briefing ♔ cater to the hollow

[wynn]

♬ The Hollow - A Perfect Circle

WHO || Wynn, Rose, Dimitri, Amrita, Lila, Aurelius, Tia, and Eric [Closed]
WHAT || Chicago Mission Briefing
WHERE || Knights HQ, the Round Table room
WHEN || Sun, March 24th, shortly before 5pm.
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread, don't worry about maintaining tagging order.

Just as before, accessing the secret room where the Round Table is housed requires using the Knight's access card to open the glass class beside the mural of the War in Heaven, located across from the ballroom entrance. Using the fire extinguisher as a lever to activate the "door" mechanism reveals the long torch-lit hall plastered in artworks depicting the Knight's history. The tenants of the Knighthood hang large and foreboding over the doors at the end of the hall, which stand open to reveal the brightly lit Round Table, and the majestic crystalline dragon statue presiding over it.

Come in, find a seat, meet your teammates if you haven't already. Tia is there right on time, waiting in a seat close to the door. There's no sign of Wynn yet.

Comments

[littledhampir]

I'm not sure my stomach really cares.

[A small smirk touching her lips, Rose drawing invisible patterns on the table with her fingertips as she listened in on the chatter going on around her.]

[exuviae]

[ Amrita is usually punctual to a tee, but peeking into the room and seeing so many others there she's now fearing that she might be a little late.

Not that she's entirely certain who is supposed to be there, really, but the thought is still there.

She quietly goes to take a seat, giving Tia and Rose friendly little nods since they are people she has at least talked to before and she quite likes both of them. ]

Hello everyone, sorry if I'm late.

[sirstickuphisass]

[ a voice pipes up from behind her, as the last member joins the room ] You're not late as long as you beat Wynn. [ he searches the gathered faces, as if looking for somebody, and seems relieved not to see them. then he looks back to lila and gives her a small frown for the slushie. ]

[likeagod]

[He glances out of the corner of his eye at Rose.]

No, but I imagine someone might.

[He wouldn't bring food into a meeting with Wynn. Nope.

His eyes drag over to the door as two others enter, and he nods at them in greeting.]

[bittersweeter]

[Gosh, Lila's starting to differentiate between Eric's bitchfaces. That's nice. The frown is all that makes her take one last slurp and walk back to the doors to set the drink on the floor just outside them before strolling back to the table and sitting down between to the prepster god and the brunette who complimented her slushie.

Happy now, Eric?

She looks to Tia.]

Crushed ice, grenadine and sprite.

[littledhampir]

[It takes extreme effort for Rose not to roll her eyes at Dimitri, remaining until she sees Amrita enter, nodding in greeting.]

Heya.

[See?! She can have friendly interactions with people. They don't all end in her breaking somebody's nose.]

[wynn]

[ It's just then that the doors on the far side of the table open, an incredibly bright golden light pouring out that's almost temporarily blinding to those who look directly at it (Fort save 16) When the doors close, Wynn is standing there, looking around at all the Knights gathered on the far side of the table.]

It appears you're all gathered. I know for many of you this will be your first action in the field. For those squires whose mentor Knight is not on this mission, Sir Ellison and Sir Carpenter will be submitting reports on your progress and performance to them for review.

[likeagod]

[Dimitri does little more than blink (fort save: 17) as Wynn enters the room. But the guy sure does know how to make an entrance.]

What is it you'd like us to do?

[Said with the utmost respect, of course. Dimitri is all business.]

[bittersweeter]

[Lila's head drops to her arms with a thud and she just leaves it there on the table. Ow.]

Hopefully something with sunglasses.

[Yeeeeah, she didn't get that fort save. Eight is not actually enough.]

[littledhampir]

[Rose doesn't even blink (Fort Save: 25) but she does track Wynn as he enters the room, oblivious to the reactions of others around her as the man in charge has her full and undivided attention... which is more than most people can say. Ever.

