Log:A Darker Pied Piper, Scene 3

A Darker Pied Piper 2009/03/02 	 Ferryl Rain Ellbeth 3

Artists' Quarter This district is bisected by Pennyroyal Lane, which runs southwest to northeast, winding down from Colonial Heights then continuing on the level to Golden Sands. And "artistic" flare permeates the whole district, but its nature varies greatly, from the truly (or pretentiously) artistic in the housing, cafes and galleries east and south of the road, through the showy, even garish, commercialism around Pennyroyal Lane, to the more suspect pleasures of the red light district in the north and east.

Satsu is talking on the phone. "Well, I don't know it seems leery to me!" "Well, I don't care it still is a bad deal, I won't go for it unless it's a solid number." ... "Well, you know, remind me why I am gonna fire you in the morning." Well, that seemed to be a headache at least as the young Japanese gentleman just walks along the street, frowning now. He just is out and about for a breather while taking care of business...Stopping here and there for a look at the cafes. The garish commercialism of this section of Pennyroyal Lane reminds some of the Ginza. But it does not quite rise to that level to one who has experienced the Ginza firsthand. Despite all the glitz and activity, there are still areas that lie in the shadows of the neon. As you walk down the street, you hear a faint sound of shattering glass from down an alleyway ahead of you. Then you hear the high pitched scream of woman's voice that quickly cuts off. "...Hoo boy." Satsu stops when he hears the scream, frowning. This was his good suit, but he can afford more anyway. He just straightens his tie and glances around. He has to make it look natural as he simply turns a corner out of sight...completely out of sight rather as above the city a loud clap of thunder is heard after a few seconds...and then followed by a much louder one that winds up shattering any windows nearby to the alley. Rain thinks. o O (Nice landing...) In the flickering moment, he'd donned his robes and shot himself back down from over a mile above the city, landing in the alley on a bolt that cracks both of the buildings next to him. He can't afford to be subtle as he slowly stands up from a kneeling position, eyes narrowing. "Mm..." At the end of the short dead end alley you see: A burning pool of liquid next to a scantily clad young woman who is trying to stomp out the flames nearest her with a high heeled boot. Four children, none over 10 years old, stand between the woman and the alley mouth. The children are giggling and clapping their hands as they watch the flames moves closer to the woman.
 * CLICK*

At the sound of the thunder the children turn to look at you, cheerful mischief on their faces. Two boys and two girls: Two white, one black, and one Japanese.

Rain thinks. o O (...Figures, kids ruining my day.)' Rain walks towards the group at first, glaring down at them in a scornful annoyance. He looks to the Japanese child at first, asking in rather thick Japanese. "You do this?" He looks around at the others before looking towards the woman...was that something like gas? He just lets an annoyed sigh out and slowly lifts his hand...a cloud forming over the alley enough that a rain starts to douse the entire area...incidentally ruining a couple paintings on a rooftop that were drying. The Japanese boy seems to be about 8 years old. He is dressed in a frayed and tattered black and grey kimono. The black girl seems about 6 years old and is dressed in a dirty gingham dress, her hair in braids. The two other children, the white boy and girl, seem about 9 years old. They seem to be twins by the similarity of their appearance. They are dressed in normal clothing that is frayed and looks about 10 years out of date. The Japanese boy claps his hands.

The kimono-clad boy claps his hands in happiness and says in Japanese, "Wow, just like in the old stories. That is so neat!" A short blade is thrust at an angle into his obi.

The white boy says, "Akira? Do we have to stop playing now? It’s just getting fun!"

The young woman, alright the hooker, stares at you and the yells, "Help me! These kids are effing nuts!"

Rain just kinda sneers again, clearly faking the annoyance as he's trying to figure the situation out. He just takes in a breath and gestures with his hand...forming the rain inwards enough to douse the flame. He turns around, looking at the kids again with a frown still as he just makes the rain break, glancing over his shoulder at the hooker...speaking with as thick of an accent as he can fake. "They did what?" He ignores the story comment for now...not knowing if it's about him or not. Akira looks over his shoulder at the others. In accented English, he says, "No, Rapentap-sama said we can play." He draws the short blade from his obi and flicks it towards Rain. "I want to Play Murder with this one. He looks like fun.”

