41 - Cultist Arc Finale

[godsoffortune]

Who: Everyone!
When: June 2nd 2017
Where: Mostly the Near Shore
What: Tracking down cultists to remove them as threats to Heaven, erase as much of their presence from the Near Shore as possible, and consequences of such







With it being made clear that the cult's influence was scattered throughout not just Japan but spread far and wide, the gods of the Far Shore have been asked to assemble in the same place where Conclaves normally happen. Bishamonten is assigned the task of rallying the old gods, while Orihime is given the same duty for the new gods. Essentially, the old gods will be working in Japan and the new gods elsewhere. Both Bishamonten and Orihime have a long list of individuals and their last known locations with vague descriptions, collected by those who went out hunting them on Heavens' behalf when everyone was last gathered. ("A Different Sort of Hunt")

Orihime gathers the new gods at her home along the river. Outside her small abode, there are several soulless shinki pulled from their temple. Ostensibly, they are to help any new gods who don't have a shinki available to create the Cutting ties or Rend effects, but no one is there to stop a shinki from commanding them as well.

Orihime will direct the gods to many places in the Scandinavian countries of Europe, south as far as Italy, west to the United Kingdom, and east as far as Belarus and Ukraine. Meanwhile, another contingent is sent to Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and the South Pacific / Oceania islands around there. There's even some scattered across the Americas - north in Alaska and the Yukon as far south as Chile and Argentia. Getting to any region requires the permission of a Near Shore god with a local shrine there to teleport, or a much more mundane plane trip.

Since this is all taking place over an extended period of time - roughly 48 hours - new gods are welcome to jump around the regions at their own choosing, not restricted to just one place.

Cutting Ties

Tracking down the cultists won't be easy. Some of their last known locations just confirmed their home addresses, work addresses, school addresses, etc. It's not like there's a GPS on them! However, with the address being specific to a city and country, along with a description of the person involved, it's possible to track down the rank-and-file cultists in these places beyond Japan. Many of them you won't even need to speak to, just find them and use a shinki to cut the string of fate that binds them to their cult activities, spell knowledge, and awareness of Heaven.

It's possible to run into other gods and shinki, though! Especially in major hubs of regular human activity, the cult was able to thus recruit more people to their causes. Maybe you can team up, swap information based on who you're looking for, that sort of thing.

Blight Circles

Where the human cultist recruits favored larger cities, their blight circles are much farther into countrysides - where they were less likely to be disturbed while the cultists crafted them. These circles are fairly simple in their lasting impressions: spellwork in a large circle on the ground, dead or dying flora for double the diameter of such a circle, and powerful ayakashi drawn to their vicinity. Strike down the ayakashi gathering there, purify the area if you can with magic or holy water, and physically break the circle's symbols. Particularly large blight circles might have been crafted near a Vent, increasing the likelihood of powerful ayakashi being there.

The larger and more powerful an ayakashi, the more Rend attacks it will take to bring them down. Maybe you can survive a long battle with one, or maybe you work together as a team with another god / soulless-wield shinki? The choice is up to you!

Cult Hubs

In the true cultural capitals of the world, there is a single Cult Hub - a physical building that was under the governance of a higher cultist official, where spellwork training and other informational sessions took place. Note that these hubs are not always the capitals of their countries, as with New York City or Los Angeles, Toronto or Munich, Sydney or Quezon City. The physical structures where cultists met have a wealth of inventory to look through and either dispose of or use in future efforts for the Heavens. It might not be glamorous work, but it could offer surprising rewards.

Event Bonus:
A thread of 10+ comments earns a character a random item that would have been stored at the cult hub. As with other missions involving "random item" rewards, players can give the mods 3 choices for review and we'll reply with a comment about any choice which might be too powerful / not suitable, or players can ask for the mods to give them 2-3 random items and pick only one as their reward.

Between Scenes / Afterward

As everyone returns to the Far Shore between their major efforts on the Near Shore, recovering from the battles, enlisting backup, or simply looking for another assignment from Orihime, you might still bump into one another, particularly around Orihime's home or down the river in either direction. Feel free to use this as a kind of catchall space or a place to look for healing, food, and sleep with your fellows from the Far Shore.

Alternatively, this could all happen when the last assignments have been handed out and people start to disperse back to their own temples.

Event Bonus: Gift Baskets!

For Gods and Shinki alike, Orihime will provide a gift basket to each and every character, customized as much as possible. This will include, among other things, an article of clothing with a wondrous power unlike any she's made before. Players can request what these items are OOCly, kind of like book requests in the library, but we hope it can to be something you as a player truly feel like is a reward to your character for having come this far.

