House of the Iron Rose

January 16, 2010

It’s winter in Innsmouth. Snow has fallen and left a thin layer of powder white substance everywhere. It is a time for many to hibernate or stay home but when the IPA finally rolls into Innsmouth, there’s not a single living creature to be seen. The houses are empty and there are no lights even as the sun fades from the sky and the town is covered in the shade of twilight. It’s strange as there were people the last time the IPA was here. And local news reports include missing persons from neighboring towns who have disappeared in this strange sheltered place within the past few days.

As the team travels through, they will not that every street has been abandoned and there are footsteps in the snow. The prints start out as shoes but gradually become something much bigger and webbed and they will lead those following towards the bay.

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Category: Innsmouth | No Comments »
Tags: America, Gilgamesh, Jade Belmont, Kamea Living Rock, Maria Tegawa, Negi Springfield, Ninten, Sakura Matou, Spider-Man, Tierine Mayhew, Zack Fair

December 20, 2009

Lying in a hospital bed, again, a certain young woman rests. Her injuries are relatively superficial; several small bandages cover formerly open wounds on her face, a gauze pad rests on her cheek and forehead, while a splint immobilizes her left wrist. Conveniently for Saber, it also covers the tripartite thorned flower mark of her command seals, though the small wrap with a magically-endowed anti-inflammatory would have made the point moot as it is.

At the moment, Sakura dozes lightly, a little bit woozy from the spells and medicines used to heal her. The lightweight gurney she lies in was just wheeled back from a deeper examination. The injuries from May Clarkson that resulted in the gauze on her head may have done more damage, though it’s up to the IPA’s healers to determine for now.

Meanwhile, Sakura will rest, long hair pulled to the side. The typical medical “gown” and blanket lies over her, and a bag with her bloodied uniform rests in the corner. Dreams come fitfully, snippets as she drifts in and out, none of them remembered. Thankfully.

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Category: Medical Wing | No Comments »
Tags: Negi Springfield, Sakura Matou

December 12, 2009

CHRISTMAS DAY: T-MINUS 7 DAYS

Christmas is coming ever closer, and people are getting desperate. It’s a wonder X-TREME X-MAS: CHRISTMAS MEGASTORE has half the stock it still has, Or they could have just prepared for desperation. But as far as the eye can see, there are ornaments, trees, delicious christmas candies, kegs of eggnog, and creepy lifelike plastic santa decorations whose eyes move when no one is looking.

It is also pretty damn crowded. On the upside, at least the knife fights for the dodgy tickle me elmo knockoffs haven’t started.

Yet.

OR SO SHE THOUGHT.

She rarely cuts it this close. She actually dislikes being around these many people in public during the holidays-which is why Shane has been forced to come with her. Tonight her shopping had a special objective:

All her closest friends had long since been shopped for. Tonight was the night for purchasing charity donations. With her paycheck, Maria could get a lot-also another reason why Shane was here. She couldn’t carry everything on her own. “Hm. Let’s start with clothing first, shall we?”

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Category: Mundane Gate | No Comments »
Tags: Greed, Hau Tai Feng, Kazuma Kiryuu, Maria Tegawa, May Clarkson, Sakura Matou, Shane Fitzgerald, Simon Parker, Talifah

December 9, 2009

London, England

In an unassuming apartment building, there is a small flat towards the top floor that is inhabited by a most unusual group of people. Certainly, they are not the norm – not even in a place like this, where the Magus population is quite dense, the people who live here together are “odd”. How could they not be?

The flat has been partway decorated for Christmas – though some decorations have been foregone until such time that they can all look into it together, the most prominent example thereof being the acquisition of a Christmas tree. A space has been cleared in the sitting room for one, giving the distinct impression of emptiness there.

Greenery and lights cover the banisters of the balconies, and the front door of the apartment has a wreath with a red bow set upon it.

Inside, Emiya Shirou is setting the table with tonight’s dinner – consisting of kitsune udon, some fish cakes, and gyoza. He’s overdone things a bit, as is his tendency – though the amount of food on the table doesn’t quite match the feasts that he commonly prepared in his own household five years prior.

Far below, a trio are discussing last-minute alterations to their plans just before breaking apart and moving to their assigned positions. One of the three takes up a position in a nearby canal, which connects to the apartment building through the sewers.

The other two position themselves in a neighboring building, where they have reasonable range on the apartment building without actually being easily accessible from it – in other words, an ideal range from which to perform thaumaturgy. Of course… this set-up is far more sloppy than that of the previous incident, and far too grand to go unnoticed by the supernaturally savvy…

But the woman who arranged it does not care. Why should she? She is simply better than her quarry, and the idea that she could be stopped before she accomplishes her goal is unthinkable. As far as the “mundane” world will be able to tell, the entire thing will be a result of poor construction and long-term wear and tear.

