2019-07-24 - Good Hunting

Summary:

Keiko and Piotr investigate one of the 13 locations in New York

Log Info:

Storyteller: {$storyteller}
Date: 24 July 2019
Location: New York

Related Logs

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Theme Song

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keikopiotr-rasputin

"It's down here, according to the scrying and maps we have." Keiko, still wearing dressings and moving a little less spirtely than she usually does, is talking to Piotr as they walk down a service tunnel somewhere on the outer edges of New York. This is supposed to be a site where one of the locations where a pillar that anchored a spell is located.

Keiko is checking the sites out, seeing if the pillars are in tact and what might have been there. This afternoon, she's bought Piotr with her. Not that she's expecting trouble. "The last place I checked out, yesterday, was clear. The pillar was intact and it didn't look the area had been disturbed."

Just up ahead, the tunnel branches to the left. It's dark here and Keiko is carrying flash light, with Bella ranging slightly ahead of them - early warning more than anything. Though the demon-wolf is good company as well.

"We'll need to take photos of the area. Any glyphs or writing we find. Koa is sure it's a protection spell but decoding it is proving tricky."

Bella turns the bend just before them and they can see her stop, her tail going still as she does. "What have you found, girl?" Keiko says quietly. They soon find out. The tunnel has been blocked by a minor cave in. They can get through but they're going to have to do some work first.


"You have the most interesting adventures when I'm not around." Piotr responds dryly. Apparently his partner is starting to rub off on him, because there's no accusation in his tone.

Following after Keiko as she leads the way, the large man has to hunch on occassion to get through doorways that were made at a time when people were shorter. He was always an exception to that rule, however.

Reaching up, he absently rubs at his right arm. "A protection against what?" he asks as they approach and Bella alerts. When she does, Piotr's armor slips around him like second nature, though Keiko might notice the small grimace of pain as the right arm's armor twists and deforms into its infernal form.


"I have adventures when you are around too." Keiko answers just as dryly, rounding the corner and stopping. "Well that's a problem, I suppose we can clear it. We need to …" She glances at Piotr as his armour appears.

"What's wrong with your arm. You are wincing and that is new." Direct as usual and expecting an answer.

Regardless though, the doorway needs to be cleared. Keiko can move some of the smaller pieces of rubble as long as she's careful. The bigger pieces … well that will need someone else.

"At a guess? The Silence. But we don't know. Which is why visiting these sites is important. Each one might have a story to tell."


"Yes, but you are terrible at telling stories. So dry." It's teasing, and she knows it. There's a reason he's the official storyteller at Elena's bedtime. "It hurts on occasion. Not an issue." It's the one part of him that is still possibly corrupted from their time in Limbo.

"This Witchfire. She was part of Silence?" he asks, as if trying to make sure the notes in his head are right when it comes to what's happening. "Has there been any sign of the others that are missing?"

—-

Keiko looks up from shifting the rubble, pushing a strand of hair back from her face. "Perhaps I'm not good at telling stories, because I am better at physical labour."

She gestures to the blocked passage way "Are you going to help me? We need to get through here and whilst I can shift a lot of it so Bella and I may pass, you will need to do more."

The hole Keiko has cleared would be nearly big enough for her and Bella to wiggle through.


"You are good at many things, Keiko." Piotr responds, leaving that up in the air. "But tunnels are speciality of coal miner, da." And while Bella and Keiko are trying to clear out a spot to crawl through, the large Russian is trying to clear out enough room for him.

And to make sure it doesn't collapse behind them without effort. "Unless you were trying to make joke about doing more."


"I have to be good at something that isn't fighting." Or killing or skinning. Keiko doesn't add the last. "My stories don't have the colour yours have. They were not important when I grew up. Just training and working."

It takes a short while but soon there's room for them to pass. It's the older part of the city they descend to. The air is slightly stale and musty and detritus has gathered. "We do not know if Witchfire has anything to do with The Silence. But thirteen children went missing and the spell we are tracking is anchored in thirteen points. So maybe? Making assumptions now though, could be deadly."

"How long has your arm hurt? I haven't noticed before." And she should have.

It takes a good ten minutes of walking till the tunnel starts to widen. It's sort of like a gallery though it's hard to see the full details - it's so dark. As Keiko's torch plays over the area, Piotr will see the pillar in the middle of the area and something on the wall on the left.

The area is so long though, the torchlight can't reach the end. Which means they're entering into shadows. At least Bella is starting to roam.

Keiko takes the short rod that she always carries in one hand and shakes it out. If they're going to find trouble, she's got her quarterstaff.


