Jeanne d'Arc (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
orleanide) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
gocirclegogo2013-12-06 07:40 pm
orleanide) wrote in gocirclegogo2013-12-06 07:40 pm
Clash of Cults
[Tonight on Victorian London: Emerald edition, we bring you a normal everyday ritual.
For the most part.
Under an abandoned church - the remains of the Order of Dagon - a new group has set up their own gathering. Shrouded in dark hoods, at least twenty people have been separated into groups of three or so with an overseer for each.
In short: it's sort of like a classroom for cultists. Most of these people are new and trying to harness the energy from the rift that infamously goes through London. Surely their god will be pleased. But before they try the main event, they really need to get their newbies into shape. Just going through some basic summonings and magical exercises, nothing that should be too bad.
Enter a problem: See that weirdly shiny relic in the center of these destroyed, watery ruins? Another cult happens to believe that belongs to their God. That cult is currently waiting in the shadows for a moment to strike and attempt to steal it. So maybe they ruined this harmless practice session on purpose or maybe the rift in spacetime was too much for the newbies to handle. Either way, their summoning doesn't go...right. It gives cult number two over there a chance to run in, magic ready.
So where does this leave you?
Maybe you were just summoned in. Maybe you were spying. Maybe you were invited as a witness to the training session. Maybe you were passing by when fireworks started blasting out of the church ruins.
Either way you should probably get out of here. There are strangely spacious sewer exits against the right wall, definitely wide enough for people to go through. There are crumbling stairs and doors going to winding catacombs. Maybe you can follow some of the escaping cultists and hope they don't turn on you. Maybe someone will rescue you.
All of it is up to you.]
For the most part.
Under an abandoned church - the remains of the Order of Dagon - a new group has set up their own gathering. Shrouded in dark hoods, at least twenty people have been separated into groups of three or so with an overseer for each.
In short: it's sort of like a classroom for cultists. Most of these people are new and trying to harness the energy from the rift that infamously goes through London. Surely their god will be pleased. But before they try the main event, they really need to get their newbies into shape. Just going through some basic summonings and magical exercises, nothing that should be too bad.
Enter a problem: See that weirdly shiny relic in the center of these destroyed, watery ruins? Another cult happens to believe that belongs to their God. That cult is currently waiting in the shadows for a moment to strike and attempt to steal it. So maybe they ruined this harmless practice session on purpose or maybe the rift in spacetime was too much for the newbies to handle. Either way, their summoning doesn't go...right. It gives cult number two over there a chance to run in, magic ready.
So where does this leave you?
Maybe you were just summoned in. Maybe you were spying. Maybe you were invited as a witness to the training session. Maybe you were passing by when fireworks started blasting out of the church ruins.
Either way you should probably get out of here. There are strangely spacious sewer exits against the right wall, definitely wide enough for people to go through. There are crumbling stairs and doors going to winding catacombs. Maybe you can follow some of the escaping cultists and hope they don't turn on you. Maybe someone will rescue you.
All of it is up to you.]
no subject
[It's fortunate she walked in. Otherwise she probably wouldn't know where the exit was either -- is it okay for her to grab his hand? She's not really concerned so much with the implications as she is with the fact that she doesn't actually know him. It's strange. Something about him just feels comfortable.
There's no time to really think about it, though. So she gently tugs at his sleeve to get him to follow her.]
no subject
[ wahhh, he doesn't seem to mind it at all, and follows like a good rescuee (though still mindful of his surroundings since. being too carefree might be a bad idea right now). it's true he felt a little bit -- safer? calmer, maybe? -- around her despite how anxious he'd been just a few moments before, but he figures it's just relief. he'd pretty much be willing to follow anyone out if they said they knew the way.
he tries to keep pace with her so she doesn't have to keep tugging him, since he figures that might be troublesome to keep track of with all the commotion. he'd definitely have to thank her properly when the situation was less urgent, though. ]
no subject
So it's good that all he can see is her back.
But using them for this long paired with the pace she had to keep up is exhausting. They're barely out the door when she collapses, slumped against the church wall.]
P-Phew...
Um... are you okay...?
no subject
not entirely unexpected, considering he led a completely sedentary lifestyle, but the second they came to a stop his legs gave out from under him, as if his body were scolding him for forgetting he had to be more careful. he manages to catch himself for an easy landing, but he's still panting pretty hard as he supports himself on his hands. ]
I, ah...
[ oh jeez, how embarrassing. he takes a few more moments to mentally comb through his bodily sensations for anything potentially urgent, catching his breath before he tries again. ]
I-I'm fine...! A... are you...?
[ you look really tired he wants to add, but he can't manage it. ]
no subject
[Tell her about sedentary lifestyles, kid. She remembers the last time she ran like this very vividly, although she desperately wishes she didn't. Her hands ball into tiny fists at the thought, but both of them escaped with their lives this time.]
a little tired...
[But there's no time to rest. If they can just make it to the emergency exit -- sewers? -- then they can stop. They won't be safe until they get home, but it'll be safer to rest if their backs aren't facing the place they came from. Breath ragged, she stands up on a trembling pair of legs (buckling already, but she won't let them) and extends her hand.]
no subject
[ get it together, haruka!! you're not the only person who's tired. while he couldn't just ignore the matter of his health, he'd heard that slowing your run to a stop was better for your heart than just stopping after intensive activity, so putting in just a little more effort would actually be a good thing, probably?
not that they had much of a choice in this situation, but thinking about it like that reassured him a little. if he had some kind of complication here, he'd trouble the girl who went out of her way to save him...
he takes her hand as a gesture of accepting her help, but for the most part he manages to push himself up, letting go when he feels a little more steady on his feet. the wobbling is mostly slight. ]
I can handle it from here, thanks. Let's just do our best.
no subject
[She gives a little weak, weary smile in kind before she picks up her pace. ... Well, "picks up" is a poor turn of phrase for it, because there's no way either of them will be able to run like they just did for a while. The engine starts up and proceeds towards its destination at what'd look like a leisurely pace to any outside viewer, and putters out as soon as they're safe in the sewer exit.
When the adrenaline stops running it finally dawns on her. She still can't believe she actually ran in there and saved someone.]
... We should be okay now...?