Sometimes, things like this happen. And why should the Association care? As long as it isn’t obviously caused by magic, they certainly won’t poke their noses in too far.

If she herself were not enough (unlikely, she couldn’t help but think), the two crestless hounds she had brought with her would be more than enough to buy her time to finish the deed long before any escape – much less counter-attack, could come. At worst, all she has to do in order to get away is escape more quickly than her less able companions.

With the command that her family’s magic gives her over the very substance these buildings are made of, such an escape would be child’s play.

Jamie breathes in deeply as she rides the elevator of the adjacent building to the upper floors. In just a few minutes, she will activate her magic circuit and her companions will begin their distraction – while she herself will begin to work her own influence upon the feeble old apartment building. The elevator *dings* as she arrives on “her” floor, and she steps off – heading towards the stairwell where she will begin.

A tall, lanky-looking man with short, straw-colored hair follows after her, but does not stop with her in the stairwell. Instead, he ascends the rest of the way to the roof by foot, taking his time in so doing.

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Category: London - Clocktower | No Comments »
Tags: Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya

November 30, 2009

Spending what started to seem like an infinity in the Infinity Library had finally paid off. Between the Servant Saber, Librarian Scrya, and Private Tohsaka, a potential source for the weapon that had killed Shane Fitzgerald had been found.

A gate, a distant world populated by only the basest and simplest of creatures, was what their research had pinpointed. Many years before, a team of archaeologists from the Bureau had located a strange set of ancient ruins, complete with bones, tools, and early writing carved into the rocks.

The gate is, fortunately, well placed – leading curious questions of just how old they are, and just who or what created them so long ago. Had the gate to this world not been located here, it’s likely the Bureau’s team would not have uncovered the ancient ritual site.

As it was, the gate itself flares, and in a flash of light deposits its travelers in the usual clearing. Among them, Sakura Tohsaka reaches out with senses common to her kind, but not that of humanity in general. A nervous glance to her companions, and a nod.

“This is the place, I think…it…feels a little similar…” She closes her eyes in concentration, letting the spell press outward. “Though, there’s not anything like, ah, those presences, in the ocean, even though…” One slender hand gestures to the waves softly rolling up on the beach, not far away.

Before the group, a number of mounds seem out of place despite being apparently natural features, their origin or purpose buried under uncounted millenia. Sign of the previous Bureau presence is minimal, only a cleared area and some disturbed ground that has not yet grown over.

It doesn’t take long for the most notable thing to finally be realized. There’s no animals. No birds, no fauna; the coastal site is silent even from the skitter of insects.

(more…)

Category: The Prime Dimensions | No Comments »
Tags: Christoph Schmidt, Fate Harlaown, Negi Springfield, Sakura Matou

November 25, 2009

The past several weeks, a certain lavender-haired Spellcaster has been spending much of her time on duty searching for something. A task given to her by the Attorney General herself, the destruction of the strange, evil knife that had somehow taken the life of a demigod.

Early searches among the various types of creatures in the Bureau’s databanks proved inconclusive. Discussions with the Exotic Creatures departments seemed to imply some leads, but they all panned out after analysis. The bizarre “organic” makeup of the knife just refused to be identified in any way, and without knowing what it is…

…the only way to destroy it is to try, and there’s no idea what sort of consequences there could be from that.

So she’d come to the Infinity Library a week ago, that facility of tremendous knowledge maintained by the TSAB. The Library was a vast, strange place that had no floors, no ceilings, no organization – only shelves upon shelves of books, written on a hundred worlds in a thousand languages for untold generations. If there is an answer to ‘what is it’ anywhere in the world of the Gates, then it will be found here. She and the curator, Yuuno Scrya, had spent many hours since sifting.

At least, she thinks as she floats serenely among the shelves, the miniskirt uniform of the Bureau’s female personnel is clingy in zero-gravity. If it weren’t… Sometimes, maybe she is a little jealous of Saber’s suit…it has its use, in some spots, but…it’s too much for someone like her.

Sakura chases away the thoughts and closes the book she holds. It’s an old tome on ancient mythological beasts, it bore no fruit. Sakura gives a sigh, and glances at Saber and Yuuno. “Ah…nothing, I’m afraid. I’m not sure…” If there is an answer, anymore.