The others kids nod and take out smaller blades. The black girl comes over to stand by Akira while the Twins turn and walk towards the hooker.

The hooker backs up against the wall, putting some more distance between the kids and her. The fire is being slowly doused. Seems like it a Molotov cocktail.

Ferryl enters from MagLev System.

Rain thinks. o O (Should I treat these kids like adults or what, good lord they're talking nuts already.) Rain frowns a bit and steps towards them, even with the knife out he sees it as a bunch of hoodlums. He crosses his arms and shakes his head some. He looks to the 'leader' at least the way he sees it. "You should stop, you don't know what you're getting into," he repeats in Japanese. To add to the effect, he makes sure a spark of lightning cracks behind him through the smaller cloud. Gotta be intimidating! The Japanese boy seems to hesitate for a moment at your speech and the lightning, the grin on his face fading slightly. But as the thunder fades, he seems to rally. "Naw," he says in his accented English. "I know what I am doing. Rapentap-sama said we could go out and play. I want to play with you."

The little black girl looks over at Akira, and then giggles sweetly. She starts to hum 'All Around the Mulberry Bush' as she skips up towards Rain, the small knife in her hand.

The Twins are smiling and laughing, talking to each other in what sounds like German as they stalk the hooker. Who is beginning to scream again?

Rain's eyebrow twitches in annoyance, real annoyance this time. He's still not taking this seriously. He just gestures with one hand, causing a whipping wind to suddenly blast through the alley from behind the hooker's direction. It's with this he simply steps upward into the air, pushing off of the ground to hover back above the hooker and hooks his hands beneath her shoulders to lift her out of harms way...that's the plan at least. Observing the situation from above, Ferryl is already planning out what she will do in the event of any surprises on the part of the man who seems to be threatening some kids who are acting a bit weird. Meanwhile she's also taking into account potential sniping spots for that particular alley and its escape points, all while nocking an arrow. The downpour is not something she enjoys being caught in, but there really isn't much she can do once it happens.

The hooker struggles for a moment and then seems to realize what Rain is doing. She stops screaming about the kids and starts screaming when she sees the ground dropping away beneath her as she rises. That skirt of hers really does not conceal much at all.

The children all seem fascinated by the flying man and hooker. They all giggle at the sight.

The little black girl says in a West Indies accent, "She ain't got no knickers on!"

The kimono clad Japanese boy shakes his head. "Come on. Let's go find someone else to play with." He heads over towards an open manhole cover almost concealed in some trash at the side of the alley.

The rest of the children begin to follow him.

Ferryl notices not much out of the ordinary. The kimono the Oriental boy wears has a large and complex mon on its back. Oh, and there is some sort of street preacher down at the street end of the alley watching everything. Seems about normal for a street preacher. Save for the fact that for someone who looks solid that rain falls through him real good.'

Rain lifts the woman enough that he swings her onto the roof of the nearby building...His hands twitching as if he just touched something filthy. He looks down towards the alley to see the children headed for a manhole? That won't be happening, time to give them another scare! He keeps hovering simply tilting his head to the side...the cloud above grows for only a brief moment before a sharp blast of lightning shoots down into the alley. He's aiming at the manhole, thinking he at least can seal it up before they get to it and possibly scare the death into them! Rain thinks. o O (They -are- just kids.) The bolt of lightning that the man apparently called from the sky, strikes true. It hits the manhole cover and knocks it over the manhole itself. The cover is pitted somewhat and glowing red with heat from the lightning.

The kids, rather than being scared, seem to think this is great. They laugh at the antics of the cover. The female Twin says in a lightly accented voice, "Do it again"

"There's something you don't see every day," comments Ferryl thoughtfully, her attention taken up by something away from the alley until the lightning hits and she's sent diving for some nice hard cover from it.

Well not really amused with the fact they find it so funny, it's clear these aren't children then. He lowers himself down at the entrance of the alley, arms still crossed as he just leers at them in annoyance. He takes a long breath in before speaking as 'clear' as he can. "10 seconds to tell me who you are, or it will hurt." Another intimidation attempt, the lightning above him crackling...and this time stopping in the air to gather in one spot. The children all goggle wide eyed at the lightning gathered, but don't seem scared of it. Then Akira speaks up with a lovely little smile. "I'm Akira." He gestures at the little black girl, the then twins. "That is Charlotte. And those are the Twins." He points to Rain with his blade. "We want to Play Murder with you."

