undergrounds | August investigations (open)

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August investigations (open)

Battleshots fired

Evening in the Black Bear Tavern, and someone had set up what looked like an oversized game of Battleship on one of the tables, with one major exception: all the ships had gleaming shot glasses carefully set into them at even intervals.

The bar was dark. The board was illuminated. There were cheesy underwater sonar noises involved. And Heiji stood on the other side of the board. "So. You ready?"

Handy Battleshots board here. Gameplay video here.

Battleshots works like Battleship. You and your opponent each have your own ocean grid, which is hidden from your opponent. You secretly place your ships on your ocean grid horizontally or vertically.

You and your opponent then alternate calling shots on the grid (for example, A1 or D5). If you pick a spot that your opponent has a ship in, it's a hit. Your opponent must then announce the hit and drink the appropriate shot off their ship. The middle shot on each ship is tequila served in a black cup.

Gameplay continues until you annihilate your opponent's ships, force a surrender, or someone passes out.

Groundwork (throughout August)

Heiji could be found throughout August in regular libraries throughout the city -- and libraries-underneath-libraries as well, looking through records and old archived newspapers. Or, occasionally, falling asleep with his face in a book or pressed against a handy keyboard. His topic of investigation? The East End Pack, and in particular one Derek Hale. It was all a matter of public record, which meant this was A-OK and totally aboveboard, right?

Right.

Reconnoitering (mid-August)

Lewisham was not a particularly safe place for the faint of heart -- in fact, it was a no man's land, a veritable hive of scum and villainy. But during a few evenings in mid-August, there was one extra supernatural beastie about: a black fox the size of a full-grown tiger, lurking about the rooftops and getting the size of the activity there. Heiji was doing a little reconnaissance work, though he could also be found scoping out the neighborhood in Havering.

[Or lemme know if you want anything in particular o7]

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His response with bullet speeds earned him a dour look before she returned her attention to the tomb. Her shield dropped and she touched the stone near the door. "Yes, jumpy." She agreed. She lifted her fingers and they sparkled with ice for a moment. "Would you like to deal with them or shall I?"

Tiresome but it was actually rather impressive that these outcast vampires had managed to cobble together enough loyalty in a human to be able to post one as a sentry.

What's wrong, Mab? Did it take away from the mystery.

Just above one of the weeping stone angels, a man let out a brief howl of pain. Something heavy and metal dropped to the surface of the concrete. "What do you want?!" he demanded from his perch. "This is private property!"

Considering she meant you never knew when someone would actually shoot at you as opposed to the interesting but useless information about how quickly it traveled seeing as once the shot was fired there wasn't much time to dodge anyway, it was more likely a 'stop being a smartass' look. If Mab said such things.

She looked down at the weapon and then back up at the man on top of the tomb. Did this man think they gave out deeds to cemetery plots? Sometimes one had to wonder how many brains some humans could cobble together. She was sorely tempted to just freeze him up there. She would have if Heiji wasn't with her. Better than leaving a human at their backs. As it was she raised a hand and froze the gun into a very large block of ice on the ground. It would take at least a day to melt and that did not mean it would fire at that point either.

"Come down or stay up there permanently." Her voice wasn't raised but it carried in the quiet pre-dusk light.

Oh, Mab. You were a romantic.

The man staggered back, still clutching his arm; ice blocks were clearly out of his realm of general experience. "Y-you... I get it! You're from the Night Council! One of those Guardians! We're not breaking any rules!"

Heiji returned to fox form as the man talked, sneaking around the graves while he was focused on Mab. As the sentry came forward to peer down at the fate of his firearm, Heiji bumped him from behind. The man sprawled onto the grass in the front of the tomb with an ungainly shriek.

Mab gave the man a razor's edge smile. "Oh no, not the Night Council. My rules are very different from theirs." Heiji bumped the man off the roof about then and she lifted a hand, forming what looked like horseshoes of ice in the air and slamming one down on each of his wrists to pin him to the ground, the two ends digging into the grass and dirt to hold him there.

