37 - A Call To Arms

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens go after the cultists' compound
When: April 1
Where: A converted farm on the rural edge of the Tokyo metro area
Summary: Between Amaterasu's shinki observing the known cultists, and the work that the new gods and shinki have done, a rural property that might be the cultists' compound has been identified!






After months of investigation, Amaterasu's shinki still haven't found the rebel gods she's searching for -- but, with the help of the new gods and shinki, following the cult has revealed their rural meeting place! It was once a farm, but has recently been rebuilt into a compound with a big central building, heavy concrete walls and plenty of outdoor spaces for ritual magic. The new gods, and some of the old, have been asked to descend to the Near Shore and find out everything they can about this mystery compound.

High Walls

It's not just concrete that protects the compound. The walls are engraved with magical symbols, and any god or shinki who gets too close to them finds themselves feeling increasingly sick, weak and repelled from the structure. Even flying over won't work. There's only one exception: when the front gates are opened to allow cultists, or scheduled deliveries, a careful few gods or shinki can sneak through without being blocked by the spell. How will they get in? Shadow a cultist? Pretend to be a pizza delivery driver? Or will they risk alerting the cultists by trying to break down some other part of the wall?

Booby Traps

The problems don't end when they get inside the compound. Dozens of cultists seem to live here -- or maybe they're just visiting for the weekend? Either way, there's a lot of people inside, and while most of them overlook the presence of Far Shore beings, that doesn't mean there's no danger. Magical booby-traps and seals are dotted around the grounds and throughout the big, sprawling, two-story manor at the end of the driveway. Some of them blight any god or shinki who triggers them. Others glue their feet to the ground, or make them instantly noticeable to any passing cultist, or weaken them by draining their energy away.

The traps have clearly been made by several different people, and some of them have weird senses of humor! Almost any effect might be inflicted on the unwary characters who stumble across a booby-trap, although most of them won't cause serious injury or death, and the effects wear off within a few minutes to a few hours after either they get away from the trap, or someone else helps them by destroying it.

The First Fight

Not every human cultist in the compound is blind to the presence of gods and shinki -- and with all the traps being triggered, it's just a matter of time before they're caught. The first warning that the cultists know they're being invaded is the piercing sound of a bell. The second is the appearance of lashing ayakashi tentacles that rise up from the ground all throughout the manor house. As the humans flee, the tentacles will wrap around any gods or shinki they can catch, trying to drag them further into the house and down. Although they can be cut and destroyed, the main body of the creature is out of reach: it lurks far below, in the building's basement, gnashing a massive, serrated octopus beak that's ready to rip apart and devour any souls who can't struggle free of its grip in time. Follow the spectral tentacles down to the beast's lair, and slay it before it can kill all the invaders!

Please comment to the First Fight thread below if your characters are trying to rend the ayakashi. Each character can only be in ONE First Fight thread. RNG will be used to determine which fighters manage to strike the final blow, but RNG will only select a single thread; players are free to negotiate how the final blow happens within that thread.

The Second Fight

As the octopus ayakashi dissolves, finally free from the magical bondage that forced it to guard the cultists' compound, a mysterious door is revealed set into the far wall of the manor basement. A strange glow emanates from within. Enter... if you dare!

To participate in the second fight, please comment to the Second Fight thread below with the character(s) who will be participating in your thread. A top-level with further details will go up on February 7.

In Summary:

• Investigate a cult compound
• Watch out for traps
• Battle a giant octopus
• Uncover a mystery
• Have fun~

Questions? Leave us a question on the OOC Plotting Post and we'll do our best to answer ASAP.

Comments

[myblueskies]

Well done! Yes one more hit! You can do it Elfnein! [They will make the tentacle go away! Romeo is sure of it!]

Careful though! Don't let it hit you!

[alchemists]

[ A nod at Romeo's advice, with that she tries to get the last hit in by running up to the tentacle and getting another stab in the middle of it. ]

Did that do it?

[myblueskies]

[The tentacle writhes away, shrinking and retreating through the corridor.] Yes! You did it!

[There was a lot of noise, lots of fighting happening in this house!] I bet other people need help though!

[alchemists]

We defeated it... we really did it.

[ Being the second enemy they've managed to take down, it was still really hard for Elfnein to processes that they managed to do all that. ]

Yeah, let's try and find other groups fighting and help them.

[myblueskies]

Yes let's go and make sure everyone's alright! [They might need help and Romeo and Elfnein are good at helping people!]

[alchemists]

Which way should we go now?

[myblueskies]

Um... [Nose twitching as Romeo looks around, it's strange that even though weasels have eyes Romeo doesn't see out of them, instead he sees from about everything around him all at once.]

I think this way! [The weasel jumped down off Elfnein's shoulder and scurried towards one of the doors. Romeo could hear noises and he guessed that that's where other people were!]

[alchemists]

Alright [ Elfnein nodded and followed behind him and then offered her arm out when they got to the door so Romeo could sit on her shoulder again in case something went wrong. ]

[myblueskies]

[He clambered up, with so many tentacles around it was best to stick together! Soon they would find more people to stick together with and they would all fight this bad ayakashi together.]

[alchemists]

[ After Romeo safely got on her shoulder Elfnein slowly opened the door in front of them. So far nothing had jumped out at them but they still needed to be on guard as they moved forward. ]

Can you sense anything nearby?

[myblueskies]

[Not yet... He looked all around and listened really carefull! There's distant sounds of fighting but nothing clear enough that he can tell where it's coming from!

But then! A crash!

That way! That way!]

[alchemists]

Alright, that way then!

[ She tried to run as fast as she could in that direction, but it ended up being more of a sprint then walk and sprint again since she wasn't used to running so much still. ]

wrapped I figure?

[myblueskies]

[It's alright that she can't run super fast yet. It was something they could practice when they were not in the middle of a fight with bad tentacles!

Romeo stayed on her shoulder, helping her keep her spirits up. Soon they would find other people and be able to help them too!]