Light Wins

Nobody was quite sure what to do with the relic or how to "turn it off". It's spirit was committed to performing it's function, so Tetsuko couldn't just ask it nicely to stop. Finally, Vincent had the brainstorm to check Nattradr's clothing and found his journal.

I flipped through the pages as fast as I could (which is really fast) and figured out what we needed to do. We had to "snuff out" the "fuse" which was the growing darkness. So, we decided to recreate Tetsuko's trick with the reflective surfaces in the elevator and I told Vincent to get the mirrors from the restrooms.

It worked. The light bounced around the elevator where we put the relic and it amplified (physics can suck it) and a bright beam of light shot forth, out the window and up into the sky, dispelling the darkness and clearing the clouds. I didn't realize it was supposed to be daylight. It felt good to feel the sun again.

Our job finished, Amaterasu, Tetsuko's mother, arrived to congratulate us and she healed me enough to stand on my own power. I also feel... different. Like my ichor got thicker. I'm still banged up, though. I need some rest and relaxation. I'm thinking someplace warm and sunny. Maybe Florida. Or the Bahamas. Or Cancune. Or Hawai'i. Or....

Bent, Broken, Unbowed

I still hurt all over.

I'm still not sure whether what I did was smart or really stupid.

We started to take the battle to Nattrador, the svartalfar leader. I asked him what the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow was, for confusing effect. Tetsuko and Vincent capitalized on what I'd done and smacked him good. Or, well, it should have, but he didn't take that damage, instead getting hit out of his clothes and out of Vincent's grasp.

He appeared behind me and quipped "African or European?" he thought he was so damn clever. He held me out over the edge of the building. I wasn't about to be a damsel in distress. Being the weakest one had been enough of a liability and I made sure that underestimating me was the last mistake the svartalfar made.

I retorted, "I don't know that." and I grabbed him in turn, got my heels on the edge of the building and pulled for all I was worth. We tumbled down the side of the building and I think he did that shadow-stepping trick again, which is the only thing that kept both of us from becoming street-pizza.

I think nearly every bone in my body was broken. The bastard was still alive and I'd landed ontop of him. I grabbed my dagger and cut the bastard's throat before collapsing. Then Vincent yanked me off the street with his arm wrappings and pulled me up to a landing a few stories up. He needs to learn how to handle the injured, I can't describe how much that hurt.

He bound me up and carried me on his back as he climbed up the side of the building back to the top. When we got there, Tetsuko was talking to the spirit of the relic that we were seeking. I just wish they'd take the damn thing rather than being all cautious about it. I just want to rest in a bed for a month. I made Tetsuko promise not to lecture me about this, later.

Fighting in Cramped Spaces

We all came-to in the lobby, I wasn't the only one to have visions of speaking to my parent. Now I wonder if it wasn't just another one of the svartalfar's tricks. Anyway, we made our way to the elevators to start the ride to the top.

Well, I say "we" but really it was Tetsuko and myself. Vincent smashed his way through the first floor ceiling. Even taking the stairs would be more efficient than that. I swear, he acts before thinking.

We picked Vincent up on the second floor and continued the ride up. He didn't think we'd be safe in an elevator, and to an extent, he was right, but not for the reasons he thought. Most of the way up, the lighting cut out and Tetsuko used her mirror to shed some sunlight for us to see... and a pair of Shinobi had slipped into the darkness inside the elevator with us.

Once again, I proved to be totally useless, unable to hit even one that Vincent had grappled with. I'm thinking about returning this sword to my sister and seeing about a firearm of some kind.

Anyway, the brawl was short and brutal, the two proper warriors ending the shinobi pretty quickly (especially after Tetsuko summoned more sunlight to injure the shinobi). We stepped out of the elevator into such blackness that even Tetsuko's sunlight could barely illuminated.

Then we heard the svartalfar's voice calling out and the sound of him drawing his weapons.

