Spear Planning Session

Demise of the War Gods 2020/06/16 	 Grimm Radical Harlequin Natasha Porter Zephyr Riptide Griffin

3

Starguard
The reception area has muted black tiled floor, with the walls and roof painted off-white. The secretarial desk enclosure is barely twenty feet from the double set of glass doors. To its left is a large double-hinged door ominously labeled 'Security'. A seating area full of soft couches is to the right. Down the hallway that leads deeper into the building is the office of the Director of Operations and the exit to the landing field outside.

A day or so ago there were multiple robberies in Colonial Bay. Teams of DEMON agents robbed locations expected to contain magical items and sent them via gates to the city square outside City Hall. Where Amelia Halfdemon used the stolen items to fuel a ritual summoning of the four Gatekeepers of the Obsidian Door. Since the magic from the items wasn't quite enough, Halfdemon also slaughtered five Morbanes in the process. Much legworking has been done and those who did it will explain what's afoot. Starguard have provided a meeting place on request from Grimm.

Grimm got one of the smaller briefing/conference rooms reserved as a secure place to talk and neutral grounds for most to get the details. She's standing at the front of the room, a cup of coffee in hand.

Radical is let into the conference room by the people at the front desk. He's been called in as a consultant several times in the last year, so he has the procedure down. He gives Grimm a wave. "Hey there."

Harlequin sits at the conference table. From time to time he takes a glowing jewel-like 'mouse' from the leather bag at his side and releases it for Natasha. He does this almsot absently.

Grimm waves Radical over to the front and smiles. "Glad you were able to make it." She specifically arranged the time to not clash with his work schedule. "I found out about the spear," she says quietly.

Radical nods. "Ah. Glad to hear it. I hadn't found anything on it yet.

Natasha is new to Starguard. Fortunately they knew she was coming at the front desk, where she was on her best behaviour. Now she's running about sticking her nose everywhere, getting a feel of the place. Or was till Harlequin released the glowing mouse. She plays at stalking it under the conference table....

Zephyr is still relatively new to the Colonial Bay Hero scene, but she's worked with Starguard before, so she got a text when a case came up involving "Magical Mystery Stuff". A few minutes before the appointed time, she swoops down to enter the building, and is shown to the conference room.

*FLASHTHWUMP*

A wild Porter appears!

Ok, not that wild, really... though he does appear in her immediate vicinity and/or that of the coffee pot. Because its a convergence of power.

Natasha pounces on the illusory mouse, then swallows it whole! Yum.

Grimm smiles a bit as she sees Porter. She put out a notice on HeroNet for those who are interested in helping with the Amelia Halfdemon case to attend an update.

Grimm whispers to Radical, "I think I just found someone pure of heart enough to fit the bill."

Not sure what's going on, but having some time, Riptide had decided to show up to see what in the world was going on. The only Amelia he knew was Steinburg, after all. And plus, it gave him some time to at least touch base with some of the older heroes and ask questions potentially.

Griffin Freeman wraps up a search for a missing hiker in the extreme back country of Wyoming- he delivers the man (and his dog!) into the worried arms of his wife and vanishes before anyone can thank him.

He makes a large loop- flying into low Earth orbit for a quick top off before coming down over Colonial Bay, VA.

He checks the time on his PDA and nods. "Not even /that/ late." He says to himself before dropping out of the sky. He radios to Starguard that he's entering their air space as he falls into it.

Before impacting the ground he slows himself and comes to a soft and gentle landing. A few moments later he's entering Grimm's briefing after a request for assistance crossed his radar. He gives Grimm a curt nod before taking a seat.

Radical raises a brow, "Oh?" He looks around, and sees who Grimm is referring to. "Maybe."

Grimm leans back against the wall by a screen that's turned off and sips her coffee. "So if you're here, you all, I assume, heard on the news about the big ritual in City Center."

Riptide looks puzzled by that one. "Big ritual?"

"I don't think I've been brought up to speed on that one Miss Grimm- but I'm sure I can catch up quickly. Magic isn't exactly my forte, but I'm here to lend any assistance I can." The Colonial Bay Sentinel says, hoping to avoid derailing the meeting to bring him up to speed with things he won't exactly need to be privvy to to protect those who are more essential to the task at hand. "Just let me know where you need me."

