Scene 1 - The Washboard

[LuckiDays]

Theo Richardson

As the others do their own thing, Theo takes a sip of his drink & begins rummaging his bag. Turns out he had brought less paper than he would have liked today. Sighing, he takes out a notebook & tears off one of its pages. He then begins printing out another prophecy or... in the normal people's view, jotting down some nonsense.
 

---

Roll

Power Tags:
> Newspaper Prophecies
> Horrible Events
> News Publisher Employee
Weakness Tags:
> Not Enough Paper

Edit 1: I'll mark one Attention on Theo's Divination.

---

Power Tag Questions

1) Will accidents or incidents occur to/in the Washboard today?
2) Are there people here that can help us in our investigations?

 

Edited March 27 by LuckiDays (see edit history)

[raschlain]

Declan L'estrange

"A work of art, that lady. Not some trumped up pop star with no substance," Declan says appreciatively. "You got anymore of those berry tarts?"

Declan had always had a sweet tooth, something other men had attempted to shame him for. But he liked what he liked and wasn't about to try and change it to please anyone.

"I'd also like to buy a drink for Mike, if he's around," Declan added, figuring he might as well do some looking while he was here. Mike was a cover name, of course, for whoever was around that had the word on the street.

[Feirgon]

Brianna Lopez

She watched as Theo and Declan began working and figured she'd look around to see what she could see. Though, she didn't hold much hope as she wasn't really the analyzing type.

Maybe someone here will catch my eye. Everyone's got secrets, some just have bigger ones than others.

Investigate
 

Tags

Power Tag:

Night Hood - she's become more accustomed to hiding her identity, so she's beginning to pick-up when others are hiding something.

Weakness Tag:

Beer, Not Blood - Sekhmet's powers will not be aiding her tonight because she is drinking alcohol.

 

[Perlin]

Allan Rodriguez

Allan finally looks up from his phone. He grabs a small handful of peanuts and begins to search his environment for clues, remaining in a seated position. He attempts to make use of his skills in mindfulness to filter out unnecessary distractions and observe the more subtle details present.
 

Power Tags: Meditation, Retaining a Level Head

Investigation

> Why did the hooded man target The Washboard?

> Is there anyone here who would want to stop us?

[Samanos]

The waiter nods. I'll pass it along sir. Not too long after, a man sits on a nearby table and waves Declan -and only Declan- over. The exchange is quick, and it involves questions, cash and some answers. Word of the deaths has been circulating, but there doesn't seem to be a consensus on who this guy is. There was something though. Last week, ''Harry'' a professional ''cleaner'' from the docks, was seen near the penthouse on the night of the second death. Harry is notoiously good at cleaning up scenes, though how he does it remains a mystery.

Ink dances once again upon paper as Theo makes an article. It's harder now. He's tired and the paper is not enough. Yet he does see the letter arrange themselves:

 

Killing at jazz club!

At least seven people died in what authorities describe as a ''clash of underground forces'' between members of organized crime and at least one group of vigilantes. According to witnesses, it all happened when an unknown person accosted the so called Valhala boys. A group of bikers wanted for several crimes in the city.

 

The owner of the establishment, Sammy Jefferson JR denied that the Boys were regulars at the club, said they were here to cause trouble. One of the bouncers, Syrus, was injured during the fray, protecting the singer who was doing her show at the time.

The song seems to fade in the background as Allan focuses, taking in his surroundings. Why would the man target this place? He could find no possible answer or guess to this just by... ah. His gaze fixed on the balding man near the bar. His expression was that of a man forced to swallow a sack of lemons, and his eyes examined him and his crew, then darted somewhere.. where? A big man, standing in a corner. A bouncer working here. Then they turned to Martha Ellis and back at Allan. His expression soured even more as he held the tea maker's gaze. The bouncer moved towards the back.

Brianna was looking around, trying to get a sense of the club, but the cigarette smoke made it harder to focus. Maybe it was the alchohol in her system -did it really affect her that much? That fast? When was the last time she drank?- but after the initial dazzle, the club had taken on a more... dangerous vibe. A lot of the patrons seemed to be normal folk. But others she knew. Night Hood knew them. People with links to organized crime. It was getting hard to breathe. Something stirred inside her, angry at the drowsiness that engulfed her all of a sudden. She needed air. She needed- screams. At the edge of her hearing. Somewhere outside? No one seemed to notice, but she was sure. Somewhere nearby, someone was screaming.

Edited April 1 by Samanos (see edit history)

[LuckiDays]

Theo Richardson

Theo almost jumped & spilt his drink as he read the words!! But he managed to save his glass & motioned over to his crew. "Erm... guys," said Theo. "I... don't know who are we going to interview but... I suggest we go interview them... now!!" He then shows everyone his most recent prophecy.

[Perlin]

Allan Rodriguez

Allan relays the results of his search to the crew.

"We should be careful. Those guys seem suspicious."

Edited April 2 by Perlin (see edit history)

[Feirgon]

Brianna Lopez

Everything was distracting. The haze of smoke in the air, the uncomfortable proximity to criminals, the distant screaming...

Wait. Screaming?

No one else seemed to notice, so maybe it was in her head? She looked down at the headline that Theo presented. Then she looked at the person of interest that Allan pointed out. She held up the empty bottle of beer as she felt her mind attempting to regain its balance.

Seriously? I can't even enjoy a bottle?

She placed the bottle down and stood up.

"I need to get some air. Be mindful of your surroundings, I'll just be just outside the entrance."

There was a look of determination on her face as she walked out of the club.

Now to figure out if that screaming is just in my head.

