, two of these of these affected places have been..." Bainbridge pointed to two tacks that were further out. "outside the usual sphere of supernatural influence."
Warren's slightly taken aback at Professor Bainbridge's frank usage of Kindred jargon, but he thinks of a question, only to be intercepted by Mark, who's clearly got this shit down. Mouth opened, mouth closed.
Mark nods while scribbling a note. "Right. And what precisely happened there?"
Bainbridge nods. "Well, we sent some neonates to investigate... it seemed straightforward enough. Find the possessed house and report back to us... then they didn't come back. That was when Cassandra left, presumably to investigate for herself. She left saying that she was headed towards the most recent haunting in Dunwich. She said something about cutting it off at the source...."
Mark writes more.
"Ah, that's quite a lead. Where in Dunwich was the haunting?"
Bainbridge writes down an address. "It's quite an old house.... uninhabited now, of course but I remember back in the twenties when New England elite lived there.... You know, your basic Kennedys or Rockefellers... I'd avoid actually going into the house unless it's absolutely necessary."
"Probably smart. But I think we'll at least want to take a look. Any other information you can provide that might be helpful?"
Bainbridge sighed. "I don't... she wasn't supposed to go yet." Bainbridge looked around. "I won't lie. By doing this for the prince, your lives are in grave danger. There's no answer where the sphere of influence begins and ends. If you really want you could speak to the Carters..." Bainbridge shivers again. "Or perhaps speak with the werewolves, but I really don't recommend that action."
Mark nods. "The Carters?"
He turns to Paul. "Well, we shouldn't go into the house, but we should at least take a look, see if there are any leads of one kind or another outside it."
Bainbridge nods. "The Carters are an... eccentric group. Man who embraced his entire family in the thirties to prevent them from starving. Technically a part of the Camarilla, but they keep to themselves by and large. They tend not to like company but conduct yourself properly and it should be alright."
"Right. Where can we find them?"
"On the outskirts of the town." Bainbridge said. "It's rather deep in the forest. I would advise taking defenses of some sort."
"Thanks for the warning."
Mark turns to the others. "What do you think we should do first?"
Bainbridge shrugged. "You would have to speak to the gangrel for that..." he sniffed a bit. "I'm not in the habit of dealing with those creatures."
"Where do we find them, then?"
"A good place to look would probably be the bar The Rusty Nail." Bainbridge said. "Karen, she likes to spend time there and she has something of a reputation of a werewolf codd- an associate of the werewolves."
"Let's see the Carters, I think."