"Now let's see if we can approach this again, with more manners, shall we?" Steam curled around the ice at his wrists from the massive temperature difference and how quickly it had happened.

The man shrieked in mortal terror, wriggling about like an unkempt, slightly smelly fish on a hook. "Don't take me to your sex dungeon!" he pleaded, eyes darting every which way for someone to call upon for help. But the cemetery wasn't widely trafficked, so his choices were rather limited.

"I'd make a terrible slave! I've got... parasites! Amoebas!"

Heiji dropped off the edge of the roof and landed on the grass. He curled around the entrance to the tomb, but all was still quiet.

Sex dungeon? Mab raised an eyebrow at Heiji. Just who had this man been speaking with and what kinds of things were they filling his obviously addled mind with?

"I am less concerned with your ameobas than with your inability to shut your mouth." She replied dryly. Standing next to him she frowned. She knelt down and turned his head toward her by touching his chin, until he was forced to look her in the eye. "Now let us come to an agreement. You will remain here, and quiet while my associate and I have a discussion with your masters." Her eyes shifted still, and there was some natural fairy magic working here. "And if you interrupt, I will freeze your tongue within your skull."

Obviously, this man wasn't used to having attention paid to him by fae with ice manacles. He stared into her eyes, his mouth working silently. But he seemed to have come to the conclusion that Mab was being serious; thus he lay there, shivering, with all his amoebas intact.

Heiji shifted again. "Hey, there's real live coffins in here. Wonder if they filled 'em with dirt, too."

If so, it might explain the griminess under the sentry's fingernails. But that was going rather far for a little atmosphere, wasn't it?

Looking over at Heiji, she dismissed the human's importance and moved toward the doorway as her cohort shifted back to human. "They could belong to the original occupants." She pointed out, stepping into the tomb and extending her senses for anything magically malignant.

The coffins were large and in poor condition, as her eyes adjusted to the darker room she circled the coffins in the middle. Bits of stone had crumbled from edges and the lids looked like they'd been opened repeatedly, scuff marks obvious in the grime and concrete dust littering the area around the lids. She lifted a hand to run a finger along one of the stone lids then let her gaze sweep the room. She did not see another place for the vampires to hide so either they slept in the coffins or there was a hidden door somewhere. Would it be rude to open the coffins before the sun set? Likely. "Interesting."

He laughed. "I kinda doubt it. Check out the wood on those boxes. Freshly veneered, and the wood hasn't had time to age yet. Still, it does kinda make you wonder.

"See those marks at the seam where the coffin opens? Those scratches in the paint go in one direction -- toward the opening. So someone's been pulling 'em closed from the inside. They haven't been too careful about it, either. These guys definitely aren't too -- "

There was a hideous creaking sound as one of the coffins tilted open. "Who disturbs our slumber?" demanded a deep baritone booming from within the shadows under the lid.

Now that she was inside she could see what he meant. It made one curious as to where these vampires were getting cash flow. Something like these would cost a pretty penny.

Her hand lifted as the coffin opened and the vampire inside demanded to know who they were. To be honest, she could imagine the annoyance at being woken in one's own... home. She'd be irritable had it happened to her. Not fun for the intruder.

Her eyes lifted to Heiji's for a moment before dropping back to the coffin. There was no reason, yet, to be rude. And as the sun hadn't fully set, this Vampire must be older than she'd expected. "The intrusion is a necessary inconvenience." She replied, "The Lady of Air and Darkness requires an assignation."

She watched as a man sat up. He wasn't particularly impressive, with his hollowed look and dust coated hair but he was more cleaned up than she'd expected as well. His eyes were still rheumy with death from his slumber and he bared his teeth for a moment, a slow hissing sound escaping him before he closed his eyes once and breathed in so he could speak. He turned his head to look at Heiji as well, who had not been introduced. But Mab was not going to give out information about Heiji that he had not agreed to give. He could introduce himself if he liked.

"An assignation?" Clearly the vampire wasn't too familiar with fae court protocol. Probably not with Mab either, since he hadn't immediately recognized her.

