36 - Dragon Dance

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens cover for a missing goddess at her temple festival.
When: March 18
Where: Near the Sensou-ji temple in Asakusa
Summary: After Kannon's disappearance last year, the Heavens are concerned that things might go wrong at her temple's March 18 omikoshi festival. They've asked new gods and shinki to attend the festival and keep an eye out for trouble. Meanwhile, trusted newcomers and older gods and shinki alike are watching over the cultists that have been identified.






The Festival

Shrine-carriers, musicians and dancers congregate early in the morning in their matching outfits to get organized into their parade. Luckily, all of the parade participants this time are alive and well. There aren't even any troublesome ayakashi hanging around... so why is everyone having such bad luck?! Laces are breaking, costumes tearing, small children are getting sick from nerves, and even the drums seem to have gone out of tune. It looks like this parade is going to need a whole lot of help to prevent disaster.

For those who aren't busy with the parade preparations, food and souvenir booths throng the area in front of the temple. There's traveling games, too, and plenty of people showing up early with their families to find a good spot to watch the parade. This is one of Tokyo's most popular temples, so it's quite a crowd!

The Stakeouts

Any gods or shinki who were told about the cult problem by Amaterasu -- or anyone who might have heard from friends and allies about the plans -- can help Amaterasu's shinki keep a tight watch on all of the known cult members. Her shinki are looking for any sign of the young gods who she believes are behind all of this trouble, but are there other clues that might be found by a keen observer? Join in on staking out a cult member, and see what you can see.

Current cult members that the shinki are watching include:

• Mitsui Ryou - lives alone in a medium-sized apartment, appears to work a 9 - 5 schedule with occasional late nights.
• Imai Takeru - lives in a small two-story house by himself, has an unpredictable schedule.
• Shimoda Tsuki - lives alone in a small apartment with a lot of plants, works retail with varying shifts.
• Oota Saburo- lives in a medium-sized apartment with his wife and two young children, works a 9 - 5 schedule with frequent work trips.
• Maeda Shinnosuke - lives alone in a small, messy apartment, works construction (early mornings, long days.)
If your character is taking part in the surveillance of any of these people, please feel free to comment to the Cult Clues thread below with the name of the character they're watching, and the times that they're watching that character, in order to learn what they might see. (Note: surveillance doesn't have to take place only on the 18th. Characters can take part in watching the cult members at any time after Amaterasu's announcement on March 8.)

The Parade

At noon, the parade begins. Misfortune is still dogging the participants and the crowds around them, but it looks as though everything will go all right up until the final turn as the heavy, gilded shrine turns back towards the main temple building, tips, and slowly falls over sideways, straight for the crowd.

What's worse, when the shrine hits the ground, it cracks open -- and a huge, jellyfish-like ayakashi wearing a giant white mask with a single black eye inscribed on it heaves its way out and begins lashing its tentacles in every direction. People stung by the tentacles are driven into a furious frenzy, and fights are breaking out everywhere. Stop the humans from fighting, take care of the injured, and destroy the ayakashi before the situation gets any worse.

The Pursuit

In the middle of the fighting crowd, two white-robed shinki are chasing after a very average-looking salaryman in a tan coat. He doesn't seem to know that the shinki are chasing him, but he is moving fast, and they're in danger of losing track of him. They're calling out to any Far Shore denizen close enough to hear, shinki or god:

"Don't let that guy get away! He knows what happened!"

Anyone who has met or spent time staking out Mitsui Ryou will recognize him as the escaping salaryman. If your character takes part in the pursuit, please comment to the Cult Clues thread with a link to your thread - the character who successfully catches Mitsui will be determined by RNG on January 6, 2019.

In Summary:

• Attend the Sensou-ji festival
• Enjoy food and games
• Help Amaterasu's shinki stake out the cult
• Fight a masked ayakashi
• Have fun~

Comments

ayakashi

[phantomtrick]

Alright, let's move there's no time to waste.

[ Ren is just a shinki with little experience. He thinks he can manage himself at least so he runs in with Aymeric. ]

No one asked these guys to show up. Did they steal an invitation?

[onedrinkwithme]

One needs no invitation in order to crash a party.

[A tentacle starts to move towards a child but Aymeric catches onto it quickly, using a piece of the broken shrine to Shield Lob it. Stopping for a moment, it turns to the two who are in its way.]

I suppose a god is better pickings than a mere child, hmm? Let us see your mettle, if you possess any. [And then to Ren.] I do hope you have a weapon on you just case.

[phantomtrick]

[ He doesn't carry weapons. Ren just shakes his head and steps back.]

I can use this.

[ Ren summons a demon figure to fight in his stead. He doesn't even understand why he can do this, but here they are.]

Ever fight with a summoned creature before?

Goood, I really need to make sure when I phone tag my grammar makes sense

[onedrinkwithme]

[Well since he doesn't deal with arcanists so much, the idea is new. However, they have bigger fish to fry than freak out over a soul fighter.]

There is always a first time for everything.

[And when the tentacles come in to strike, Aymeric slams his sword down as Circle of Scorn activates, hitting them into the dirt.]

no problemo

[phantomtrick]

You got them good.

[ Ren takes a step back and tries to focus. Controlling a summon is a lot of work. The winged demonoid beast attacks the enemy with its claws. ]

I bet you're really strong.

[onedrinkwithme]

Nay, compared to others, I am but a shield.

[Besides, calling a head summon is not being a slouch either. One tentacle takes the initiative to try and strike Aymeric from behind but he twists around enough to dodge and parry it back.]

Do not underestimate me! [And he releases a fury of slashes at the ayakashi, making it stumble back. This time, he addresses Ren.] I have a hunch that you are not someone to be trifled with either.

[phantomtrick]

Haha, I have a lot to learn. I'm just moving on instinct.

[ He doesn't know a whole lot. Somehow fighting with a summoned spirit feels right. Ren commands it to fire balls of energy towards their foe. ]

It's still standing.

[onedrinkwithme]

A proper Rend should solve-

[He can't finish the thought as he notices another tentacle behind Ren. He cannot attack it at the moment but he does grab the boy and pulls him away before it can try to flatten him. Like it can do that but ayakashi are tricky things.]

Of course an ayakashi does not play fair. Why am I not surprised?

[phantomtrick]

They're jerks.

[ He doesn't seem too impressed by this and jumps a bit back. ]

Hit 'em where it hurts. We won't give them an opportunity to fight back.

[onedrinkwithme]

'Where it hurts' is possibly that mask its wearing. But we cannot go anywhere until the appendages are dealt with.

[He rolls up the sleeve where Sukomi's bracelet rests and focuses on the tentacle rushing towards them, breaking into his own run while chanting the spell. And then he jumps up and slams his wrist into the creature, watching the limb vanish into nothing. At least it's a thing but the mask seems to be the core because of course it is.]

[phantomtrick]

[ That sounds reasonable. Ren agrees with Aymeric's logic and nods while taking a battle stance. He watches the enemy carefully before deciding what to do. ]

Do you think it's possible to take them all out at once?