39 - Where Do We Stand?

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
What: Help the Heavens investigate what remains of the cult and their compound
When: May 2
Where: A converted farm on the rural edge of the Tokyo metro area
Summary: Characters can discuss what they know about the cult, choose how much or how little they tell the Heavens' representative Suijin, and help make decisions about where to go from here.






This place was once a farm, then rebuilt into a compound with a big central building, heavy concrete walls and plenty of outdoor spaces for ritual magic. Now, the rooftop has caved in, and the main floor has collapsed as well, leaving a basement open to the skies above. All around, police tape from a local Near Shore department has quarantined off the area. Amaterasu's shinki, in cooperation with those from Suijin, Fuujin, and Raijin have managed to take shifts warning miscreants and the police away from the area, but left the tape to help with those efforts. Just beyond the tape, they've now put up Borderlines to safely guard against ayakashi for the duration of this meeting, but they're pretty far out of earshot and very focused.

Letter of Invitation

Everyone should have seen the digital letter that Amaterasu sent out, but just in case, later that day each temple receives a single letter, with a wax seal on it with Amaterasu's chrysanthemum as the emblem. It is a reproduction of the same digital letter that Amaterasu crafted the day before; it's not printed out, but rather handwritten with painstaking accuracy. The shinki could be from Amaterasu, Suijin, Raijin, or Fuujin, and they will not force anyone to take the letter, in particular if they're told that the god/dess already saw the message on their phone earlier.

Early Arrival

There's a set time that Suijin will arrive - Noon - but as everyone is encouraged to come early, it is possible you are one of the first or last to arrive among the "early" crowd. How did you get there? Was it by stealth or impossible to miss, even by any Near Shore people in the area?

Topics of Discussion

Now is your chance to discuss with your fellows what you know, don't know, wish you knew, etc. about the cult or their compound. Do your characters think they are still being spied on by Heavens and want to hold back, or are they reasonably confident speaking out with the protecting shinki so far away? At the very least, none of the shinki are making very obvious attempts to return to the compound itself. For the very paranoid, there are little alcoves out of visual range or a small room that still has a door on it, albeit not a ceiling.

Suijin's Arrival

Suijin arrives at the appointed time, stepping onto the compound's front drive and under the police tape at precisely Noon. She comes in the capacity of official counselor for Amaterasu. OOCly, this thread will be free-form individual threading.

After her arrival, we will have mirrored top-level comments with Suijin supplying a piece of information as a jumping off point for discussions about each topic. From that point, it will be individual threading, or multi-character threads if you would like. All of these threads will still be addressed to the group at large, loud enough for them to hear and jump in if players would like.

Redacted April 7th via OOC post: We will run this similar to how we ran the Compound's Second Fight: there will be an opportunity for Suijin and/or her shinki to speak, then characters will be given free reign to respond to her and amongst themselves for a period of time. Then, another "round" will begin with Suijin and/or her shinki's responses to the characters. This structure allows for characters to still react with late comments or reactions to anything being said, or jump in whenever they feel comfortable speaking up.

In Summary:

• Talk amongst yourselves before Suijin arrives
• Check out the damage inflicted on the Compound
• Discuss next steps with Suijin, if you would like
• Have fun~

Comments

[swordofzero]

Did anyone ever find the 'sensei' Votelli was talking about? [Suzaku has mostly been quiet, stood listening at the side looking like he hasn't slept in a while.

He hasn't. He's only here because it's important, because dealing with the cult is much simpler than dealing with what he has done. He is still surprised that Saber didn't just unname him and kick him out. He deserved it.]

Does anyone know where Votelli is? She may have more information. I fear that we may have taken out the low level members of the cult when we took this compound but their true generals escaped or were not here to begin with. We may have just sent them deeper into hiding.

[unlucky7]

Shun and I did. Imai Takeru, he lives at [address in a Tokyo suburb]. There's a barrier around his home not unlike the one around the compound.

[Though after she shot out the defenses in March, it's probably stronger now.]

We found a letter from him to an unnamed high-ranking individual expressing disappointment in Votelli because of her abilities, but thought the second god would be more powerful as they knew what they were doing.

[And whether that second god is Sotero or Talon is anyone's guess. Talon was certainly older than the rest, but perhaps she wasn't made in the same way.]

I don't think going after Votelli is the right option, I doubt she knows anything.

['More than what she's already told us' is the unspoken sentence. Ginia's not taking any chance of Heaven's shinki overhearing.]

[swordofzero]

[Oh. Ginia had. Suzaku didn't have to look around to know who it was, only one person spoke through a phone. He nodded in her direction, without any semblance of his usual smile. Votelli was a disappointment? That was a surprise. But perhaps not, volcanoes were perhaps more useful than forests.]

I see. So she may no longer be with them... If she's no longer with the cult though, does that make her a lesser threat or greater? She might find another group to serve. [Or she might not. But she had not seemed on the heavens side, the time Suzaku had met her. It could go either way.]

[unlucky7]

[Volcanoes and plants serve different uses. Takeru is a fool for disregarding Votelli's abilities simply because they don't serve his grand designs.

All things considered, for the wishes he wanted for the world, Votelli's abilities fit that in the broadest or most metaphorical sense.]

Not necessarily. If the cult brought her into existence, I doubt they'd release their hold on her so easily. She's also their current tether to the world as gods are sustained by belief.

[Which is also why Ginia built her a shrine in an orchard frequented by families. The belief of children are fleeting, but it can serve as a foundation to work with.]

The letter went on to suggest he'd reeducate Votelli if the person he was writing to had better success. I'm unsure whether that means success with Sotero or another god.