Heiji bent slightly over the man's coffin, offering him a hand. "Hey, old man! I'm Heiji. Sorry to drop in like this unannounced. We were in the neighborhood and we thought you might be up for a talk."

The vampire looked back from Mab to Heiji and back again. "Don't call me 'old man'," he said, though he didn't seem all that put out by the familiar manner of address. After a moment's hesitation, he accepted Heiji's hand to help get himself up and out of the coffin. "My name is Boris Redrum. What did you do with Renning? He's supposed to be watching the entrance."

Considering his grand declaration on disturbed slumber she hadn't considered assignation would throw the vampire off. But perhaps he was just going with the tried and true lines as opposed to having lived in a time where people spoke in such a manner. She looked almost disturbed at Heiji's ridiculously informal introduction. And even annoyed when the vampire just accepted it as natural.

Honestly no one cared about the intricacies anymore.

"Mr. Renning is currently mostly unharmed but indisposed and raving about amoebas." She replied dryly. "I imagine he is still watching the entrance. Am I to assume you are the ... leader here, Mr Redrum?"

"Well, yes," said Boris, casting another glance at Mab. "Technically speaking. Though it hardly seems worth calling me that when all we've got is this sorry tomb at our disposal."

He cleared his throat. "What is it that you wanted to talk about, then, Lady of Air and Darkness? As I'm sure you can see, we're not exactly living it up out here." Life kind of sucked for non-Islington vampires.

Heiji was interested to hear what Mab had to say himself...

Her eyes drifted to the tomb and she definitely thought it was somewhat sorry. But beggars really couldn't be choosers, could they? "Yes, I noticed." She murmured absently before focusing again on the leader of the tomb seethe.

"I have lain claim to Lewisham in the name of the fae." Her hand made a soft gesture to include the entirety of the borough. "I expect you understand that I plan to defend that claim with all means necessary. I have no immediate quarrel with those who currently reside here, though I do expect more order. I have terms."

Life, presumably, had the opportunity to suck a little more. Or maybe not. "Will you hear my terms, Boris Redrum?" The was definitely more order than discussion. He could either refuse and move, refuse and fight it out, or agree and remain where he was.

"I have a feeling I'm about to hear them whether I like it or not," muttered the vampire. The fae, who knew what they were planning? Taking over Lewisham. Bunch of supernatural nutjobs, that's what they were -- who else would want a lawless territory like this one?

Despite being Unseelie, it seemed that Mab had a definite tendency toward order and rules. Heiji tilted his head slightly toward her, a gesture that would have made more sense if he was still a fox.

Nutjob was not the worst descriptor used for Mab on occasion. It didn't bother her that he was reluctant. He could be as reluctant as he liked. In the end things would be the way she wanted. She considered it an inevitability. Mab did not lack ego.

Her gaze drifted to Heiji at his head tilt, acknowledging his presence more than anything before returning her attention to the sulky vampire. "You will treat all fae as hosts and fae allies as guests. This means you will not bring harm to them unless they initiate violence in which case they have forfeited guest rights and you are free to defend yourself. If a fae or ally of the fae requires help or defense and you know this, you must lend your aid. If you cannot assist, you or yours must contact myself or one of my colleagues." She paused for a moment to let it sink in.

"You will clean up any messes you and yours cause in my territory and avoid drawing attention to yourselves, which means you feed carefully and dispose of bodies outside the territory if you can. If you can abide by these rules you will have my support, I or one of my colleagues will come to your aid if you are attacked within the territory if you request aid. You may petition for challenge if another group infringes on your home and I will personally enforce a duel or wereguild." Her eyes sparkle with something a little more bloodthirsty, "And you may drain anyone who moves against the fae or a fae ally within the territory with no repercussions so long as you can prove your case."

Boris listened as Mab described what sounded like the world's worst impromptu supernatural bureaucracy, starting with a look of mild consternation as she started on guests and hosts and rights that deepened as she moved on to petitions.

"No, thank you," he said once she'd finished. "I'm a little too old to be dueling. And you're not family. I can't trust your word that you'll protect us, and it would be foolhardy to risk the few of us left for a stranger."