Damn

Well, that mead hall wasn't one of our enemies' tricks, though it could have come at a better time. My father has really inappropriate timing, despite his claims otherwise. God, that... did not go well.

So, Loki shows up to have a "Father+Daughter Sit-Down Dinner" with me... right when we need to be doing something rather important. I typically don't go into exactly what was said, but... well, life is going to be much harder now... though I'm through giving a shit about my safety.

Aren says, "Fine, if only to get this over with so I can rejoin my companions." She sits down at the table.

"Are you sure that's what you want?"  His tone is mild, and his expression gives no deeper insight as to what he might mean.  Though he does pick up a pitcher, silently offering to poor her a horn full of mead.

It didn't take long for him to start feeding me this bullshit. Trying to make me doubt myself, my companions, and what I was doing. All under the guise of "Fatherly Advice". All the while ignoring my comments about New York about to be devoured by the orb.

"It never ends, you know."

Aren says, "It...?"

"How have the others treated you?  Alanna, Morgan, Tetsuko..."

Aren says, "Tetsuko's warmed up to me, but... Alanna and Moira...."

"Alanna and Moira what?"

"They've been pretty mean spirited... Alanna especially."

"Yes, rather judgemental.  And you saw how Alanna acted towards me, as well."

Aren says, "Well, you ARE her wife's ex."

"And I'm Loki, the Lie-Smith.  That terrible, untrustworthy fellow  who'll doom us all."  He doesn't bother to hide the hints of bitterness creeping into his tone.  "Don't you think ~that~ had something to do with it?"

I get it, ever since the myth of Ragnarok was penned, Loki's been cast as the bad-guy in everything from Marvel Comics to bad fan-fiction. This boils down to his bruised ego talking. Confronting him about his expectations of me only yielded vague answers about how he wanted me to "be able to see the truth." Like he wanted me to turn on my companions or something. Well, I let him know exactly how I felt.

Aren is silent as she composes her response, then she fixes him with a hard look, "You know, this is why nobody trusts you. You sit there and anguish over your fate and the fate of your kind, but what do you do? You show up before I have to confront a powerful agent of the titans to tell me that my existance is doomed to being on the recieiving end of abuse just because you decided to knock up some random mortal." she stands up, pushing her chair over in the process, "Send me back, NOW. No matter what you say, I have an obligation to help those I'm traveling with to save one of the largest cities on the planet. I care about the mortal stock I came from, I grew up in the dregs of society and I'm not going to let your centuries of bitterness keep me from doing what's right."

I touched a nerve.

The fire roars in the hearth as Loki surges to his feet.  His face a mask of anger as the heat in the room becomes suddenly suffocating.  "Have you forgotten who you are dealing with?!  What I know, the patterns I've seen, what I'm capable of?!"

Aren glares at him, "Go ahead, threaten me with your godly powers because I insulted you. You don't give a shit about the world, only your own pride. Otherwise, you'd be here to truely help me, rather than make me doubt the people around me."

He seems to grow larger in your view, even as the surroundings...flicker, almost, maybe.  It happens to quickly to be sure.  "Don't care, you think I don't care?!  If I didn't care you'd still be a street rat running around Europe, set to be trapped with the rest of the world!"

"Then get out of my way and let me do what I have to!"

"You think you can just insult me, ~me~ and demand to waltz away!"   His voice continuing to grow in volume...even as the surroundings flicker again.

Aren snarls, "You're goddamn right I do! You know why? Because I don't give a shit what happens to me! I'm not scared of YOU or ANYTHING!"

Then I found myself snapping out of a trance, back in the Empire State Building's lobby, just seconds before Vincent snapped out of his and then shortly Tetsuko did, too. I guess several divine entities decided that moment was a good time to speak to us.

There's going to be no repairing what I said to my father, but he doesn't get to come into the picture after 20 some years of me living alone, growing up alone, and acting like I owe him anything. He probably doesn't even care about whoever the woman was he got pregnant, she was probably a fling to satisfy his urges.

