CHAPTER THREE ♔ what's done in the dark will be brought to the light

[wynn]

♬ god's gonna cut you down - johnny cash

WHO || The Knights
WHAT || The aftermath of Chapter 2
WHERE || London, England and variou
WHEN || Evening of June 7th --> onwards
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

In less than twenty-four hours, everything has turned on its head.

A Knight and her allies were kidnapped by Iscariot agents for execution in Rome, barely escaping with their lives.

A mission meant to free one Knight from the influence of a dark god succeeded - at the price of another's life.

A simple recon mission at a Keijen Blade concert nearly led to two Knights committing mind-controlled suicide in front of an eager crowd.

Several Knights went to see Draken Crombe, leader of the Church of the Lord's Humanity, speak in person, and learned just how sinister his religion's dogma is.

A call from Sir Hathaway alerted Wynn to the escape of the doppelganger from the Knight's dungeons, an escape perhaps aided by Elena Gilbert.

A demigod interrupted what might have been a simple smash and grab retrieval of an artifact.

And most horrific of all, in the middle of the night, hundreds of Shadowkind in New York City awoke, and walked in a mindless trance down to the Hudson River to drown themselves. Only the quick thinking and combined efforts of the Knights present and their allies prevented all of them from succeeding.

Beset on all sides, a dark time awaits for the Knighthood - who were already suffering from the capture of Dragon's Claw Sir Thomas Bancroft at the hands of their long time enemy Dimitris Sarandis of Andres Isle.

In times such as these, the light can be difficult to find. Hope itself seems somewhere just out of reach.

Comments

[daredtobelieve]

Ric's back at the castle. I'm not sure who's calling her now. [Pulling herself back together to not be so caught up in feeling terrible.]

[socialgraces]

[ "Hey, Francesca, it's Will. I've been doing some investigative work around the castle. You know, just ... doing what I do best. I don't think Kyp tried to escape. It doesn't fit what I understand about him. It doesn't fit what I know about Elena to do it of her own volition, either. I think she was coerced into helping him escape by someone Kyp was working for. It's not like he has any other connections who would miss him. Him as he really is, anyway. If you know anything about his employers, I would check there first. They'd want him to check in. If Kyp and Elena aren't actually with them, they'd probably at least know where they were heading." ]

...That's amazing, Will. We're actually headed to the hotel we believe Draken Crombe may be staying at while in London right now. Crombe has been working closely with those known to have employed Kyp in the past, so we thought we might start there.

[ she pauses for a slightest moment, clearly hesitant to ask: ] Are we sure this isn't just what Kyp and Elena wanted us to think? Some sort of distraction to lead us off their trail.

[trebond]

She's a teenage girl, not a bloody criminal mastermind.

[ alanna can only hear half this conversation, but she's sharing her input anyway. ]

[daredtobelieve]

But he is. I truly believe he's pulling the strings here, even if he's leading her to believe that she's making these choices on her own.

[parsecs]

Either way, he's sure to give her some pointers. Can't underestimate her. [He shrugs a shoulder, looking at Helen in the mirror.] It might be a false lead, but someone's gotta follow it. In case it's not.

[trebond]

[ Alanna sits up because she's pretty determinedly team hotel and WHY AREN'T WE THERE YET. ]

Can't this thing go any faster?!

[socialgraces]

[ "Elena didn't leave any clues to where she was going. She didn't even bring her phone. And Kyp didn't leave any clues, either. He was bored. He wasn't expecting anyone to swoop in and save him, but it didn't bother him. He didn't care. I — I don't know. It's just a hunch. But if you're going in that direction anyway, it's worth looking into."

francesca's trying to take in what will says and what's being said in the car around her, and she's actually doing quite well at managing it ] We'll definitely see what we can find. Like Han here says, what if it's the right lead? We can't just ignore it. Besides, it's a lot more than we had before.

Thank you, Will. Let me know if you come across anything else of importance, please.

[parsecs]

[Han looks over at Francesca.] He have anything useful to add?

[socialgraces]

Will took the time to search Elena's room and Kyp's cell and he believes Elena must have been coerced into helping Kyp escape, but that it wasn't Kyp compelling her to do so. Rather, he has a hunch it was someone Kyp had previously worked for ... So, someone with ties to Chad Becksworth. [ which means maybe they're on the right track?? ]

[trebond]

The same sort of coercion that spurred on the Shadowkind population of New York, you think? [ wis 14! ] That is the same group they've been investigating, is it not?

[socialgraces]

It is. Seems a bit coincidental, doesn't it? Except we haven't heard of anyone outside of New York being affected.

[parsecs]

Yeah, I don't believe in coincidences. [Han frowns, staring out in front of them thoughtfully.] Just cause we haven't heard of it doesn't mean it hasn't been happening. Bet you anything there've been trial runs.

[daredtobelieve]

Hopefully something at the hotel will give us a clue as to who might be behind it.

[She doesn't want to speculate much more. They need more evidence before they can even begin to guess what's going on here.]

[trebond]

Yes, well, we'll have to arrive first. [ POINTED REMARK IN FRANNY'S DIRECTION GURL HOW IS THAT DRIVING COMING. ]

[socialgraces]

[ patience of a pre-school teacher, i tell ya. SHE'S DRIVING AS FAST AS SHE CANT WITHOUT DRAWING EXTRA ATTENTION OK. london is an hour away just to the outskirts, but they should be pretty close now. ] About the hotel... we need a plan of attack. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to accompany anyone inside, unless we want some sort of distraction. [ b/c obvious shadowkind-looking person stalking draken crombe's hotel after his big anti-shadowkind speech might look... suspicious ]

[parsecs]

Distraction might help. Or you can watch the exits, see if anyone suspicious leaves.

[socialgraces]

So, what's the plan for trying to get inside and locate Crombe, then? [ b/c look, here's London on the horizon ]

[daredtobelieve]

Haven't got much of one, do we? I can do my best to get the desk staff pulled away for one reason or another- if one of you think you can utilize their computer system to find out what room he's in?

[parsecs]

Sure, I could. Doubt it's all that complicated.

[trebond]

I'm rubbish with electronics, but I can hold watch to interrupt any employees who might return whilst Sir Solo is working.

[socialgraces]

Helen, you and I could make a scene about our outrage as Crombe's speech earlier today, and demand to be let into his room to she him. I'm sure between the two of us, we offer enough of a threat that they'll call most security down.

Of course, we'll have to be timely enough to not actually be arrested or anything so inconvenient.

[parsecs]

This actually might work. [It's nice having plans that aren't completely idiotic.]

[socialgraces]

[ good, they have a plan, which is fortunate because they're turning onto the road the hotel is located on now ] Does this plan sit well with you Helen?

[daredtobelieve]

Yes, I think it's our best bet, really.

[parsecs]

[Han turns to look at Alanna.] Best if we pretend we're a couple. Keep 'em from questioning us too hard.