To claim this reward, simply reply to the Orihime OOC comment below with your desired item and its ability to begin the discussion. Remember: Orihime would avoid granting items that help in battle; rather they're meant to enhance the character's everyday life, make their hobbies easier or more fun, that sort of thing. Example abilities might include: hover-style flight, lite elemental resistance, green-thumb plant growth boost, etc. - they're just tied to the item.

An IC week after the event, gift baskets will be delivered, along with an Epilogue announcement on the BBS.

Event Bonus (all prompts):
A thread of 10+ comments will gain 150 followers / 15 exp per thread.



In Summary:

• Travel the world
• Hunt down the last vestiges of the cult's influences
• Get goodies
• Await the epilogue announcement
• Have fun~

Comments

[hypomeneo]

[Waver makes a rumbling noise, troubled.]

If not the lair, then concealing something important.

[He doesn't like it. He doesn't like how these people are just... going about their normal business, happy and enjoying life, unaffected by what's present. He doesn't like that there's no response to their presence so far. He doesn't like that he had picked up nothing until now.

Everything about this rubs him the wrong way. As a Caster, as an experienced mage, as a strategist, as a fighter... even as fledgling as he still is.

He's watching everything, breaking down the environment (this is not a great battlefield for a bow, so that means he'll need to get creative if it comes to it), with senses stretched as far as they'll go as they move further in.]

The question is if so... what?

[towards_okeanos]

Let's find out.

[Iskandar moves past the closest table knocking down a tall glass. Iced tea spills on the woman the drink must have belonged to and she jumps up her chair flying back hitting the ground with a loud thud. Her companion hurries to help her dry her soaked dress with napkins.]

At least the people here are not an illusion.

[Or so he hopes. If they are it's a damn elaborate one. Far more elaborate that it would be sensible. Someone setting up something that big might be too much for them to deal with alone.

Yet nothing other than the steady onslaught of dread indicates anything out of ordinary is even happening. Iskandar moves past the other tables without destroying anyone's attire this time all the way to the open door.
The yerbateria itself is a small, cramped, dimly lit place. There's a counter near the wall, a battered coffee machine on it and a row of tins each of them labelled with the name of the yerba variety stored inside. Behind the counter, a man is drying a glass with a cloth his gaze fixed on the huge tv mounted to the wall above his head.
He doesn't look like he noticed them.

The sign over the door on the other side of the room states Museo de Plantas Sagradas, Magicas y Medicinales. It's hand-painted in bold red letters. Is it only him or the resistance now seems to have a direction?]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver skirts the crowds, though he brushes an empty chair and the scrape of it against the concrete draws the attention of the two businessmen deep in discussion about the papers in front of them. Then their attention briefly swings to the drenched woman.]

Yeah.

It bothers me that they aren't sensing a thing, though.

[Waver passes through the open door, scowling as he sees the tight, cramped quarters. Really not a good battlefield for war scythes or bows or the magecraft he favors. He has a knife, but that's no good if he needs to Rend and he's not sure how well he'll actually hold up in a close quarters match with an opponent that knows what they're doing, despite the physical advantages being an Heroic Spirit brings.

Again they're ignored. Waver tracks the man anyway.

... his eyes slide to the doorway with the bright red lettering above. There's a definite... push from that direction.]

In plain sight, huh? [A museum featuring sacred, magical, and medicinal plants.] It seems to be coming from there.

[towards_okeanos]

It is an official tourist attraction.

[Iskandar shows his phone to Waver. There it is. Right there on the list titled "What to see in Peru? Ten most curious sights off the beaten track." It is described as "a curious, private museum". The ranking site places it as a 53rd most visited tourist attraction in Peru. Opinions are very mixed. The yerbateria seems to get more love from the people.]

Let's check it then.

[Iskandar goes straight to the museum entrance but stops just before the door.]

I don't like it one bit but ...

[Suddenly it dawns on him. He had a feeling, a faint impression, from the moment they entered the courtyard. Difficult to place but vaguely familiar. Here just before the entrance, it got stronger and he finally remembered what it was. A sickly, slightly sweet smell of smoke and decay.

No amount of fair-scented herbs, incense and flowers can ever mask the stench of a funeral pyre.]

I think we need to hurry.

[hypomeneo]

[Waver tilts his head as he reads what's displayed, even as he scrunches up his nose a little, because there's a scent beginning to tickle his nostrils in an irritating way that's impossible to ignore.

There's something here.]

Do you-?

[Waver cuts off as Iskandar says they need to hurry. There's something unforgettable about the scent of burning flesh and the doorway flashes for a moment to the pyre they made Caster's lair into. Waver grimaces, partly because of the memories and partly because this is about to take a nasty turn.]