No, I've always been on my own, and that's only now beginning to change, and I'm not going to let anyone take that from me. I like having Tetsuko around and as much at Moira and Alanna drove me up a wall, I genuinly find myself missing them. Even Vincent, who I've only just met, is a welcome addition to my life. I won't abandon anyone when they need me for something as petty as my pride.

Now What?

The final Tengu was dealt with pretty quickly. I'd had enough of getting knocked around and feeling useless and I unleashed something in me to freeze the Tengu in place with confusion. Tetsuko quickly dispatched it.

Our new companion, Vincent, looks and sounds like he belongs in the early 90s Pro-Wrestling scene. Loud, boisterous, show-boating... yeah (I think Tetsuko got protective of me.. not sure what that was about). At least he can hold himself in a fight. I'm going to need training if I want to do more than flail about in embarassment.

We headed for the Empire State building and ran into roadblocks along the way. Tetsuko carried me on her back so we could keep up with Vincent's gravity-defying jumps, and we took the rooftops around the roadblocks. When we got to the doors the svartalfar confronted us again.

Threats were exchanged and I insulted his love-making skills. Oh yeah, I cut him good on that. He tried to get one in back at me, but his attempt sucked. I feel a bit vindicated, but I made sure he knew that I'd take him down.

He disappeared when Vincent went to swing at him. So, we went inside and all of a sudden I found myself in a norse-style mead hall with the table set for two. Tetsuko and Vincent were no longer near me. I'm not going to play along with these damned illusory games.

Urban Jungle

I seem to have this unfortunate ability to loose my clothes at times when I'd rather stay clothed. Mercifully, I can make a new set appear in an instant, but it's still humiliating.

Tetsuko and I climbed Yggdrasil up into Central Park of New York City. I'm still a bit sore. With no idea where to start looking for our support and no clue where the svartalfar would strike, I consulted the bones. I got a prophecy that told me that the svartalfar would enact his ritual from atop the highest point in the city. As to where to find our new companion.... it didn't help much, so we trusted to Fate to guide us and we did cross paths with him.

He was being chased by three Tengu at the time, however.

We joined battle and I made a fool of myself, again, unable to land a single strike, and I was also knocked from my clothing during the fight. Yeah, great way to make a first impression. Tetsuko, being the warrior that she is, was able to dispatch most of the Tengu. Now we have to explain to this new member what we've been through and whats going on before we have our final confrontation with the svartalfar.

I need a vacation... someplace warm...

Family Bonding

We all set out into the bleakness of Erebus.

Not pleasant.

Neither was the storm that overtook us. Purple clouds and strange lighting. Inside the storm we were attacked by strange walking dead. I managed to stick close to Tetsuko and we plunged ahead as we fought them off. Well... she fought them off. I can't swing a sword to save my life.

We heard a voice calling out to us and we stumbled towards it and into Nifilheim. We'd become separated from the Irish girls and were welcomed to the Norse underworld by my nephew. Yeah, I guess I have a nephew. Hjaeld, he called himself. Though I think he caught himself from using his old name. Growing up an orphan and then finding a bunch of lost relatives is a very weird experience. First a father, then a nephew, now a sister.

Hjaeld made a fire for Tetsuko to keep warm and we were taken to Helheim, the abode of Hel, my half-sister (no pun intended and I'm sure she'd probably flay me if she thought I was making a joke at her expenese). I guess this also makes me kin with Fenris and Jormungandr, too. And even Odin for that matter. Once we got shown inside we had to cross a low pool of blood. God that was nasty, we were up to our chests in blood when my sister, sitting on a throne up on a dias started to address us.

I pleaded our case as best I could, with Tetsuko filling in the gaps. We found out that that damned svartalfar (and even Hel knew about my... indiscretion... with him) had perfected his ritual and was targeting New York city. Worse, I found out why we were deposited outside the Titan's prison: because we were inside it. I think the towns that got sent there are lost, and we have to stop the next ritual.