She realizes quickly that she's on her own, Luthir not among the Knights at the table but doesn't appear to be too concerned... For now. Depending on who Carpenter and Ellison were and whether they'd heard about the incident at her squiring ceremony.]

[wynn]

You'll be traveling to the city of Chicago, in America, to investigate a string of deaths that we believe to be linked to Shadow activity: although whether Shadowkind are the perpetrators or victims in this case remains something of a mystery. Bodies have been discovered by the city's law enforcement, drained of blood entirely in several cases, missing organs in others, and nearly all of them killed via a deep laceration to the forehead. There is evidence that the skulls have been ripped open, sometimes with nearly surgical precision, sometimes more violently, and in most instances, the brain has been removed entirely.

Last year, a team was sent to Japan to investigate a similar string of unexplained deaths that included missing organs, and they discovered a yuan-ti black market dedicated to the idea of reclaiming their reptilian heritage by reverting to the practice of cannibalism. It's quite possible that this is a derivation of that practice, but we've no evidence to link any yuan-ti suspects to the crimes, nor has there been a noteworthy snake-blood presence in the city in recent history.

There does, however, appear to be a link between the victims, although a tenuous one. Very few of them appear to be natives of the city: several of them are various types of Shadowkind, many of whom don't have registered identities.

[likeagod]

[Dimitri tenses when he mentions 'drained of blood' for obvious reasons. Perhaps he should have known given the fact that he and Rose were both being sent on this mission. Though, the rest of the facts didn't exactly line up with what they considered Strigoi, they were most certainly looking for predators.]

Are we to find and deal with these murderers if possible? Or are we simply investigating?

[bittersweeter]

[It's a good thing Lila put her head down because all she takes away from that explanation is: Chicago. Chicago in America. Roughly a six plus hour trip by plane. A tiny, inescapable prison. Roughly, Lila's personal hell.

No.

After a moment she looks up and puts her hands in her lap. She doesn't say anything, but it's clear enough from how pale she gets and the way her fingers are digging into her legs that she is not okay with this specific idea. Maybe they'll just think she has a weak stomach, that would be swell.

She unclenches her fingers and swallows.] Does Chicago have any groups with specifically anti-Shadowkind sentiments?

[wynn]

Your job will be to end the threat: however you deem that necessary. [ to lila: ] There are always such groups, perhaps most notably several churches, such as the Brotherhood of the Enlightenment, who profess to believe Shadowkind to be beneath humanity.

[exuviae]

[ Ahaha no, did not manage that save no, five will not help in this case and having the tact of a freight train will also not help. ]

Holy fuckballs!

[ Yep. She just said that. Loudly. Apparently just covering her eyes wasn't reaction enough to sudden blast of strong light right in the face.

This will be her hoping that she magically turned invisible all of a sudden, which might have worked since Wynn just gave them their mission?

... A mission she doesn't quite understand how she will be useful in. Great. This means she has to call attention to herself, which is just about the last thing she's wanting to do right now. ]

Um... Excuse me but... just how exactly are you expecting me to be useful on this mission?

[ Not that she's unwilling, she just... has a bit of a hard time fitting her skillset into the situation. ]

[wynn]

The yuan-ti are a race of hybrids, part human, part snake. Your study of reptilian behavior and biology will prove useful in determining whether this is indeed linked to them as the case was in Japan.

[likeagod]

[Dimtiri nods, looking thoughtful as he soaks up all the information.]

When do we leave?

[wynn]

In about a week's time. It should give you time to requisition any materials you require.

[bittersweeter]

Is there like a packing list? [AKA what the actual hell materials will they require? She has the same question about how she's supposed to be helpful since the amount she knows about reptiles is roughly "ew", but she decides to ask Eric later.]

[wynn]

You'll want to bring weaponry, of course, and any tools you might deem useful for a murder investigation. The Dragon's Hoard can help you in selecting equipment.