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

Apr 29, 2024 8:36 am
It is raining again on Monday. The stoic population of London are 'not surprised', but the weather people are, they are saying this is unusual and should not be happening, that we should be getting rain, maybe, one-day-in-15 this time of year, not every day. [real world forecast]

But that is not the most pressing problem.
Apr 29, 2024 8:38 am
- Rhiannon -

You are supposed to teaching a class this morning, early... but not this early.

Circe contacts you before 05:00, she has received word of a demon hit squad arriving on the first train in to Picadilly. She is not telling you what to do, just relaying information and leaving it up to you.

• How does Circe contact you?
• Were you asleep, or up for some reason and why?

What do you do?
Apr 29, 2024 8:40 am
- Mark -

The portents indicate a thread inbound to your location from the west. They are unclear, and you might not be the target, but something approaches your neighborhood with ill-intent.

You might be able to hole-up in your Sanctum, but anyone mounting an assault on your place of safety is either very foolish or knows something you don't. And anyway, the fracas outside will draw a whole lot of attention that you don't want.

You could 'hit it off at the pass' —as they say— stop the threat before it even gets to you. Picadilly Circus seems a good point for such a plan.

• How did you find out about this danger? Your own divinations? Someone from your order? Something else?
• How long have you known? Did you have time to prepare? How?

What do you do?
Apr 29, 2024 8:45 am
- Benji -

The first train in in the morning is a mixed-bag. Those few who have to ride it are often tired and grumpy, but they also understand the meaning of hard work at early hours.

Anyway, something about a particular group of large 'men' that step onto the platform bothers you. It does not take long for you decide they are not human, though what they actually are is still unclear.

They go into a huddle, and with a little effort you can overhear some words, there is mention of "Leicester Square". You see them checking a map, but they are looking in the wrong part, clearly not locals.

Your friend, Jacob lives by Leicester Square, and something about these guys puts you in mind of him. Maybe he will appreciate the heads-up?

• Are you usually set up and busking from 5am for that first influx? Are you today? Or are you still 'arising' and getting ready?
• Do you try to contact Jacob at this ungodly hour?

What do you do?
Apr 29, 2024 8:46 am
- Jacob -

Depending on what Benji does, you may have warning about a possible incoming threat.

For now you have a scheme forming, it should be easy, but are they ever?
Roll Business as Usual and we will pick up from there.
Apr 29, 2024 11:25 am
Benji is already twelve minutes deep into Bach’s Partita No. 3 in E major when the first commuters step off the train, his violin case open on the ground in front of him with a few coins scattered inside to encourage donations. He’s always there, playing for the commuters when the first train pulls into the station every morning though he’s not so much an early riser as the exact opposite. He usually plays in the mornings and evenings when the station is most busy and retreats to his Haven to sleep in the middle of the day.

He frowns to himself as the unusual group of men step off the train and wonders if he ought to tell Jacob. It does seem like the kind of thing Jacob would be interested in…

Well, in any case, he’s halfway through the Bourrée. He can’t very well stop now.

He finishes the Partita and waits for the group to leave the platform. Once they’re gone, he fusses with his phone for a few moments (he still hasn’t quite got the hang of all this mobile telephone stuff) before finally managing to call Jacob.

"Jacob! Hello!" he says loudly the millisecond Jacob picks up, apparently completely oblivious to the fact that he might have woken Jacob up. "How are you? Well, I hope? This weather’s been fantastic, hasn’t it? I mean, I don’t much care for the wet, but it does make it a lot easier to get around during the day. Anyway, why was I calling? Oh, yes! I thought you might like to know that there are some people – only I’m not sure they’re actually people – at the station who appear to be headed your way. They seem kind of…" Benji pauses as he considers how best to describe the group he saw. "…big and unpleasant?"
Apr 29, 2024 3:22 pm
Mark was watching the cloudy sky wondering and weighing his situation. The threads shift and spin, bringing new shape to the tapestry, telling a different tale for a different Arcanist. That was the message given to him by High Oracle Mistress Nagajuna Basint, the seeress of the Order. She is given the charge of reading the planetary bodies and understanding the portents, and due to her exceptional talents, the Order has survived for long time navigating the dangers and perils that appear before them. Mark had received a letter from her and he had promptly started making his own divinations. The Order wants their Arcane wielders to be always prepared and strive to polish their skills. Divination was not Mark's strong forte, and he had struggled to understand the meaning of all the cryptic readings.

In front of Mark stood a table filled with threads, pins, tarot cards and coloured glass marbles kept over a map of London. All his readings has shown that something will come from West but he couldn't pinpoint what it is. The thread-pins are randomly collated towards the west side of the map, as were some marbles. The Tarot cards stood, showing an inverted Tower and Fool.

Mark had forgotten how cold his coffee had become so he looked at it and made a sign as plumes of smoke started coming off the cup again. He took the mug and drank, watching the people cross the rain-slicked streets. He had been unable to piece together his divination, and the only way to work this out was to face it before it became a problem. He kept the mug on the basin and took out a rain jacket and an umbrella. He stared at his table for one last time and then proceeded to move out, locking the door behind him.

OOC: Mark will move to Picadilly Circus and Study the place to found out something odd.
Apr 29, 2024 4:19 pm
The sun hasn't even risen when Jacob's phone rings. Still sleepy, Jacob picks it up and sees 'Benji' on the screen. The busker is babbling some nonsense about the weather, and Jacob is about to hang up when he finally gets to the point.