Ferryl moves off to another roof, sending an arrow to it and ending up quite a distance from where she was a moment prior. From there she can still see into the alley, shoot anything she feels like shooting in the alley and best of all, she's not in the rain.

Akira just looks at Rain, waving the blade at him in a child's imitation of kenjustsu move. Charlotte starts singing "All Around the Mulberry Bush" and throws the little knife she has at Rain. It seems to have a bat winged hilt to it.

The Twins looks past Rain and just smile and then move over to the manhole cover. They seem to be lifting it. They giggle as the heat of it sears their flesh.

Ferryl notices that the street preacher seems to just be intently watching the activity in the alley.

The blade that the little girl throws loops and tumbles in the air. When it misses Rain by the barest of margins, it swoops back into her hand. "No fair, you moved," she pouts as she draws back her hand again.

Rain thinks. o O (Hm...can't say I didn't warn them. They have small bodies, I won't use all of my power, just enough to stun them....they all have metal in their hands after all.) "You can't murder a God; here is what happens when you try." Rain just purses his lips, raising his right hand a bit and simply points upwards at where the lightning had hesitated. He just turns his lips up in a small smile...using the majority of the lightning in the attack to blanket the entire cloud in a sheet lightning formation while smaller branches arc downward to each of the blades...and also the manhole cover again. Rain thinks. o O (Can't say they won't have some scarring after this...)

The sheet lightning crackles over the Twins as they are hoisting the manhole cover up. Their fine blonde hair arcs out in the electricity, but strong as the attack was, they are not even stunned. They are, in fact, giggling again.

Rain thinks. o O (This is getting out of hand...they didn't get hurt?) Rain frowns, and leaps into the air again with a bit more speed than normal. He lands down on the manhole cover...despite it being seething hot he is hoping that his own little touch of divinity will nullify any pain that might catch him through his sandals. He looks down towards the two twins...frowning deeply as he just points at the one on his right. "Unnatural."

Here comes a bolt from the blue...this time not as spread out as before. He's done testing and now is annoyed enough to use a bit of his normal power on them...He's guessing it has to be some kind of spell, but then again if the kid isn't knocked out by this he'll have to figure out another way. The bolt of lightning streaks from the sky and hits the boy Twin. He shudders as the electricity sears him, and drops to the ground. He seems barely conscious, but out of it for a time.

His sister just smiles dreamily and holds onto the manhole cover, not letting it go even with your weight on it. She holds up her end.

Rain just looks down at the younger girl, and rather than waste energy with blasting her, he just kicks outward at her chin to knock her away...Not the strongest of blows but he wants some distance for obvious reasons. He looks up afterwards, checking on where the other two might be...He's a little outnumbered nonetheless. The little girl is hit hard by you on the chin. But her head barely even rocks back. She pouts, "I can kick harder than that."

The little black girl throws her knife at Rain, while Akira sprints back towards the mouth of the alley. He reaches it and a figure standing there very quickly.

The female Twin lifts her side of the manhole cover up to waist height and the slides into the revealed manhole.

The knife misses Rain yet again and the little girl pouts again.

Rain thinks. o O (One got away...take out the leader then, like th-hm??) Rain looks past towards the figure and frowns, raising a hand in an offensive manner as he still pays no mind to the young girl. Move and I will kill..." He's faking of course, but the lightning building in the cloud above him makes good on the threat. He plans on using a much stronger bolt this time if they don't submit...he knows they can't get away from him. Akira hesitates, but stands his ground near the figure at the alley's mouth. He sticks out his tongue at Rain as the figure steps forward into the light. The man seems to be a street preacher: an older gentleman in shabby black suit, his eyes kind, and his smile soothing.

