new orleans ♔ need a fix cuz i'm going down | down to the abyss

[romanticidal]

♬ Season of the Witch - Dr. John

WHO || Rafael, Buffy, Spike, Des, The Mind Master, Olean Gilbert, anyone guarding Olean in the car... (including Gar) [closed]
WHAT || The Knights go to investigate Chad Becksworth's mysterious 'advisor' in her bayou home
WHERE || The Lousiana Bayou, outside New Orleans
WHEN || Thurs, Oct 18th, evening
HOW || Actionspam, don't sweat tag order! Keep it a rollin'.

Crammed inside a big white van, Olean rides up front, directing the driver outside the city of New Orleans, and in the direction of the stretches of swampland for which Louisiana is famous. He has them turn down a side dirt road, which leads them far off any highway or main street, and seems to go on without passing anything remotely similar to civilization for at least sixteen minutes of the drive.

The closer they get, the more he begins to sweat profusely, wiping his face repeatedly with a handkerchief, until he can't find a spot on it that isn't drenched. Finally, he tells them to pull over, waving his hand at the side of the road, and the vehicle pulls to a stop.

"T-this was about where we w-went in," he says. "But I can't tell you anymore, because it was only the once, and there wasn't a real path and ... and... I wasn't exactly paying attention to how to get back there anytime soon. Or ever."

Rafael cranes his neck to look out the back window, but then just pops the back doors of the van open and hops out.

"We'll find it," he says, a determined look in his eye. He nods a bit up the road, at what looks like a dilapidated shack that could be straight out of Cabin in the Woods. In front of it stands a sign that's fallen over, with "FREE TOURS" in white paint that dried dripping half down the wood. There's a light on inside, glowing through one of the windows. "And it looks like someone knows of a path."

Comments

[romanticidal]

[ and when she pushes open the creaky door

SOMEONE IS STANDING THERE

looking at her like who the fuck do you think you are opening my door.

she's an incredibly tall, thin blonde woman, eyes obscured by shades, wearing a light black jacket over a black tank top. the room itself is sparsely furnished, with no electronics in sight aside from a buzzing lamp in the corner.

the woman gives a minuscule, slow smile as she surveys the group in her doorway.

"Evening." ]

[bigbad]

[WOW HE WAS NOT SCARED. OR FLIRTING. OR CAUTIOUS. He chooses to blame this all on Rafael as he follows them to the door and oh. At least she doesn't look like the stereotypical wrinkled old crone he was half expecting. But still, probably who they're after. Spike eyes her from behind the other two.]

You'd be the tour guide, then?

[romanticidal]

[

she shrugs, a strangely graceful looking movement.

"That's me."

Rafael sneaks a glance around the room before saying: ]

You live out here then?

[ "It's a job." Her tone manages to imply that he's a fool for thinking anyone would live in this crappy shack. "You caught me before the end of the shift."

Raf glances at Buffy. ]

Does anyone live out here?

[ She regards him for a long moment behind the glasses before saying: "There's a place out in the middle of the bayou. Sort of a recluse. As far as I know, she's the only one out here. The crocodiles keep most people from really wanting to settle down." ]

[slay]

Right. Crocodiles. Obviously, what with the swampiness and all. [ awkward laughter. ] We wouldn't be likely to happen on any of those when going out to visit the local residents -- err, resident -- would we? We're just ... really interested in getting some insider info on the bayou lifestyle.

[romanticidal]

[ "I could take you by there. It has some interesting architecture worth seeing." She looks past their heads to where Des is out there. "Thirty dollars a head. Cash."

Rafael removes his wallet skillfully from his back pocket, managing to not reveal even a glimpse of his holstered weapon. (sleight of hand check 20+) He counts out the cash from the load of bills inside and hands it over. She raises an eyebrow at the amount he's carrying, but then takes it and stuffs it in her jacket pocket, reaching to grab a brimmed hat off the hook near the door. "Follow me." She steps lithely through the midst of them all and starts walking across the dirt road towards the swamp, although the entrance point she's aiming for seems entirely random, void of any visible path. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des is probably one of the few people actually comfortable, given his own fondness for the bayou, which is why he's been letting the less-mouthy people do the talking, while he keeps his eyes on the scenery a bit. He snaps to attention, however, when the tall blonde lady starts walking and falls into step with the rest of the group.]

How interesting is interesting?

[romanticidal]

[ "Place is surrounded by a high wall and moat, for one. But I know where to get in, if you're looking to go knock on the door."

The trees close in around them as they walk in, mud oozing up around their shoes ever so slightly. There's the sound of a million insects already preparing their night songs, and a snake brushes past buffy's foot. ]

[slay]

Careful. [ she comments in warning as she steps cautiously over the step, following blonde-girl. ] We are looking for that - get us in, and you'll officially be the world's greatest tour guide.

[romanticidal]

We'd have to throw in quite a tip.

[ she smirks at that, and keeps stepping her way through the swampy ground, managing to pick out a path effortlessly that avoids anyone getting up to their calves in it.

"Been awhile since a big group took an interest out here." ]

[bigbad]

Well, some of us want more than the usual touristy crap. [This tour, at least, qualifies as off the beaten trail. Spike is still wary, though. Among other things, this tour guide seems to have a strangely expensive idea of the word "free."]