Natasha hops up onto a chair and stands up so she can see over the table, to listen.

Porter blinks, looks down. Left. Right. Sideways. Did he manage to actually appear on the ground and NOT spill anything?! "Wow. Um. Hi!" He gives a little wave to everyone, adding "Hey, Gabrielle" and a smile to Grimm at the end. "What's up?"

Grimm stares at Riptide with a death stare. "W...why are you here if you've never heard of..." she starts, then facepalms.

Griffin reaches across and offers Porter his outstretched fist. "Sup Porter." He whispers during a moment of silence brought on by Grimm's facepalming.

Radical chuckles and puts a hand on Grimm's shoulder, "Go ahead and give a recap for people."

Riptide looks at Grimm, then around, then at Grimm, "Uh... magic stuff, magically empowered guy, and they got tired of me swimming around a ship of theirs out at the port."

Grimm takes a breath at Radical's advice and lowers her hand. "So just in case you missed the news, a few days ago there were alarms all over the city at various magically-related places. They were robbed of a variety of magical items by undead members of DEMON. The items were teleported to a giant ritual pentagram in City Center by Amelia Halfdemon."

Harlequin murmurs in an European RP accent, "To correct some misinformation: while my home was attacked, its defenses weren't breached. Nothing was taken from it nor anyone there harmed."

He turns to look over at Ryosei and Griffin then starts to speak, but subsides at Radical's words to Grimm. Harlequin settles back in his chair and folds his hands in front of himself.

Radical nods to Harlequin, "Thankfully I wasn't targeted at all. Probably because she doesn't know who I am?"

Natasha provides an illusion of the sight at the city centre. Eidetic memory can be handy!

"That's a relief, Harlequin," Gabrielle says, then continues. "The ritual is the first step in an attempt to free Ares, God of War, from his prison. She used it to summon the gatekeepers of his prison cell, which is locked by the Obisdean Door."

Riptide hums, looking at it curiously. "... huh... makes me wonder on the Greeks having an interest. A few months ago someone showed up and we had Hera of all people sending skeletons down."

"That's so Hera," Gabrielle rolls her eyes. "Always with the skeletons."

Natasha listens attentively. She wonders who imprisoned Ares, where, and what he's in for.

"I've been on enough frontlines to know that's probably not a good thing." Griffin says, knowing the situation is serious just tbased on the request and its origin.

Porter rubs the back of his head. "So... undead demons, half demons, god of war, and obsidian doors... none of that sounds good..." A sigh. "Why can't people summon, like, Venus or Cupid, or rainbows or kittens or something every once in a while?"

Zephyr says, "Rainbows require rain. I can oblige you that far, if you wish."

An illusory kitten appears on the table in front of Porter.

"Don't forget to mention why Ares is imprisoned, Ms Grimm. And that Amelia Half-Demon ritually killed five Morbanes to finish the ritual..." murmurs Harlequin as the mage looks at Natasha's illusion.

Grimm chuckles. "I'm getting there, Harley. It's a lot to disseminate. The morbanes were needed because even with all the magic stored in all those items, it wasn't enough to power the ritual. It needed blood to finish it. Two of the Morbanes were from this area. So that's at least some good news, I guess." She has mixed feelings, but won't shed tears over their deaths. "As for Ares, it was an alliance of men, titans, and the other greek gods that imprisoned him. And even then, the magical histories say it took deception to trap him."

Grimm looks to Radical briefly, then back at the group. "Ares isn't just the god of war. In modern terms, it'd be more like he was the god of war crimes. He embodies the more brutal side of conflict. Blood lust, slaughter, pillaging. That sort of thing."

Riptide hums, "Right... so... big bad ritual, we need to stop the God of War from getting out... uh... so what do we need to do to put a stop to all this without releasing this guy?"

Natasha is surprised, given that even she knows that Ares was supposed to be bested by Heracles in single combat, etc. But maybe that was Athenian propaganda.

Grimm is glad Riptide's caught up. "We need to stop Halfdemon from getting the four locks open. The four gatekeepers are required to give a quest to unlock their particular lock." She looks to Radical to see if he wants to talk about what he saw in the video.

