new delhi ♔ but in all chaos there is calculation | dropping glasses just to hear them break

[behindcloseddoors]

♬ Glory + Gore - Lorde

WHO || David L., Alex K., Andie, The Doctor, Natasha, Alex U., Shulin Desai
WHAT || The Knights hunt the Decanter of Dionysus
WHERE || New Delhi, India
WHEN || June 7th, 2014, evening.
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Talk about a soiree.  The team has walked into what is clearly legitimately a Gatsby party, but with an Indian flair.  Even upon approach, it's easy to see that this place is without parallel:  people are driving cars right up on the lawn of the fabulous mansion, which looks half-modern and half like a palace out of a Bollywood film.  Men and women in bright colors, fabrics, beads and silks move inside en masse, and as the doors are opened before them, they can see the grandness of the interior, with its diamond garland, draped fabrics, giant jeweled elephant statues, indoor trees that arch to the ceilings, twirling dancers, and a tall dramatic staircase leading up to a balcony above where the host himself reclines surrounded by admirers and friends, smoking a cigar.  

Liquor flows freely, and food is carried around on golden trays through the crowds.  It's an overwhelming buffet for the senses, a dizzying spectacle of color, laughter, dancing, and entertainment.  

Comments

[generaldavideus]

[David pauses, milling over things for a moment. They can do this the old fashioned way, but having a place to start would be good.]

Is there anything big happening in the city right now? Rare artifacts being displayed, some powerful person in town?

[He's going by Loki's MO so far (stealing powerful shit) and what he's already stolen (mind control wine) so he figures that somewhere in there is what Loki wants.]

[panaceum]

Not anyone or anything I've heard of. You don't know why he picked Moscow?

[ambitionist]

Other than the irony of the person he took hostage being Russian, I got nothin'. [he glances over at everyone else like perhaps one of them will use their thinking caps.]

[bowtimeandspace]

Well whatever it is I'm betting it wasn't a random choice. He's here for a reason, and we're not going to do any good standing around here.

[generaldavideus]

No, we're not.

[He sighs heavily, before nodding.]

Okay. Let's do this the old fashioned way an hit the streets. Do you have a map?

[That last bit is to Epiphany again.]

[panaceum]

No, but I can print you one if your Google-fu is failing you. [ and she turns to get on that ]

[asap]

I could... run around until I see something weird. It might take less time than all this old fashioned way stuff.

[Mostly, she's tired of being still. This is the part of the mission that's hardest for her to deal with. The patiently waiting part.]

[ambitionist]

If you think it'll help. [shrug. /accidentally backseat leads again.] Pick me up a Fabergé egg while you're out.

[generaldavideus]

It's just easier to see the layout from a distance.

[He hates looking things up on his phone. It makes it hard to see a large area at once. He glances back to Andie and mimicks Alex's shrug.]

What he said - minus the egg. I just want to try and see what we're dealing with.

[asap]

The eggs'd probably break if I run into Loki and have to fight or something. Maybe later?

[And she zips out but with a search of 8, she probably isn't finding anything. Probably because the city is 970 square miles and searching it on foot even with super speed is CRAZY. She does find a store that sells chocolate Lenin heads, so she's snapchatting Alex a picture of that.]

[godoftableflips]

[ yeah she's got nothin' :( ]

If Loki does not wish to be found, he has ways to cloak himself from others. But he cannot have come here merely to hide away. He must have known that taking Natasha would draw us after him.

[ambitionist]

So... he wants to go to a place where he would draw attention? [wis 17 motherfuckaaaa. he looks at andie's lenin head snapchat photo and smiles a little.]

[godoftableflips]

Or he was already expecting to draw it, with whatever plan he has.

[ambitionist]

Well, that's fucking peachy.

[bowtimeandspace]

Well we're not going to get much done standing around, are we. Best thing we can do is start looking. I doubt they're going to come to us, at least not here. Now he knew we'd follow, right? Right. So let's go somewhere obvious. Somewhere public.

I hear the Red Square is lovely this time of year.

[generaldavideus]

[David rubs his chin for a moment, trying to think a bit before shaking his head.]

Public runs a high risk of other people getting hurt. Not that I'm saying we shouldn't start moving, but if we go somewhere surrounded by civilians, what are the odds that he won't care who dies coming after us?

[Especially because he probably knows that they will care. All the more reason to take other people out in the process. That question is also more to Thor than anyone else, since he seems to know this guy best.]

I'm all for drawing him out, but we should do it somewhere where innocent people won't get killed.

[godoftableflips]

[ thor looks grim, nodding as he stares out the window ] Your people are but sheep to him. He considers himself your better, and I've known him to slaughter mortals before, beyond the necessity of his cause.

You are right to be cautious.

[panaceum]

... Sounds like a real hit at parties, that one.

[generaldavideus]

[Dry:]

He's a blast.

[There's a pause for a moment as David continues to mull this over, before an idea hits him (wisdom 14). He reaches back over his shoulder, pulling off his sword and studying it for a moment.]

What if we have something he wants? Bring him to us, without it needing to be public. He's interested in powerful, mythological artifacts, why not just give him one?

[Not that he has one from Norse mythology, but with Galahad's sword he could probably fake it. Galahad's sword is a symbol of power onto itself but beyond needing to be worthy to bear it, it doesn't really have any power. It's hard to say what exactly Loki will look for. Is he a collector or is he building something? David would go with the latter.]

Something close to home.

[ambitionist]

Okay, fine, say for some reason that actually works and he wants your Excalibur knock-off. How are we gonna get him to come to us? Wait for his spidey sense to kick in? Snapchat?

[generaldavideus]

[Yeah, that was the hitch in the plan. Contacting him was going to be tough. David considers for a moment, before turning back to the Doctor.]

Can that thing - [he means the screwdriver.] - tell if Natasha's phone is off versus it being destroyed or if the signal is just being blocked somehow?

[Because maybe they can turn it on long enough not to trace him, but to get him a message. Turning phones on remotely is a thing, right? Maybe? He has no idea.]

[bowtimeandspace]

[ Ooh shiny sword. That's actually quite interesting, and possibly distractingly so. But then so's the question, and he looks to David to answer. ]

I'm not sure. Possibly. Probably. Might even be able to send a message to it. Well, that and every phone within about a 1 mile radius. Still, if you want to draw attention.

[ambitionist]

I guess it's worth a shot. Unless someone else can think of a better plan.

[godoftableflips]

I say we try it. It seems that no harm could come from failure.

[generaldavideus]

[He nods.]

Do it. Tell him we want to make a trade.

[He glances down at the sword for a moment, drumming his fingers against the hilt.]

Natasha for the sword called Gram.

[Which ... this is not, but it'll buy them time, at any rate. Celtic broadwards and viking broadswords were not all that different in construction, thankfully.]