The Ambient

*Pandora frowned slightly, briding one bare leg over the other and lacing her fingers together as she contemplated how best to explain The Ambient to the New Family Covenant. Those mages: Jack, Lance, Sara, Celeste, Flourish, David, and Romana all stared across the dining room table at her expectantly.*
*Finally, after a long stretch of silence Pandora began to speak, and speak the open and honest truth.*

## History of the Ambient

We first became aware of The Ambient in the early summer of 2008. There had been rumors of course, rumors of a new black magic cult surfacing in Cutter's End, a cult with a magnetic and charismatic leader whom seemed to be able to capture hearts and imaginations with little more than one or two speeches.

We investigated naturally and came to the conclusion that while the Ambient did in fact exist, it was harmless. While the locals were clearly alarmed and the police wary but otherwise unconcerned, we came to the conclusion that The Ambient were nothing more than a small cluster of sad and broken-spirited people seeking something that would give their lives meaning. Of the dozen people we identified as Ambient we interrogated four. All four of them gave us the same information.

They referred to their leader as The Lord of Entropy, and described him as a masked man whom spoke with a clearly British accent. The cult met every night of a full moon in a rented apartment in Cutter's End where they would spend an hour mumbling inane incantations from mass market paperback spell books over black candles and willing their enemies ruined and destroyed, then pay a brief homage to their leader, and spend the rest of the evening engaging in sexual proclivities that make me shudder just to think of them.

As a Chantry we compiled our notes, discussed the information we had gathered both as a team and as individuals and all of us, even Dame Samantha, came to the universal agreement that these wayward milquetoasts were not any kind of threat, except perhaps only to themselves with the possibility of spreading a venereal disease among themselves. None of the were Awakened, none of them were even Aware. In fact, there wasn't even a sturdy and learned *hedge mage* among them. We wrote them off and promptly forgot about them.

We learned far, far too late that snorting our derision at them and forgetting them was exactly what The Lord of Entropy had hoped we would do.

The Lord of Entropy is a master of subterfuge. The Ambient cultists we interviewed--under an array of disguises such as law enforcement, reporters, and even potential recruits--were all on the very fringe of the cult. They had no real idea of the inner workings of The Ambient or its true purpose. They were so convincing because they spoke with a blazing passion of conviction that they were truly important, members of the upper echelon and privy to all of The Ambient's secrets. They, like us, had been wholly deceived.

Cutter's End, understand, is an area with a very high crime rate and a very low police presence. Murders, drug use, kidnappings, and disappearances happen there with alarming frequency. So when two young prostitutes went missing, I'm sorry to say that we took no notice. When that number rose to six, we began to understand that something horrible was taking root in the End. When, within the space of three months, nine prostitutes in total had vanished we became very alarmed. We investigated and this time we did our research with all of our weight.

Dame Samantha was even able to contact the wraith of one of the missing girls. Through her, we learned the awful truth. The wraith informed us that the Ambient is a hellfire club. Worse even then that, we found that we know the Lord of Entropy. He is Lord Terence Smith, a Magistrae Scholar--a Master--in the Order of Hermes. He was at one time affiliated with this very Chantry. He, and his Inner Circle, are Nephandi."

*A moment of silence as the team absorbed this information, all of them but Romana seeming to be puzzled by the term. Jack, watching Romana, say his partner wince and her shoulders sag as if Pandora had just uttered the N word. He turned his attention back to Pandora.
"What is a nephandi and why is it something I get the feeling we should worry about?" he asked.
Pandora looked ashamed of herself.*

"A nephandi," she said, "is a mage whom has denounced and betrayed his Tradition, usually by violence. The nephandus rejects every tenet, belief, and bylaw of his Tradition and uses his arts to bring ruin to all mages. When a mage turns nephandus he pours all of his cruelty and malice into one aim: to destroy, to kill, and to gain power.

When Lord Smith realized we were on to him he openly declared himself. You can imagine the effect it had, on all of us. He had been our friend, our teacher, a trusted ally. Lord Smith had been Dame Samantha's mentor. Two mages sealed together by a bond tighter than that of siblings. Personally, I don't really believe Dame Sammie ever recovered."

*"Why would he do this terrible thing?" Romana asked.*

"Revenge," Pandora said softly, and sadly. "Lord Smith had a wife and a child. They were murdered by the Technocracy, in an effort to lure Lord Smith out into the open. Before it happened, there were certain evidences to suggest that one of the Chantry mates whether out of jealousy of Lord Smith's position or out of plain spite, had tipped the Technocrats off to where the Smith family would be on the day in question. Dame Samantha did an intensive investigation, and came to the conclusion that the threat wasn't credible. Lord Smith trusted her judgment and put his faith in her findings. Sadly, the Dame was not correct."

