london ♔ welcome to the second reel

[wynn]

WHO || Wynn, Francesca, Lydia, Will, Cora, Sam, Dean, Helen, Tia, Val'drin, Sydney, Carol, Archer, Faith, Fiona, Rose, Eric, Lila, Sark  [Closed]
WHAT || Heartless Mission Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, the briefing room
WHEN || Feb 26th, shortly before 4pm [back dated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Instead of being directed to come to the Round Table, this group is instructed to meet at the downtown London Headquarters, told that this meeting has to do with the Children of Chaos, and that while only Francesca, Lydia, Will, Cora, Sam, and Sydney will be going into the field, Wynn would like input from everyone who has interacted with the cult in the past couple years.

For those who haven't yet been there, the main lobby area boasts an impressive silver dragon statue, about seven feet tall, immediately to the right of the entrance. The room is done in comforting wood and mahogany tones, and there's an array of tables and chairs across the room to the right, as well as a small piano. Statues of King Arthur and Lancelot flank the hallway that continues straight beyond the lobby, and there's a staircase leading up, with wooden dragon-shaped banisters, immediately beyond the bathroom door to the right.

On the left are two doors, and one of them leads into a room which also has a small reception window open, where they are received Between the doors hangs an ornate blue and silver tapestry with even more dragon imagery. It is an exercise in subtlety all around.

The woman working reception directs them each to head up the steps to the third floor, head to the end of the hall and take a right to the holo-room.

Yeah, that's right. They have a holo-room.

Walking in, it's possible to find Wynn standing over the much smaller holographic table, Tia, Eric, Faith, and Val'drin already in attendance.  

On the table sit two idols: both carved from hardwood, stained a deep, rich shade of brown.  Both are approximately 8 inches tall and 5 inches around at the thickest point, depicting a naked men standing with their arms at their sides.  One is emaciated and the other is obese.  Their faces are either horribly disfigured, or they're wearing masks.

There's someone else in attendance as well...

Comments

[bittersweeter]

[ she gives into the puppy dog eyes and pulls some treats out of her pocket to feed him. cat treats bc she's a cat lady.

her research into the children of chaos hasn't been overly extensive -- she's busy being obsessed with how to get amara out of her life, okay, she has other much more pressing priorities than some janus worshipping freak cult. she's just endlessly bitter because of the peterson hostage debacle, which is the only reason she gives sark most of her attention. ]

So what have you learned?

[impetere]

[Cora will also tear her attention away from the dog and up to Sark with an expectant eyebrow raise. Dump the exposition and get to the point is basically what it's saying, but Cora is a get-to-the-point kind of girl as a rule. She doesn't really have the patience for a lot of fluff.]

[wynn]

As I'm certain most of you are by now aware, the Children of Chaos have been growing increasingly active over the last couple years. Initially, they made a move directly involving us, that included the theft of artifacts from the home of our curator and archivist, Sir Petersen. [ he nods at grant, who's also here, i forgot herp. ] These artifacts were later used on two separate occurrences to wreak havoc in their activation. [ he nods to the two idols ] We managed to recover them and minimize the damage, but until recently, had been uncertain as to whether there was a great purpose to this beyond the cult's given aim of spreading chaos.

It was only recently that a series of murders began occurring here in London: murders of the cult members themselves, each involving the removal of the victim's heart. Five such murders have thus far occurred, but I fear this is only the beginning of their plans. [ he nods to sark ] Mr. Sark, if you will.

[certainproclivity]

[Sark gestures to the two idols himself.] These two artifacts are a matched set. Those of you who have seen them up close will know that each one has an inscription on it- one that likely didn't make any real sense. There's a reason for that. When fit together, they form a line of full verse, which unlocks a third ritual.

[I sincerely hope the hologram is activating right now to illustrate his point. That would be badass.]

The third ritual is, ultimately, what Nicholas St. Andrews is truly after. Chaos is not his objective- it's merely the carrot he uses to lure people into his cult. [his expression twists into something subtle and unpleasant.]

