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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 14, 2022 19:44:53 GMT -8
It turned out that the iron rings of engineers were made of cast iron and thus tainted with carbon, or straight stainless steel. Wrought iron, however, had a carbon content of 0.08%. Wonder Iron Works and other establishments advertised such things, prompting a sunrise purchase on Henley's bank account at about $120 per foot of their minimally sized railing. The Changelings then carefully transported the deadly décor, with Gavin calling Loki, being in good standing with the Knight Commander's court and knowing the popular blow hard wouldn't ask a lot of questions about converting the supply into rings.
The Elemental sounded shocked, congratulating their ability to get their hands on such a thing in such short order. Loki seemed confident in his own mundane abilities to hammer it without applying smelting levels of heat, and thus adding further carbon with the bloom (whatever that meant). The Fireheart seemed amused at the idea of processed iron losing its enchanted quality, and confirmed the concept of cold iron being "cold" apparently didn't exist: unless faeries didn't believe in meteorites, and thought this stuff came from the void. Bloody Mary had once explained to him that if they called it "cold steel" when enacting violence, why not "cold iron"?
Once they arrived at his Summerlin garage, Loki took on look at their railing and couldn't contain his amusement at the realization of the understandable mistake, explaining that the method of wrought iron was considered obsolete for the last century as a considerable waste of resources. It was just wrought steel these days, banged up to give it a blacksmithing aesthetic. How Loki got his hands on enough of this crap to make an entire chain was beyond them.
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Post by Henley on Jan 15, 2022 10:51:34 GMT -8
On the way to Loki's place, Henley was a flurry of activity. His video was complete; the iron was coming together nicely; they needed a way to get the dermal implants in and out.
He encouraged Victor and Gavin - whichever had better underworld connections - to make calls and get them a person on tap who could appear not too shady. After all, they needed college students to be willing to go. The particular idea he had was a tattoo and body modification person who didn't mind implanting people with something dangerous for money under a pseudonym. He had the cash to get someone on retainer for urgent work. They just needed the connection.
Maybe the kid would wake up, maybe he'd sleep through. Giving him something useful to do if he did wake up was the best way to keep him from spinning. Anthony was left to sleep, the rest much needed. He left a note right next to him: Looks like you needed some sleep. Rest up. Order some DoorDash. We've figured out what to do and are getting the pieces in place to do what needs to be done. If you wake up, you can watch the video in my video editor and make sure it makes sense. Your feedback would be helpful. We'll be back in a bit. Call if you need to. -H
Hitting up the Knight-Commander was a good idea on Gavin's part, his connections in Summer very helpful. Unfortunately, it didn't take long once they hit Loki's place to realize the wrought iron they'd purchased was bunk. He'd have to get a refund on the useless iron later, but he laughed along with the Fireheart at the realization. Relief washed over him. "Well, there's a certain comfort in knowing people can't casually go to a store and buy iron that can toast us, I suppose," he chuckled as he folded long fingers into deep pockets.
"I'll level with you, Commander: the reason we're asking about little cold iron rings is because the invader is trying to spread its influence into young people. It's succeeding, and they're dying. More terrifying is... they're encouraged to spread the influence like a virus to buy themselves more time. The clock is running out for a lot of kids. A lot of deaths are about to happen in a short period of time and the only solution is an occult one. Thankfully, the brilliant Mr. Graves has figured out a solid way to snip off whole chains of the influence, like an anti-virus -- but we need little cold iron rings we can use as dermal implants as part of the ritual that counters it. Autumn tells me both the material and symbology is important."
The Nymph gestured to Loki with an open palm.
"Time is of the essence, and I know it's an ask. But if you help us out, maybe we can prevent the next Revenant Crisis and help win this war."
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Post by Gavin Graves on Jan 15, 2022 16:45:25 GMT -8
As much as Gavin had been conveying the details of the curse to Henley along the way, he had been putting a filter on it to keep it relatable for the laypeople. It seemed he had filtered a little too much since the Ogre was also leaving out key details when talking to the Beast's Summer ally. "I'd describe it more like a curse that sets the humans up for a broad scale and lethal reaping. The solution isn't quite snipping off the chains; it doesn't snip them at all really. It changes what they're made of for a little while. Rather than it harvesting a lifetime's energy in a moment like it wants, it'll eat a mouth full of iron instead and leave the human intact. It will work only as long as the humans can hold out against the toxic shock." This was not going to be the news Henley or Tony wanted to hear right now. Gavin had sold him on a permanent and effective ritual originally. He wasn't lying then. The break in the chain with the body last night threw that out the window for Tony and many others likely too. The adjustment to the ritual to allow broader containment and to wholesale skip links in the chains altogether, as was now necessary, came at the cost of the permanence of the ritual's effects and the massive uptick in iron required for efficacy.