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Category: Infinity Library | No Comments »
Tags: NPC: Yuuno Scrya, Sakura Matou

November 11, 2009

Mundane Sector – The Trenches of Verdun

The Battle of Verdun is a horrible battle, one that seems like it will never end. Here on the border of France and Germany, the Great War is in full effect. Here in the war to end all wars is the birth of modern warfare at its filthiest and bloodiest; trenches have been set up by the French and German lines, defended by thick lines of machinegunners. In the middle is no man’s land, a hellish strip of land soldiers and civilians alike dread, scorched earth and craters filled with machinegun fire at the first sign of movement. The skies are blotted by artillery bombardment upon the nearby city of Verdun. The air smells of gunpowder and the dead, and disease is rampant in the tight quarters of the trenches. Few choose to linger if given any choice.

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Category: The Trenches of Verdun | No Comments »
Tags: Apollo, Asya Chzov, Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes, Cathak Lera, Cid Highwind, Eithne Sullivan, Harry Dresden, Maria Tegawa, NPC: Schrödinger, Rafael Vieira, Raistlin Majere, Rin Tohsaka, Rion Steiner, Rip Van Winkle, Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya, Tarnished Ruby, Tepet Tilis Tirana, The Major

November 8, 2009

While the medical facilities in London were certainly up to the task of healing such mundane damage as a fractured leg and other sundry wounds, Rin Tohsaka had decided that it would be unwise to stay there. She had filed for transfer to the Agency facilties, handled through an Associaiton intermediary, and had been moved more or less immediately; as they couldn’t get rid of him, and he was her apprentice anyway, Shirou had been permitted to tag along.

Perhaps the move had tired her out, perhaps not. The real sap to her strength has been her mana reserves, or lack thereof — she meant it when she said she’d burned through so much. Her hair is almost more greyish than black, and her eyes, when they’re even open, are a slate-blue more towards grey than actual blue. Her skin is pale, and overall, she looks like hell.

But she’s alive.

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Category: IPA Headquarters, Medical Wing | No Comments »
Tags: Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Matou, Shirou Emiya

November 6, 2009

London, England.

It’s later on in the evening. Overcast skies have blotted out the sun for most of the day, clouds hanging thick with an unfulfilled promise of rain. Despite the apparent lack of rain, the persistent humidity lends a certain chill that reaches past warm clothing.

One figure traverses these cold and unfriendly streets. The warm light of the lamps contrasts with the cold shadows; the traveller’s features are illuminated every time she walks beneath them.

Rin Tohsaka. Ostensibly, this young Japanese woman is a curator of rare and ancient jewelry at the British Museum. In truth, she is another one of the magi that live in this city, and a recent arrival that some have come to resent.

Not for any misdeeds. No; she has in fact been nothing but efficient and effective — and tenacious besides.

No; some have come to resent her simply for what she is. She is not what the other magi here are. Even as a magus she is an outsider, of a different race, of a different culture, and of different opinions than the established population. Perhaps to this end, the “old guard” views her as something of a threat or, at the very least, a tiresome upstart.

Some of these older magi have made this view quite plain, and lead among them is an older and unassuming man, whose humorless nature and relentless pursuit of knowledge is respected by his peers. A man who, recently, had brought this Asian upstart to task the other day, when she had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

And then, he did it again today.

So, trudging down the street, that Asian upstart glances towards the empty warehouse. There’s no one there, by the blackened windows; no lights on. Maybe a few katas would clear her head before she made it back to the apartment.

Rin sighs, reaching up to rub at her face. She can’t even bring herself to be angry, today; not after the grueling schedule she had been forced to upkeep. She’s just tired beyond belief. A round of katas ought to quiet her mind and put her in a better mood to go home. That kind of thing is better than a cigarette, anyway.

Withdrawing a key from her pocket, the magus shoulders the bag over her shoulder and turns towards the door.

(more…)

Category: London - Clocktower | No Comments »
Tags: Rin Tohsaka, Shirou Emiya

October 30, 2009

This is the second time in a few weeks that the Blue Beetle has headed for the recreation annex for the purposes of…well, getting the crap kicked out of him until he stops being bad at fighting. This is how he thinks of it, anyway, even if he managed to not do completely badly last time. “Hm…so, do you think that Miss Saber will be more dangerous than Miss Oaks was?”

Unknown. From comments made by others, probability is high, though no accurate estimate of strength has yet been reached.

“…yeah, that’s real helpful. Well, we’ll try things the same way. Don’t want to hurt her, after all. I know what you’re going to say, so don’t argue.” Why yes, the kid in the blue and black armor is standing around, talking to the voice in his head. What else is new?

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Category: IPA Headquarters, Recreational Wing | No Comments »
Tags: Blue Beetle/Jaime Reyes