india ♔ cut the bonds with the moon and let the dogs gather

[sirsolace]

♬ The Moon - Swell Season

WHO || Faye, Andie, Scout, Solace, Riddick, Nessa [closed]
WHAT || The Knights try to find their way into the Temple to see the
WHERE || Khajjiar, India, near the Temple of the Moon
WHEN || Sometime last week, afternoon
HOW || Actionspam

The Knights have spent the last week or so gathering supplies and intelligence in the town close to the mountains where the elven sisters have sequestered themselves inside their temple.   And what they've heard has been disturbing:  tales of the fanaticism of the sisters' followers seems to run contrary to everything Solace has to tell them about the usual clergy of Sehanine Moonbow.  These people are dogmatic to the point of violence, and the temple has been sealed against entrance by anyone at all as the sisters seek to complete their 'ritual', which is meant to seal the Veil from the Shadow World and prevent anymore incursions of Shadowkind, monsters, or objects.  

Finally, the Knights take the long journey up the mountainside to approach for themselves.  The road up is dotted with wagons and tents, and when the temple finally rises up out of the fog above, silver and gleaming, it's clear that even reaching the doors could prove difficult.  The steps are obscured by the massive amount of tents and people moving about.  There are probably hundreds barring the way, camped together so tightly that moving between them seems an invitation to trouble, given the supposed lynchings that have occurred when others dared to try and break in.

Solace halts the group at the edge of the crowd, with one hand held out slightly to the side.  He frowns as he looks over the faces of those gathered, none of whom look exactly friendly... or even hopeful.

Comments

[burnsbright]

[Scout is a little ways off to the side. She doesn't want to be with the group, she wants to be ahead, finding these things out on her own. Personally she thinks she might be able to slip in, if she was alone. But she also doesn't argue with authority without reason.]

[Now she scans the crowd as she was taught in the Order, looking closely without appearing to, trying to pick out similar articles of clothing or markings like bindis and tika, trying to tell if it's made up of people of the same species and ethnicities as those in the town, or if they're clearly from elsewhere as her research back in England suggested.]

[Even her weak Force talents can pick up on the crowd's mood.]

This could get ugly. The aescetic I met yesterday told me about those students they brutalized.

[notafraidofthedark]

[Riddick smirks at Nessa's comment, a small snort coming from him. He had somehow gained possession of a earth-colored cloak of sorts, the deep hood pulled over his head and masking his face in shadows. It looked used and abused, but rather than making him stick out from the crowd it had much the opposite effect. He almost seemed about to melt into the background.


He felt much the same as Scout, unbeknownst to him, that he would do better on his own making his way through the crowd without the others to slow him down. Though he was impressive in size he had also long ago learned how to blend into crowds even bigger and more hostile than this one. He had no doubts that, alone, he could reach the temple and make his way inside. But now he had the rest of his team to worry about. He sighed, glancing once at the challenge the crowd presented before turning his attention back to Nessa.]

What happened with them? [His voice is rumbly and deep, so low that the sounds of the massive crowd almost drowns his words.]

[sirsolace]

[ it's actually solace who answers, his tone low as he gazes at the temple in the distance. ] They wished entrance to the temple to do nothing more than speak with the sisters. The crowd grew suspicious of their motives, and thought they meant to interrupt the 'ritual'. They fed on each other's fears and turned to violence.

[lightblindbadass]

[He is not surprised at all by the crowd's severe reaction. How many times had he seen the exact thing happen time and again on countless other planets? This one was the same as all the rest, and the humans nothing different than all the others he had avoided his entire life.]

So, how well do you expect diplomacy to work on this crowd then? They're gonna be just as suspicious of a group of us as they were of those students. What's our angle to get in where they haven't let others pass before? [Riddick sure as hell is no diplomat and his skepticism is hard to miss.]

[reallywicked]

We could always send muscles out as a distraction and slip in the back while they aren't looking.

[Faye suggests with an overly chipper smile. It quickly falls, though, indicating that it was just sarcasm.]

These people sleep, right? Why not just wait for dark?

[wildmind]

Not all of them do, actually. Not to mention some are nocturnal. You can't assume everyone here's human. [ she nods at a few campers who have large horns on their heads. ] Which clearly isn't the case.

[asap]

Maybe if we were sneaky? I can run fast enough not to be seen...

[burnsbright]

Besides, even among humans not everyone goes to sleep at once.

[Scout twines her fingers together and lets go several times, the only obvious external sign of anxiety.]

Are you sure, Andie? There are probably people out here who can see things humans can't.

[reallywicked]

It's the best idea we've heard so far. [Faye shrugs] I say we let the speedster do her thing if she's volunteering.

[wildmind]

And if she gets through? What about the rest of us?

[burnsbright]

[Scout looks at Andie.] You could scout it. Don't go in, but try and see and come back. [And at the others.] We could fall back from the crowd a bit and ask her to take a route that doesn't lead them to us, if anyone's good enough to track her.

