Chapter One: Sing, Goddess [Darkness Visible]

[Sarky]

Max:


Max was almost disappointed it wasn't a trap. He'd not been getting many gigs lately, and he had some aggression to work out. Oh well. If this Shamhat was to be believed there'd be plenty of that soon enough. He stepped onto the train and flopped into a seat, legs spread. He looked left and right, shrugged, and lit up a smoke.


"Name's Magnus. Me Da's Thor. Met him in a bar fight. He decked me. Woke up next to a magic bike."


He took a long drag of his cigarette.


"Good times, aye."

 

[Coyotekin]

Fu Shen


He spoke plainly, "My divine mother is Xiwangmu, and out first meeting could've been better." Anything more than that seems like it was not meant for current company, if any company at all.


All the while the train moved he remained standing, and neither jumping or rocking of the train seemed to ever throw his body off balance.


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OOC: Fu Shen definitely looks a bit older, mid to late 20's.

 

[Mei]

The intrepid photographer nodded to those that have shared their stories... And then turned her attention to the last one. Waiting. Expecting. Though, it wouldn't be so far-fetched to say that her intention was to make him nervous. Sheila was one that found it hilarious, indeed.

 

[CameraObscura83]

"Oh... my Mother is Cailleach, Queen of Winter. She Made me work for my gifts.... sort of. She seems cool..." Shannon blushes slightly at the bad pun as he steps on the train. " I wonder who this mysterious other is.."

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


"We will encounter that person at some point. Or, we will not."


He shrugs. "I am more interested in what we are doing now, and whether I will have time to set my accomodation straight before there is trouble."

 

[CameraObscura83]

Shannon


"See this is why i went down to half time at school, for just this situation. I knew it was coming soon." Shannon blushes again,his tone making his statement less condescending and more assured.<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2010_07/Shannon.jpg.4bbc57a0d0a3a87ea7fa01fe0c241a70.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="23508" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2010_07/Shannon.jpg.4bbc57a0d0a3a87ea7fa01fe0c241a70.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[Mei]

Sheila cocked her head to the side, arching her brow slightly. "How old are you exactly, Shannon? You seem to be nervous like a kindergartener on their first day at school. It's not like we're gonna hurt you."

 

[Coyotekin]

Fu Shen


In the meantime he removed a large, automatic pistol from his left shoulder holster beneath his jacket. He went over the weapon to make sure it was ready for any upcoming battles. What was truly striking about the weapon is that it was was bone white completely except for what appeared to be Chinese along the top of the gun, and on the sides at the base in red. Even more fascinating was the fact that the dye used seemed to be what looked like some kind of shiny red stone.


He looked to the girl, "He is old enough to know what he is getting into and to be able to prove himself."

 

[Chaka]

Shamhat coughed politely. "It's good that you're all getting to know each other, but I'm afraid that's all the idle chat we have time for. It won't take us much longer to get where we're going. Appreciate it kids. I'm afraid we can't arrange private trains every time we're going to need you to do something."


She smiles that dazzling smile, and continues. Her accent is lilting and oddly tonal, as though caressing syllables of a language long-dead.


"As I'm sure you're all wondering where you're going, I'll take what time we have left to brief you. We're going to Soho, which is only a few tube stops away from Islington, but we wanted to make sure you got in undetected.


"Have any of you heard of the Mirror Man?"


Roll Intelligence+Awareness.

 

[Coyotekin]

Fu Shen,


Hearing that they would be close soon he holstered his gun again and it appeared that nothing was awry, except for those that knew what he has in there.


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OOC: Fu Shen rolls 5 dice to Mirror Man? 5,2,5,5,10 (2 successes)

 

[Mei]

Sheila thought about this 'Mirror Man' figure, trying to figure out if she's heard that name somewhere before.


____________________


OOC:


Results for 4 Dice: 3 successes [ 9 9 3 7 ]

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


Hmm. That sounds familiar... Have I heard that name?