Hel showed us to the roots of Yggdrasil, the World Tree and told us to climb in order to get back to "Midgard" and stop the svartalfar's plans. We should have help from another child of Amaterasu when we get there. I hate to admit it, but I'm going to miss having Alanna and  Moira around when the final showdown happens.

Not in Kansas Anymore

I had a talk with Tetsuko. She apologized for how she'd been acting. I guess seeing me react to Alanna's barbs made her realize something. I'm not sure I can figure the girl out, sometimes, but she's taken to calling me -chan so I guess that's a step in the right direction. She's also starting to teach me Japanese, which is nice.

Anyway, the Irish girls got back with some volunteers and we began the ritual. It was a lengthy bloodletting ceremony and I led it. I was mostly flying by what felt right and what I knew of old lore. And it worked. Sort of...

We were enveloped in blackness and found ourselves in Erebus; the massive gray plain in the center of the underworld. Yeah, we were right next to the shattered prison of the Titans. That was a bit scary. Worse, though, it's not just us Scions in the underworld: the mortals came with us and there's no sign of the town.

At Alanna's suggestion I cast the bones and I was granted a real vision this time. I saw three possibilities: We cross the plain and end up in either Yomi, Nifilheim, or... I forget the name of the third. Alanna knew what it was. Either way, once we make it out of any of those underworlds, we meet a massive stone figure.

We're all at a loss, right now. We don't know if we should set out or wait or what. I'm going to ask Moira if she can use her mystical abilities to grant us some insight so we can figure out our next course of action.

AAARRGG!

I find myself wondering just why the hell my father grouped me up with these people.

Am I undergoing some test of patience? To see how long I can endure the verbal snipes from people I'm supposed to be calling my comrades? Is this in object lesson in how the Aesir feel about him?

I'm pacing around the top of the mountain we appeared in, helping Hiroku, the Scion of Hatchiman we rescued, plot out the method of a ritual we're going to try to hopefully get us and the town home. Tetsuko is standing nearby, keeping guard, though she keeps glancing at me.

I know what she's thinking. It's not hard to figure out what manner of things she was saying whenever the subject of the svartalfar comes up. It's probably the Japanese equivalent of "whore". She gives me dirty looks whenever that comes up. Alanna doesn't even have the courtesy to hide her comments behind a language I don't speak. Moira seems to be the only one who isn't out to make me feel unwanted.

Long story short, we had Hiroku use his powers of Psychopomp (finding places, going between worlds, ferrying the spirits of the dead) to lead us back to the mountain and to a spot where the connection between this world and the real world is strong. We started to spitball ideas when Alanna decided to let me know that she holds me responsible for the mess we're in.

Yes, it all comes down to the fact that I was getting fucked when the girls rushed in to bail me out. Never mind that I was in there alone. Never mind that I was inches from blowing my cover. Never mind my life was on the line. Noooo. All I was after (apparently) was some svartalfar cock.

Then she gives me this speech essentially laying blame on me for dumping the town in HER lap, like it's HER sole responsibility to make sure the people survive. That if she doesn't she might as well let her mother sacrifice her. There's a reason I'm venting here, because that just sounded like the biggest pile of selfish bullshit I've ever heard.

I'm furious, right now, I can hardly think straight. Though I think I've made up my mind: I'm seeing this thing through to the end, I wont abandon anyone, but once this crisis is over, I'm gone.

Tetsuko is approaching me.

Great... now what?

Going Underground... Again

I need to find out if theres some way to increase my power reserves, changing form is really taxing. So much so that I could have really used it. It would have been handy to change into something big and unbelievable. I guess I should explain.

When we gathered back together, Alanna and I had gathered material for going underground (I can't tell you how tired I am of going down into dark holes in the earth) and we were faced with a crowd of scared and confused mortals. The girls (Well, Moira and Alanna) insisted I tell a big fat lie to lull everyone into a sense of false security. Ugh, just because I'm the Lie-Smith's daughter doesn't mean I enjoy misleading people.