[raschlain]

Declan L'estrange

Declan returned as Brianna left, giving her a peculiar look. Glancing at the article he took on a grim look.

"We got a lead at the docks. A cleaner called "Harry"," Declan said. "Let's check on Brianna. If that's for tonight, we shouldn't be separated."

[LuckiDays]

Theo Richardson

Theo follows Declan close behind. "I agree but... don't you think we should ask the bouncer & the singer some questions? Maybe after we caught up to Miss Bri?"

[raschlain]

Declan L'estrange

"Yeah, no doubt," Declan said as he glanced at the paper in Theo's hand. "About how much time do you think we have? I don't want more people caught in any crossfire than needs to be."

[Samanos]

On 4/2/2024 at 6:52 PM, Feirgon said:

Brianna Lopez

Everything was distracting. The haze of smoke in the air, the uncomfortable proximity to criminals, the distant screaming...

Wait. Screaming?

No one else seemed to notice, so maybe it was in her head? She looked down at the headline that Theo presented. Then she looked at the person of interest that Allan pointed out. She held up the empty bottle of beer as she felt her mind attempting to regain its balance.

Seriously? I can't even enjoy a bottle?

She placed the bottle down and stood up.

"I need to get some air. Be mindful of your surroundings, I'll just be just outside the entrance."

There was a look of determination on her face as she walked out of the club.

Now to figure out if that screaming is just in my head.

The chill provides some relief from the drowsiness as Brianna exits the club. The rain has intensified now. The bouncer from before stands alone at the entrance and nods to her as she walks out. The tip of a cigarette between his fingers glows red as he inhales and lets out a stream of smoke that mixes up with the mist. Brianna feels...off. Something is not right. Something she cannot quite place hangs in the air. The scream returns, stronger now, but the bouncer doesn't seem to hear it, or if he does, he chooses to ignore it.

 

And then a dog comes out of the shadows. It's lean, with short dark fur and pointy ears. No. Not a dog. A jackal. Something inside Brianna stirs in recognition. The jackal looks at her for a moment, then moves further down the alley. As it goes, the scream comes a third time. It comes from the place the jackal is heading. It comes from a dark alley filled with mist and darkness. It comes from a human.

 

[Feirgon]

Brianna Lopez "Night Hood"

Pure instinct kicked in as she sprinted in the direction of the scream and the jackal. As Brianna ran, she grabbed for the one weapon she always carries on her person, her combat knife 'Maria'.

Anubis...does that mean I am too late? Can I not save whoever is being attacked?

It doesn't matter, I have to try. Night Hood has to try.

She may not have been wearing he costume, but that wouldn't stop Night Hood from doing everything in her power to save whoever was screaming.

Edited April 6 by Feirgon (see edit history)

[LuckiDays]

Theo Richardson

Seeing Brianna sprint off, a sense of panic quickly struck Theo. He quickly refers to his most recent article, not knowing what is happening.
 

---

Roll

Power Tags:
> "Who caused this!?"
> Foe's Next Move

---

Power Tag Questions

1) Besides the "vigilantes", who is involved in the prophesized shootout?
2) What is the cause of this shootout, if any?

 

[Samanos]

Outside

Briana dashes towards the end of the alley. The guard shouts something as she springs into action but she's too fast, too focused on not losing the jackal from her sight to pay attention to what he's saying.

She runs through trash and mud, pand filthier things. The street drain either has a problem or the rain is just that heavy that her boots sink splash dirty water everywhere as she runs. She ends up in another alley in the back of the building. She can see a back door leading (presumably) to the Washboard's backstage. There's a crowd gathered in front of the few steps leading to it. Some of them seem to be people who work at the club. A couple of servers and a bouncer. Brianna recognises him as the one of the too individuals Adam pointed out. They are watching a group of men, gathered around a shape lying on the ground.

They are dressed like a biker gang, with runic symbols adorning their leather jackets, but Brianna needs only the briefest of glances to see that they are military trained. And they are armed. She can see shotguns, hand weapons and one of them has an actual crossbow strapped on his back.

The shape in the middle of the circle stirs and let's out a weak whimper.

"Hit him again". Said one of the standing men. He appears older than the others, with grey streaks running down his long hair.

The bouncer raises a hand. "Guys that's enough-"

The long haired man points a finger at him.

"Shut the hell up. Shut up or I'm burning this place down." There is an edge in the man's voice. Brianna recognises it. Bloodlust.

The bat rises and falls and the man lying on the streets cries out in pain. His face is a bloody mess, one of his legs twisted in an unnatural angle. The jackal is standing at a corner, his lean shape mixed with the shadows of a dumpster. It watches the scene calmly. Observing. Judging. Waiting.

Story tags on the scene: Dark and stormy night

Inside

The music fades as Martha Ellis finishes up her song. She grabs the mike and yells "Thank you, thank you!" Amid applause. Declan can detect a slight slurr on her voice. Looks like the star has been drinking. That could explain the drained look she has.

Allan notices that the balding man is frantically texting on his phone and is looking at the door the bouncer disappeared to. The waiter that brought the crew their drinks is also looking at him with a concerned look upon his face.

Next to Allan, Theo is looking frantically as the contents of his paper shift once again.

"New details have emerged for the incident at the Washboard Club! According to sources, a fight broke out between the Valhalla Boys, a local mercenary group and a lone man The fight begun in the back of the building, but quickly spread inside the establishment, as the arrival of a vigilante woman at the scene seemed to aggravate matters. Members of the Valhalla boys opened fire and allegedly made use of hand grenades, chasing the man inside the club. The authorities are still investigating the motives behind the attack, since the man has not been found since then.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 10 by Samanos (see edit history)