⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 4 PT2

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone and everyone!
When: October 31st, 2017 HALLOWEEN!
Where: The Count of Crow's Underground Realm
What: The displaced carnival members break into the Count of Crow's underground fortress, in the hope of taking control of the ritual and maybe saving Childermass's life.
Warnings: Violence, ritual blood letting, other stuff.

DAYS OF WINTER PT2↴ The night of hallow's eve has come, and there's no more time for waiting. As Portland begins enjoying the festivities of the night, you are tasked with something darker - you must find the Count's realm within Portland's underground tunnels, and fight off those that would stop you. The ritual will be starting soon, and once it's finished the very nature of this reality will be in the Winter Court's hands... the only choice is to intervene.

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⇨ THE PORTLAND UNDERGROUND

[ringleaders]

► SHANGHAI TUNNELS: It’s appropriate that these tunnels lead to the Count’s realm, given their historical usage for kidnapping workers and forcing them to work on ships as indentured slaves. Knowing that much, you have to wonder – how much of those people ended up on boats, and how much of them ended up as changelings? Regardless, there are a lot of ways to get lost (perhaps supernaturally so) and some particular tricks you need to pull to be able to find entry into the faerie realm. Some of the members from each of the main groups should have been able to figure out the way by now – it’s just a question of executing those pathways successfully, and not getting killed by the demons and fae trying to make their way in at the same time. Crows and other corvids perch on obsolete piping and will be watching you the entire way. ► FREEZING OVER: As you cross the boundary, the tunnels will become increasingly rocky and increasingly cold until you’re found yourself in a network of ice caves. These caves will be filled with a disabling cold, with black feathered, harpy-like creatures waiting in the wings and prepared to attack anyone who attempts to make their way through. Lighting is very poor, and shadows lurk around every corner. Eventually, the caves open up to become and gargantuan cavern, which snows despite the lack of sky. Within that cavern is the fortress of the Count of Crows.

[whattaprick]

Lambert is human. This trip has made him painfully aware of that much, literally so, since he’s still incredibly sore from being flung around during the Rose Queen encounter. He’s never liked the cold, but here it bites into his skin, even through the layers of clothing he’s put on. He grips his poker tighter in his gloved hand, crampons crunching through the ice underfoot as he gingerly makes his way along the tunnel.

He's bringing up the rear with the angel party, occasionally using his poker to clonk the stray corvid that attempts to swoop at him to rake his eyes out. Most of that kind of thing, though, he leaves up to the couple of angels with him. No sign of the Beast around, and he can't decide if he's disappointed or resigned.

The one upshot of the cold is that he’s too numb to feel all the aches in his body. He doesn’t have the connection to the Earth Spirit the way Tamaki or even the werebeasts do, and wherever the hell it is right now, he hopes it's paying attention ... though maybe Strange had a point. This place doesn't look like it could be connected to the earth at all.

[ ooc: Lambert is with Team Angel; angels winging back to check on how the slowpokes are doing, other non-angels bitching about the cold with him, or just jerks wanting to get to the ritual first are welcome to tag in! ]

[moonfang]

What a creepy, cold place. Zangetsu doesn't like it, and he didn't like this place much in the first place. And he isn't happy about all these damn birds, either. One of these damn things had stolen the artifact right out of his hands. He wasn't planning on letting that happen again.

He carries his angelic sword in one hand, its light keeping the tunnels illuminated, along with the other angelic lights in the procession. It's more eerie than it is holy. A crow hops and caws at Zangetsu and his hisses at it. The crow swoops and Zangetsu snatches it out of the air, snapping its neck in one swift motion. This causes the other birds to cry out and flap away.

He turns to Lambert and snarls.

"I am getting real sick of these things."

[whattaprick]

Shouldn't angels be a bit less casual about killing things, Lambert wonders? Well, Zangetsu isn't really any kind of proper angel from what he's seen anyway, assuming stories are at all a reliable indicator of what angels are like. But he has to admit, the light's strangely comforting in this darkness... and so is the homicidal bodyguard (well, not explicitly, but if he's keeping him from dying that's technically what he is) beside him.

"There's going to be a lot more of them where we're going," Lambert says, barely sparing a glance for the broken, feathered body collapsing to the icy floor. "They're going to be bigger, too."

[moonfang]

Nah. Angels are all about smiting and God's wrath and whatever. Right? Right. These stupid birds have definitely invoked God's wrath.

"Izzat so," Zangetsu says in his usual nonchalant voice, though this time with an edge of annoyance. "Like the featherduster that took the pendant? I hope that one is there. Oh, I hope so."

With a snarl that is distinctly unangelic, he takes a bite of the bird. Actually, he bites the whole head off.

[whattaprick]

That's super fucked up, Zangetsu, but considering Lambert's seen a bunch of those same crows descending upon and eating one of the Count's daughters -- a fate which hopefully won't befall Childermass, and the thought alone makes his lips thin. However, he won't comment on the brutality.

"They took advantage of the situation, I'll give them that." Lambert says. It doesn't feel great to find something to admire the Winter Court for, but ... "But that's not really that much of a surprise. Survival's everything, down here."

It's hard to imagine a teenage Childermass being dragged down to this icy hellscape, having to scrape by here for twelve years.

"How'd a bird steal a pendant from the angels in the first place?" That's a part of the story he isn't really clear on. It could have been one of the Count's daughters, but it's still, you know, bird shaped.

[moonfang]

"It was a smart move, I'll give them that. I have to admit, I didn't even know this 'Winter Court' was a thing." He dangles the headless bird by one of its legs and frowns. "Easy to get the jump on us when we don't know you exist."

Garbage people.

At the question, Zangetsu bristles. He brings the headless bird into his hand and crushes it, entrails and blood squeezing out from both ends. "It was chaos. People, angels, faeries everywhere. I was tryin' to make my way out of there and I thought I was home free."

[whattaprick]

Lambert cuts a angel a brief, unimpressed look, though any more cutting words are brought up short by the sight of a bird going squish. All right, it might not have bothered him much before, but as his train of thought has reminded he has a friend that happens to turn into a bird, it's a little unsettling.

"So..." He trails off. "They stole it from you?"

Like. He's just confirming what you're telling him here, Zan.

[moonfang]

"Yes!!" he snaps suddenly, throwing the smooshed bird on the ground and rounding on Lambert with a murderous look.

"I thought that part was UNDERSTOOD."

[whattaprick]

Tired or not, that's still going to make Lambert back up a step, though his lip curls slightly.

"Then that should just be extra motivation to get it back, right?"