On the Misty Streets of Nightmare (RP Thread)

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"My brothers and sisters, let us pray".

As one, the gathered men and women bowed their heads in reverence, kneeling on pews made of artificial wood and a floor of cold stone. Before them stood a simple podium with an old, leatherbound book occupying pride of place; its verses were written in thin and spidery letters. The speaker, a woman of no more than 30 years with soft green eyes, traced the letters with a single dusky finger. Behind her was a simple altar covered with a white cloth and two candles, their flames dancing back and forth in contrast to the steady electric lights spread throughout the rest of the church.

"My father in the heavenly light, I serve you and only you. Here before you I empty my heart, that I might fill it only with honesty and goodness, and fulfill the sacred duty that you have given me on this Earth. Humbly I ask that you shield me as I walk, for everywhere around me there is naught but shadow and flame. Your will is my will. Your purpose is my purpose..."

When the prayer had ended, the speaker lifted her eyes. Her simple grey habit trailed slightly as she walked down the steps from the podium to the main floor, level with her precious flock. Silently, a man and a woman fell in behind her from their positions on either side of the church. Their air of forbidding almost overwhelmed the aura of welcome from their charge. Almost, but not quite.

"Come, approach me my brothers and sisters, and I will try to ease your pain."

Elsewhere

A sickly purple glow engulfed the doors and windows of Carter's, a bank on the east end of the city. A group of around 10 men in faceless red masks and black clothing rushed in carrying an assortment of rifles and submachine guns. Another followed them in, but his mask was different. It resembled a smiling jester's face. The trenchcoat he wore was covered from the collar down in black arcane designs and he traced symbols of power through the air.

Like clockwork, the goons fanned out and began pointing their weapons at the bank's innocent patrons, forcing them to their knees with barked orders and manhandling. Within minutes, they had control of the entire floor. Their leader with the jester mask stepped into the middle and paused momentarily to adjust his coat.

"This bank is now under the control of the Black Lodge. Empty the tills and vaults. Now."

Elsewhere still

Fog rolled in around the streets of the Empty Quarter. A poor section of town, it was all that remained of the old Arkham City, back before the forces of capitalism had caused it to develop into a hustling and bustling metropolis. Not a terribly appropriate name, at least not to a young artist on her way home from work. She shivered, in spite of the warm summer air, and her eyes darted back and forth, eyeing every shadow and every corner. She had no idea that the one who commissioned the job would go to these lengths to ensure that it was done, including sending "them" after her.

Her pace quickened, even as she came to the realization that she would never be fast enough to escape from "them". The old man wouldn't be around to protect her a second time and she knew better than to ignore his advice. She had to get to a room with no corners. In her mind she could hear "them" snarling and snapping at her heels. Almost too late.

edited 8th May '13 5:28:45 PM by HouraiRabbit

An man with greying hair and a trench coat walked through the fog, holding in one hand, a revolver. The other, a cane, he heard a scream and started to dash towards the orgin.

edited 8th May '13 7:22:08 PM by TroyandHawk

A young man wearing a windbreaker and a BMW-made safety helmet was traveling down the road on his gray 2013 BMW F700GS, leading towards Arkham City, moving as fast as possible.

The Center could've gotten someone, but they had to get me out of university work instead. Good thing it's just a lecture period for most of the day in Ateneo tomorrow or I'm dead if the prof decides to give a test.

The Asian youth sighed as he worked on the motorcycle's throttles to reduce speed as turned on a curve in the road. He received information from Center intelligence that something was going down. Something big.

"I better get there in time. Let's hope the Center does send in reinforcements in time."

Monica looked down at her latest ritual subject with an eerie smile on her face.

'There, there, honey, it'll be over soon. Think of it as helping me with research.'

The subject stared back at her with a frantic expression.

'But I don't understand! Why did you pick me?! I never did anything to you!'

Monica just smiled bemusingly back at him.

'Honey, I pick people because it's their turn to help me with research. And guess what~? It's your turn today~.'

She proceeded to make several arcane incisions on his abdomen before chanting in an alien language as her subject trashed about, trying to free himself. When she finished chanting, she waited for a few minutes to see if her research came to fruition before her subject exploded.

She stared at the bloody mess for a minute before exploding in anger.

'Damn it! I thought he would be fucking suitable! Now I have to go and find someone else to help me with my research. This puts me days behind schedule! DAYS!'

She flings a stool across the room in sheer anger, before stalking off to pick someone off the streets.

Clark Philips Howard

Meanwhile, not far from the site of the robbery, a student of the Miskatonic U felt the ground beneath him shiver. Clark sighed. Please be an earthquake, please be an earthquake...

He looked up into the sky, and saw the smoke billowing up from the bank. Leftovers of an explosion. A terrorist attack. Which meant... He sighed with exasperation. "Black Lodge."