The fire alarm must have been turned off.

[He glances to the man drying the glass as he's spurred into motion. Still absorbed in his work and the TV. Has he gone nose blind? No... he's just not noticing. Not good. The bow comes up as he follows Iskandar in.]

Right behind you!

[towards_okeanos]

Yes.

[The room is just what one would expect of a small museum. Several illuminated display cases full of artefacts, photos on the walls. Some dried herbs hanging in bunches from the ceiling.
Nothing out of ordinary.

If one should disregard the foul smell and the knee-high blanket of thick, white smoke that swirls at their feet as they enter. The stench getting worse with each stop they make. Iskandar covers his mouth and nose with his hand. The other tightens its grip on the scythe's handle.

Nothing in the room looks like the source of the smoke or the smell. All the outside sounds are muffled, barely audible as if coming through a thick layer of blankets and somewhere there, in the background, there's noise. A low, static buzz of static. Like an incredibly sleepy swarm of bees. This space is large but he sees no other exit. What then is the source?]

Odd. It has to come from somewhere.

[All of it. The smell, the sound, the smoke. There must be a way further. It's just concealed. But how?]

[hypomeneo]

Below perhaps?

[Waver chokes and gags as one hand leaves the string of his bow, and the crane feather fan materializes as he summons enough of a breeze to bring in fresh air and push the smoke out the door.

There's no sound behind him. Not yet. The man behind the counter seems not to have smelt anything yet. Waver takes this moment to allow the fan to disappear again and reach into his pocket for alchemical dust. He tosses it in the air where it disperses into a glittering golden cloud to fill the room. It will make any trace of magic visible to their eyes, including where it's flowing from.

Sometimes the simplest method is the best. His fingers find the string of his bow again.]

Hopefully this helps in detecting the entrance.

[That sound though... the hum of white noise almost. A sort of sound cancellation spell? Or insect based ayakashi?]

[towards_okeanos]

[Suddenly the whole room glows with a maze of blue-green iridescent lines crisscrossing the floor, the walls and weaving around the shelves. All of the lines seem to flow in one direction ending just behind the large showcase on the other side of the room. In on itself the piece of furniture would not be even remotely interesting... if not for one little, detail. There's nothing behind the glass there. And it's difficult to believe such a small museum would keep one of their shelves completely empty.

Yet even this is not the end to wonders. As Iskandar looks around he quickly realises he's standing in the middle of a circle painted in gold on the museum floor.
On closer inspection, it's not just a simple circle but a face with zig-zagging lines coming out in every direction like hair. If only hair could end in snakeheads.]

A gorgon? Here?

[That could prove difficult to handle. If that was indeed the case. But what would a Greek monster do on the other side of the world? If it is, it should indeed have a lair underground. Good that at least one of them came with a ranged weapon.]

You know, I did hear something about tunnels below Sacsayhuamán.

[He looks back at Waver.]

And we're really close to that fortress.

[hypomeneo]

That is no gorgon. That is Inti.

[Waver frowns down at the floor before moving forward to examine that empty shelf.]

Their incarnation is currently in the Japanese Heavens. [As a flying pony. This place takes all sorts. Moving on.] They're the god of the sun, here. Commonly, legend says he was the son of Viracocha, the god of civilization, and sibling to Mama Killa, the goddess who governs the moon.

[There's a lot of conflicting stories about Inti and his parentage. And uh, who he married and parented. We are going with the most agreed upon here.

Oh and for the founding of Cusco? Well now.]

As the tales tend to go, his children founded Cusco. That's why the royal family of the Incan empire claimed divine status of their own, with the ruler being Inti's living representative and generally a sibling being Inti's high priest.

[Waver hums as he takes a pinch of powdered and opens the glass to see if there's any warding inside the cabinet he needs to be wary of, as he inspects behind it.]

Now Inti is Peru's national symbol, but it's interesting to see it here. Especially given those tunnels. I know that Sacsayhuamán itself once had a temple dedicated to Inti [One of the holiest spot in the Empire.] and it was theorized those tunnels also connect to Coricancha, which used to also be dedicated to Inti as the House of the Sun. [The reputed holiest spot.] The Spanish tore that down and replaced it with Church of Santo Domingo, but there's a lot underground there, including an archaeological museum.

So with the cult targeting us, it would make sense they'd be targeting those kind of holy sites. And since, as you said, we're really close to that fortress...

[towards_okeanos]

Ah, I see.

[Iskandar nods. There's nothing holding him in place so he can get off the painted symbol. A sun god and this country national symbol?]