The Beast shot Henley a look indicating he would explain later.
"This plan buys time for the humans already affected as they're already staring down an unpleasant end, it stops the humans from involving more humans and spreading the curse, it reaches more of the affected humans, and it buys time for us to actually save them."
"More though, with the time we buy and the way we buy it, we would have an opportunity to deal with the Title directly. We could go to war and win." A bold claim. He knew was going to draw incredulous scrutiny if he didn't head it off.
"It chose its shape to be able to curse in this particular way. That shape choice came with a built in way to call that aspect of it to where we want it, and if its wells are salted with iron through my ritual, it'd then be without the resources it intended to have for the battle it was going to pick anyway." Going into the details of it needing to be done at midnight or more ideally also on a new moon was beyond the scope of this conversation. Loki needed to like the idea first before getting bogged down with the nitty gritty.
"I'm no General, but I figured if I could offer being able to choose the place, possibly by surprise, cut off its logistics, and poison its meals, it might make for a pretty good set of circumstances to work out a battle plan from for someone who is a bit more qualified in that area. Yeah?" He knew they were asking a lot of Loki, so he wanted to showcase the stakes in a way that took his role into account.
"With the right help we stopped the mushroom eruptions and saved those people. We can stop this too and save these people as well. The battle will be necessary to do it though." Gavin still wasn't quite sure what form the battle would take. He hadn't got that far along in managing the problem yet. There was always going to be a battle of some form, it was a matter of making it favour the Freehold's side at this point. They needed Loki's investment in the plan, not just his metal. "I think you're the right help this time around."
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Post by Victor on Jan 16, 2022 4:10:11 GMT -8
Victor hung back and listened as first Henley, then Gavin plead the case. Between them they said everything that needed to be said, and perhaps even everything that could be said. Victor wasn't in any position to add much, even if he wanted to. Not much save one thing-
"Can't speak for these two, but if you need a trade to make it worth you're while I'd be willing to offer up what I can."
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Post by Loki on Jan 18, 2022 23:32:13 GMT -8
"Cold Iron helps repel the Fae."
Loki blinked.
"Who knew?"
The eyepatch was off, revealing the hollow socket where fire split from the permanent wound, while the good one had a light flickering from behind his pupil, like a flashing cataract. Smoke roiled as the Elemental's as the good eye looked back towards his garage, jaw tightening at the idea of dismantling something that had cost him so dearly. The tone indicated that likely there was a Summer asking for donation to The Greater Good every other week for one crisis or another. There was a lot of talking around a very simple reality, with his attention briefly settling on Victor being the quieter one. "Oh, yeah. Fucking kids, huh?"
The suburban street of Summerlin relatively calm. A group of kids were even playing soccer up the road, hollering back at the occasional honking vehicle and slowing down to peer inside. The Torrent rumbled, turning back towards the mundane address. He didn't bother to hide it: taking a shot at the Tiente's personal hobby was asking for a violent gang retaliation that went above and beyond the normal drive-by. The space was smaller than expected, only having the one lift. It wasn't organized, but not exploded to the level of a chaotic lab more suited for the Domovoi. It was also quiet — one would expect something like AC/DC blasting from a dusty speaker to match the aesthetic. A chocolate Pomeranian sat on a cushion next to the seat of the desk, panting as she watched the Victor with a specific interest in leather, only offering a single bark before settling with surprising obedience. The motorcycle was parked just inside; a thick, iron chain mounted above it with a hazard sign for corrosive material hung just underneath. The familiar feeling of burning skin came and went as the trio realized Loki had not dismissed them or indicated to stay put, coming off the Fireheart in waves as he walked over to the bike, producing a pair of modified gloves that looked almost like gauntlets. The Elemental nodded, only half listening to Gavin's thesis statement as the gloves were donned, and the heavy chain pulled from the wall.