Rain just slowly lowers his hands, staring blankly at the priest. First thing of course he knows the preacher is behind the otherworldly kids...most likely. And the fact that he's here now, grinning while staring down a God like himself means he's possibly one himself...maybe. He just takes in a low breath and begins to slowly hover upward...putting cautious distance between him and the priest. "So you're the one they keep talking about, a murdering preacher sending children to do it?" The priest cocks his head to one side as he says in a soothing baritone voice. "I'm not certain what you mean, sir." He glances at the children then back to you. "Have the children been misbehaving?" He seems somewhat befuddled.

The little black girl, Charlotte, giggles and you hear her heading back down the alley towards the manhole you imagine.

The Japanese boy, Akira, ducks behind the priest and then around the corner.

"Playing murder?" Rain just keeps staring at the priest, not moving much now as another bolt of lightning jets across the cloud above him...He's not amused and it's showing. "When a god asks you a question, you should know not to lie." The priest seems to hesitate for a moment as if considering your words. Then he smiles and says in a lazy drawl, "I think I will wait for the judgment of Hell on your divinity, boy." He glances behind you. "Is that my child escaping back there?"

"Hell? Tsukuyomi can handle you then...but first your child." Rain is doing an intimidation move again, but this time he basically keeps himself in between the preacher and the child as he just twitches his right hand...he doesn't even know if there is one there, but he's once again aiming for the manhole behind him, using it as reference as the bolt shoots down from above full force.

The rain and storm in this five block area of the Artists Quarter is obviously not of natural origin to you Ellbeth. Powerful forces are at work here it seems. A bolt of lightning flashes from the sky down into an alleyway just a short distance from you. The light illuminates a small boy slipping down into a sewer grating out of sight for a moment and a shadowy figure is backlit at the mouth of the alleyway.

The lightning bolt spears straight down at the manhole cover and knocks it back down over the manhole. The little black girl stops beside it, giggling.

The male Twin who was beside the manhole is no longer in sight.

A classic 1905 Silver Shadow Rolls Royce automobile turns into the street from the direction of Old Towm and glides with a quiet whisper of wheels against tarmac towards the building opposite Rain and Joseph. Moments after the flash of lightning illuminates the scene the automobile draws to a halt. The rear passenger side door opens and Ellbeth steps out, a glowing nimbus of protective energy forming around her as she exits.

Ellbeth’s senses tell her much about the two adult figures in the alleyway. She can make out that the figure deeper in the alleyway is suffused with divine power that has as its source the Japanese deity of storms and thunder Susanoo. You would say he is an incarnate avatar of that deity. As for the other figure, he looks back as if he senses your presence. For a brief moment, you perceive him as a street preacher with kind eyes and gentle features. The truth is revealed: His face is a writhing mass of maggot riddled dead grey flesh. Where his eyes should be are only deep sockets, a void the black of a moonless night. His voice is the harsh whispering rasp of a dying man and his breath blows forth in a cold puff of putrid air from a sealed crypt. His yellow and stained teeth are jagged and unevenly spaced in his gruesome gaping maw and the long blood encrusted nails that tip his bony figures appear quite ready to rend flesh. Child sized slave chains are wrapped around his legs and arms and torso, knotted around him like a winding sheet holding the remnants of once rich robes tightly to his emaciated form. This is a damned soul let free to walk upon the Earth. Misery and pain follow in his wake. He feeds his Master on the innocence of children.'

Ellbeth tightens her grip on the staff in her hand as her eyes rest on the apparent preacher. A hand lifts to remove her sunglasses and a frown comes to Ellbeth's lips. The runes curved into the staff light up with a shimmering blaze of magical energy.

The 'preacher' looks between the two of you moving slightly to put his back against the wall of the alley. He then laughs. "I should be more careful. I don't wish to return home with a full harvest." He then presses back /into and through/ the wall, sinking into it as if he is not solid. Ellbeth looks at the preacher intently, her gaze moving to the child slave chains. She mutters a brief incantation focusing an analytical probing detection spell onto the items.

"Don't just stand there, stop him!" The horrid accent was back, his 'English' almost illegible. He is yelling at the other one now...Ellbeth. The girl he can clearly see has a bit of something to her as well. He isn't done preparing himself once, making a low growl as he churns the clouds above him, building. To Ellbeth's senses, it is obvious that the child sized slave chains are part of the spirit's 'body'. They probably have some significance to how he is what he is, but they are not separate from him. Much like the chains that Marley wore perhaps.

