This was originally sent as an email attachment to work as downtime character development. I wrestled with whether or not to include this in the fiction section of the wiki but I think it fits better here as it’s more of a small story that forwards the plot and was unseen by others in the group until now.

When Sparrow Met Lazuras

Less than a week since the trial and execution of Julian and Sparrow’s accounting for the new blood Alex: Sparrow is traveling through the sewers on some errand, as always under the extra layer of Obfuscate (just to be safe).

“You Nosferatu.” An impossibly deep voice that feels as though it nearly rattled the concrete walls around him calls out to Sparrow. He turned slowly to see a monstrous figure standing in the path he had walked not two seconds before. It filled the tunnel behind him. It was like walking through an empty one-car garage and all of the sudden turning around to see an sedan behind you. Unsettling.

This figure was twisted and menacing his eyes glowed a faint, iridescent green. A gargoyle. Not just a gargoyle, a HUGE one, larger than any he’d ever seen or heard about. He was hunched over nearly on all fours but he filled the space around him with little room to spare. Sparrow swallowed, he knew he was still cloaked in his Discipline but the beast just stared him right in the eyes. There was little doubt just how visible to this creature he really was. “ah.. Yes?” Sparrow was impressed at how collected he sounded.

“Your life and the life of your new acquisition are in serious jeopardy. She has meddled in affairs well beyond her depth. The policemen she and the others rescued were being held by a Sabbat priest named Aaron. He’s bloodthirsty and ruthless and he does not relish being made a fool of. Rest assured he already knows who you are and how best to find you. Be on your guard.”

“A..are you his ah Aaron’s… messenger?” Sparrow was perplexed but had less than a second to ponder as he was heaved bodily, by a taloned hand big enough to cover his chest, against the wall behind him. He was now eye to eye with the creature and his feet dangled several inches from the ground.

“You are young and stupid and so I will grant you one reprieve. Consider this your only warning, I serve no one, especially not some whelp conjurer. My business here, and my reasons for alerting you to the blunder you’re fledgling has made is none of your concern. It is enough that I am here and if you are smart you will heed my warnings and take whatever steps you deem necessary to preserve your wretched hide.” The gargoyle’s face filled Sparrows vision. The barely constrained rage was palpable and now the stone and concrete around them did seem to hum and quiver in sympathetic wrath.

His grip loosened and Sparrow fell back to the ground.

The gargoyle ambled back slightly from the Nosferatu and lowered himself in a low squat. “Aaron seeks the sarcophagus as well, it would be best if he did not succeed.” With a giant heave, the gargoyle lept… into the ceiling. The concrete gave and seemed to go viscous for the beast as if he were jumping into a thick mud. In less than a second, the thick tail disappeared into the ceiling and a faint outline nearly as large a small car slowly shrank and moved off to the north.