Summary:There's an Eclipse near the Asgardian Embassy Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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It isn't that the sun has ACTUALLY gone out. Far from it the sun is shining brightly throughout most of New York City. However in a two block radius around the Asgardian Embassy it is most decidedly and unnaturally dark, when when one looks up into the sky in this area, only a faint halo can be seen as if some kind of strange eclipse were taking place.
This kind of unexplained phenomena attracts attention - probably from within the Asgardian Embassy but most decidedly from outside it as well. It has attracted the attention of WAND which is why Koa Turner has just, er, turned up. Yeah. It's a little bit difficult to see…
On the street outside of the Asgardian Embassy a manhole cover has lit up with heiroglyps and in the center of it is the depiction of an enormous serpent. The whole thing is shimmering gold and green and looks decidedly out of place.
Also slightly out of place are the things moving in the shadows. Nothing definitive just motion out of the corner of the eye, sometimes a tail glimpsed moving around a corner, always in places too shadowed to see clearly when they're looked at directly but they definitely look either serpentine or maybe…a bit like a crocadile. They're circling the embassy, whatever they are. Always outside the property but definitely moving in a pattern around it as if waiting and… watching.
"Agent Turner on site." Koa says into a radio as he grabs a flashlight and turns it on to peer about.
It's dark inside, which is what brings Fandral outside. He'd been lounging in his suite, doing what Fandrals do when they're not out and about, which is why he seems to be adjusthing his clothing as he comes out the front door of the embassy with his sword on his hip and a hand in front of his eyes to shield them a little in case the sun should make a sudden and surprise appearance. He notices the glowing manhole cover, and the movemtn around them, and his sword is out and in hand. "Well, that's a feature that I don't recall us having installed," he observes.
There is another flash of green and gold, but this one deposits a serpent that is known. Loki appears near the steps of the embassy, decked out in his green, black and gold. Even his helm is on. Fancy fancy. The already tall man, taking the additional height from the helm, cuts an intimidating figure. "That is because we did not install it…" Green eyes flick over the manhole decoration, then the various shadow creatures sliding in and out of view, searching centuries for the source. "It seems something wants in…" he purrs and it is laced with pleasure, the motivation uncertain.
"What now …" Koa will recognise the womans voice that cuts through the dark. It's unlikely that anyone else will. The grumbling is accompanied by the soft tick, tick, ticking of a bicycle as it's pushed up the street.
Keiko Kurita hadn't been at the Asgardian embassy, she wouldn't deign to cross such a vaunted entry. No, she'd be working in the one of the buildings near here when the darkness fell and now, all she wants to do is get home.
It's safer that way.
Nope, she's not looking at the manhole cover with the glowing serpent and she's pointedly ignoring the shadows. No matter how much her tattooes are stinging her.
At the embassy, a couple floors up, Baldur steps out onto a balcony and looks around then up. After a moment, he glances down and studies the glowing manhole. Starting to glow himself, he puts a hand on the balcony railing and vaults it, landing lightly on the street below. "That is the picture writing of the Pesedjet, is it not?" The different pantheons don't really hang out with each other but they're generally known to each other. For once he's not blaming Loki for something unusual and sorcerous.
Agent Turner, a tall and rather broad man with light brown hair looks up as the various Asgardians arrive. He'd suspect that, no, this is not something that they installed. To Baldur's question he nods.
"Yep, exactly that. It's invoking Apep, the enemy of Ra." And thus, of the sun.
Keiko's arrival gets a mild look. "Fancy seeing you here, Miss Kurita." He'd ask if she has anything to do with this but he doesn't think it's really in her wheelhouse.
"I wonder why someone would bother anchoring a spell to-" Hold that thought. The shadowy flickers which had been circling the embassy start to move toward the glowing figure of Baldur. It's clear now that they're snakes and crocadiles made of shadow. They circle like some kind of umbral vortex, closing in on the little knot of people around the manhole cover.
"Why do I think that's probably not good." Koa mutters, not having bothered to introduce himself quite yet.
It isn't. The press of darkness starts to thicken as the shadow beings get more solid. Something about them seems to try to leach any source of light in the area, most notably Baldur but also Koa's flashlight, which gutters and dies.
"Dies the light…" One of them hisses in Egyptian, though all of the Asgardians will understand it. And then they all lunge in, a mass of cold, shadowy scale and teeth.
