The Tavern of Blood
There are many drinking establishments in Ladroa, both high and low, but even most locals have never heard of the Copper Goblet. This tavern on a narrow, ill-traveled Arcmacenes sidestreet is mostly beneath notice - an unremarkable hole-in-the-wall, with only a crooked and mostly illegible signboard to indicate its presence.
Behind the shabby cellar door, one once found a small, dank basement space located under a disused warehouse. Here, both the ambiance and the patrons seemed musty and unwelcoming to newcomers, and this is how they preferred it.
The Vaara population of Ladroa is relatively large. Both the nightlife and the don't-ask-don't-tell credo of the City of Masks make it easier for this folk to conceal themselves and go about their business after dark without arousing suspicion. Establishments for their kind are usually identified by word-of-mouth, or the use of secret symbols hidden in plain sight so travelling Vaara can find safe surroundings and sustenance.
Most of the Vaara in the city are careful to obey the (relatively few) laws of Ladroa for reasons of discretion. They also respect the non-predation laws of their own people... but even so, there will always be renegades - those who seek to transgress in the ancient ways.
For a small circle of special patrons, the Copper Goblet provided vile speakeasy for Vaara unsatisfied to limit themselves to the mere blood of beasts. Instead, they sought the source of their ancestors' unholy magics -- the forbidden the blood of Men.
The owner of the Goblet was a mysterious figure named Vaclav. Through his connections with the slave ship El Tiburon, he kept his patrons well supplied... for a price. And while the common riff-raff in the upper tavern might happily slake their thirst on the blood of common slaves or missing derelicts, in his hidden lounge in the sub-basement below the Copper Goblet, Vaclav guaranteed only the purest stock for his most exclusive clients... the lifeblood of innocent youth.
The reavers of El Tiburon knew well that children would always fetch the best prices from their buyer in Ladroa, and so they mercilessly culled settlements across the Helicosian Sea to replenish Vaclav's cells beneath the streest of Armacenes. Despite its unassuming presence on the surface, the secret interior of the Copper Goblet was sumptuously decorated in ancient Alukah finery. Here, Vaclav's inner circle of customers would hold decadent blood bacchanals, in defiance of the Vaara laws that had forsworn such evil practices.
And so it was, until the fateful day that the Tyrson Company came calling, at precisely the same time that the Mariscal Gorgones attempted a raid of the premises. Meeting surprisingly strong resistance, the party and the Mariscal joined forces, and a desperate battle ensued with the Vaara renegades trapped below, fierce and freshly drunk with the power of human blood.
After derfeating the monsters, Gorgones burned the corpses of Vaclav's "special customers" to ashes with phosphorus, to leave no trace of what they were. However, using trinkets taken from the bodies, Jack and his companions were able to continue their investigation. Before long, they were able to identify each of these fiendish predators, and uncover what marks they had left on the city.
T H E C I R C L E
V A C L A V
Master of the Copper Goblet - smuggler, slaver, restaurateur
Ht: 6'2 / Wt: 140 / Hair: black
Age: ~600 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Vaclav was a tall, handsome man with fine features. He was not a true undead Alukah, only a Vaara of advanced age, though his consumption of forbidden blood of kith allowed him to maintain his youthful appearance. It is not known exactly when he first came to Ladroa, nor where he was before. It is possible that the Copper Goblet was in operation a very long time.
Vaclav was vain and sociopathic. He deeply resented the fall of the Alukah empire, and held only contempt for humanity. Although he was not old enough to have lived in that era, he had a great admiration for the lore and traditions of his people, going back to the unholy age of the Undead Alukah princes.
Vaclav was vain and sociopathic. He deeply resented the fall of the Alukah empire, and held only contempt for humanity. Although he was not old enough to have lived in that era, he had a great admiration for the lore and traditions of his people, going back to the unholy age of the Undead Alukah princes.
Among the many artifacts in Vaclav's personal collection were a suit of authentic Aluka Fourth Age armour, and the Cherneva Raclava (the Red Harvest) an ancient, powerful Aluka glaive with an enchanted vampiric blade. That glaive now belongs to Jack Tyrson.