[slay]

[ karma. this is karma. she got the fun, sexy italian intrigue part of the mission, and in some form of cosmic punishment, she's now being forced to muck through the swamp. she missteps and manages to catch her heel in a deeper part of the swamp and get mud all over her boot, leaving her grimacing and distracted from the whole tour business and blonde-girl's smalltalk attempts.

when she focuses back in on them, her gaze just narrows and her patience shrinks so she grouchily points out; ] Just get us there.

[nothingsodivine]

Minus the alligators, if you would. [Des falls into step beside Buffy like he's going to keep her delicate princess sensibilities from falling behind because her shoes are getting swampy.]

I don't want everyone seeing that my alligator wrestling skills are rusty as hell.

[IS IT A JOKE OR IS IT NOT. You will never know.]

[romanticidal]

[

The trek takes awhile, and she seems to be guiding them directly into the middle of nowhere. There's nothing but the sounds of bugs and things splashing about out there, as it grows darker. As far as tour guides go, she's not exactly top of the line either, because she doesn't have a lot of factoids to offer up about the place. Rafael doesn't seem bothered by the fact, pushing on ahead, head turning at every slight sound, hand inching towards his concealed holster.

Eventually, a large concrete wall rises out of the low lit swampland to meet them. It's about twice their height, and more or less smooth, so scaling it isn't a very viable option. There's a small numeric pad set into it here, and the guide presses in a few numbers, which seems to have no effect. She resumes walking, this time following the wall.

Spot checks! ]

[slay]

[ The silence, broken only by the sounds of the swamp, puts Buffy on the alert, and she looks something like a tiny, blonde mirror of Rafael as she looks around at every sudden sound. She scrutinizes the number pad and glances farther down the wall as their sorry excuse for a tour guide leads them along (nat 20 spot). ]

[bigbad]

[Spike may have the keen senses of a vampire, but he's not paying as keen attention as he could. Probably because he still doesn't trust Raphael, even if Buffy's made it clear nothing's going on (spot 15).]

[nothingsodivine]

[CRIT FAIL.

You tried, Des.

You tried.]

[romanticidal]

[ des gets so caught up in the scenery that he rams into the back of the group as they watch (as in spike). spike, make a balance check or you're getting a face full of swamp.

meanwhile, as the guide leads them around the wall, buffy notices movement along the top of it... and gets a glance of something as it ducks onto the other side of concrete: something slimy and distinctly demon-looking. but it's far out of reach now... ]

[slay]

[ was that - ? her eyes widen, her expression slackens, and she stills for a minute, falling behind the group a little, trying to get a better look at the demon that's already long gone. ]

[bigbad]

[Balance check 15! He stumbles a little, but doesn't fall (...right?) and turns to glare at Des.]

Watch it. [Then he catches sight of Buffy and frowns, following her gaze, but there's nothing there by now.]

Everything all right, love?

[nothingsodivine]

[Des stumbles back a bit.] You... watch it. [Yeah, that's all he's got. He's trying to cover up his massive fail before he focuses up on Buffy.]

Hope you're not seeing invisible monsters again, Blondie.

[slay]

[ she looks at des, offended initially, then back over at spike. ]

You didn't see that? [ a beat. she looks up at the wall one last time, lips tightened, and then just moves to keep going. she shakes her head. ] Forget it. Let's go. Where's this entrance, exactly?

[romanticidal]

[ rafael watches buffy with evident concern, a question in his eyes, but merely brushes a hand across her lower back and keeps moving without asking out loud.

the guide shrugs a bit. "Around the wall," she says helpfully. They keep moving for awhile before she comes to a halt, in front of a numerical keypad positioned here, as earlier.

a spot check of 17 or higher will notice that... these trees look familiar.

it's the same keypad as before. congrats on your giant walk in a circle. she presses in the number two, and there's a metallic unlocking noise, as a door swings open from where there was previously none visible.

"After you."

two steps beyond the door lies the beginning of a large moat, so now would be a terrible time to crit fail your spot check, btw. unless you wanna dive right in. there's also no evident way to cross said moat. ]

[bigbad]

We'll get it next time.

[Spike gets a nat 20 spot check this time, and he frowns.] Took us the long way around, did you? [Even more than before, he senses a trap, but he steps through anyway.

Des stand behind someone else please.]

[slay]

[ the hand on her back sends a warmth through her, and she swallows thickly to try and gulp it back, glancing up at rafael, and then quickly away. focus, summers. mission at hand, hello? she squares her shoulders and concentrates more as they make their way around the wall.

when they stop at the number pad, she scrutinizes it and the area around them (spot 26), then glances slowly over at the guide. she was messing with them - there was no reason other than that to demand payment for a free tour, or to take them in a circle around the wall just to wind up in the same place.

messing with their heads. ]

You must live close by, to do these tours all the time and know the swamp like you do. [ except no one lives out here - no one but the mind master. ] I don't think we actually caught your name. [ she doesn't step through, just narrowing her gaze on the blonde because she's got a theory and spoiler: it isn't bunnies. ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des got 17. Thank God, he was paying attention to something and he's getting the same general icky vibe that Buffy's getting from this chick.]

That's because she didn't give it. [He tilts his head at the blonde, all of the suspicious.] You kinda struck me as a Linda, but I'm probably off a little, right?