Real World

North American Alliance- Greater New York City Area

Manhattan District

I knocked hard on the door and it was opened almost immediately, the guy stared at me. "Name?" he asked me and I rolled my eyes.

"Kevin, hey Matt you asshole!" I called to my friend who chuckled and waved me in.

"He is good, get in here you little shit starter. Everyone else is practically here already," Matt commented as I looked around his apartment.

"Pays well to be in a rich guild I see," I commented earning a snort.

Matt shrugged and waved around, "Well you could have joined me, but then that nasty business with Ava happened and well, your name got pulled off the possible recruits list. Not that it turned out too bad for you." he commented and I glared at him.

I threw my arm around him and pulled him in closer, "Cut back on the alcohol brother and keep your mouth shut, please. Do I need to worry you are spilling family secrets to anyone else brother?" I hissed in his ear.

Matt frowned and shook his head, "No, I might be a little drunk but I don't talk." I stared at him and patted his shoulder before walking off.

Yeah, right I thought as I looked for Jared and quickly found him flirting with some scantily clad half drunk. Not surprisingly the former military man was stone-cold sober and saw me and with a few words disengaged from the woman and quickly followed me out onto the terrace.

"What's the problem?" Jared asked and I spotted the two other people I needed to talk to after the barbeque wound down.

"Matt is a little drunk, and he gets a little talkative when he gets like this," I told him and Jared nodded.

"So...what you want me to do?" Jared asked and I smirked.

"Give him that little sober cure you gave me last time I got mouthy while drunk. Let him learn the lesson." I told him and Jared chuckled before walking off and I made my way over to Bree and Jordan who were talking to another couple.

Bree spotted me and made the appropriate excuses and disengaged with the other couple and wandered over to me. "What's up Kevin? Ready to start playing the field again, I have the perfect--" I cut her off with a hand wave.

I loved Bree like a sister, god knows I considered her family, but sometimes she acted too much like a sister. Getting me a date, no, not ready for it. "Sorry, but no. I pulled you over to make sure you two stay after the party. We are having a family meeting as soon as this party breaks up. Should be done in an hour." I told them and Jordan chuckled and pointed to Matt.

"You sure he is going to be awake and sober enough to talk?" Jordan asked and Bree giggled.

I winked at them, "Jared is taking care of everything. Matt will be as sober as a priest on Sunday soon enough., he will be pissed off at me, but sober." I told them and Bree winced.

"Why?" she asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut about things. We will talk later and you will understand." I told them and they nodded as I moved off to interact and be more than a fly on the wall. Other mid-level officers from the Swords of the Light and their allies or close associates, in other words, people I didn't want to piss off or offend, were present since Matt was an officer and certain expectations were expected from and for him.

So I sipped my drinks, ate my fill, and talked to the various people. Most of them were pretty good, but a few were smug rich bastards I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire. Two hours later people were ushered out and we started cleaning up. Matt glared at me more than once, but he kept his mouth shut as we took our time cleaning. I looked over at Jared who had finished and held up three small items about the size of buttons and two strips of plastic with what looked like circuits all over them.

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The plastic strips went down the disposal and the buttons were quickly crushed, "We are clear and I set up a white noise generator, so go ahead and start talking when you want Kevin." He stated and it grabbed Bree and Jordan's attention and told them the gravity of the situation.

I looked at them and laughed, "Well you both know what happened with Ava and the people she hooked up with after stabbing me in the back, right?" I asked them as I dumped the last of the cups down the drain and started scrubbing them.

Bree grimaced and nodded, "Yeah, she used what you both stole!" she glared at me and I shrugged, the past was done. Stupid choices, but still there was nothing I could do to undo it, "She used it to get in with the Children of the Light Clan, and earned major Rep gains for her and her new buddies. Blamed everything on you and got your Rep with the Dwarves in the shitter." Bree explained and I nodded.

"Yeah, my reputation with Dark-Iron Thiag dropped to 'Enemy of the State' and since they are the biggest and most powerful Dwarven kingdom in Fate Online, my Reputation with most Dwarf cities and faction dropped like a rock. So since the Children are a huge 'Light' based Clan, I started researching ways to counter them. What big bad 'Dark' powers could take them on and win. What do you guys know about Vampires?" I asked them and they looked at each other.

Jordan snorted, "Besides the occasional Vampire lord, they are mindless scrubs, best put down like rabid dogs." he replied before closing up his trash bag.

"Yes and no, the Vampires most people know are either mindless creatures are driven by their hunger or overpowered Vampire nobility. What if I told you that wasn't always so, that they once were a powerful nation and even ruled the whole Arakon continent before it was destroyed." I told them and they laughed but I just kept looking at them.

"Serious?" Bree asked and I looked at the projector Jared set up and plugged in the small memory card and played the short video I had prepared for them. While it wouldn't give them any reference where the city was, it would show them what exactly I was working with.

"Enjoy, besides me and some Devs from Blackrock, your the only other people to see this. For your viewing pleasure, this is Eternal Night, city and home of the Vampire Race." I told them as the short two-minute video started playing. While I gave them the video, I did not include any audio just incase someone copied it or the memory chip was stolen, best that people were left guessing.

"Can we keep this?" Matt asked and Jared punched him in the shoulder.

"No," I told him and looked at the others. "Before you ask, Blackrock should start the hype engine soon, as in the next couple of days. So if you see a strange trailer from them, this is what it is related to. My question is, will you all help? This, the situation has become a whole lot bigger and the ramifications are far more widespread than I had imagined." I told them as I hinted at what was going on without saying anything.

Jared caught it and studied me without saying anything, Matt while an excellent tank and Paladin, just did not look beyond what was in front of him. "What is your timeline?" Bree asked and I shrugged.

"I already dealt with the biggest threat in the area around the city and forged an alliance with both a Kobold and Orc tribe, so we are safe for now. As far as other players, we are pretty far off the beaten path and the only major power we have had contention with was House Dhalmass. They were destabilizing the area, but as I said, we dealt with it." I told them and both Jared and Bree winced while Jordan paled.

Matt just looked angry, "Be careful Kevin, House Dhalmass is nothing to just sweep aside and ignore, they hold grudges and while they are a minor power, they are a power in the Underdark and even some parts of the surface of Arakon. They control the major slave trade hub for parts of the Underdark and filter most of the Drow slaves in and out of the Underdark, not to mention they have contacts with the Slaver Union." Bree cautioned me and I nodded. "There are even rumors they peddle with Immortal slaves, so be careful." I moved over to her and threw my arm around her shoulder.

"I got it, Bree, I will still be a stubborn asshole and these people are not going to stop my plans. Hell, they might be inadvertently helping me." I told her and she frowned but Jared voiced the question he was thinking.

"What are you talking about?" Jared asked and I smiled and waved the question off. It was a long shot, a very big damned long shot, but if it worked I would get everything I would need to secure the safety for the Vampire Race and ensure that it wouldn't be steamrolled as soon as the Race was opened up to the general public. "Shit, that is the same look you gave me when you asked for the journal," Jared commented and I shrugged my shoulders.

"It worked out, yes I am in some deep shit, but I inadvertently found both what I wanted and needed," I told him and he nodded.

"So, what is the plan?" Jordan asked and I smiled.

"First, find out where I am in the Underdark. To do that, I got to find my way to the surface, after that. Get all your asses down there to help out and hammer the Vampires into something that can stand up to the various Clans and powers of Arakon. Now, are you guys in?" I asked them and one by one they agreed. I knew I was asking a lot, but starting up a new Race wasn't something to sneeze at and would be a full-time job for the foreseeable future.