Augustus, of the Magdalen, and Seth-Ra, of the Phoenix, have been rivals down the centuries, and the unending feud has finally cracked Seth-Ra's mind. He has formed an insane plan to count coup on the Magdalen and get Augustus out of the way of Pride Phoenix for some time to come. In the weeks past, a Magdalen cadre serving Augustus penetrated a Phoenix Mantle and made off with a very potent piece of Palladium, the mythical element resembling amber that can remove poison and taint from suffering immortals.

Augustus is throwing the Rialla to attract other Immortals so that he may count coup on Seth-Ra in grand fashion. Thus has the Elder Magdalen fallen for Seth-Ra's trap. Seth-Ra and his second, named Dominquez, ventured into the Tautha territory of Yellowstone Park and slew one of the Sunedrion Wealds (a tree suffused with an Immortal's power). to create a substance that appeared to be Palladium, but had one important difference. The pseudo-Palladium does nothing beneficial, but spews taint into any Immortal near it. Seth-Ra is counting on Augustus to handle the Palladium enough to gain enough taint to send him to the Dominions - and out of Pride Phoenix's hair for a long time.

So begins the maneuvering between the Magdalen, with their home-ground advantage, and the Phoenix, with their superior planning. Among other challenges to the cadre of our intrepid heroes would be Skartha of the Tautha, whose territory includes Yellowstone Park. He is very upset that one of the few remaining Sunedrion Wealds has been slaughtered, so he and a few of his fellows can be expected to make an appearance at the party to find their culprit.

The Party

As our story begins, the Cadre is contacted by a member of one of their Prides and given the invitation to the Magdalen Rialla. If need be, they are urged to go - opportunities abound to count coup on others as well as to gain the immaculum that Rialla's generate.

Once at the university, the carnival-like atmosphere should be apparent. Rush Week, the time when pledges are inducted into fraternities and sororities, is in full swing. The local football team has also won a victory over a long-time rival and enthusiastic fans run rampant over the campus. On the fourth floor of the student union building, several Prides have gathered in little meeting rooms and hallways to discuss the Magdalen and their boasting leader, Augustus. The floor itself is decorated with literature, and subdued good taste abounds. These are Magdalen, after all.

The Cadre should first make the acquaintance of Augustus. A barrel-chested individual with a beard, Augustus is dressed like a campus professor. He is loud, obnoxious, and full of himself, and the cadre should hate him after two minutes.

Allow the personas to wander, gain some immaculum or eavesdrop if they wish. They should meet two people. First on the list is Wayne, a probe of Pride Arachne. Wayne is short with cropped black hair and a smart goatee. He has a very proper demeanor that goes with his gothic apparel. Wayne has taken a liking to the cadre and offers them some "rude gossip" he has chanced upon. One: the local Tautha are on the warpath concerning a mysterious loss. Two: the young copper-haired woman tending bar down the hall is more than she seems. Which brings us to the second contact.

Dispensing drinks from behind a makeshift bar in one of the conference rooms is Judith, Augustus' tryst. Lush of form and wide of smile, Judith tries to please everyone, and all of the patrons seem to be enjoying themselves. Perceptive Personas will notice a small group of three forms huddled in a dark corner. The largest person, tall and angular with sharp features, piercing eyes and blond hair is revealed to be Seth-Ra, Elder of Pride Phoenix.

The Narrator may wish to introduce other characters (a pack of mercenary Peri that are looking for work, or an Anopheles looking for a short diversion). There is a feeling in the air of patience slowly being tested. Another player may have the dubious honor of being caught in a staring contest with Jude, the resident Morrigan slayer. The Narrator is encouraged to engineer the incident to give the Morrigan the superior position. Once the contest of will is resolved, let the real mayhem begin.

Augustus will arrive with several other Magdalen in tow, and will have a short, terse conversation with Seth-Ra, which apparently does not sit well with the Elder Magdalen. Augustus storms out of the room, thundering that Seth-Ra will be the first in a long line of Immortals to acknowledge Augustus and the Pride Magdalen as the new Sceptre Pride.

The room comes alive with immortals discussing the Elder Magdalen's boast. Seth-Ra separates himself from the pack and is seen discussing something with Judith, the bartender. Suddenly, the Cadre feels the ethereal wave of the ripple flow over their bodies. Any inquisitive types will join the others to find the source of such a strong pulse. One of the Player Personas may be the lucky individual who gains immaculum from a spill: the escaping energy from a slain Immortal. Lying in the bushes outside the building is a pile of charred remains, and to make matters worse, the carcass is missing its Vex.

Investigation reveals that the unfortunate is a Nimrod juggler arriving late to the Rialla. Any Immortal familiar with the Nimrods knows that they operate in Triads, so there remain two more somewhere in the throng. The Magdalen quickly usher everyone back up to the fourth floor, and the remains are hidden. The atmosphere is now tense as Pride warily eyes Pride, and our heroes are in the middle.

