It's raining in London... again (RP)

- Rhiannon -

The pre-dawn dark hides your movements as you approach the alley. But I hope your phone is off or on silent when the text message comes in, probably no time to do anything about that now.

You can hang back in Charing Cross Road, they are in range of your bow, but even at this hour there is some traffic so you risk drawing attention to yourself. Or you can sneak into the alley, you can not see the far side, but it appears empty aside from the demons.

They stop, confer, and stare at one of the buildings. With a sinking feeling you recognise the place. It is Jacob's bookstore and home.

What do you do?

- Benji -

You stab your sword into one of the rear demons 'unarmoured' flanks, but there is resistance, its hide is tough and grates on the metal of your weapon, limiting its effectiveness (3 Harm minus 1 Armour). It turns to you in angry surprise and snarls in your face, raising its clawed hand to swing...

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- Jacob -

The three other demons look up at your call, they 'smile' (though maybe only you recognise the expression as such) and draw short staves from under their rain-jackets. All three point them at you, and you know this will go badly until...

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- Rhiannon -

You run up on cat-feet —the splash of the rain making more noise than you do— and drive your seax into the closest demon. You know where best to strike for optimal damage, and your weapon penetrates deeply into the demons stony body, the silver allowing it to slip through will little resistance. (1+1+1 Harm AP)

The demon shatters into a hundred pieces of rock, pelting its companions with clattering fragments and causing one to trip and stumble and turn to look at you in anger ... which quickly changes to fear as it recognises just who you are.

It raises its stave to strike you... and stops...

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- Jacob -

Only one of the two remaining demons manage to fire their weapon at you. Apparently the staves are ranged weapons, and a lance of boiling plasma streaks out, shattering your window and striking you in the chest and chin, making your ears ring, and leaving a scorch-mark on the ceiling. But they underestimated you —maybe you are stronger now than you were when you last dealt with 'the below'— and you shrug off the blow... But you don't think you can take another one quite so easily though.

What do you do? Do you show them defiance?

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- Benji -

You are in a bad spot. The demon's claws look like they can cleave a person in twain, and your sword is still caught in its hide. You are maybe just thinking that you may need to decide about abandoning the weapon or taking an undefended bow when the demon just ... stops, its jaw going slack and its eyes vacant.

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- Benji, Jacob, and Rhiannon -

You don't know why the demons just stopped. It could be a trick? Maybe you can finish them before it is over? Maybe you can get away?

What do you do?

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- Mark -

There is a press of bodies in the alley. Through the rain you see one of the demons fire a weapon at Jacob's building and glass scatters down to the stones.

You channel your energies, and release a measured portion upon the four... no, make that three, demons in the alley, they slow and stagger, and look stunned, but you know this will not hold them long, especially not if they are jolted awake by an attack.

What do you do? What does it look and feel like for you to Channel and cast magic?

- Rhiannon -

The helplessly stunned demon can do nothing to gainsay your assault, and it, too, shatters into hundreds of marble-sized pieces with no opportunity to retaliate.

You have taken out two of the four enemies in the same number of breaths —and looked good doing it— but you still don't know why they stopped just as one saw you nor how long it will be before they are back.

What do you do?

- Benji -

Forcing the blade through the hard 'flesh' takes a lot longer than would be safe if the demon were paying attention, but it only slowly reaches for the wound —as though puzzled by what is happening— before you split it almost in two, and it falls, 'lifeless'. Where one might expect blood and guts, the inside looks more like .... stone? clay? polystyrene? That's just weird!

What do you do?

- Benji -

When the demon sees that it is Rhiannon who is trying to capture it, it looks scared, and starts to thrash against her restraints.

You try to help, but it is desperate and swings a backhand at your head in the moment before it is held. Its fist hits like a automobile!

The whole fight is over in no time —three 'dead' and one captured— but the noise of the shattering glass and the howl of the stave has drawn some attention. You don't hear sirens, but the curtain in a window across the alley from Jabob's bookshop twitches and you feel someone watching you.

You all saw Jacob take a vicious lance of energy to the chest and face and then vanish from his upstairs window.

What do you do?