[swordofzero]

Then she is worth finding regardless of what information she knows. [If she is an important piece, it is folly to let her just be out there somewhere. Sotero too. They were the cults tether to the world and part of why they had power. There had been another god, here in this compound. Perhaps an earlier attempt?]

We know there's at least Sotero and one more. Do we know the whereabouts of Ime Takeru at the moment? [Ginia had infiltrated his house it seemed, but was he still there?]

[unlucky7]

[Ginia frowns slightly at Suzaku. She understands his point. She's a source of information. It's possible she's gone in for new training and could share more, but hopefully she's laid low. Amaterasu's forces don't seem to have found her, though they had a good description of her.]

She could be anywhere. Besides, Heaven declared her an enemy, they're not going to want to talk.

[They'll execute her without considering other options, like Ebisu.]

I'd rather focus on the cult members. I don't know his location at this very minute, but he stayed at his residence through the events of the recent parade.

[swordofzero]

She is an enemy. [Child or not. The cult was dangerous, the dolls they had made had almost killed Ginia. If she was part of them, or useful to them then she was an enemy. He wouldn't want to see her killed. But he also doesn't like the idea of her being free.]

It might be that he's still there though the defeat of this compound may have sent him into hiding.

[unlucky7]

[Votelli and the others are by definition their enemy, but it's a designation Ginia doesn't like either. Her frown deepens more. She signs at Suzaku, her hands fast and snapping out each sign.]

She doesn't have to be our enemy. We won't gain any trust treating her as one.

[swordofzero]

[Ginia's angry. That much breaks through the general numbness that he's feeling. His eyes are fast and that's probably the only reason he picks up on what she is saying at all.]

Perhaps.

[She could have made a different choice.

But Suzaku wasn't really one to be able to lecture on good choices. He looked away.]

[unlucky7]

[They all could have made different choices.

Ginia looks at Suzaku, wondering if something else is going on. He's not the most animated of her friends, always a little more toward the studious side, but something about him feels more rigid than usual. She whistles and waves her hand to get his attention, her signing a little more gentle when he finally looks back.]

Is everything okay?

[swordofzero]

[He looks back towards her at the whistle, not actually wanting to ignore her despite the fact he also does not want to argue with her. Not over this. They were not enemies, they both served the heavens. Ginia was kind and he could understand why she would not want a child god to be hurt.

At her question he was quiet for a moment. Because no. Nothing was okay. Not really even if Saber was not as furious at him as he should be. That was part of the problem.] I... [He shook his head.] It will be. Apparently.

[He doesn't sound like he believes that.]

[unlucky7]

If you want to talk...

[Ginia's hands bounce in the air as they trail off. From his response, it's clearer there's something else going on that's probably unrelated to today's meeting. She wants to press, but maybe it's not the right place or time. Sometimes it feels like she needs to nudge him into talking more, but today a lighter hand feels right.]

[swordofzero]

I know. [Ginia's a good friend. Far better than he deserves. She's always willing to help him, even when things are difficult and busy.

Does he want to tell her what happened? How he betrayed Saber... She is good and loyal and he doesn't want to tell her that he's not.

It's not been that long since he woke with the memory of being paraded through the streets, a prisoner. Traitor, murderer ringing in his ears. He and Ginia had once spoken about how being a shinki was almost a fresh start, nothing from their pasts getting in the way of their future. But it seems that he had reverted to type.]

Later maybe. It's not about any of this.

[And he shouldn't distract her. That's why. Not because he's a coward.]

[unlucky7]

I'll find you after this is over then.

[Ginia reaches over and gives his shoulder a light pat. They're friends, she has his back. He might think she's good and loyal (and she is), but he's forgetting an important part too; she's happy. It's taken her a long time to learn, but without happiness, there's no meaning to loyalty.

She wonders if he's happy. Stability goes a long way for a shinki, but there's more than simply being and serving.]

[swordofzero]

I'll see you later. [He merely nods at the pat. He's thankful for her, he's lucky to have her.

He turns his attention back to the meeting.

[futhark]

[ Ah yes, Votelli. Conveniently ignoring that part for now. ]

The sorceress and the goddess that accompanied her didn't seem all that weak. [ Magic they possessed were not dispelled easily from what he had seen. ] But I agree, we have no idea how many more of them are out there.

[ Truly enough, he seems just tired. Tired by the secrecy is one thing, but also tired of simply- not being able to do anything. The dreaded wait. Add to that Zelda falling asleep, waiting and seeing how his Exemplar fares. Always the wait. ]

A scattered enemy is no enemy at all.

[swordofzero]

They escaped though, did they not?

[The end of that fight is pretty blurry, considering he was frozen during it. But he's been filled in. They escaped, they were not captured or killed. They could be anywhere.]

Perhaps, but it is not like they cannot regroup, sir.

[futhark]

[ It was a blur, and Caster had other worries in the end- ]

The girl disappeared, but the hag- They knocked her out didn't they? I assumed someone would deal the final blow.

[ The sorceress was too dangerous to be left alive, so that's the logic Caster could see someone following. But if they spared her, then indeed it might be a problem. ]

[swordofzero]

Oh yes. A gorilla took her. It might have been one of us, but it might have been one of the cultists. That much I'm not sure.

[He hadn't heard that she was dead though, but he hadn't heard much of what had happened after the fight.]

[futhark]

It must have been one of us.

[ Caster says with strange confidence on that matter. Hey, that explains why the other cultists were looking for her. ]

Maybe even one of the old gods, fits for them to have some nifty powers like these

[swordofzero]

Perhaps, sir. Though I was not aware any of the old gods were there. [Except Lord E bisu of course, but he seemed a lot more involved with the new gods than most of his kind were. He tries to think back to who had been down there. There had been a lot of people, some he had not known and so they could have been an old god.]