The terrorist group known as Black Lodge. A cabal of cultists, gangsters, murderers, and psychopaths, each of them more dangerous on their own than an entire police squadron. They ran this city, even if no one would say it. They took what they wanted, killed who they wanted, and destroyed what they didn't. Arkham's finest tried to fight back of course, but in the end, armored cars and some amateur sorcerers were never enough to stand up to destroyer robots. This was just a fact of life in Arkham, and everyone dealt with it in their own way. Clark? Clark had learned the best thing to do was to just stay the fuck clear of them.

Black Lodge, the evil cult that had a hold on the city of Arkham. A dangerous group that dwelled in the Other. An Evil force that had to be cleansed from the World.

However... no one stood up to them. There was no one to blame for that. It was only natural to fear those stronger than you, to fear the unknown.

There can't be any change if no one is willing to fight for it.

These were the words of Mafteah's original Master. A strong, charistmatic man if a bit proud. Even if misguided, he knew what justice meant, he knew how to fight for the greater good and for the World. So the Grimoire, The Key of Solomon, took it upon herself to fight for the greater good for the Arkham City even if it was by herself.

O thou ALMIRAS, Master of Invisibility, with thy Ministers CHEROG, MAITOR, TANGEDEM, TRANSIDIM, SUVANTOS, ABELAIOS, BORED, BELAMITH, CASTUMI, DABUEL; I conjure ye by Him Who maketh Earth and Heaven to tremble...

Through these sacred words, the grimoire's presence completely faded from the World. She could no longer be detected by the five senses or through magic. However, if she were to come into contact with another living thing, the spell would shatter.

With the spell finished, the grimoire wormed her way into the first room of the bank. She simply observed now and waited for the right time to strike.

At the Bank

The tellers fell meekly into line. It's not that they feared the Black Lodge (which, admittedly, they did), but mere paper money was not risking one's life over especially given the unimaginable tortures that they could devise for people who opposed them. Plus, it was the bank's policy for employees not to resist and only trigger the alarm if they could do so without getting caught. Unsurprisingly, someone had tried in the first instant but the spell had cut off all communications with the outside world.

Slowly, bags of money and the contents of safe deposit boxes were laid on the floor in front of the sorcerer. His mask hid his true expression, but his tone of voice betrayed the sense of urgency.

"Hurry up! Give us everything or I swear I will destroy you all and consign your souls to the Darkness of N'kai!"

The Empty Quarter

As Daniel moved down the street, he was greeted by the sound of snarling and snapping — like dogs, and yet not. There was definitely something other about them. The fog grew thicker up ahead, but he could still hear the faint sound of screaming.

While on her evening prowl, Monica heard the same.

Daniel drew his sabre,

"Away demons! Back to your dark masters!"

He aimed his pistol in the direction of the scream,

"Leave the lady be. Or be sent into hell."

This is no way for Mark Lao to rest up on a good day...

Mark continued to drive his motorcycle as he passed by the sign that greeted travelers on their presence in Arkham City. Right now, he had no time to do what tourists do.

"Is that someone on the bank roof?"

For some reason, the Center agent got a bad feeling that something has happened sine someone was on top of the bank. No police officers were present and the streets near the bank was too quiet.

He decided to park the motorbike a short distance from the bank and took out a pair of binoculars to inspect the bank's exterior after he flipped up the helmet's visor to get a good look.

These fools. These idiots. Robbing the bank was one thing but threatening to the lives of innocent people just doing their job is another.

Such..., Mafteah kept her thoughts to herself. Now it was the time to strike. To do away with this evil that plagued the streets of Arkham City. She would rather die than watch this for another second.

"Seraph. Kerub. Ariel. Tharsis." Mafteah chanted the name of the four Elemental Rulers. A magic circle of exotic◊ design appeared before her that promised the protection of all human and earthly dangers. If bullets were fired, they would fall to the ground before even hitting the girl.

"I will put an end to this charade in the name of my former Master King Solomon, in the name of the World and its laws, I will end your lives here and NOW!"

edited 12th May '13 1:44:46 PM by RagnatheSaviour

"Oh crap!"

Mark immediately got off his bike and made sure to park it in a public area. He took off his helmet and windbreaker, revealing President Security Group Urban Brick camos with a combat vest worn over his chest.

"Always love dressing up for the perfect occasion." Mark said sarcastically, unslinging the G36C compact assault rifle from the back with a mounted red dot sight. The Center agent moved in and shouldered the weapon while he began to approach the building, using the parked cars and vans for cover.

Monica stalked through the streets looking for a new research subject when she heard the faint noise of screaming and closer, what sounded like dogs snarling at a target. Curious, despite herself, she took out her pistol and headed into the ominous-looking fog.