Dystopic: Miami Uses Vampire Contacts to gather information

Councillor's business in Miami (IRL its Cork: Thanks Royskeane)

Miami did his downtimes this fortnight to gather some more information on his unsolved murder.  I'll post up the prop kit from his murder a little later for those who want to see all of the connections themselves. For now, suffice to say, he and his wife were killed by members of a Miami University fraternity who raped, mutilated and killed his wife and *merely* mutilated and put him into a coma - he later died of his injuries and his body was taken by Prometheus for possession. One of the other frat boys called the police who arrested the four kids who later died in prison under mysterious (and soon found to be supernatural) circumstances.  The mainstream media were sorry for both the loss of the boys as well as Miami's family (perhaps they were paid to be) as attention and blame was shifted from those four boys to an 'unidentified group' thought to be responsible who had simply planted the evidence on those kids.

Miami's host had been friends with two kindred (vampires) due to the Santerian connection (his religion), his burglarising bookhounding, and the much weaker Masquerade in Miami.  I mean, after all, there are zombies, so that whole supernatural cat is out of the bag - though most people don't know vampires are for real.  Anyway, he has them as his contacts so he checked with them to see if they knew anything about his situation.

Lucrecia:

Contact History: A vampire from Clan Gangrel, the Bloodline of Mara, and the Circle of the Crone. Originally from Cuba, she now havens in a decrepit mansion in Shenandoah (Coral Way) near Little Havana, with a high fence and a large swimming pool in the backyard covered in weeds and algae. White Hispanic with dark eyes and black hair. She was a iyalorisha priestess while she was alive and has spirit Cruac rituals for contacting the Orishas and divination. A sensual creature maintained immaculate by ghouls before venturing in public. It was in her home that Carlos broke into searching for a book wanted by a client, and she was the first vampire he encountered or so he believed at the time. Divining that Carlos was favoured by Yemoja, she decided not to kill him and they developed a rapport.  She occasionally comes into Carlos parent's occult store to "buy supplies" and chat, but has learned not to mess with his mother in law, Consuela.  Her favorite Orisha deity is Yemoja, Mother of the Dark waters.  Striking Looks **

Apparent Age: 26

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Downtime: Miami asked Lucretia to check up on the Miami councillor who's details were included in Miami's murder kit.  No one's quite sure why his information was included in that kit.  The councillor seems to be a nice enough person who is keen on diversity and been a bit of a voice for a variety of different demographics not otherwise represented on the Miami Council.  Even Prometheus isn't sure on how he is important to Miami's case, only that he is.  Silly Fiends....

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"Hello friend who is my stranger, I managed to meet the councillor at a nice little soiree but it seemed that fate kept interfering in our paths, causing me to expend considerable efforts to meet him over several occasions although I did catch his eye at least.  I also managed to gather some information on his general perspectives ... the rates are largely assigned according to the whim of those who have purchased the right to live in the local corporation of Miami but he has some rather socialist views on enlarging the government infrastructure to cater towards charitable cases, which is in direct opposition to his leading opposite number in the ward who wishes to remove those who refuse to work to the west of the wall and import willing workers in their stead - an artificial method of removing poverty if ever I heard one - but one that is quite popular among most of Miami's populace - including the working poor, ironically enough."

"Anyway, as to your councillor himself, there was nothing about him that seemed connected to your death other than his prior history at the same fraternity as those dead monsters (he used to go to that university several years ago and was a member of the fraternity).  Perhaps he, himself, knows more.  He does seem oddly slippery though I wonder if he is to blame for that or if it were simply the fates themselves....  Oh, one other thing.  Some of his greatest detractors have been dying - largely of natural causes, sometimes accidents - but all quietly and off the media these past couple of years.  Perhaps something else there?"

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Dexter "Dex" West:

Contact History: A vampire from Clan Ventrue, the Bloodline of Geheim, and the Ordo Dracul. Dexter is a Coroner, biochemist, alchemist and occultist. Apparently from Provinence, he claims to have been a friend of H P Lovecraft and the inspiration behind the writer's Cool Air, Herbert West Reanimator and the Case of Charles Dexter Ward stories. He was the one who hired Carlos to steal back an occult text from his old lover and rival, Lucrecia of the Circle of the Crone.

Apparent Age: 30

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Downtime: Miami asks West to look into the Fraternity to see what kind of occult influence they may have, whether they are supernaturals and, if so, what kind, and what kind of entity can open up a dimensional portal, and describes the darkness with electrical sparks.

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West knows of a variety of myths about creatures that could open up dimensional portals although he doesn't have anything confirmed on their existence. Sorcerers, fae creatures creeping out of barrow mounds, extradimensional beings, cryptids, spiritual entities.

The Fraternity, however, are more boring from what is publicly known about them.  They are right wing conservatives without any obvious occult ties.  There are no known supernaturals among them, no relatives with ghoul connections or anything like that.  It is possible that they might be hunters, but no evidence to support that theory either.

There have been no mysterious deaths on campus.

Herbert West had also seen the darkness with electrical sparks himself while keeping an eye on Miami's house after the murders.  There was a static discharge in the local area that caused the hairs on the back of his arms to stand on end.  While he can't be sure as he didn't confront it, it is likely to be either some kind of spiritual entity or some kind of backfired sorcery. It might be a device though that is less likely.