The little black girl tosses that bat winged knife of hers up into the air, then catches it and throws it at Ellbeth. It flies and swoops through the air as if something possessed. To Ellbeth, it is obvious that the knife is empowered by black magic of the darkest kind. In fact, it looks like it was probably made by someone trained by DEMON.

The knife misses Ellbeth. But it does swoop through the air back to the little girl's hand. The child stomps her foot and says in a Caribbean accent, "Not fair. Hold still."

Ellbeth shakes her head. "It is a shade, a phantom. It can be driven away but I have not the power to prevent it leaving. Such creatures must be traced to their source and bound or banished." She steps to the side as the knife passes beside her flank.

The little black girl seems about 6 years old and is dressed in a dirty gingham dress, her hair in braids. To Ellbeth’s senses the child is filled with the power of black, demonic magicks. It sustains her more than the life force sustains a normal child. It fills her in replacement of her soul.

Rain just fumes...the other one was incompetent. He's had more than enough and it's showing as he doesn't even seem to think twice. In the moment he takes to turn and face Charlotte, the skies above him split and a bolt of lightning leaps down, striking him full force. He usually holds back on using such a strong bolt, but he's of course good and annoyed. "Quit with that stupid little laugh!" The accent gone, cover possibly blown in doing so, he lets a stronger blast of lightning out through his right hand, firing it directly towards the little girl's chest. The chld is lifted off her feet by the force of the lightning, her hair standing on end. She is slammed back into the back wall of the dead end alley with a loud thump. She crumples to the ground and lies still.

Ellbeth flips open her laptop and sets it to work on a GPS location for her current position. But it's a poor signal area and she has to continue without the benefit of a local area map. Making a guess as the layout behind the alley wall where the shade passed through she incants and sketches out the shape of an eye in glowing line in the air with a fingertip. The lines quickly fade to invisibility as the mystic eye floats across to pass through the wall and seeks sight of the fleeing shade.

Rain just growls still, in his own little world as he stomps forward and grabs the 'kid' by the back of the collar. He picks her up, carrying her towards someone who's clearly a bit more versed in things...the odd girl who appeared. Next thing leads to another, and he drops the child down infront of Ellbeth before taking a moment to click the act back on. "Who are you..." The storm above has slowly started to subside...a representation of him regaining control. Ellbeth can see Rapentap as he strides through the building. As he reaches the center of the building, he glances up and over his shoulder, directly at your scrying point. He snarls then begins to sink down through the floor into the ground.

Little Charlotte seems out of it. A large burn mark is centered on her chest, the skin blackened and cracked.

Ellbeth sighs, "The shade has descended below ground level. I can no longer see it." she says in nobody in particular. Then she looks at Rain and the little girl. "My name is Ellbeth Wyrd. Author and also part time enchantress. So who are you and what connection do you have with the dark forces at play here?"

The child begins to slowly stir. As she does, the wound on her chest visibly shrinks then disappears as if it were never there.

Ellbeth bends a knee to crouch beside the girl and lift her to a sitting position with a hand behind her back. "Rest child, you have been injured." she says hiding her discomfort at even touching this abomination. But it's a required part of the distraction as with her other hand she attempts to surreptitiously slip a small coin into one of the girl's pockets.

Rain just raises an eyebrow, not noticing it himself but actually takes a wary step back. He just takes in a breath as his second step is one that he walks backwards up into the air. He just hovers there a moment before turning and starting to walk up towards the sky, almost as if there are invisible stairs. Rain thinks. o O 'Weird old lady...must be with that priest or something if she's treating the child like that.' Ellbeth steps back and looks up at the departing Rain. Then she shrugs. Whatever his story those he was engaging with were befouled by the darkest of black magic. That gives him the benefit of the doubt. So she'll do nothing to prevent his departure. And it is part of her plan for the girl to return free to whatever den of evilness marks the lair of herself and possibly also the shade. Returning to the Roll Royce she nods to the driver, "Back to the Ya... No, on second thoughts, Harry, take me to Past Times Coffee Shop. I should see if the local hero community is aware of this."