[impetere]

[With a nat 20 wisdom check Cora remembers exactly what was on her mission team's half of the totems, and she's shifting forward to get a better look at Sark as she asks the question.]

Our's said something about a "he" returning to do "unholy" acts. I'm going to guess that when you put them together it's some kind of summoning ritual? Who is he trying to summon?

[certainproclivity]

It's not so much a who as it is a what. The ritual grants the person who performed it godlike power, though what that power is isn't exactly clear in all the texts. I doubt Mr. St Andrew cares one way or another. He wants it, and he's happy to expend the fools who buy into his "chaos cult" to do it.

[mydesigns]

[leave it to will to be the tactless cow he is and ask:] How do you know this?

[certainproclivity]

Because at one time, Nicholas St. Andrew and I were, in a practical sense of the word, friends.

[Said as blank-faced as anything as if he totally didn't admit to being poker buddies with SATAN.]

[mydesigns]

[will just squints like werwatey. CAN WE REALLY TRUST U THO. (sense motive 50)]

[bittersweeter]

Did you help him try to find Noah's Ark?

[ judging u tbh. and she's a criminal, so... it's extra judgy. ]

[immuno]

Well, there goes any confidence I had in this mission.

[impetere]

[Yeah, Cora is dubious of this too. She shifts forward so that she can focus her hearing (listen 20 total) on Sark's heartbeat and try and gauge his truthfulness (sense motive 29). A lot of things can keep a heartbeat steady and a practiced liar is one of them - if he's hanging out with Nicholas St. Andrew, he's probably got that down to a science - but she wants a baseline if they're going to be dealing with him long term.]

So where did you draw the line, exactly? With the ends or the means?

[Basically was it the stunning revelation of how this guy gaining a lot of power is bad news or when it was St. Andrew's people getting turned into cannon fodder and figuring out that he might be next.]

[certainproclivity]

[Sark takes in the judgment with an expression of deepest boredom, as if he's endured this scrutiny before. But as far as anyone can tell, he's being completely honest. He spares a glance at Wynn which shows just a flicker of amusement and since Will had an ungodly sense motive, he can probably pick up the fact that he seems to think the knights immediate distrust in someone Wynn brought into the fold as amusing.

After that brief, silent exchange, he turns back.]

Like most people who fall through the Veil, I had nothing but my skills. And so, needing a way to support myself, I used them to procure artifacts for people willing to pay for them. St. Andrew was one such person. He employed my skills numerous times and each time, I suppose, I earned the right to peel back the curtain just a bit. Unfortunately, even that wasn't enough to reveal his masterstroke. Shortly after the ordeal with Mr. Peterson- [he nods to the man]- I began to realize St. Andrew's goals weren't in my best interests. So I fell off the radar.

Sadly, this world simply isn't big enough for one to ignore a man questing for something that might well come back and bite me, so I began to research everything I could, which is what brings me here today. Wynnefalshond contacted me, and here I stand.

[He cants his head.] I realize my background may make many of you skeptical, but it's not in my best interests to betray anyone. I know what this organization is capable of, which is precisely why I agreed. I want St. Andrew to fail as much as anyone. And I want it done in a way that won't lead to me becoming another sacrifice to his goals.

[bittersweeter]

[ the more he talks, the more he reeks of anton. the way he keeps using wynn's full name, whether to make it seem like he has a deep personal connection with their leader or just because he's a pretentious fuck lila knows not. neither option is particularly complimentary to sark and that seems to come through in the dry lift of her lips. ]

I'm stuck on your opinion that it's not in your best interests to betray anyone. You've already betrayed Nicholas St. Andrew to us, so betraying us to him would be equally beneficial to your continued best interests. [ her head tips thoughtfully as one red painted fingernail scrapes across her scar before looping her finger around her necklace so she can fiddle with the red tinged diamond. ] Imagine, you could watch both sides implode violently and then skitter away with your new found godlike powers. It's all very... chaotic.