"It has hurt since we left Limbo. There were other things going on." In other words, he hid it from her. Sometimes he's just not a very good partner on that front. "Then we will not make assumptions, we are just making conjecture. Theories."

He goes back to work, continuing to clear rubble - at least it doesn't seem to bother him when he works - just when he first armors up.

When she takes out her quarterstaff, he remains in his armored form, walking next to the woman as they prowl forward - and he goes quiet as not to distract Bella or Keiko from their work.


"I see." That's all Piotr gets from the woman on the matter of his arm. Now is not the time to address that. If ever.

The torchlight plays across the 'gallery' one more time and Keiko nods. Bella hasn't alerted them to anything.

"We need photos of the walls and the column and anything that looks interesting down here. Use the camera in your phone. I'll check the wall, you start over with the column. Here's a torch." The small peruvian takes one from the pack that she's carrying and gestures to the column in the middle of the room. "Then check the walls at the end that we can't see."

As she follows Piotr into the room, there's a bright flash of light and she hisses. "Another one. WAND will want to reset that." A ward. Piotr will know that but why did she trigger it and not him. Not that it stops her as she moves to the wall to examine and photograph it.

The column is intact and is on a plinth, arcane symbols covering all four sides of it. Piotr will need to get photo's of that. Now he's further into the room, he can make the far wall out. There seems to be something on that too. Not like the symbols that Keiko is looking at … he'll need to get closer to see them and photograph them.


He knows why. She told him. It's the demon that she absorbed. And is currently corrupting her. And there's not a thing he can do about it - and he feels helpless - and has to think of something.

He read something about a new restaurant and voodoo. Maybe.. that'll be explored later.

"If WAND set the ward, then they have been here before." Why didn't they get pictures? His eyes wander the gallery - remembering what he sees, but he's not taking pictures until he approaches the pillar and moves in closer to try to get a better look at the images.


"WAND will have to come down here and reset them. When they have time. They haven't been here … well, they are now, I suppose. I'm working for them on this."

She's taking photos of the wall that she's gone to, making sure it's documented for the WAND agent to decipher. It might also be taking her awhile because, you know, technology and her don't mix all that well.

Piotr can get the photos of the column. They're strange and they're not anything he recognises. As he approaches the wall at the end, there's a shuffling a sound. Bella moves past him, yelps and turns to smoke. Smoke that floats back towards to Keiko who's sharp cry just echoed Bella's yelp.

Before Piotr can turn, something big comes at him. He can see fangs, lots of them as the creature bears down on him. It's as tall as him at least and possibly heavier.


"Bella?!" Piotr's alert is up immediately as Keiko's spirit rushes - but when it's brushed aside so easily, the Russian's eyes widen. "Staff!" he calls to Keiko, hopefully getting the message - she's not going to be in this fight if he can help it.

As the creature bears down on him, Colossus sets, turning his frame slightly to the right to bring the heavier armor to bear and he waits - striking at the creature as it rushes him - and when they slam together, Piotr's feet dig into the ground, pushing him back, and he growls beneath his breath. "No further, beast."


Keiko's not able to send her staff to Piotr. When Bella was destroyed, it affected her.

Piotrs on his own for the moment.

The good news? The beast seems to be interested in just him.

The creature is strong and jaws try to close over his infernal armour, cause the metal to screech - like nails down a chalk board. It might even score the metal, so strong those jaws are.

As Piotr pushes against it, the creature turns, using the big mans momentum to move and turn him. It seems strong enough that it might be able to.


Piotr is by no means light - but he is not the Juggernaut or the chosen of Cyrotek. When he feels himself moved, and the peeling away at the metal, the large Russian's growls are painful as he starts to slam his fist into the creature time and time again.

He's spent years in Limbo having to put down threats, fighting demons. He's no longer a novice when it comes to these things. Ripping back from the creature, even as it tears metal and draws blood, the screech of metal is sickening.

And Piotr slams into the creature again, this time to grab at one of the teeth, crushing and trying to rip them out to shove them against the jaw to break bone and rend flesh.


The creature weathers the blows and as Piotr steps back, it charges him again. Trying to slam him against the wall. It's stopped though by another blow of the fist and the crack as fang is ripped loose.

The bellow it gives out is deafening and yet, it comes for Piotr again, blood pouring from its mouth, jaw gaping. If the Russian times it right, he can ram the tooth home and hopefully finish the creature.


The slamming of the metallic mutant against the wall resounds through the chamber, raining down dust and debris. Gripping the tooth like a shortsword between his hands, Piotr's shirt is already bloodied and ripped to shreds as the creature descends on him.

