That Blasted Symbol

[Cesare Valente]

"Dammit!" Cesare cursed silently to himself as the Tremere portal dropped him outside the bookstore in the middle of a rainstorm. It was absolutely pissing down tonight, and it didn't seem to be the natural kind either. He glanced around quickly in the back alley to make sure no mortals where around before ducking into the back entrance to Mrs. Appleton's bookstore. He mutters briefly to himself about checking the damn weather next time while divesting himself of his coat he favors when out in public.

After giving himself a moment to dry off a bit, he headed over to one of the computer consoles set around the store. He logged in along with a password to gain access to the catalog list of restricted "Kindred" books. A few rapid keystrokes later he had a list of books he was interested in. He then proceeded to wander up and down the aisles grabbing a couple of mundane occult books on symbology before making a beeline for the back study room reserved for Kindred. He found a quiet nook to set up his laptop and notes, plus room to spread out the books he collected for himself.

While he waited for the laptop to warm up, he started skimming through the pages of the first book while speaking softly to himself. "Kabbalistic... no, Masonic... doubtful, Lusiferian... older I think..., Mesopotamian... possibly." He needed to figure this one out if only to keep a step ahead of the other Kindred. Cesare has been working hard to restore the Tremere's reputation within Sunnydale after the mishaps of Cameron and Melissa. Any occult instance or knowledge not recognized needs to be brought to light when placed in Cesare's capable hands. Mysteries have always been like a lover to Cesare, quite alluring and seductive until figured out, then easily discarded for the next temptation. And this particular mystery needs to be solved quickly if the Camarilla is to prevent a war from breaking out with the Lupines.

He brought up the image photographed from the cigarette lighter, a blatent clue if any. Unfortunately given that no one from Sunnydale could recognize it provides a stoppage in the investigation of the Lupine that was attacked. Cindi is breathing hard on the other Sunnydale Whips to get to the bottom of it, and therefore Cleo certainly will want results. Cesare was fairly sure he can find what he's looking for, either here or the Chantry archives. However finding the historical roots of the symbol, should help him find and trace similarities. Time is of the essence on this particular job and Cesare wanted to get in front of it quick if only to gratify his own ego. He proceeded to start typing notes on his laptop while ruminating on the possibilities.

[Ghost]

Ghost had been rummaging through books all night. If that blasted symbol wasn't identified it might be war with the Lupines, and that was the last thing anyone needed. And that damned tube of lipstick... strange. He'd never experienced anything like that since his Embrace. How was it connected?

He was in the back study room, practically surrounded by obscure tomes. Everything from from archaic Catholic symbolism to treatises on Egyptian Heiroglyphs. Digging through the bookstore's online catalogs, he found a reference to certain celtic symbols that might help narrow down his search. Hopping up, he moved to the very back of the study, digging through a stack of books until he found what he was looking for. Spending the next several minutes poring through its pages, he barely noticed when another figure entered the room. This was the kindred-only section, so he didn't bother to cover up his ghastly appearance, was too absorbed in his research to worry about it.

Finally finishing the one section of the book that was of any help, he finally labored to look up. Across the room, sitting at a table covered with his own selection of books and facing away from him, was Cesare. He padded over to him and saw the photo of the very same symbol Ghost was researching right by the Tremere's hand. Ghost snorted, half-amused, half-exasperated. He couldn't really be surprised. If there was anyone in Sunnydale that had a chance of identifying the symbol before Ghost himself did, it was this ambitious Tremere. Chuckling and shaking his head, Ghost spoke up. "Heheh. You too, huh?"

[Cesare Valente]

At the sound of Ghost's voice he allowed a slight smirk to cross his lips. Of course he wouldn't be the only Kindred taking the initative on researching the symbol. Ghost has been at the forefront of just about every investigation in Sunnydale affairs so it is only reasonable that he would be looking into this matter himself. Cesare finished typing his thoughts into notes while nodding along to Ghost's commentary.

"I always thought that becoming a vampire would have been a bit more of a glamourous lifestyle. Big european castle, fancy dress parties, and nighttime roundezvouz with beautiful women in the moonlight. Yet, here we are at the behest of our elders in this hole in the wall bookstore, attempting to prevent yet another disaster from ripping out our throats... literally at that. Just goes to show you, don't believe everything you read in trashy novels..." He frowns down at the book he was thumbing through earlier. "Or second rate symbology books for that matter."

He finished his current round of notes, then turned to face Ghost. Seeing that he had not bothered to disguise himself tonight, though hardly necessary since this was a secured area for Kindred only. He glanced over at his work area, and from the looks of things, has been here since dusk. Seeing how this wasn't a social call perhaps this could be a productive encounter.

"This symbol doesn't suggest the usual Kindred tags... at least within the Camarilla. No inflections of Hermetic influence but could still have a connection to magical use if you take into account the lipstick found. Some sort of love magic ensorceled upon it I would reason to believe. Certainly not blood magic which vampires are more closely attuned though."

[Ghost]

Ghost considered Cesare's last words, and found himself forced to nod reluctantly in acquiescence. "That lipstick's been bothering me. It clearly has the power to affect us, yet is is not created from the usual sorts of magic that your clan is known for. When Liliya was kidnapped by the Setites, I thought it might somehow be related to the attack on the lupine. But preliminary reports suggest that the Snakes have no connection to or knowledge of this either."

He slumped down in a spare chair, thumbing through yet another (he was sure quite useless) tome he hadn't fully absorbed yet. "I haven't entirely ruled those sneaky fucks out yet, though," he added as an afterthought.

He began flipping through the tome, ticking off notes on a piece of scrap paper. "Considering that at least one of the attackers was kindred, my original thought was that the symbol in question represents one of the Clans, and may perhaps just be some sort of anachronistic representation thereof. While I haven't discounted that very likely possibility, it is also possible that it represents some sort of kindred faction, like the Anarchs, or the Sons of Clayfield, or some such. And we also have to consider, much as I would like to dismiss the notion, that the symbol represents a group that is aware of our world, yet isn't necessarily kindred. I could easily envision a scenario where certain radical elements that have a beef with the kindred would love to see us fighting for our lives against the furry murder machines."