Anyway, I told a fair approximation of the truth. I told the crowd who we were, what happened, and what we needed to do... with no divine influence on my words. Proof was needed, so I started ice skate across the pavement. That helped. Then Alanna took over, giving orders, while Moira and I divided up the gathered people. Alanna also grabbed a few that stepped forward to lead and gave them instructions.

With the townsfolk doing what they needed to last a few days in this Terra Incognita, we went back to the dome and headed undergound. We encountered some giant, but cute, ferrets. The led us to their master, a Scion of Hatchiman, that had been imprisoned. We let Tetsuko talk to him. I don't think we learned much that was useful, he'd ended up trapped there in a similar manner as us.

Fortunately, we learned that the two tengu we killed were the only guards, so we should have free-run of the base we're now in. Hopefully we can find this "Stormy Key" that my vision spoke of. Then, maybe, we can find a way home.

Stuck in Nowhere

Getting dropped into an unknown location, totally naked, is not a fun thing. Good thing I can make more clothes as I want. Though, where we are... is weird.

I don't know hot Terra Incognita work, but as I understand it, they're like... sub-worlds. You can get to them from the world, but they exist apart from it. So, there should be a way back. What disturbs me the most, though, is how much "alike" this space is. It looks like where we started, but its empty of life. In the "no animals" sense.

We started a long walk back to where Standish would have been and found an odd clearing, roughly the size of the town. I consulted the bones and got some direction for what to do when the town appeared. Moira nearly broke my concentration by telling me how attractive the svartalfar look made me and suggested I keep it (Yeah, no...). I have to keep it for now, though. It takes a lot of energy to change forms.

Once the town appeared we decided to get going on the task of finding a "new house of bars" that my vision told me. Asking around and checking phone books got us nowhere (for the record, we set in motion getting the people together to help them deal with the circumstances as, very quickly, people will start to panic). Though, we did hear rumors of an odd building in the center of town.

It was an odd concrete dome. Well, we let the heavy hitters bust the door down. Alanna was getting antsy and Tetsuko looked like she was still agitated from before (more to the point, she was getting aggressive with Moira. I'm not sure what has gotten under her skin so bad, but she was really upset). So, I stood back and let the fighters have at it.

I think I froze up. I hadn't really gotten to watch them fight and it was like a whirlwind of death. At one point, Alanna got stabbed through the chest by one of the Tengu that were inside. I thought she was dead, but her wound sealed up in seconds. Moira was royally pissed and jumped the Tengu with her cat claws. Then Tetsuko and Alanna double-bisected the second one. I just stood back holding my ice sword.

We decided we needed to get a few more supplies and Alanna and Tetsuko started bantering in Japanese. I don't know about what, but it was about me. Alanna whispered it to Moira who blurted out that Tetsuko said something about having her way with me. I know those two Irish girls like to exaggerate, but I couldn't help but be emberassed. Poor Tetsuko isn't very good at taking teasing, but I tried to half-jokingly tell Tetsuko that, despite the events with the svartalfar, that I'm not easy and would like dinner and drinks, first.

She... didn't react as well as I'd hoped.

Now, because of that, it seems the Irish girls have taken it upon themselves to get Tetsuko and me together. She's a cute girl but.. I don't know... she's really intense and so proper...

Ahem, anyway, I'm not going to think about it, I don't have a snowball's chance in hell at getting with Tetsuko. So, I'll just focus on getting what we need while Alanna continues to rib at me and while Moira and Tetsuko see to getting fed.

Sonofva....

I had it. In my hand. I almost got out. Then things happened.

The alarm trick worked like a charm and caused the distraction I needed to palm the artifact and shadow it with my illusion powers. I tried to excuse myself, but the svartalfar decided he wanted some companionship... I knew I should have disguised myself as a guy... but then, I'm not sure that would have stopped him either.