[5 dice, 5 successes [ 9 4 0 5 0 ] (TN: 7), +1 for Epic Intelligence, so 6. Whoops. Had I known there was a roll like that waiting for me, I'd have held off on opening the damn dice roller.]


Yes. I have.


"You are referring to that person who attacks people and leaves them blinded, maiming them with shards of glass, yes? Is there a supernatural element to those crimes?"

 

[Sarky]

Results for 4 dice: 2 successes [ 9 1 3 8 ] (TN: 7)


"Rings a wee bell, but I don't much pay attention to the news. Sprog of some titan then, is 'e?"

 

[Mei]

"Ah, yeah, I remember reading about that guy..."

 

[Chaka]

"Sato-kun is correct. The Mirror Man is the name given to an unidentified person who has been terrorising Soho for the last two weeks. You may be wondering what this has to do with you." Casually, she lights up a cigarette.


"The fact is, the ritual to this person's crimes closely resemble ancient and previously thought to be forgotten rituals used by certain of the cults of Mikaboshi, the Titan of Darkness." She inhales. "I trust now you see why we're concerned. It could be coincidence, but with the War on no coincidence can go unchecked. We want you to trace the Mirror Man and discover if he is operating alone, as part of a Shadow Cult, or if he's just some demented soul whose rituals happen to coincide with those of long-dead titan cults. Even if that turns out to be the case, you should probably stop him. A ritual invoked through ignorance may still have power. Especially with the Dark One loose in the world."

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


"Right. That is something to work on. How is this train journey relevant to that job, though?"

 

[Chaka]

"This train is occluded. If there are wards in place to detect Scions entering the area, then we'll get through them undetected. If the entire area is warded, that can't be helped, I'm afraid, but it's more likely to be a border watch. We should already have crossed the wards, if there are any."


She stubs the cigarette out on a No Smoking sign and then unwraps some chewing gum. "Any other questions?"

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


"Recommendations as to where we should begin looking?"

 

[Chaka]

She shrugs. "You're the Japanese one. If you were looking for cults of Mikaboshi, where would you start? I would assume it'll be tied in to the culture in some way."


The train begins to slow.

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


"I see. Well, I will try to figure something out."

 

[Sarky]

Max:


The big man took a lazy stretch, cracked his knuckles loudly and got up.


"Sounds like a plan ta me. So, which of yez ken how ta fight? I don't wanna be the only muscle watchin' yer backs."


Max looked thoughtfully at the handrails overhead. "I dinnae bring a weapon. Mebbe this'll do."


Firmly grabbing the metal bar, he wrenched a length loose from its fittings. He made a practice swing, and shook his head and snapped the bar across his knee. Then, he started bending the pipes around his hands, forming a pair of brightly painted knuckledusters.


"That should do. Right, someone with more brains than me lead on!"


Str + Athletics: Results for 7 dice: 3 successes [ 2 7 4 9 5 8 5 ] (TN: 7) + 2 Epic Strength = 5 total

 

[The Fuzz]

Toshio


"Well, I can hit a punching bag, if it co-operates."


He sighs. "Of course, when they don't co-operate, I have to hold them still."

 

[Coyotekin]

Fu Shen


"So, find the Mirror Man, any connection, and eliminate them and all traces. Got it.", he said with a bit too familiar reply.

 

[Mei]

"Huh... Interesting." Sheila watched the big guy get ready with a quirked brow. "Well, I'll help all I can."

 

[Chaka]

As the train pulls to a halt in the station (equally abandoned, as far as you can tell) Shamhat stands up and smiles as you. "I trust you'll have no trouble. You're no ordinary people, after all."


The doors hiss open.


The woman rolls her shoulders and begins to walk the length of the car toward the connecting door to the next car in front. "Good luck. And don't call me. I'll call you."


The connecting door opens, and then closes behind her. Shamhat is gone.