undergrounds | Game Opening: May Ball

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Game Opening: May Ball

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.

It had to be done.

Welcome all to the Redbright Institute's May Ball! This evening is a celebration of the Institute's achievements over the past year. Students aged 16 and above can attend on their own, while younger students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Meanwhile, friends and guests of the Institute are invited as a gesture of friendship and harmony between the various factions.

Rules and etiquette
• This is a black tie event. Formal attire is required.
• No weapons. This is a school, there are children present. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol. Obviously. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security within the school and present at the event. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Places to go
The main action takes place in the large Assembly Hall. This is where the Chancellor Sylvia Redbright will give her address. It's also where you can party later on. The disco is family-friendly – not exactly a rave, but the kids will love it.

Drinks and snacks are available in the dining hall. The drinks are non-alcoholic. Vampires, no need to worry about your cravings: blood cocktails are provided! They're given in good faith on the assumption that you won't be snacking on anyone else tonight.

Just off the dining hall, one of the classrooms has been converted into a chill-out area. The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries. A video of young witches taking part in various night-time rituals (they mostly seem to involve chanting and bonfires) plays silently on the screen.

One of the lecture theatres has been opened up to showcase students' work from the past year. On the screen you can watch a slideshow of notable events and achievements. Strangely enough there aren't many people in this room.

Outside, there is a giant chessboard on the lawn. The pieces are made of plastic and can easily be moved around. Why, you ask? Why not, is the answer.

Finally, a large marquee has been set up in the quad. This is the adults-only area, with wine and cocktails served at the bar, nibbles available at a few high tables dotted around and a sophisticated atmosphere. No children under 18 allowed. (Note that the legal drinking age is 18.)

Timeline of events
20:00 – Doors open.
20:57 – Sunset.
21:15 – Sylvia Redbright makes her address in the Assembly Hall.
22:00 – Disco in the Assembly Hall. The DJ has atrocious taste.
01:00 – Disco stops. The event officially ends.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, I wasn't gonna tell anyone about this, but..." Heiji lowered his voice as he spoke, motioning for Sasuke to come a little closer.

... this is almost certainly a trap. Almost certainly, and yet he's gullible enough to do it anyway.

"This party's really boring," said Heiji urgently and with complete earnestness, as if imparting some kind of super-secret secret.

He straightened and returned to his normal tone of voice. "Plus, you're kinda suspicious. And if you're up to somethin' fun, I wanna see what it is! Don't worry; I won't narc on ya as long as you're not doing something sinister."

UGH.

There's an instant jerk back and a look like he's been violated. How dare you. "Then your instincts are bad, because I'm neither fun nor interesting. Take your investigation somewhere else."

Heiji sighed, like why are you doing this Sasuke. Why are you denying this amazing FRIENDSHIP.

"Let's see... you were eyeballin' the student work and snooping around here. You look like you're in your late teens, maybe early twenties if you got a baby face. So you're not a parent, not a teacher, and you're probably not a student. But they let ya in here, so you gotta be connected with the supernatural somehow. If you were a fae, you'd have been able to nail down whoever I was right away. And you're obviously not a ghost."

Of course, vampire was also a possibility. But Heiji didn't think Sasuke was a werewolf, because... well, reasons he probably shouldn't mention.

"So I'm guessing you're a human with a bit extra, from a faction that isn't all friendly with Redbright at the moment. Circle Midnight, maybe? Or the Hillingdon Clan?"

The red flash of his eyes is brief but noticeable, gone in an instant as he regains his composure.

Lying's never been part of his skillset nor part of his personal code, always electing for honesty if he has any choice at all, so being presented with all of this sudden -- and irritatingly accurate -- information leaves him in a slight dilemma.

"... You've been reading more of those old novels than I'd originally assumed, but there's one thing you should know. Any of my investigations here have nothing to do with my allegiances. I don't have any bias against this place, and I'm not trying to harm anyone here. It's for my own personal interest." A dilemma that leads as they so often do to him telling the truth despite his best interests.

That was certainly unusual. Heiji thought it would be rude to comment on it, though. Probably. Maybe. Better to err on the safe side.

"Well, as long as you're not about to start shooting crossbow bolts into the crowd, I guess we're square. I don't really have any ties to this place, either, but I do have a couple friends who hang out here that I'd rather not see get hurt."

"I don't have a crossbow." This is the correct response, right. "I'm not a threat to you." Better.

"I'm looking to gain information about a world I'm not familiar with yet and searching for records. Is that satisfactory?"

Well it was reassuring that Sasuke didn't have a crossbow... probably.

"Oh, so you're a bit of a late bloomer? Must've been quite a shock." Most humans these days didn't even believe in things like ghosts and vampires, box-office hits aside. He could sympathize with that.

"Actually, I'm kinda in the same boat! Just moved here recently, and they do things a bit different in London."

"Not a 'late bloomer', just someone who assumed he was alone with all this." It's as if he's not even realizing that they're having an actual conversation. How did this happen. I put up my friendship wards and everything.

"Should I guess that you're from Japan with a name like that?" Hypocrisy, hello.

Heiji smiled brightly. "Right you are! I'm from Osaka. Well... seein' as how you're new to the game and we're kinda compatriots, I wouldn't mind answering some questions for ya. If you've got any."