He swung it once, the air whistling past the thick metal before he caught it, and tossed it on the table in front of them with a loud clang. The Pomeranian barked again, tail wagging at the sudden activity. The end was pulled to spread out the brutal weapon, eye flashing as he roved over where the metal had been bent, curved, and repurposed. The iron was different shades and melded pattern—a motley of deadly trophies from close encounters.
"I'll part with a couple of links." There was a finality to the statement, as if Loki had already done the math despite the Outback's implications on projected casualties.
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Post by Henley on Jan 19, 2022 11:39:39 GMT -8
Following him along to the Torrent's shop. The Pomeranian earned a big grin. "Love the dog, Commander." He didn't know what he expected that Loki would own, dog-wise, but he was absolutely sure it wasn't a tiny Pom. It gave a view to a different side of the Summer dynamo, something more personal. It wasn't something he was here to ask about right this second - time was of the essence - but assuming that his tiny Huntsman didn't come gore him with a huge sword, there'd be time to talk pleasure over business. The gloves were slid on as Gavin spoke, and Henley gave the Chevalier plenty of room for the horrifying chain. No Fae would ever want to be touched by that thing. It was completely unclear to him where Loki had even acquired such a thing.
When the Commander said he'd part with a couple of links, Henley breathed a sigh of relief, nodding twice and almost whispering a "thank you". It meant a lot, not just to him. The kids who were caught up in this were completely innocent. A bit of tension drained from his shoulders as he realized just how tired he was from the stress of having so many lives depending on them.
"Then there is no time to lose: we'll do our part. Thank you, Commander."
He gestured to the chain.
"Would you be willing to make the little rings we need while we set up the rest of what needs to be done?"
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Post by Gavin Graves on Jan 19, 2022 13:03:08 GMT -8
This was the Commander's way, at least when it came to Gavin. With Loki projecting his depth of skepticism through a demeanor of sarcasm, the Beast had to bear the brunt of this fronting. Loki's actions were speaking louder than his words for those that were paying attention. He was parting with a precious and terrible resource despite the outward attitude. The Razorhand had to remain keenly focused on that detail, pinning his continued sanity on it even. Were he to allow the doubt to take root in his psyche, it could easily spread like wildfire.
Hanging back with Victor to ease the stress, he set himself on the remaining problems. They had the product now. They had the marketing. They however lacked someone to perform the actual implantations. A relatively safe implantation with the common aftercare procedures covered would lengthen their survival times considerably.
"We're going to need a body mod artist willing to do this less-than-above-board work." Looking to the Chimera for his input hoping to bounce around ideas of who to call on.
It would also be necessary to protect the artist while the work was being performed and the lead up to it. The marketing could not be assured to only reach those they were trying to help.
Additionally now with the limitations placed on the volume of material available they were going to have to race up the chains as far as possible before deploying a ritual and set of links. Thankfully with fewer rituals being necessary to have a broader reach, the crew could assist with more of the rites directly if required. Gavin could also oversee the performance of the rituals, seeing to their success.
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Post by Victor on Jan 20, 2022 23:50:39 GMT -8
The Chimera nodded encouragingly to Gavin, before anything else. He might not have understood the ritual fully, but they had the right stuff now, and that meant that they were on the right track. Things were looking up.
"Yeah, I know a guy. Was in the organ market before he got into more artistic ways of poking people with needles and knives. Was good then, and is even better now that he works with real tools, rather than filed paperclips and wetwipes."
There was no hesitation in his response, whispered so as to not derail the conversation with the summer forge.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 22, 2022 20:22:27 GMT -8
The dog's tail wagged at Henley's attention, head swiveling to the jar of treats with a pointed look as her paws padded excitedly along the edge of her mat. Loki nodded to Henley's clarification, already grabbing clamps to bend the metal and remove the links he needed. As he worked, the calls were made, with Henley getting a confirmation on Anthony's film review and his readiness while Gavin pulled potential leads for Victor to locate the new identity of his associate.