Now I'm not that surprised the cultists found fertile ground for their plots here. I would be pretty bitter myself if my gods left me to dwell in some faraway country half world away.

[And that's not just some god. City founder, father to kings. It's almost as if Zeus left his dwelling at Mount Olympus and decided to live on the Far Sho... well... they have Hibiki as Apollo so that's ... no. That's different!]

I can see they would definitely try to use some of that resentment.

[He moves closer to Waver and watches him as he examines the cabinet.

Whatever magic was there it was never on the inside but there is a net of crisscrossing lines on the wall behind. At first, they seem random but there must be some principle governing them. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to guard whatever is that they are protecting.

They would need to move the display case out of the way to get a better look.]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver wrinkles his nose as he makes to drag the display case away from the wall and sling his bow comfortably across his body so he doesn't have to put it down. Guh. He just got blasted with a fresh round of that stench.

At least no hidden wards there.]

I imagine that's one of the reasons. [There a grating noise as the shelving unit scrapes along the floor.] Can't say I wouldn't be peeved if I found out the same. Especially depending the reason I was told for the ditching.

[There's a grumble as with one more screech, Waver pulls the cabinet clear.]

Most cultists think the gods give no shits about them or the world at all, so that would just be salt in the wound.

[towards_okeanos]

[Would you just ... oh, too late.

Waver, love, you really... eh...

Iskandar lets out a sigh. He was close but not close enough to react in time when Waver started dragging that cabinet.]

I would have moved that for you if you only let me. You really don't have to do everything yourself.

[He knows you're strong. There was one ruined bow serving as enough of an evidence to that fact. He's just stronger, it would have been easier for him.

With the furniture out of the way, they can finally see what it was supposed to hide. A large hole in the wall, enough for a human to pass through though for Iskandar it would be a struggle. The lines on the wall now make more sense. There was a picture there. A very old one. Before someone decided to punch a hole right in the middle of it. Its wards now broken, magic all but faded. The reason for that act of vandalism is the row of steps hewn into the rock leading downwards. Cultist couldn't have done it. They've merely discovered its location.

The stairs are unlit but there is a faint, flickering glow on the very bottom. Its source must be the same as the source of the stench. Somewhere down below there's a fire.]

Oh.

[Iskandar blinks.]

Do you think what I think?

[Are those stairs leading towards tunnels under the Sacsayhuamán? If so, what the hell are they burning there? And why is nobody stopping them?]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver blinks, expression suddenly owlish.

UM. He sure could have asked for help. Ahhhh... er... uh... it was in the way and he just didn't think and started pulling.

His cheeks flush pink and he scratches the back of his neck.]

Oh. Sorry. Got carried away.

Next time?

[B rank strength sure trumps E rank strength, even though he can buff it up with Reinforcement magic and his own God power. Not that he's complaining. It's still more strength than he was ever allowed before the fusion.

There's a military grade steel cup that's a testament to the fact he's still learning how to wield it. He's better now than before, but still he slips time to time.

Waver peers down the hole and the stairs descending into darkness. His fingers touch the edge of the wall. The energy is faded, but it's old. How old? It'll take a few more moments to know, but everything presented here shows that the cultists are taking advantage of the location. That'll factor into how much resistance they'll face as they go deeper into their lair.

The flicker of firelight in the distance is foreboding. Why is nobody stopping them? Surely they've been noticed by now.

Waver hopes they aren't walking into a trap. More dust comes out on the palm of his hand, and Waver blows it forward on a magecraft enhanced breeze to help detect any magical traps before them.]

Potential trap? It's suspicious that there's been no reaction to us...

I know the lower level cultists can be blinder to us than normal mortals, but either we've not been noticed yet or we've been expected.

[And yes, what the hell are they burning? The more this goes on, the more on edge he becomes.]

[towards_okeanos]

[Iskandar just laughs...and it's not his brightest idea because that means he inhales more of the smoke and the stench and ends coughing while trying not to breath in more of this filth.]

There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just happy our training is bringing results.

[Not in actual strength. That would or will not improve depending on how much they're are susceptible to physical change as gods. More in awareness of the strength. Waver acknowledging, even if only to himself, that he's capable of such actions. Teaching Waver technical side of fighting is one thing. Showing him what he's truly capable of is Iskandar's real objective. It is in moments like this that he sees his efforts are not in vain. And that makes him glad.

This place does not. Iskandar looks down the stairs. There exists another possibility. It's true that if this is a cultist hide-out or a workshop they should encounter opposition. As they do not, it might as well be that the owners abandoned it believing they don't have enough strength to defend it. Considering the fire burning down below, it could have been quite recently.]