Griffin clenches his jaw and shakes his head. He knows enough about war crimes first hand. Any God of that would be far worse than he was imagining 'Ares, God of War'. He remains quiet but is commited to prevent Ares from bringing that kind of mayhem and horror to mankind once again.

Zephyr says, "Do we need to worry about his henchmen? Fear and Panic?"

Radical nods. "Her summoning worked. She did summon the Gatekeepers successfully. And she apparently requested that she learn all the quests at once. Only they were unwilling to give them to her at once, based on what I saw on the video. I don't know if that's because they were angry or not. They were, of course...but I don't know if that's why they slow-walked her. They only gave her the first task. Which is to find and destory something called the 'Spear of Woeful Fury'.

Grimm tilts her head at Zephyr. "I don't know anything about them. Maybe you can tell us more?"

Harlequin murmurs softly, "Teh purported children of Ares: Deimos and Phobos. There are also Eris and Harmonia." He then lapses into silence again.

Radical shakes his head, "No idea. But the stories are also clearly conflicting. I had always heard that Zeus was far more powerful than Ares, for example. That might not be the case."

Zephyr nods toward Harlequin. "Indeed."

Riptide looks curious, "I wonder where my own... ah... 'patron' stands there... in any case, any idea where the Spear is?"

"There wasn't any mention of them concerning his prison or my research," Gabrielle comments, rubbing her chin.

Grimm takes a deep breath and sighs. "Yeah, the spear is...a problem. It has a full history." She pulls out her phone to check her notes from her research.

"So... we need to find the spear first?" Porter asks. "Send the Gatekeepers and Keymasters back home? Say 'Yes' if they ask if we're gods?" He rubs the back of his head. "I'm not good at history, but if you point me where we need to go, I can maybe get there in time to ...muck things up?"

Harlequin gives a one shouldered shrug. "It's possible that Deimos and Phobos, Dread and Fear, are more concepts considered Ares' children than actualy 'gods'. Eris is the goddess of strife and discord, myths hold that either Ares or Zeus is her father, but she rides beside Ares in his chariot. Harmonia is her mirror twin: the goddess of harmony and concord."

"But I digress, apologies," he adds and lapses back into studying Natasha's image.

Radical nods. "It's possible...that if we destroy it before she does that it will circumvent the problem. But...it might just count as her completing the task, sadly."

Grimm starts her lecture. "The spear is a weapon that was crafted by the dwarven smith Durgeddin in the hidden Black Forge of Khundrukar. Durgeddin spent years forging a black iron spear after he was driven insane by the slaughter of his entire clan by giants. When it was finished, he leaked the location of the forge to the giants and plunged the spear into his own heart. With his dying breath, he cursed the weapon.

"'Whoever sees the spear, save only those with a utterly pure heart and soul, will lust to possess it'," she quotes. She looks up at the gathering. "The spear will fill those who covet it with a raging fury that turns them into a nearly invincible berserker. It warps their mind over time so they come to see all family, friends, and companions as mortal enemies." Grimm purses her lips, having felt influenced by something a little similar. There still seems more for her to say still.

Riptide winces a bit. "Uhh... yeah, that's going to be a problem. Where do you find someone with a pure heart and soul in this day and age?"

Porter winces at that news. Looking for something that messes up people that look at it. Fun. He doesn't say anything and just listens.

Griffin tries not to look surprised by general 'magic' minutia but he fails. His eyebrows rise at the self-deleting method of cursing a weapon. "Intense." He mutters quietyly.

Natasha thinks it sounds like the spear is very magical. Tempting, even if she has no use for a spear....

"Wars and feuds followed the Spear, decimating the giants, passing from hand to hand, clan to tribe, species to species, almost always by violence and death. The last time it was noted in history, it had fallen into the possession of the Dilgar. They're a semi-reptilian species of technological advancement and cultural barbarism on a distant alternate Earth. The intra-species wars that followed exterminated the Dilgar and poisoned their planet. It's contaminated by intense radiation, chemical and biological contamination, and it's still guarded by the autonomous war machines that have survived the Dilgar," Gabrielle paraphrases from her research notes from several sources. "Legend has it that the spear can only be destroyed by breaking it over the anvil that forged it. But Khundrukar's fallen, and it's now the home to a fearsome great dragon and hordes of orc and goblin minions. Nothing thats gone there has come back to tell what they found there," Grimm finishes and lowers her phone.