It's hard to plan blind.

[sirsolace]

Well put. [ solace nods towards andie. ] Reconnaissance then. Perhaps you can see how the temple is sealed.

[asap]

I can try? I'm not really sure what to look for, though.

[burnsbright]

[Scout suggests without thinking, still a little pleased with the comment.]

You might start with exactly where the doors are, if there's sound coming out, if there are people guarding outside of them and what they're like, if there's a clear space around the doors or it's like here at the edges with people everywhere. [She takes a breath and then goes on, looking inwards.] What happens if someone's tripped or shoved at the doors, if the ground in front of them is worn from a lot of traffic in or out, any other odd details, um.

[She blinks, and looks at the little group as if she hadn't been aware that she was saying that much out loud, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.]

...I'm trained for that kind of thing. I don't mean to... show off, or anything.

[asap]

It's okay. [She smiles encouragingly, though she does feel a little annoyed that Scout thought she needed to be told to figure out where the doors are.] But that's not what I meant. I don't know what might be sealing it. [A beat.] Also I probably won't have time to trip and shove people at the doors or really do too much Sherlock Holmesing. I'll be moving fast.

[reallywicked]

I'm still voting for distraction. If we can get people looking at us, she'll have more time to stop and smell the roses.

[Faye shrugs, pretty sure that no one is going to listen to her brilliant ideas. So she's going to go back to fussing with her nails and pretending to ignore them.]

[wildmind]

[ nessa looks intrigued, at least. ] What kind of distraction did you have in mind?

[reallywicked]

[She shrugs] Anyone know how to juggle?

I didn't know I had to come up with the whole plan.

[lightblindbadass]

Got it, [is all he says before moving out and into the crowd. They'd been standing still too long as it was and people were already beginning to stare suspiciously, and Riddick didn't do well just cooling his heels. He quickly blended in with the crowd, losing sight of the other Knights in seconds. They'd see him again soon enough.

He found the biggest, meanest looking person in the crowd and "accidentally" shouldered past him roughly.]

Hey, watch where you're going, asshole! [He yelled loud enough that, even above the din of the crowd, he could be clearly heard.

That oughta do it.]

[asap]

Oh. That works! [She looks at the others.] Maybe most of you can try and stay unnoticed? Just in case.

[And she's off! With a move silently check of 16, she runs by the various people at just under the speed of sound, circling the temple a few times to see what she can find (spot NAT 20!).]

[sirsolace]

[ unnoticed, right. solace does a fantastic job of blending into the crowd, pulling his hood down low over his features and nigh on disappearing with his hide check. nessa, however, is grinning and standing on tip toes to watch what go on with riddick, because hell, this is too funny.

the large man turns, a low growling sound seeming to emerge from his giant barrel shaped chest. he glowers down at riddick (yes, that's right. DOWN. at RIDDICK) and says: "You wanna say that again?" reaching out to shove him on the shoulder (attk ... 12)

meanwhile, andie's superspeed recon goes amazingly well, apparently. no one notices as she zooms through them all, and she gets close up to the actual temple. there's a bunch of debris cluttered on the steps, what looks like things dumped there by the pilgrims who have come, random items used to form a low wall meant to discourage people from moving by. no one in particular 'stands guard' however, and beyond the wall, there's at least 20 steps of area that is clear of anyone at all. there's only one entrance from the exterior of the building on the ground floor: the two large sealed silver doors at the front. but with her nat 20 spot, she'd notice another door up above, on the second level, over what appears to be a tiny balcony on the side of the temple. ]

[reallywicked]

[Faye will be joining Nessa in watching Riddick with amused attention. She's starting to like that big lug. The bulldozer attitude reminds her of... someone, though she can't place it. Plus, with the way so many people are watching the fight about to start, they blend in more by watching than not, right???]

[notafraidofthedark]

[Riddick doesn't even attempt to dodge the big meaty fist coming his way. Instead the shove hits him squarely in his shoulder, causing him to take a single step backwards. Glancing first from his shoulder then back up to the giant starting to growl at him, he allows a full on grin to creep up his lips. Now this was something he had plenty of experience with. How fun.]

Sure. Asshole. I said watch where you're GOING, [on the last word Riddick pivots, uppercutting the brute under his jaw (attk 17) then attempting to sweep his legs out from under him while he is unbalanced (attk 21)]

[burnsbright]

[Scout steps back and splits from the group, at an angle, joining the crowd at a different point from Sir Solace and aiming to be able to see Riddick's confrontation from a different angle, so she's in position to see if someone behind the man's back decides to join in. Her hide check is 15, and she watches/listens/Force-senses for changes in the state of the crowd/their alertness for a total of 21.]

[asap]

[Aaaaand she's back! Andie screeches to a halt next to Nessa and Faye and looks around.] Should we, uh, break them up?