I did EVERYTHING I could think of to excuse myself. Ever girl-trick in the book. Getting food, freshening up, getting prepared for his desires... I even kneed him in the crotch. Nothing worked.

I knew the girls were on the way, I'd managed to tip them with a textless text message as our signal that I was in trouble. Well... there was no harm in enjoying myself, right? And... he was quite good....

Though, when they showed up, Tetsuko seemed quite agitated. What the hell was I supposed to do? Blow my cover and get killed?

A scuffle ensued and the svartalfar got the orb away from me (after I'd attempted to get a strike in on him during the fight). That pissed me off, all that work... for nothing. He completed whatever he was chanting and everything went black.

When vision returned, we were in the same place, but no furnishings and it was just us.

Crap.

Tetsuko's still giving me the evil eye... great... is everyone in this group going to be on my case?

Disguises and Distractions

So we sat down and did some figuring. I rolled the bones and got some hints about where we needed to go and what we would be up against. A mountain to the west and there would be bad guys and the relic being used to abduct towns. Though Moira was able to get more exact details than I was, at least my prophesying was able to give her a direction to start with.

The real trick was getting in and getting what we needed and getting out. Of course, there were calls for storming the enemy base, but we didn't have exact directions, nor was I up for another raid that could get someone hurt or killed. So, I convinced them to let me use some subterfuge to get what we needed.

Moira had learned there would be svartalfar in the mountain, as well as your usual fair of big, dumb, giants, as well as some Tengu. So, that meant the svartalfar would be in charge. Using some new abilities to control my appearance, I made myself look like a svartalfar. Kinda crazy, right?

I tricked some giants along the way into showing me to the cave, using the explosion in town as my cover story. It took a while to get there and when I got to the cave in the mountain, I strode in like I was on a mission (because I was). I got in to the boss, another svartalfar, and sitting next to him was a small dark globe, the artifact we needed.

With the girls waiting outside, I needed a distraction to make a commotion in order to make a grab for it. So, I used my connection to the forces of chaos to get a bit of inspiration and shield myself from the mayhem I was about to cause. I "tripped" and hit an alarm on the wall (what a mountain hideout is doing with an intruder alarm on the wall, I have no idea).

Now I just gotta get the globe away from him...

Arguments and Explosions

Sometimes, I wonder why I'm even here.

For all that talking we did at the table, it was ultimately decided to ignore the task of retrieving a book from the catskills and head off to the next target. Moira did some sort of ritual that gave her some insight into events deeper than my bone-rolling could offer and lets us know where the next town to be targeted was.

Alanna wanted to set out right away and not bother with the job Loki gave us. She and I got into it. Her solution was to just kill the professor and not waste time. I'm sorry, but what the hell? Outright murder someone? Is this woman completely amoral? According to Moira, it's all the Morrigan's "rearing methods" fault. My arguments that pissing off the Norse trickster God would be a bad idea also seemed to fall on deaf ears. Finally I managed to let Alanna give me a few minutes to convince the professor he was wrong and we could be on our way.

It was a simple matter to convince the professor that I was a fellow scholar and convince him his results with the Kensington Stone were wrong and set him on his quest for answers all over again.

We drove to the town and we stopped at a seedy hotel where Alanna had some personal business to take care of . She was out to off her grandfather who'd killed her father. Yes, I'm a little annoyed. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind that she's getting revenge for murder with murder, but it's okay for her to do her mother's personal errand but not my dad's? I think she just wants to spite Loki, regardless of the consequences.

So, I sat in the car where Moira and chatted about how messed up Alanna is. Alanna seemed to think I needed a talking to about "necessary evils". Did line's get crossed somewhere? Even Moira seemed to think I was mad about her wanting to kill her grandfather, but it was the willingness to murder the professor that had me angry.

Anyway, Alanna and Tetsuko came back after a couple of minutes, telling us to evacuate the hotel. So, Moira and I got people running off and we drove away. Then the upper floor of the hotel exploded. Just what the hell happened up there?