"Big and unpleasant? I see. Thanks for the warning, Benji. Would you like to come to the surprise party if you have nothing more interesting to do?", he asks the vampire. Maybe Crowley or Fierna have finally decided to teach him a lesson in his own home. He could run away and seek the safety of his magically protected bookshop, but he would hate to leave his house in the hands of these thugs.

Rolls

Jacob: Business as Usual - (2d6+2)

(44) + 2 = 10

Apr 30, 2024 3:56 pm
Rhiannon lives in a crappy place near Covent Garden it is run down, broken, and covered with graffiti. Her phone rings and she wakes up to answer it. She hears Circe’s voice on it telling her about the demon hit squad. That wakes her up and gets her blood pumping.

She calls another TA and asks them to cover her class, then gets ready and heads out. She decides she doesn’t have time to get her car, does she ever, and just grabs her bike and heads out once she’s dressed. Her bow is strategically strapped onto her bike’s frame and her arrows are in her backpack.
Last edited May 1, 2024 5:11 pm
Apr 30, 2024 4:44 pm
- Rhiannon -

You are almost hit by a bus in Charing Cross Road, it honks at you as though it is your fault the driver did not see you in the rain, and it still comes close enough to completely swamp you with water from a large puddle in the road.

You are just wiping the dirty water —and maybe hair— out of your eyes with one hand when you notice a group of men entering a small alley to the left (east). Something about them causes you to stop.

• How do you know that these guys 'aren't right'? What triggers your 'demon senses'?
Apr 30, 2024 4:47 pm
- Mark -

A quick way to get to Picadilly Circus is through Cecil Court, as you enter the east side of the alley you see/sense the group you are tracking entering from the west. They have not seen you.

What do you do?
Apr 30, 2024 4:48 pm
- Jacob -

That definitely looks like a 'demon hit squad' to you. They are just coming off Charing Cross road and into your quiet little alley.

What do you do?
Apr 30, 2024 4:51 pm
- Benji -

Did you leave the safety of your platform and its many people, to rush to Jacob's aid? He already owes you one for the warning... well, if they are headed for him, that is, else you just woke him for nothing. He did ask for your help, though, and you are friends... right?

What do you do?
OOC:
If you go to Jacob you can already be there when he sees the squad enter the alley.
Apr 30, 2024 8:21 pm
Mark doesn't want to give out his location or intent yet, so he opened up his umbrella and stood at one corner like a boring everyday pedestrian. But he kept his senses up and tried to discreetly watch what the group is and where they were going.
Apr 30, 2024 11:44 pm
"A party?" says Benji brightly, before he realises that Jacob wasn’t speaking literally. "Oh. You mean an ambush." He sighs and begins packing up his violin. "I’ll be there in five minutes."
Benji has left his violin inside Jacob’s shop where it is safe and dry and hopefully out of the way of the impending violence. He is hiding in the doorway of one of the neighbouring shops, nervously fidgeting with the short sword that he normally keeps hidden in the lining of his violin case. He waits for the group of thugs to get a bit closer, preparing to jump out and stab one of them as they walk past…
May 1, 2024 5:22 pm
She's well used to rain and, at least, here in London it's nothing near as cold as Northern Ireland. She's probably told more stories about the cold and wretched weather that start with, "Back in Ireland" than could be counted. So, when the bus splashes her with the water in a deluge she gives the driver a good Gaelic curse.

The bus drives off and she's pushing her sopping red hair out of her eyes when the drops of water blur her vision a bit. It's in that blurred vision that she sees one of them for what he truly is. He's headed into a small alley and she begins to smile. She whispers to herself, "Alright boyos, time to see just what you are made of."

She rides over to the alleyway and pulls her bow from the frame of her bike, an arrow comes from her bag, then she slides into the alleyway after her prey. She's soft and silent as she moves, a deadly predator even in the daytime.
May 1, 2024 6:18 pm
Jacob watches the scene from the relative safety of his upstairs apartment. From the window, he can see Benji hiding in the shadows of a nearby doorway, but Jacob is unsure of the vampire's options against these demons (now that they have entered the alley, he can clearly see what they are). Additional muscle might be needed, so Jacob grabs his phone again to text Rhiannon.

Good morning, my lady. Looks like some of our diabolical friends are still at odds with us, I have an unpleasant visit at the bookstore.
OOC:
As I understand I haven't seen Rhiannon in the street yet
Last edited May 1, 2024 6:19 pm
May 1, 2024 6:51 pm
- Jacob -

You worst fear is realised as the four 'men' check their map, confer and turn to look at your shop. They do not look like they are out shopping for books.

They have not looked up and have not seen you at the window... yet.

What do you do?
May 1, 2024 6:51 pm
- Mark -

The 'people' you were tracking stop and look at a bookshop in the quiet alley. You know the place, you realise, and you know the man who runs it, but it looks like they are not after you or yours... just your associates.

What do you do?
May 1, 2024 6:52 pm
- Benji -

The four guys you saw at the station slow and stop, peering at Jacob's place with less-than-friendly expressions. Their backs are turned to you, but there are four of them and, if they have any discipline, one of them will have been tasked with watching their six.

What do you do?
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