Now the Personas are thrust into the fire. The Cadre is cornered by Seth-Ra and several of his followers. They demand the characters recount their whereabouts at the time of the murder. Make the players sweat. Seth-Ra is an unsettling individual and has a feeling of immense power about him. Once paranoia has been suitably stirred, have Wayne step in and vouch for the players' innocence. Seth-Ra will angrily leave.

Wayne will quickly usher the Personas into a nearby room and point out a large hairy individual dressed for outdoor life. This man he identifies as Skartha, a Tautha. Any Persona with Rank 4 in his Blue Halo is perceptive enough to pierce the illusion around Skartha to see the large two-edged axe dangling from the angry newcomer's right hand. Anyone who chooses to follow the angry, armed Immortal will see Skartha thunder into a conference room off the main hall, corner a resident Magdalen and begin to bellow about a tragic and horrendous murder.

Very quickly, Augustus will arrive, close the door and shoo away any spectators. Any Persona choosing to eavesdrop, through what ever means at hand, will learn that Skartha is here to find someone that destroyed a rare Sunedrion Weald, an atrocity by almost anyone's standards. Augustus, however, seems unimpressed. He tells Skartha of the Nimrod's murder and warns him to stay out of the Madgalen's way. The two then part.

Any Persona staying with Wayne will be asked to help decipher the recent events. He is rather well ranked among the Arachne and offers several rewards as incentives. As the Personas are weighing Wayne's offer, each of them begins to feel an arctic ache growing in their joints and bones. Four points of each Persona's Immaculum has just spontaneously turned into taint. No serenade was misplayed, nor can any other reason for the accrual of the taint be found. Wayne, too, has had the taint forced into his system.

From outside the door, a moaning can be heard. Should the Cadre investigate, a lone, pale Peri of about eleven years of age lies in agony against the wall. As the players watch in horror, the Immortal's skin turns pitch black; a low rumbling sound emerges from the air around them, and the Peri's eyes go wide with terror. The rumbling erupts into a deafening roar as the Peri's crumpled form dwindles to a black point in the air and vanishes, along with the roar. The poor unfortunate was overcome by taint, it consumed his Immaculum and sent him to the Dominions, all with no visible cause.

This terrifying tableau causes Wayne to pale. Whatever is causing random fits of taint in Immortals must be found and stopped. Wayne says he must confer with some of his Arachne fellows. With promises of a swift return, he departs, and the Cadre is free to pursue its investigation.

Players, being the devious little invertebrates that they are, will doubtless try their best to knock this plot into a cocked hat. Let them run, discover new people to talk to, then spring the next set of shockers on them.

From somewhere outside the building, there comes a thunderous ripple that rolls through the mantle. Should the Cadre investigate, a pile of burning clothes are found behind a bench - clothes that belonged to an Anopheles keeper seen at the Rialla. As with the Nimrod, the body has been reduced to ash and the vex stolen. Poking through the remains is Judith, the tryst bartender. However, Judith's demeanor has completely changed. Gone is the smiling facade. What now stands in front of the Cadre has all the warmth and openness of a glacier. With an imperious "stay clear of my path," Judith stalks back into the mantle. She is obviously more than just a juice jockey.

Back inside the building, the carnival atmosphere is lost. Subsumed into a slowly building paranoia, lines are now clearly drawn between Prides, and everyone is on edge. The Personas now have almost free rein to pursue what they wish. The Narrator needs only to balance the paranoia with the rewards of visage and respect. Throw in some of your own Non-Persona Actors and then spring the last atrocity on them. Right inside the elevator that leads into the mantle, the last murder occurs.

Anyone who is standing anywhere near the elevator feels a spill of freed Immaculum, a thunderous near-physical ripple, and the elevator doors open to reveal a pile of clothes rumpled on the floor and a patina of blood that completely films the interior of the car. Among the clothes is a necklace that signifies the deceased as a Slayer of Pride Banjax.

Investigation

Now the real rumblings begin. Seth-Ra and another Banjax accuse Augustus of being behind the murders. The whole Rialla is just a cover to eliminate local Immortals to consolidate the Magdalen power base. Augustus accuses Seth-Ra and the Phoenix of attempting to undermine the Magdalen mantle.

At this point, the avenues open to investigation by the Cadre are:

The Magdalen: Augustus seems to have ulterior motives for the Rialla. However, he is genuinely concerned for the murders. They are occurring around his mantle, after all.

The Phoenix: Seth-Ra and the other Phoenix are definitely out for the Magdalen, but all of the Phoenix Pride members have air-tight alibis for the murders.

Judith: A mere bartender she is not. Judith is not acting in any way like a subservient tryst. If anyone bothers to check, she possesses a full Immortals halo as well as a vex. If anyone confronts her about it, she imperiously tells them to mind their own business. A clue, however, is that Judith is immediately on the scene each time a ripple occurs.

The Taint Problem: Sudden influxes of taint simply do not occur naturally. Aside from one or two unfortunates being banished to the dominions, the Immortals with the most taint are the Magdalen.

