High Court: Much to the initial displeasure of the Caretakers, it was obvious within the first few weeks who would be allying with who. The actions of the Quartermaster and the Broker exhausted all of their resources, draining their total supply down to zero. This, of course, was not good for those individuals whose sole jobs are to supply more than just the a single gang. Having no experience in commerce the distribution and trade of resources caused several problems. Many of the individuals hired by the Quartermaster and the Broker overcharged them both, and caused a debt in their supply caches, even though many of them were loyalists to the Rat Court. Their actions, however, weren’t all for naught. The Steward had an overwhelming success in his actions, managing to both increase his own manpower through a vote of confidence from Mëlaakish. His numbers were bolstered, and his attempts to reassure things created the first hints of an alliance. With assistance from The Oracle, the Scribe succeeded in garnering some very sensitive information on the gang that the Steward had just begun establishing an alliance with. Entirely unbeknownst to both The Steward and the Dread Allegiance, Senobia came into a wealth of information on both the leader of the faction and the faction itself. Whether she chose to share this information, though, was up to her. The Justicar’s progress was essentially nonexistent, as he was put on a waiting list for a meeting with the Hightowers. His attempts, however, were noted and appreciated. Gangs: The Black Mares found success in trying to grow their numbers, the general citizenry of the Slums taking well to their more passive attempts in light of their earlier declaration of a war against the now dead Varran. They would find their numbers increased, and their relations with the Citizens Union also going up. The Red Rooks were the first to discover what had been troubling the Caretakers for the last month. The distinct changes in the population of the Sanguine in the Slums. In the meeting with faction leader Taraunt he seemed quite cocky, even taunting them at times, while they came before him to offer their alliance. The Ithanian Sanguine approved their efforts to both establish a Vampire Smuggling route and develop the former Devout Few base into a Sanguine style nightclub. For the Vampire Smuggling route he even footed the entire bill out of the pocket of the Red Court. The Dead Men, along with several other parties, succeeded fully in their attempts to reconstruct the Old Gods temple. However, it was then that the Caretakers claimed it as a new base for the Rat Court to hold meetings and the gangs were repaid by the Caretakers through a boost to their supplies, and received a significant boost to their total manpower directly through the Caretakers. The Caretakers bestowed a single ‘I owe you one’ on each of the groups that helped, meaning that the Caretakers owe every individual a single favor. In passing off two valuable artifacts and gaining the respect of the Zealots and the Citizens Union, who, despite the very obvious tension and worry in the room, refused to release any information. While Ella Conë'jjo nne Sännaré did succeed in procuring several piles of corpses, their efforts did not go unseen. Many of the factions, including the Citizens Union and the Fervent were very displeased with this, though any attempts to prevent it came too late. They were able to gather quite the supply of corpses, but failed in their attempts to convince the anti-Kathar poachers and hunters to turn over their supply of animal bones. Slum Groups and Individuals: Salazar’s & Salazar’s, through some very clever diplomacy and a bravado of Stage Performance, found not only exactly what they were looking for in the form of Old Gods relics, but also some small statuettes. They would also, through some clever trading, find that their supply had increased in a similar manner to how the Quartermaster and the Broker’s had gone down, unbeknownst the the two High Court members. Sophie Perrot would find that the Citizens Union did not like her working with the Red Rooks, who were working with the Red Court. In a round of he-said-she-said Sophie and the Rooks both would find that the Citizens Union’s opinions on the two of them decreased. The Emporium, however, did not seem to suffer at all from this union, and both it and Sophie’s supply only continued to increase. Slum Factions: Though four of the factions seemed to be going on business as usual, they all shared in an unease about the fifth. The Red Court had seemingly vanish from the Vampire district for a few days, only to appear with double the population in the next few. Murders propagated by Sanguine seemed to double, some even being so bold as to happen against foreign merchants and visitors from the city proper. The efforts from several individuals to bring more Vampires into the city also helped a good deal, nearly doubling their numbers. The Nightclub helped as well, several members of the Citizens Union and the slum citizenry abandoning their roots and converting to Sanguine. It was not just this, however, but the actions of the Court Magistrate Taraunt that was setting the other factions on edge. Taraunt, usually a frequent host of elaborate parties and banquets, seemed to have become withdrawn. Door Knobs, metal window frames, bed frames, stair railings, and a host of other everyday metal objects were being compiled and broken down into makeshift weapons, which were then moved down in through the tunnels or throughout the district. Windows were boarded up, backyard gates closed, and houses locked and barred up. Whatever it is the Sanguine were doing, they were not interested in sharing.