G L E N Z I G
The Barkeep
The Barkeep
Ht: 5'7 / Wt: 150 / Hair: brown / Eyes: red
Age: ~400 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
A pale, lank-haired man who looked like he might once have been muscular and handsome, but had since grown fleshy and porcine.
Glenzig managed the night-to-night business of the Copper Goblet, dealing with the "regular" customers, and serving as the gatekeeper for Vaclav's special clients.
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D O N N A M A L E N A O S C U R A N T A
The Prima Donna - actress, socialite, celebrity
Ht: 5'8 / Wt: 80 / Hair: black / Eyes: red
Age: ~300 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Donna Malena was a shapely and strikingly beautiful woman dressed in a lush gown of brown velvet. Her hair was dark, and her eyes were large and hypnotic. She was well practiced in supernatural Blood Art of suggestion and enchantment.
She also possessed an enchanted tiara beset with eight red stones. When she willed it, those whose eyes met the red stones would be paralyzed by numbing fear, as if held in the gaze of a monstrous spider. This magical artifact is now in the hands of Kian Grey.
The Tyrson Company came to learn that the famous "Dusk Lady" of Ladroa's theatre scene was in fact a Vaara who consumed human blood, and used her Blood Arts to magically enthrall her audiences.
The rest of Ladroa does not know this secret. Since her death in the Copper Goblet massacre, the disappearance of Donna Malena has become an enduring mystery for Colegio theatre-goers, fueling all manner of gossip and speculation. Those who expected her to make a triumphant return have so far been disappointed.
Audiences attending the Colegio district's famous Teatro Secularo are asking "Where is La Donna Oscuranta?" Performances of "Jacinta and the Prince" have been thrown into an uproar over the recent replacement of Ladroa's celebrated Lady Dusk with an inferior understudy in the lead role. The theater master has remained tight-lipped about Donna Malena Oscuranta's absence. If it's simply a publicity stunt, it is ill timed, as it is rumoured that the entourage of the Marquez of Toremo made the journey to Ladroa expressly to see the Donna Oscuranta perform. At the latest show, a crowd of incensed students and hidalgos instigated a riot that swept through the Colegio, causing yet another disruption in our city of late.
D A S O T A
The Ladykiller
The Ladykiller
Ht: 6'4 / Wt: 200 / Hair: blond / Eyes: red
Age: ~400 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Dasota was a large, portly man with a jolly face, curly blond hair, and a long mustache. He dressed in flamboyant perfumed garb that might have been quite dashing and in-fashion a generation past. He possessed a boisterous presence and a thundering voice.
Dasota was a con-artist and Casanova who specialized in seducing rich elderly women, and bleeding them dry, both literally and figuratively. At the time of his death at the Copper Goblet, he was in the process of stealing the fortune of the widow Lady Danira De Losa. He had arranged to forge her last will, and was slowly poisoning her, all while playing the doting suitor.
When engorged with human blood Dasota was exceptionally strong. He preferred to grapple with opponents, or hurl heavy objects at them.
Dasota was a con-artist and Casanova who specialized in seducing rich elderly women, and bleeding them dry, both literally and figuratively. At the time of his death at the Copper Goblet, he was in the process of stealing the fortune of the widow Lady Danira De Losa. He had arranged to forge her last will, and was slowly poisoning her, all while playing the doting suitor.
When engorged with human blood Dasota was exceptionally strong. He preferred to grapple with opponents, or hurl heavy objects at them.
A V E S T I A
The Little Monster - engraver, forger, enfant terrible
Ht: 4'7 / Wt: 50 / Hair: brown / Eyes: red
Age: ~200 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Maestra Avestia was a small, childlike woman who dressed in overly flamboyant, doll-like garments. Even with this flair, she always seemed to have a slightly wild and unkempt look about her. Despite her appearance, she was also a noted engraver who operated a printmaking shop in Ladroa's Seda district.
Investigating her shop, it was discovered that she was keeping a young male apprentice as a source of blood, and using her Blood Arts to addle his memory of these events. Freed from her influence, he was told to leave and forget everything about her. After purloining some of Avestia's documents and maps of Ladroa, her shop was set afire and burned to the ground.