Wrapping Things Up

Now events unfold into the climax. A loud ruckus erupts from the other end of the building. Rushing to investigate, the Personas find Seth-Ra under attack by three people wearing tattered clothes, all wild-eyed with frenzy and utilizing rough, unpracticed serenades.

If the Personas do not intervene, Seth-Ra quickly executes his attackers with aid from Wayne. If the players want some combat, allow them to dispatch the assassins. Any investigation of the bodies or interrogation of a live attacker reveals that they were attendees of the night's football game, and their last memory was of being snatched from a car in a nearby parking lot. Someone kidnapped three unlucky twilights, erased their memories, implanted the vexes from the murdered immortals, taught them some very basic serenades, and sent them out to attack Seth-Ra.

Seth-Ra retires to a chair to compose himself and Wayne asks the Personas what they have learned. The Arachne confides that through his colleagues he has learned that the Tautha is on the rampage because someone slaughtered a Sunderion Weald and stole the Palladium. His primary suspect are the local Magdalen. He has also learned that just before the Rialla was announced, a Magdalen cadre assaulted a Phoenix stronghold and supposedly made off with something important.

Once again, let the players pursue their leads to their hearts' content. If they seem stumped, Seth-Ra stands in the middle of the hall and begins to sing a clarion symphony of unearthly beauty. He is summoning the Jury.

The lights in the building dim as a brilliant crimson luminescence appears in the ballroom off the main hall. The light strobes and coalesces into two figures, one male and one female. Both are dressed in dark boots, slacks and featureless shirts and pitch black longcoats of elaborate cut. Their features are plain and both have expressions of serene calm.

At this point the threads of this confusing mess begin to come together. Just how much visage Personas will gain through counting coup depends on how much of the main plots the Narrator allows them to discover.

Most of the evening's sequence of events was engineered by Seth-Ra. He was the one who killed the Sunedrion Weald, stole its power and forged the piece of pseudo-Palladium. Whereas normal palladium removed poison and taint from Immortals, the new object invested Immortals with taint. Pride Phoenix then let a Magdalen cadre infiltrate one of their strongholds and steal the pseudo-palladium. Augustus, acting true to form, staged the Rialla and invited all the locals to attend so he can count coup on the Phoenix in front of everyone. Seth-Ra simply waited for the taint to begin to subsume the Magdalen and their blowhard of a leader.

As for the bartender, Judith was a Nimrod plant posing as Augustus' tryst to spy on the Rialla and see to it that the silence was maintained. The Nimrod reduced to ash outside was her triad mate.

And the mysterious murderer? That would be Jude, the Morrigan Slayer. Jude deduced that the sequence of events might have pushed the Magdalen or the Phoenix to attempt to oust the Morrigan and become the Sceptre Pride. So our dear little amoral Morrigan set out to create enough chaos to keep the two rivals at each others throats long enough to eliminate any real threat they might be to his Pride.

This is an example of the stratagem in action - plot and counterplot, skullduggery and intrigue, part and parcel of the world of Immortal...

Glossary

Counting Coup: The public embarrassment of one Pride by another through strength of subtlety.

Dominions: A spirit realm that lies parallel to the mortal realm

Immaculum: Life force. The wellspring of all living things.

Juggler: An occupation of calling in the Perpetual society. A juggler is someone who analyzes data and findings and directs others to gain the most benefits from the results.

The Jury: A cabal of Immortals feared for their power. The Jury is the only know group of Immortals to willingly dwell in the hazardous Dominions. They are also responsible for hearing claims of counting coup and granting visage.

Mantle: A small, custom-designed pocket dimension generated by a tryst.

Palladium: A rare element, resembling Amber, that possesses the power to remove taint and poison from an Immortal.

Probe: A calling or occupation in the perpetual society. A probe is an investigator, agent provocateur and spy.

Rialla: A fantastic atmosphere that is cultivated to generate free flowing Immaculum.

Ripple: A supernatural effect, a backlash, that is felt by near-by Immortals when a serenade is used on another's halo or person.

Sceptre Pride: The Pride with the most visage and the recognized leader of all other Prides.

Serenades: Mystic powers that derive from the Immortals Vex.

Silence: The Nimrod-enforced rule of never using serenades on another's halo.

Slayer: An occupation or calling in the perpetual society. A slayer is a warrior and the rare sanctioned executioner among his peers.

Spill: A rush of Immaculum that is freed into the surrounding area when an Immortal's body is destroyed.

Stratagem: The rules and laws for counting coup in the Perpetual society.

Sunedrion Weald: A tree containing a portion of an Immortal's power.

Tryst: The product of a mating between an Immortal and a human. A tryst can mentally create and sustain the pocket realms of Immortals called Mantles.

Visage: The supernatural aura of respect that surrounds an Immortal who has been granted coup by the Jury.

Vex: A small crystalline reed-like shard located in the throat of Immortals. Vexes allow Immortals to play serenades.