Riptide blinks a few times, then considers, "... well, I vote to go for the anvil thing. Less hazardous than the whole contaminated Earth place. And I don't happen to be immune to those things?"

Grimm looks around the room and thinks carefully. "I don't really know many of you, but if I were to guess? I think the people pure of heart and soul may be...you, you, and you," Gabrielle points to Porter, Griffin, and then Radical.

Grimm gives Harlequin a "You better not start" look after.

Natasha looks offended.

Harlequin tilts his head at Grimm's look and just laughs softly.

"With a proper air supply, I could probably check out the Dilgar's former homeworld if you think its worth a look- but what do we do if we can't even look at the object at the heart of this? I'd hate a wrong high-speed glance to bring that terror and destruction here."

Griffin shakes his head being Pure of Heart. "I don't think so - I'm just a man, just like any of you. No offense ladies. Perhaps 'human' would have been a better turn of phrase." He says humbly in reply to Harlequinn's comment.

Grimm shakes her head at Riptide. "A great dragon is seriously deadly. Don't make the mistake of thinking that's easier."

Grimm holds up a finger. "There's some good news. The desire to possess the spear makes it difficult for someone to want to destroy it. Halfdemon won't be able to do it herself. Nor will her Demon Lord boyfriend or her undead minions." Yeah, real comforting.

Natasha speaks after some internal struggle. "Tell the dragon that the spear is coming, so it is on its guard. THe dragon would never allow such a treasure to be destroyed."

Radical nods. "It begs the question how she's going to attain the thing, though."

Riptide looks considerate, "The cost would be great if she runs around with the spear in plain view."

Zephyr says, "I can supply air."

Ah. Coffee. Porter makes himself a cup as he listens to Gabrielle. Takes that nice first sip. And nearly chokes on it as she points to him. He manages to cough out "Wha?"

Then he listens s'more. "Um, I don't suppose this is one of those things we can just ... let the bad guy..er.. girl? try and fail at? I don't have the best record with dragons... but it sounds like we need the spear thingy before we can break it over the anvil doodad, right? So..."

Harlequin murmurs, "Then she will find a catspaw to do it, Ms Grimm. Trickery and treachery are meat and drink to her after all." He looks down at his hands. "And Great Dragons, all dragons, have been lessened from what they were, Mr Grimm. The breaking of the Curse on the dragons has, hmm, lessened them somewhat."

Grimm nods. "Except she's already a threat without it. She might destroy her own forces, or her Demon Lord buddy may steal it instead. But it'd be better to keep the spear from her rather than then anvil, I think, anyway. Or a two-pronged attempt."

Natasha nods at Harlequin's suggestion of a catspaw. She'd been thinking the same thing.

The illusory kitten holds up a paw just to make this clear.

Grimm rubs her chin. "The question is, is Amelia Halfdemon strong enough to kill a great dragon?"

Zephyr says, "Or can she get someone to do it for her? Or draw it out so that she can slip in behind its back?"

Grimm looks back to Porter, "We don't want to break the spear. That could finish the quest for her."

Harlequin thne looks over at Grimm and Radical. "And there is a potential loophole in the dwarf Durgeddin's curse: one must be see the spear to lust for it. Amelia Half-Demon may try to exploit that as well."

"And yes, she and her cohorts are strong enough now, Ms Grimm. It would be a battle but one that can be won."

Radical nods. "So...it sounds like getting rid of the anvil is the way to go? Or trying to do so? So the spear can't be broken at all?"

Zephyr says, "Can we deprive her of some of her cohorts? Reduce her strength?"

Natasha says, "We do not need just one plan. We can try to keep the spear from her first, and then the anvil if that fails."

Grimm purses her lips for a moment. "You think they meant the literal laying eyes on it? Hmmm. I can function without using my eyes if that's the case."

Riptide huhs, "Not the only one, far as the not needing to see. Well, not sure if it counts as sight?"

Radical nods. "I think...we need to think that through. What do you mean by 'keep the spear from her'? What would we do with it? How do we keep her from destroying it eventually?"

Grimm looks towards the door, then the room. "The Commander might be able to provide radiation-safe suits. I don't know if it'll help with the poisons on their world."