Trap or not. There's only one way to find out.

[The walls of the staircase are covered with reliefs. Most of the worn with age and countless people touching them while seeking support in their descent. No wonder, the stairs are small and steep. The reliefs themselves don't look like any other art he saw on the surface. Iskandar wouldn't call them primitive, the lines are too elegant, just ... simple. It starts with birds near the entrance, then the fish, dolphins - or at least creatures that resemble dolphins - but the lower they go the stranger the shapes on the walls become. Animals, yes, there are no people, but still creatures he would associate with myths rather than any living thing. Long, thin legs, joints in weird places and tentacles. A whole lot of tentacles. People here truly must have loved their sea creature if they choose to depict them here so high in the mountains.

When it ends it opens to a small cavern. A natural one, no doubt enlarged by human hands, filled with milky smoke. There are ghastly shadows of surprisingly modern furniture on both sides but what's really interesting is a burning pile right in the middle. There is no corpse that Iskandar suspected to be the source of the stench.
Just a pile of ... things? Feathers, something that looks like a feather crown or a headdress, a feather mantle, and a small mountain of ropes. With many knots of various shapes and sizes on them. More importantly, made from human hair. All of it generously doused with gasoline.]

There is no dead body but someone definitely was destroying evidence here.

[He has no idea what to make of it.]

[hypomeneo]

[Waver smiles brightly at that for a moment, that wary expression fading away, before coming back full force as they step into the darkness.]

Indeed.

[It's a quiet descent and Waver studies the reliefs as they pass them with the same intensity as he studies the darkness. Looking for clues in both about motive and the situation they are steadily striding into. They're easily recognizable at first - birds, animals, fish - but as they go down, Waver has to rack his brain to place them. Are the motifs depicting a descent to the underworld? That would invoke Supay - the Incan pantheon's god of death, who did reside underground in the underworld called Ukhu Pacha, and also the leader of a race of demons.

Granted his knowledge of Meso-American religions and culture could use a brush up and Waver would prefer not to make any conclusions until he has further evidence of what's going on in the progression. That pantheon is large and there are plenty of deities that aren't depicted as human.

Waver's face scrunches up as they reach the fire. Hair. That explains the stench. But the modern furniture... This place... a meeting place or a safehouse? Waver runs his eyes over the surroundings as he walks around the fire to begin to investigate the surroundings.]

And nobody seemingly around to monitor the burn. [Key word: seemingly.] Makes me wonder now if they're trying to escape and set up again somewhere else, without leaving any traces for us to follow.

You think they were tipped off?

[Which would make sense with the cultists' cell structure to their organization.]

These all look like things that would be used in Inti's ceremonies, among other things. The feathered objects of clothing look like those that are worn by priests of the Incan religion. The knotted ropes... well... I've heard that the Incans used a sort of set up like this for record keeping and data management. Including that of ritual.

Quipu, I believe they're called.

The question is... what were they doing with these things before?

[towards_okeanos]

[Tipped off? They might have been. He talked to many people. Some of them might have been cultists and he hasn't even realised.]

It's possible. [Iskandar lets out a sigh. That's why he always had scouts do that kind of work for him. That's not his speciality. It's as probable he said something as it is that the cultists figured it out on their own.]

I asked questions. Some of them very specific. Maybe I asked the wrong ones or directed them at the wrong people.

[Iskandar looks up. There's a rustling sound he's hearing from the moment they entered this cave. At first, he was sure it's the flames but as they came closer the sound didn't change. Now he's almost sure this is not the fire. As if someone was dragging a bunch of dried leaves on the rocks.]

The owners might not be at home but I think we're just to meet their defence system.

Keep your bow ready. There's something crawling on the ceiling.

[hypomeneo]

[Not good. Perhaps they left some personal items in the cave for Waver to track? Their orders from Heaven were very clear. Root out the cultists and neutralize the threat non lethally by severing their connections to their memories of their practices and activities.

(which says a lot about other matters when it comes to shinki and their memories. it makes him angry.)]

Maybe. Or they got a call from another lo--

[Waver stops short and listens. The point about a high level leader in the know tipping off another location, despite the cells being purposely as isolated from another for security purposes is forgotten for the moment.

An arrow forms in his hand as he notches it on the bowstring. Not a vessel power per say, as a bonded soulless doesn't receive one, but more a feature of the weapon Eirene has become. He aims at the sound, eyes narrowing at the dark.]

Figures. Things were too easy.

[One hairy leg... one massive hairy leg slides out to the edge of the light...]

Oh...

I hate spiders.

[Who invited the ayakashi cousin of Shelob from Lord of the Rings anyway?

Still... better than snakes.]