Well it wasn't like she immediately expected him to toe the line. But it was still irritating. And Mab never liked her word being questioned. The corners of the room frosted in about thirty seconds flat and a cold wind whipped through, sending fog curling around them from the sudden temperature change. "I never break my word." Mab replied with narrowed eyes and biting tone. "If you will not assist our allies you will receive absolutely no assistance or protection from me." And that could be something worthwhile.

"So long as you agree to the rest of the terms I will not force you out. But mark my words, Mr. Redrum. If you or yours attack any fae or ally I will destroy you utterly. If you bring too much attention to my territory without my agreement, I will drive you from this place. Your associates have not been circumspect in the past. This will change."

Her eyes drifted to Heiji, she didn't care what Heiji thought of such threats. He knew what she was.

"Very generous of you," the vampire said dryly. "I can only hope to experience more of this delightful fae hospitality in the future."

He was clearly feeling crabby about the whole situation.

Heiji, meanwhile, was just sort of looking on as one might look at a slowly enfolding trainwreck. Because he'd agreed (at least from his point of view) to try not to interfere, he said nothing, but his expression probably said it all.

Mab took two steps forward, well within range of attack of that Vampire. "It is very generous of me." She replied, her voice hard. "I am not a charity. I have no need to allow those who could not be accepted into their own society in my territory but I have offered to do so. I can appreciate your situation as you struggle to survive but I am not here to be your friend." She had goals so far above them that they were simply an inconvenience.

Mab had the wherewithal to know saying that bit out loud would strike too much of a nerve so instead she smiled and it was cruel. "Fae hospitality is not something you experience, it is something you survive. Show me you want to survive, Mr. Redrum."

Heiji preferred coming in friendly and she certainly didn't miss the expression on his face. But she had neither the patience nor the time to court every minor supernatural creature in the area. She could be patient but things like claiming a territory were time sensitive. He was being quiet for now and she was pleased he had decided to stand back. She didn't need him undermining her prison warden vibe here.

"I believe I'll show you the door. It's over there," Boris said helpfully, gesturing toward the archway they'd come in from. He didn't particularly care for her generosity (which appeared to consist of allowing him to live where he'd been living all along) or for signing on to be some serf, fighting for people he didn't know and didn't really care about.

At this point, Heiji was wondering how Mab opened pickle jars. Probably by threatening them and then smashing them against the counter.

Mab's jaw clenched in irritation. Surely this vampire knew how tenuous his standing in the world was. He would not be in this rotting tomb cut off from the help of his brethren and scrapping for meals like a dog in a dumpster if he did not. And yet he had not even acknowledged that he would abide by even the simplest version of her demands in which he had to protect no one outside his friends but could not attack those who were not attacking him. But he hadn't fought either. Instead he answered as though he had some standing in world in which he could simply dismiss her.

"You do not have to like what I tell you. But you must understand how things will be. Do you understand?" She didn't even look at the door indicated.

Pickle jars didn't need to be sweet talked or threatened. They simply opened as they were meant to do. Not that she had to, she had servants for such things. If she ate things like pickles. This was a formality. She had no intentions of allowing rouge vampire nests to run amok in her territory. She could have simply come in during the day and slaughtered them all. This was actually a kindness in her mind.

"Yes, yes, I understand. Now leave us in peace." Whatever it took to get this lady off his figurative lawn. Didn't fae have to be invited before they waltzed into somewhere? Maybe that was only houses; he had a dim memory that that might be the case. Maybe he should dig up one of his old witch contacts, see about getting some warding herbs put up.

At least no one had burst into flames yet.

The undead could not form thresholds unfortunately for the vampires. Only humans could manage such things. And the longer one lived and created a home the stronger the threshold, apartments had more difficulty with such things they were generally weaker.

She stared at him a moment longer, something vastly irritated in her eyes before she turned and walked toward the door, assuming Heiji would catch up. "They've been warned." She murmured to him, "anything that happens now is up to them." She went down the stone stairs outside and stopped next to the bodyguard, frowning at him. Her fingers lifted for a moment and the ice began crackling.

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