Grimm nods to Radical. "I think her even just having the spear is a bad thing, though. It may stop her from freeing Ares, but then she'd have a powerful weapon to destroy civilizations with."

Riptide looks a bit curious, "Well... problem there. Either way we go, we're doing half the work for her."

Natasha has no good answer to that. She was only pointing out that we might have more than one opportunity to stop her, not suggesting any particular plan.

Grimm smirks to herself. "The Gatekeeper was a total troll. He tasked Halfdemon to destroy something she'd love to keep."

Grimm thinks on the cohorts, and looks to Radical with a shrug, then back to Zephyr. "Halfdemon could give herself all the time in the world to recruit new forces in dimensions that move at different speeds from ours. I don't think we'd be able to hinder her for long that way."

"Pretty clever - I'll give them that, but it certainly puts us in a perdicament." Griffin muses. "Especially if even having this spear would make her more powerful. I feel like getting our hands on the spear and moving it out of her grasp is the best option from what I've heard. Though, maybe there is some magic angle I'm not following." The Sentinel says aloud after giving it some thought.

Grimm sips her coffee and thinks. "But if I was able to research where the spear is supposed to be from the histories, so can she. She probably knows where it is already. If we can get it and move it anywhere in the multiverse, it'll take her time to relocate it with a ritual or some other magic. If we can stop -her-, that'd be best. And we know she'll be going for the spear. Maybe we ambush her and play keepaway."

"Well, if I can get it," Porter offers, "I could lose it pretty good. Good enough I couldn't find it again. Probably not even on purpose!" See! He can be helpful.

Grimm chuckles at Porter.

Riptide sighs, "Alternatively, why not just ambush her and try to capture fully? DEMON is not something I think we should play keepaway with."

Grimm stares at Riptide incredulously. "I literally just said we should ambush and stop her."

Natasha grins toothily. "Ambush her and play scratch-the-demon-out-of-her."

Radical nods, "Hey, I've got an idea: Let's ambush her and stop her." He chuckles, clearly teasing Grimm at this point.

Grimm stares at Radical with her mouth open for a few moments, then just shakes her head and laughs. "No, no, we stop her, THEN we ambush her."

Zephyr says, "Lure her into a trap?"

Grimm looks to Griffin and asks, "What part has you a bit lost? I'll try and explain it if I can."

Riptide shakes his head, "Sorry, a little distracted there. This is my first time doing something well... this big." He shrugs, "But yeah, which way to the whole world of death and doom?"

Grimm facepalms and shakes her head again at Zephyr's comment, giving Radical a look. "Now they're all doing it." She has no idea how he manages to handle a classroom.

Grimm takes a moment to think, then looks to Radical, then leans over to whisper. "Maybe you can use that spell of yours to try and glimpse for clues?"

Radical nods to Grimm, "To look into the future? I can try. Though these things are in flux, remember."

Grimm nods. "Yeah, I remember. I'm still alive, aren't I?" she smiles. "At least it may give us some things to watch out for potentially."

Radical nods. "I'll give it a try. Give me a few moments." He moves to the corner of the room...and just concentrates, looking at his own future, following hte trail of the thread of his life.

Natasha watches, curious.

Riptide considers, then looks at Grimm and the others, "Uh... what's he doing?" He points at Radical.

"Shhh. Casting a spell," Grimm explains.

Riptide shrugs, "Oh. What spell?"

Grimm stares flatly at Riptide. "He just said his spell lets him look in the future. Look, kid, if this danger thing is boring you, maybe you're in the wrong place."

Riptide looks at Grimm, then sighs, "Says the one that was willing to let me try to make a villain swim a month or so ago."

Grimm raises a brow. "Villain swim? What're you talking about?"

Radical can't see or hear anything in the room while the spell is going on...his senses are elsewhere in the time stream...looking forward.

"You mean the guy who was invulnerable otherwise and was trying to kill someone? I don't see your point," Grimm replies.

Griffin remains a quiet observer as the magicians do their thing. He does his best to ignore the emergency bands while they plan out their next steps.

Radical describes what he sees, though he can't hear himself.

"I see... a ruined alien city. A few buildings stand partially intact but most are leveled close to the ground. The center of the city is just gone. Nothing but a crater. I see it at twilight and the city center glows blue, so intense is the radiation. Moving through the ruins are war machines. Terminators with the flesh burned off. Perhaps a dozen or so...