I trust Wynn, so I'll defer to his judgement on this and choose to believe that you won't plan on doing that, but let's not pretend we're not your last resort to save your own skin. I mean, if you're going to be working with us you might as well be honest with your intentions. You don't really care which side wins, do you? Not so long as you avoid any personal repercussions for your bad life choices.

[ don't be anton, sark. ]

1/-

[wynn]

What I trust is that Mr. Sark has demonstrated an instinct for self-preservation that would hardly encourage him to think of double-crossing an organization such as our own. Particularly when he remains in such a precarious position in regards to the group he has so recently chosen to work against.

[ in other words, maybe he's a rat, but he doesn't for a second believe that he's fucking stupid enough to get the entire knighthood sic'ed on him. ]

2/-

[likedillinger]

You said the idols form an inscription together. Can we see it?

3/4

[wynn]

Of course. [ wynn moves to push the two idols together, at which point the holo-table projects an enlarged image of them that rotates for everyone to see how the text fits together. of course it's in ancient sanskrit, but he superimposes the translations done by the knights previously so that they can see the way they fit together.

Sugar and meat makes
the blood of a man boil in
Vengeance . . . Hunger.
Feeds the Spirit. Leaving Him empty
So that He may return after death
to do his chores with the power of
Unholy Gods. ]

[superswank]

[ syd has been watching sark as surreptitiously as possible throughout all this, not about to give him the satisfaction of openly staring at him, but unable to stop trying to get a read on him and this whole situation.

the inscription at least tears her focus away, and she frowns up at it, her face distorted through the glow blue of the projection from the other side of the table. ]

The first three lines clearly refer to the incidents this past year: the activation rituals. But what's this 'Spirit' that's being fed? Is that supposed to be the source that St. Andrew is trying to tap into to gain these powers?

[familybusiness]

[Sam leans forward during this exchange with great interest, thought it's also written on his face that this is most definitely a no-good-very-bad-thing they're dealing with here.

He doesn't have anything to add, though, so he keeps quiet as they're filled in on what's actually going on.

Trash tag, you're welcome.]

[mydesigns]

The spirit could be eating the hearts.

[thank you, william.]

[certainproclivity]

[Sark's expression remains unwavering (though it seems there's some mild agitation creeping into his expression due to some of Lila's comments). He lets Wynn proceed and lets his eyes fall on Sydney as soon as he catches her staring at him.... and just... stares back.

Long after she looks away. :) Hi.

In fact, when he answers her question, he directs it specifically at her, as if no one else is in the room.]

It's likely that's what it refers to, yes. As I said, what these powers might be is virtually unknown, so St. Andrew could just as well be signing his own death warrant as gaining power- precisely why I want no part in this folly of his. I dislike chaos for chaos's sake, and I certainly don't believe what he's chancing is an acceptable risk.

[That while last bit he directs at Lila.] And given the deaths recently, he's close to reaching whatever he thinks he's going to get out of this.

[impetere]

[Now that they've set the atmosphere with the appropriate amount of foreboding, she glances away from Sark to Wynn for instruction.]

So what's the mission?

[immuno]

If it were as easy as turning on St. Andrews and interrupting his rituals, I can't help feeling like you would have used your access to him to do it already.

[ Which is Lydia's way of announcing that she shares the majority suspicion of Sark. ]

So is it reasonable to assume it's not that simple?

1/2

[superswank]

[ she glances at cora and lydia, but her attention keeps wandering back to sark since he's stARING AT HER BLATANTLY. ] Do we believe St. Andrew is removing the hearts himself? It'd be unusual for him to be so hands on, but at the same time, it's possible he doesn't trust anyone else with the task, if it's gone so far.

[likedillinger]

Not unless the guy's secretly a weretiger or something. [ he glances at sam, will, and helen ] There's some kind of creature doing the killing. [ one of his teammates who actually... figured some shit out about it can fill in the details ] I take it that's probably the complication you're talkin' about.