Cartwright worked his on side of the equation by getting in contact with dela Cruz, explaining his inability to locate Dodson after being jinxed with the snap. He put her in contact with Victor to play the role of the Mysterious Occult Benefactor whom had developed a counter, which did indeed take some convincing and the twisting of fate. Cartwright's reputation allowed for the basic modicum of trust as she agreed to meet in a public spot before going off with him to a set location to perform the rite, with Victor's medic ready to apply dermal implants. As Loki handed off several flat rings that could pass as metal washers, the two mundies reviewed the video. They covered the ritual site of a motel room before spray painting the sigil and performing the steps with the special kind of awkward commitment that could only captured from two ordinary second-years engaging in satanic pageantry, and imminent fear of death. Honestly, Gavin had to admit that a mutually shared dark secret seemed just as legit as forgiving one another as a black market surgeon oversaw a morbid ring exchange. Dela Cruz admitted she was on the clock for only having about two days left, which brought more credence to her willingness to entertain this as a final resort. She pointed to Hudson Burke as the one who tagged her in the chain, though needed some convincing to try it on her own. She couldn't bring herself to trust Anthony Fucking Cartwright to have it on good authority that this counter curses and supposed black magic would dodge eternal damnation.
How did he even know Xavier was gone for good? This could have been just some cruel joke at her expense.
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Post by Henley on Jan 24, 2022 0:39:26 GMT -8
The Lost put their heads together, Spring social engineering and Autumn ingenuity firing off ideas. The fact was, time was short. De la Cruz had two days left, and that meant the kid above her, Dodson, probably had less time than that. And so it went, so on and so forth, the kids running lower and lower on time until their death – or worse.
The bird in the sigil popped into Gavin's mind as a cassowary prowling and coming ever closer until death arrived on horrifying, talon’d feet; the video was redubbed with a horrifying vocal changer to spread fear of not getting this fixed. But it wasn’t enough. They wouldn’t be able to get anywhere the number they wanted to.
And then quiet, spooky Victor said the one thing they hadn’t thought of yet: a Fairest’s Gambit, subtly twisting everyone that was needed into a cult.
Henley’s eyes widened and the gears turned in his head as suddenly he blurted out that he could become a rockstar – or an urgent commander -- in any organisation. A disguise would go the rest of the way. That also meant Tony could be left out, his identity protected. He didn’t need to be present and running up the chains. Fate could do it for him and he’d be kept safe, his life remaining undisrupted. The Ogre went to work, creating a skillful disguise as a sharply dressed, beautiful cult leader, the powerful kind of figure that would protect the interests of the organisation, the kind of person people would listen to in a crisis.
The video was released. The bird’s stalking began, amping up the terror. The horrifying word was spread: the cult was threatened, and without completing a ritual, there was incredible danger.
Fear spread like a plague, rippling through the organization’s ranks as its leadership whipped them to protect themselves the only way they could: get the chains organized, confess who had done what so all could be set into motion, and then put the ritual stops in place at the key junctures to save as many of them as they could from the demons that were hunting them. It would be a grand victory against the forces of darkness, indeed.
What would happen if they didn’t was too unthinkable to say, but they could save themselves and their friends here and now... if they committed to the cause.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jan 25, 2022 23:35:31 GMT -8
The mad force of fate brought them together, following the signs as the faithful gathered to seek the power of demonology. Their charismatic prophet held the grimoire aloft, met with cheers as promises to bind spirits was provided in digital format. The masked figures took to the evening streets, heralding salvation in their pact of iron and marriage of betrayal. Contact with the prophet awoke a primal vision of focus—those known to be playing the Game are roped in and networked for fear of their own lives. They only had so many rings to perform the ritual—the primary thread had to be pulled to unravel the entire web, and the inquisition ignited as bodies started to quietly be confirmed through the organization. Images circulated on quiet pockets of the Internet, pointing to Amdusias' storm as the culprit. In a cruel twist of luck, it actually served to assist the organization's zealotry as nervous and leveraged students started doing more than just playing along, where the original content was retrieved when someone hacked Nate's computer to encourage more participants. For Victor, the calls started pouring in to assist in the clean-up as the Onyx Court pinged the spike in activity.
Students on campus and others throughout Vegas bore a mark of a greying scar across their hand, echoing a parody of the smallpox vaccine as the surge of murders began to taper off as even the fringe of the participants knew where to look and in turn, who to ask. Was the demon bound? The cult whispered of Phenex's song being hummed among the wanderers of the city, feeling it too late to stop its influence without violence to its wanton legion.
They theorized that Amdusias' power was held by the links in the chain, and that that power could be weaponized against the rampaging hellspawn.
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