Then there's another jump in time forward. A gate opens on a hilltop some distance from the city. Figures stream through. Men on horses in shining white armor. Wagons. Clumbersome cannons draws by ox teams. Foot soldiers with pikes, crude muskets and clay-pot bombs... Leading the entry is a man wearing a helm shaped like a crown. Flanking him are two others in glowing white robes with halos floating over their heads...

No matter how the battle turns out, the men are all dead if they stay on that world more than a few hours. There is a man and a woman flanking him. With banners with sunbursts on htem."

Grimm frowns at Radical's description. "Sounds like Halfdemon found her volunteers," she mutters.

Riptide looks thoughtful, "Unwilling or willing, though? Sunbursts tend to be... well... good, right?"

Natasha tilts her head, listening.

Grimm nods. "Yeah, but as Harlequin said, Halfdemon's great at tricking people. They could think they're on a noble quest."

Riptide hums, "Could we try talking to them first?"

Grimm shrugs. "Or...they could be crazed fanatics." Griffin may be reminded of The Bright King.

Radical blinks again as the spell ends. "I thnk that covers it. Did you each hear what I said?"

Natasha nods. Not that she can say she understood it.

Grimm nods to Radical. "I was just saying it sounds like Halfdemon got people to do her work for her."

Zephyr nods.

Grimm waves her hand a bit. "Only...it sounds like they failed?"

Radical shakes his head, "No, I think they're just arriving? Some other fight happens there earlier with...robots of some kind. Sort of like hte one that tried to kill my grandmother."

Grimm's eyes widen. "No shick..." she utters at the mention of his grandmothers. "Well, Riptide suggested we talk to them. At the very least to make sure they don't get killed."

Grimm looks down over herself. "Though based on your description, I don't know that I'm dressed for the occasion," she grins.

Griffin frowns, being reminded of his elseworld self- the world conquering 'Bright King'. "Doesn't take much to sway some people. A little fear goes a long way- and there are other fires to stoke if that won't do. I'm not surprised they found someone to volunteer for this."

Natasha lies down on her chair. Being invited to this meeting sounded exciting at first,

Radical nods. "We might be able to convince them. That land is going to be highly radioactive. Those people don't have any clue what they're walking into."

Radical says, "The robots were still patrolling when teh army arrives. I think the robots...are likely to crush the human army when it shows up. It's just a matter of how long it would take."

"Right. Maybe explain it in terms they'll understand." Gabrielle Grimm brushes off her shirt and it elongates and turns white, becoming a long flowing white medieval dress of fine make. The rest of the darkness seems to drop off of her, her piercings disappearing, and her hair turning (its secretly naturally) blonde from root to tip as she wears a serene expression. The makeover in clothing and a bit of shapeshifting has her looking angelic and kind.

Radical looks at Grimm, "You now look very much like the two that were with the arriving king."

Riptide considers, then shrugs, "Otherwise, we could challenge for the leadership, I guess? Not sure what customs they have."

Grimm looks to Radical and smiles sweetly. "If I can get a look at them ahead of time, I might be able to make a more accurate change."

Griffin sits up a bit at Grimm's transformation. "Wow - that's some wardrobe change." He says appreciatively.

He isn't sure what Radical saw bu Grimm pulling the look certainly helps Griffin believe there is something of substance in the plan set out.

Radical rubs his chin, "I think...Halfdemon might try to grab hte spear while the humans are fighting the robots. Teleport to where the spear is...grab it, and then get off that dimension. Tactically that makes sense. But...it doesn't cover how she's manage that without being affected by the spear's powers. She might just be overconfident or assuming it won't affect her."

Natasha says, "OR will do it without looking."

Grimm brushes herself off and returns to her normal rocker self. "Hmm. Any idea how far ahead in time that is? I'll get Starguard to provide protective suits for everyone."

Riptide sits up, blinking. "Hey... uh... this might sound weird, but... Halfdemon is a magic user, right?"

Grimm rubs her face.

Riptide shrugs, "Well, I mean, the one loophole is she can't look at the spear. What if she blindfolded herself and just walked to the spear while sensing it's magic?"