Fandral shrugs his shoulders at the suggestion of just whose sigil it is. "I hope these shadow things bleed." But then, as they begin to grow more solid, he smiles, eyes lighting up a bit. "Ah, excellent." And with that, as the shadows lunge toward Baldur's light, he follows on after, sword brandished, and waits for just the moment when one of the alligator shadows become msot solid, and plunges his blade into it. "Let's see what comes out, shall we?"
Loki makes a swift gesture with his right hand, upwards, then twists his hand. Immediately, Duplicates appear, wrought from magic, identical to their Asgardian counterparts. The duplicates are exact, and take the same actions as their original, but provide an extra target for each of them, Fandral, Baldur and himself as a beginning to the light defense. "And we had such a good time at that party together…"
Koa gets a flat look from Keiko when she finally sees him. "Agent Turner. Are you following me?" The greeting is chilly and the small asiatic woman, who is dwarfed by the gathered Asgardians, is clearly not pleased to see the WAND agent.
The bike is left to lean against a wall as the shadows swirl and the hissing words are spoken. "I don't suppose I'm getting home to my soup anytime soon, then…" she mutters, rolling her sleeves up. "I'd try under the manhole cover, Agent Turner." It's all so very, very calm.
As the creatures swarm, Keiko dances out of the way of one that lunges for her. Where she stood, not moments before a giant, glowing, wolf appears - jaws snapping at the attackers neck. "Attack, Bella…"
'Dies the light'? Baldur lets out a laugh as the glow around him turns into a blaze that makes mortal eyes hurt to look directly at him. "You lack the power!" he declares as he draws his swords. As they're coming to him, he has no need to advance. Dodging between them, his swords cut at the shadows, one per blade. "Brother! Destroy the symbols which bring the darkness!" Definitely a job right up Loki's alley.
Koa looks about and then winces slightly. This is going to be an awful idea but Keiko has just given him a clue and he has a suspicion. As Fandral plunges his sword into the first shadow beast that comes his way it sprays magic everywhere before it expires. Dark, cold magic. Not ideal but… any port in a storm.
The WAND agent reaches out and grabs some of that power, that Mana, and pulls it into himself. The air above his arms glows with odd, almost tribal markings and he leans down to grab the cover and flip it over…
There's nothing in the whole on the other side, which is confusing at least until he looks on the underside of the manhole cover itself. A single golden scarab the size of a man's hand is clinging to the center of it and lines of power emante from it, clearly powering the symbols on the other side.
"There! An artifact!" There's the source of the problem. Loki should have no trouble disabling that trinket.
The beasts lunge and die and lunge again. There seems to be a ring of darkness around them that keeps generating more creatures. A snake tries to snare Baldur's arm only grab Loki's double and not the real thing. A crocadile finds itself wrestling with Bella, getting its belly kicked out by the spirit wolf. Fandral finds himself beset by a trio of long jawed reptiles trying to trap him so others can get by to get to the glowing Baldur (well, to get to one of them anyway). Loki similarly finds himself targeted though in this case the snakes and beasts are trying to drag him INTO the darkness.
Though they really, really are having trouble with those clones. And the swords. Individually they're no match for the sons of Asgard. It's just that there are LOTS of them.
A gun fires and a green bolt of arcane energy sails over Fandral's shoulder to strike and disappate one of the shadow-things. Oh. Seems the Agent has a trick or two.
Fandral seems delighted by the trio of long-jawed reptiles that that try to trap him. Rather than seeming threatened, he seems to encourage more of them to come at them, goading even as he takes sword to one after the other. "Now this is much more fun than just going to the gym!" Another and another, they come and he slices through them, cold dark magic swirling around them as each one falls and he pushes through to the next. The green bolt that sails over his shoulder is noted, and he glances over at it, and then to its source, giving a thumbs-up with the hand that does not bear a sword, as he continues to fight on with relish.
Loki has little light about him to extinguish…just some shiny gold. He's not glowing like /some people/. Hearing Koa's words, he and his double make a couple darting steps and then he jumps and slides along the ground on his leather pants. He reaches out to grab for the little scarab causing all this trouble. Giving the shadow creatures a target to chase, too. He's able to evade initial capture, but his curiosity over the talisman causes him to not immediately destroy it. Instead, he tries to figure out if there is a way to turn it off.
Bella, the giant glowing wolf, leaps and pounces, using a wall by Fandral and Baldur to turn. It might seem like the spirit wolf jumps over their shoulders.
Unlike her 'handler', she seems to be having fun. Another serpent is grabbed by the throat, the wolf tossing it's head to and fro, giant teeth piercing its neck. That creates another spray of that dark, cold magic.