And Colossus lunges, using his frame to lodge himself into the maw of the beast. An armor filled boot slams down, holding the maw in place, and using the tooth as a weapon, Piotr slams it time and time again into the creatures throat and mouth - long after the screams and thrashing of the creature stop.


The creature screams and writhes as Piotr takes it on. In the end though, it's no match for Colossus. The carcass lays on the ground, a grisly testimony to the fight. There doesn't seem to be any follow up.

The fight seemed to take forever, but in reality it's just minutes. Keiko limps over, watching Piotr carefully. "Are you with me?" beat "It was waiting in the shadows, destroyed Bella so she couldn't help." Which had affected Keiko in turn.


There's a look in Piotr's eyes. One that Keiko hasn't seen since his soul returned to him. That emptiness that marked him so completely in Limbo. "It will not harm you again." He takes the tooth, and puts it away. Clearly planning on keeping it as a trophy.

His torso is covered with the demon's ichor and his own blood as he looks towards the carcass, away from her. "It will make good jacket. Will look nice on you when on motorcycle." he says simply, moving to heft the creature.

"I am with you. Why would I not be?"


It's not a Limbo demon. It's not clear what this is exactly. "It didn't attack me." The Peruvian answers. "Maybe it was trying to harm you." More likely it had attacked the person closest. "This is the first place we've checked with anything like this."

"Are you hurt?" While ensuring Piotr is ok, Keiko plays the torch over the area. There's a 'nest' of detritus in the corner where the creature had come from. Where it had been trying to move Piotr when it turned him.

On the wall the strange glyphs are more obvious now and she takes time to photograph them as well. Maybe they're important.


"I will be fine." Piotr responds. It's clear that the creature was able to draw blood through the steel of his frame. Shifting back to normal, the wounds become more obvious. He will probably need /some/ treatment.

Noticing the nest as Keiko plays her light over it, Piotr stretches out and then makes his way over, wrinkling his nose. "Boiszhe moi, what a mess." he mutters as he uses his boot to toe around in case there anything else he may need to find.

"So you have to have the demon attack you to want to skin it?" he asks, and smirks. "I suppose I could not ask you to do it for me."

—-

"You are hurt." Piotr won't see the look Keiko gives him as he walks away. "We will see to those when we get back outside." It's simple and doesn't try to make a big fuss. "Let's finish up here and… What have you got?"

"These look like symbols I saw in Sifrors realm but different." She muses turning her attention to the wall again. If Piotr looks he will notice that these ones seem newer than the others.

As Piotr toes the nest, the detritus shifts. It's newish, judging by the way that it does. It hasn't been here long, that much Piotr can tell. At the bottom of the nest though is flat small stone with more symbols like the ones on the wall. It's small enough to pick and carry.

"Hmmm? Did you want to skin it? Or me to? You'll have to carry it back if you do. We can't stay here too long and there's several sites I want to visit this afternoon and evening." She'd thought he was going to do it. After all, it's his prize.


"I'll set it aflame before we leave. Less chance of it coming back." Piotr glances towards Keiko. "I will go with you." She's not going alone. Not after this first encounter.

Reaching into the debris, he takes the stones. "Looks like something the creature was clawing at." At least there's no demon babies to deal with. He takes the stones and drops them into his pocket to deal with later.

"Illyana may know what they mean." he offers up as he returns to Keiko, and glances behind him. "And tell them to find more powerful wards."


E for a long time. You know WAND didn't do them, right? That they were set by those who created these places." of course there will be stronger wards set.

"But that's a good point. If that thing didn't trigger the wards… Was it a demon at all?" It looks demonic, but is it? And how did it get in here?

All good questions and nothing that Keiko can answer. "Did you get the photos of the column?" the Peruvian is already snapping the dead creature, documenting it for later identification. And that stone that Piotr is holding.

"You can ask her. And I'll give these images to WAND, see what they make of them."

"Are you ready to go?"


"You have a map of sites?" Piotr asks curiously. "Wonder if there is a pattern." The artist might see it, who knows for sure. He gives a nod of his head to Keiko as he finally gets what information he could get.

"Da. Pictures of pillar. Inside of mouth of creature too. We're great tourists." She takes him to all the best spots.

And he finally gives her a nod, a touch of her shoulder as he passes by. "We have work to do."

—-

"I do and there is, as I told you. A thirteen point star that covers New York." combined with the columns and the glyphs on the wall - its translating to a protection spell. For what?

Another good question.

There's more questions than answers at the moment but Keiko knows from previous experience, that's the way it goes.

Shouldering her pack, the Peruvian touches Piotrs hand and heads out. They won't have Bella for the next sites. Hopefully they won't be as eventful.

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