And if Sasuke had any that weren't super rood, anyway.

Question one: why don't you go back to your home on Whore Island.

His arms cross as he considers the offer, wondering how caught up in this he should let himself become. "... name all of the factions vying for control in this city. Then state your own allegiance."

"Well, I dunno about vying, but I guess I can tell you a bit of what I know."

Hmm, where to start. "Okay, so first of all, there's the Redbright Institute. That's here, of course. Supposedly, they're all about inclusion, acceptance, and outreach. Sylvia Redbright's the Chancellor, they accept all kinds, and so on. You got that much from the speech earlier, I'm sure.

"Anyhow, she also happens to be the head of Circle Daybreak, one of the two main witch circles in the city. Well, I say 'main', but the reality is Circle Midnight doesn't have any territory out here. Daybreak condemns dark magic, Midnight practices it. Daybreak seals off the Other Realm so fae can't get in and out of the city that way; Midnight witches have dealings with them. And so on."

"Redbright's also the President of the Night Council -- the guys that sit in Westminster and make all the rules. Supposedly, they're around to represent everyone and dispense justice where applicable. But I've heard they don't particularly care for werewolves, and they don't have werewolves, ghosts, or fae representatives at all."

"There's the East End Pack -- werewolves -- and the Islington Nest, which is vampires. They're basically at each other's throats, which makes it a little awkward since the Nest has got a deal struck up with the Night Council so that members are off-limits to any hunters.

"Then there's the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, which are basically the fae. They ain't have any territory in the city, either. And finally the Hillingdon Clan, which has a grand total of one region under their control. They ain't get along with any of Redbright's groups. Or vampires. Well, I guess when it comes down to it, they ain't trust anyone."

Well, that was about it. Heiji smiled. "As for my own allegiances, I don't really feel like goin' into it!"

It's much more thorough and beneficial than he'd expected so he stays appropriately and respectfully quiet until the end, noting the ones he's familiar with and a few he'd heard of but not given proper names to. The vampires, werewolves, and faes get special note, having to fight to keep his expression neutral when they're mentioned. Alliances and pleasant speeches aside, he's yet to feel like there are many groups he shouldn't consider enemies and he's willing to wager on where the most dangerous individuals are.

"I see... What a busy woman." At least he's not harassing Heiji for his own personal information again, though that's not a subject he'll drop for good anytime soon. Besides, Heiji's not the only one that can draw certain conclusions from context clues.

"With that many groups, the idea of peace seems pretty farfetched. Do you actually believe that it's possible? Particularly when they're extending their reach in a move that seems like it'd only be taken as an aggression."

"Depends on what ya mean," said Heiji, "But the short answer is no. Do I think one or more groups could take over and enforce their order on the rest of the city, 'end' hostilities that way? Sure. But could that same group somehow manage to maintain order without pushin' someone else around or relegating them to the background? Nah. Not anytime soon, anyway. There's a lot of bad blood around here, and that's not going to be easy to paper over. If it ever does happen, it's going to require a lot of hard work."

Heiji tapped his temple thoughtfully. "But it's not like it's all or nothing. The London right now ain't all-out war, and I think that's a good thing."

"Perhaps." Sasuke turns his head back to that screen, the slide showcasing a history project done on the spread of vampirism throughout London. Fitting, perhaps.

"I'm not going to pretend to be some kind-hearted activist that cares about the widespread majority. That conflict is best avoided but I don't anticipate having any kind of role in preventing it... and even still everything about this night gives me a bad feeling."

Don't worry, Sasuke. No one was ever going to mistake you for a diplomat...

"Yeah?" said Heiji. "Just general sudden-unexpected-land grab bad feelings, or somethin' else?" He was hoping this wouldn't affect this workplace too much; he liked the cafe.

"That's not enough for you? It's like you said, one group in power is never a good thing. Perhaps I didn't study your authors in school, but I studied enough history." Just not supernatural history apparently.

"Nah, I was just wonderin' if you heard something else," said Heiji. After all, you never knew where your next big tip might come from.

"By the way, if you ain't formally schooled, I wouldn't mess around with dark magic and such. You can get yourself into trouble like that." No buying puzzle boxes off creepy old men at the bazaar...

I'm really bad about trusting creepy old men; this is going to be a problem.

"Got it." As in he understands your advice. Not that he's necessarily going to take it. We'll see. "Perhaps I'm new to this community but don't underestimate me. I'm not a child that needs guidance." Well.

"Oh, that's right! You got such a baby face that I keep forgettin'!" Sasuke seemed like such a sensitive soul. One might wonder how he'd gotten so defensive about everything and how Heiji could help. Or one might decide to just roll with it. Sasuke: eternal twelve-year-old, GOT IT.

"I'm serious, though; you could get yourself into one of them monkey's paw situations."

It takes a considerable amount of willpower for him not to touch his own face and feel out any possible roundness in his face. Already he pledges internally to work out even more than he does; thank you for possibly causing the future hospitalization of my character.

Wait.

"... monkey paw."

Was that a question? A comment? Sasuke's expression was not helping out here, so Heiji smiled helpfully at him.

Work those abs bro.

Maybe it was an insult. Like 'you are a monkey paw, you monkey paw'.

"What the hell are you talking about."

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