In the meantime, Keiko has pulled a collapsible staff from her bag and extended it. The next crocodile that lunges for her is met with a twirling, spinning attack
Thwack
The end of the staff comes done firmly right between its eyes, a fierce, feral grin spreading across the womans face but there's no real humour in this. This is deadly, deadly serious for her.
If there's on thing common to Asgardians, it's the love of a good fight. Or even a mediocre fight. "But they die much too easily." Baldur laments. "Even vast numbers make them barely a challenge." Several more die under his blades as he spins in place. "Do not toy with it brother! The mortals might be injured while you slake your curiosity."
It is rather suspicious, is it not, that something quite clearly targeted at the Asgardians should pose such a minimal challenge to them. Why arrange for them to come out here and then surround them with such weak constructs?
As Loki grabs the scarab the circle around them starts to stutter. It does indeed have a mechanism, not immediately clear to mortal eyes but similar in principle to Asgardian technology, though this thing is old. It should be possible to turn it off… with a little fiddling.
There is so much dark and cold magic swirling around that it is now getting in the way of seeing in its own right. Keiko disciplines the Crocadile sent after her though her blows do not have the same force as the Asgardians who are still killing these things in their dozens. After about fifteen seconds though it just disappates into smoke along with all the others.
That smoke… then coalesces into an ENORMOUS snake. A massive python looking creature whose coils actually disappear around the corner and reappear on the OTHER side of the embassy.
"Oh. Yes. Of course. Get us to expend energy and then form a huge monster." Koa sounds worried and also slightly annoyed.
The Snake ROARS (not something snakes normally do) and then lunges downward at… well… all of them. It's big enough that it can do that.
Koa throws himself out of the way, rolling on his shoulder to come back up with his weapon which he fires into the body of the beast. It gouges out chunks of it which turn to smoke and vanish. But the beast doesn't seem to notice - or care - what he's doing. It is far, far more focused on sources of light. Or things with bright swords.
Like the Asgardians. And Keiko's wolf which earns it self a slap from one of those massive coils.
This thing is going to cause collateral damage for sure if it's not put down quickly.
The sudden giant snake gives Fandral only a moment's pause to consider exactly what his plan of attack will be. As it starts to come down toward him, he raises his sword and swings around to the side, burying the sword into the side of the great shadow-formed beast and using it to pull himself onto it, as close to the head as he can manage, cutting a handhold for himself into its flesh before using that leverage to draw the sword free and begin plunging it into the head of the giant snake. There's probably a brain in there somewhere, or at least an approximation of one? He has no idea, but it's his plan and he's sticking to it.
"I can do it!" Loki calls back to Baldur. "One more moment!" Dexterious pale fingers flick over the old /old/ object. "Keep it off me!" He is crouched on the ground, glancing at the lurking shadow snake and racing against time to defeat it before it levels their nice rooms. Well, maybe if it levels Thor's room, that's ok. Hilarious joke. haha, snake crushed your bed. Darkness swirls around his form, and he elbows and shrugs at it on its journey to join the larger creature. He's a sitting duck if the others falter.
"You didn't think it was a little too easy?" Keiko asides to the WAND agent, twirling her staff and taking a stance as the giant snake starts to bear down on them. "Why is it always snakes when you're about?"
Bella yelps, knocked flying by the ethereal coils of their newest combatant. Rising to her feet, she shakes her huge shaggy head, lowering it and growling dangerously as she starts to stalk it. "Careful Bella, work with the men to distract it …" the small woman cautions.
As Keiko touches her arm again, not that anyone can really see anything in this light, Bella darts in and out, over coils and under them, nipping at the snake, trying to confuse it for the others to attack.
Then a glowing dragon appears above them, rending the air with deafening shriek. "There you are, Gyldril. The snake, please, not the men … "
Baldur pauses as the shadow creatures start to dissipate but he doesn't relax his guard. He's too good a warrior for that and surely it can't be so easy. This wasn't even a challenge. And then the snake forms. "Hah! Now they send a poor imitation of Jormungandr!" As the monstrous maw descends to engulf them, Baldur stands his ground and thrusts his sword to the sky. Channeling all his light through the sword, a brilliant and very hot laser shoots upward into the serpent's mouth.
Gyldril pounces onto the snake just outside the embassy keeping it from bringing more of it's bulk into play against the gods at least temporarily.
Killing the snake from the inside is not a bad plan. However just like the inside of an actual snake, it is KIND of icky in here. Plenty of room though. This thing is big. Fandral's blade cuts into what would be the brain case to find a shard of even darker magic residing within. This is… cold. Fimbulwinter cold. And it shatters when his blade hits it.