Avestia was highly adept at shapeshifting. When cornered, she could take the form of an immense prehistoric wolf.
In her possession was an druidic talisman wrought of a small unidentified animal tusk, and marked with a rune. This magic talisman allowed her to grow additional boney protrusions in her animal form.
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S P I N O Z A
The Accountant
Ht: 6'3 / Wt: 100 / Hair: none / Eyes: red
Age: ~400 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Spinoza was a night auditor in the employ of the Giaconi Bank, specialized in trade tariff management. He was very good at his job, and apparently even better at finding ways of lining his own pockets without leaving a trail. Indeed, there were likely few at the Giaconi Bank who even knew he existed.
He was a tall, creepy, thin-limbed bald man with a pasty face and a pot belly. He was dressed in close-fitting black hose, with an absurd white neck ruff.
On his person, he carried a silver badge to identify him as an officer of the Giaconi bank, as well as a notebook scribbled with sums, and a small whistle with an embossed gold spider. The whistle carries an enchantment that calls and charms spiders... perhaps the only friends this awkward, loathsome man could have claimed to have.
On his person, he carried a silver badge to identify him as an officer of the Giaconi bank, as well as a notebook scribbled with sums, and a small whistle with an embossed gold spider. The whistle carries an enchantment that calls and charms spiders... perhaps the only friends this awkward, loathsome man could have claimed to have.
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The Bloody Swordsman
Ht: 5'9 / Wt: 105 / Hair: black / Eyes: red
Age: ~300 / Creed: Vaara / Status: ???
A lean, pale hidalgo with high cheekbones, black hair, and a wide brimmed hat. A silver smallsword with a red gemstone hangs at his side. Agila can uses his Blood Arts to move with inhuman speed, able to cover fifty paces in the blink of an eye.
Agila was thought to have been killed at the Copper Goblet. In spite of this, reports suggest that he still remains at large in Ladroa.
See also: AGILA
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M I S S A G L I A
Priestess of Agruesh
Ht: 5'8 / Wt: 145 / Hair: grey / Eyes: brown
Age: 55 / Creed: Capracian / Status: DECEASED
Missaglia may not have been Vaara, but neither was she truly human. As the High Priestess of Ladroa's secret cult of Agruesh, she had long since traded any trace of her humanity or decency away in the name of her anarchic, decadent beliefs. In return, she received supernatural gifts from her vile god, including the ability to grow lacerating thorns all over her body, and to spit highly acidic saliva.
After escaping the massacre at the Temple of Agruesh, she sought shelter at the Copper Goblet due to her business relationship with Vaclav (who supplied slaves to her cult). Her plan was to arrange passage out of Ladroa and rendez-vous with El Tiburon.
After escaping the massacre at the Temple of Agruesh, she sought shelter at the Copper Goblet due to her business relationship with Vaclav (who supplied slaves to her cult). Her plan was to arrange passage out of Ladroa and rendez-vous with El Tiburon.
Even compared to the Circle of the Copper Goblet, Missaglia was a depraved monster, with a sickening list of crimes too awful to contemplate. When she was finally intercepted and slain by the party of Jack Tyrson and Mariscal Gorgones, one must imagine that many tormented souls finally knew some small measure of peace.
T I B O R
the bouncer
Ht: 6' / Wt: 145 / Hair: brown / Eyes: red
Age: ~ 250 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
Tibor was one of Vaclav's servants, and acted as the Copper Goblet's bouncer. A barbarian and a thug, through and through.
the gaoler
Ht: 5'6 / Wt: 100 / Hair: white / Eyes: red
Age: ~ 300 / Creed: Vaara / Status: DECEASED
A hunched, sallow, ugly fellow, with a pug nose and spikey colourless hair. His ears were pointed and feral, and he dressed in rags and a shabby loincloth. Mihail seemed to be some kind of lunatic or savage (or both). It was his responsibility to mind Vaclav's child captives, and also to prepare them for meals.
Mihail carried a runic vampiric dagger that creates bleeding wounds that will not clot.
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