*"God," Romana whispered, her voice tinged with horror.*

*"What's a Hellfire Club?" Sara asked.*

## The Hellfire Club

*Pandora began to answer but quieted herself as Dame Samanthat entered the room. The Master of the Chantry made a startling contrast to the formal gowns she normally wore. Straight from the court where she had been engaging in excercise the Dame's long almond hued hair was down, a white sweatband encircling her forehead. She wore a tiny tennis outfit.*

*The Dame began to speak as she approached the table, following the tantalizing aroma of freshly brewed coffee.*

"The appellation hellfire club has its origins in Great Britain, where the name was used to describe the notorious gentleman's clubs developed in 1617 by Sir Francis Dashwood. The club was an institution where men of the socially elite class, namely politicians, would go to invest themselves in activities considered morally reprehensible by the standards of the time. Prostitutes were brought in and made us of, intoxicating substances were imbibed, and the men would just explore desires and needs hidden from their public lives. But for us, as time went on, the term took on a much darker and more sinister meaning."

*Pandora scooted to one side to let Dame Samantha sit. She placed a hand comfortingly on the Dame's bare thigh.*

"For us, Mages, the hellfire clubs became a haven of horrors. Young men and women of privileged society and prostitutes alike were lured in with promises of ecstasy the likes of which they couldn't even dream of. Innocent people were subjected to incomprehensible tortures applied by Life and Entropy magicks, often just to see what the end result would be. People were killed in abominable ways, after which orgies would commence with mages streaked in innocent blood prancing around baleful fires dedicated to the most inhuman intelligences out in the deep umbra. Hellfire Clubs soon became synonymous with Nephandi.

These are the activities that The Ambient perform today, all in worship to the vile and terrible Nephandi Lord, The Lord of Entropy, to fuel his power and, he hopes most likely, obliterate the memories of his wife and child. There is nothing left of the Lord Terence Smith we once knew. He is forever gone, replaced with the ultimate horror named The Lord of Entropy."

*The Dame calmly lifted her coffee mug to her lips. She reached out with one hand to collect a few pieces of the warm buttered toast on the table.*

*"Lord Smith is cruelty incarnate. His Inner Circle, however, is just vile," she said.*

## The Inner Circle

Based on the interviews and interrogations of the Ambient cultists we apprehended, we know that there are five mages that occupy the seats of the Inner Circle. We do not know their civilian names. We do know that at least one of them is an Adept and we also know that all five are *barabbi*. *Barabbi* is a term applied to a mage whom has denounced his tradition and left it in order to serve a Nephandi Lord.

**Leviathan** has been marked out as the right hand man to the Lord of Entropy, he delivers Smith's edicts and commandments to the Ambient. We must only presume that he is Smith's apprentice, which would make him likewise Order of Hermes. He has been described to us as a tall and powerfully built black man, bald, and having a penchant for wearing a thoub and sirwal. He is likely of Middle-Eastern descent.

**Dagon** is the man responsible for making all of the ritual gear and tools the Ambient uses, as well as mixing up the wierd and strange beverages, potions, and narcotics the Ambient uses on a regular basis. He is described as rather a short and portly man, always well dressed with a van dyke and a penchant for constantly talking, even when tis only himself in the room. To the best of the information given us, Dagon is a Son of Ether *barabbi*.

**White Queen** seems to be the one whom regularly oversees the Ambient's meetings, rituals, and gatherings. She has been described to us as a strikingly beautiful blonde, a sun-kissed California type with a commanding presence and an ability to make people feel ten times the physical experiences that would seem impossible by all standards. No doubt a Cult of Ecstasy *barabbi* and probably quite strong in the Mind sphere.

**Scourge** is by all accounts the enforcer of Lord Smith's will within The Ambient. Our research and conversations would indicate that when an Ambient cultist is given an assignment and screws it up, tis Scourge he answers to and is never seen again. We have reason to believe that Scourge operates the nightclub Alcohol Salad in Central City. If that's true and we can capture Scourge we would stand a right good chance of discovering where the Nephandi Caul, their word for a Chantry, is located.

## The Ambient Now

The Ambient doesn't fit into any particular secular methodology or set standard of behavior. They are cultists, yes; but they don't habitually walk about in long black robes and throw meaningless and useful curses at people. They come from all walks of life and all social strata. You could walk right past one and not realize it.

You have to understand these people are lavishly devoted to the Lord of Entropy, to the point that they would murder their own families on his say so. The Lord of Entropy is more than just a figurehead. To them he is a god, a god that has very real supernatural powers and he *shares* that power. He looks into the souls and lives of these wretched people and lifts them out of the mires of their own makings. He promises them revenge against their enemies, the power to call up evil spirits, and how to make more money than they could ever spend in their lifetimes just by asking him for it. They cannot be reasoned with. They won't be swayed by emotional appeals. To them The Lord of Entropy is Alpha and Omega. They need nothing but him.

*"How will we know them, then?" Romana asked.*

You won't. Not until that very last and deadly second. You need to stay alert and aware at all times. You need to guard each other, and protect each other. Each of you has to trust that everyone else in this Covenant is watching your back for you. Herein lies the danger. I have no doubt that The Ambient and The Lord of Entropy is already aware of you. He knows whom you're allied with. He knows exactly where your loyalties lie.

*"How could he know all of that?" Sara asked.*
*Dame Samantha and Pandora, as one, looked at Jack.*

When Jack underwent his Awakening, there was a man at the hospital. Do you remember him? The bald Latino, dressed as on orderly, whom had been sent there to murder you? He was Ambient.
The Lord of Entropy knew you had Awakened before you did, Jack.

*One by one, everyone at the table turned their heads to look at their leader.*