Half a second later Baldur's beam blasts upward, into the mouth, down the throat and out of the construct entirely, severing head from body.
Loki hears a 'click' as he gets the mechanism and the Scarab stops glowing and folds its legs into its body. It seems inert, for the moment.
As the shadowy body of the great serpent dissipates, the light returns, leaving the only evidence of the battle in Loki's hand… and in the crater in the asphalt that the impact of its huge maw left.
Oh and the spirit dragon that settles to the ground near the embassy as its prey vanishes into smoke and fine ash which blows away.
Koa stares at the crater and at the Asgardians, then at Keiko and her dragon and finally heaves a sigh.
"Control, Agent Turner, situation is contained." He says into his radio with calm that he doesn't feel. His arms burn and he can feel the chill of the magic he absorbed running down his spine.
"Nice work." He addresses the others nearby generally.
Loki curls his fingers over the object snugly, and then stands up. The woman who conjured a glowing dragon gets a lengthy look from the less-favored Asgardian Prince. His horned helm melts away in a gold and green light, and he gives the manhole a nudge with his foot to replace it with a clank. "It seems…brother…and Fandral, that we owe a debt to some brave and intriguing mortals. Perhaps gifts of Asgardian Mead?"
There's that deep and piercing cold as he brings his sword down and the shard shatters. Then there's light blasing out through the snake by his legs and he's swinging to try and avoid getting his feet taken off at the ankles. "Hey, watch where you're firing that thing!" He shouts to Baldur, but there's no bite in it. He's laughing though as he falls as the thing starts to dissipate, coming to land on the ground. He sheathes his sword and then glances from Loki toward Keiko and Koa and says, "Sounds like an excellent end to a battle well fought." He looks over to Baldur, "Even if they were not quite the challenge that you were looking for."
There's a pained look on Keiko's face as the light returns. Gyldril settles on the ground not far from the gathered group, smoke curling from her nose. Bella growls some more, her head casting to follow the dissipating smoke. "Begone my pets. You fought well and you have my thanks …"
Those too turn to 'smoke' that drifts with purpose towards the asiatic woman, seemingly absorbed into her arms.
"No thanks is needed." The tone is short and all gathered will know she doesn't want attention. Keiko's eyes slide from them to the bike propped not far them. "At least my bike wasn't damaged this time."
Her attention turns to Koa "Trouble seems to follow you around, Agent Turner."
Sheathing his swords, Baldur returns to his normal brightness as the day does the same. "That was an amusing tousle. But the question is why. And who. I do not recall angering any of the Pesedjet so why would they be attacking us?" Pulling out his phone, he types. "It says shadow and darkness is the realm of Kek. I know I have never met him." Clever, these mortals have become. The internet is a wonderful thing and accessible with such a small device. Glancing at the other Asgardians, he silently inquires if the name rings a bell. "They would not be conscious long drinking mead. Perhaps something not quite so strong such as ale."
Shadow and Darkness is the realm of K- oh wait. Internet. Yes. Koa doesn't say anything. Just chuckles and looks to Keiko. "I follow trouble is more like it. And it would be churlish to turn down an offer of a drink… so long as it's mortal. I do need to go back to my superiors and file a report and it wouldn't do to be staggering drunk until next week."
He has never had Asgardian ale but he's heard stories. Whether or not those stories are true is another question but there must be SOMETHING to them.
"Who and why did this is an excellent question. One my superiors are sure to want answered as well. If I find anything I'll be sure to inform the embassy."
In the mean time Koa should repark his car. It IS in the middle of the street still.
Fandral shakes his head when Baldur looks about, apparently not familiar, but then he's not particularly known for his academic and research skills, so that probably isn't surprising. He heads back toward the embassy and laughs, "I'm sure that we have something that is suitable to guests inside, after all many of our visitors are mortal."
Loki frowns at Baldur. "You both spoil my fun." He complains, though it lacks a bite. "We should do more research…obviously the target was your light…"
"So it seems." Baldur agrees. "Shadow creatures wanting to kill the light while I am in the Embassy… It would be too large a coincidence for me to not be the target. It seems I have an enemy." Which worries him not at all from the sound of it.
"Congratulations," Fandral says and gives Baldur a firm smack on the shoulder as he heads by toward the door. "It shall be an interesting challenge figuring out why, and then defeating them, or, the opposite.. whichever works." His smile is broad as he heads back inside.