11775/A Mystical Mystery..

A Mystical Mystery..
Date of Scene:	27 June 2022
Location:	Columbus Park
Synopsis:	Megan, Daniel and Tetsuya search an open market for a powerful and dangerous artefact.
Cast of Characters:	Megan Gwynn, Tetsuya Wakao, Daniel Ketch

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Megan Gwynn has posed:
There have been rumours lately, surrounding an ancient Japanese legend regarding a powerful and evil Samurai lord who had once terrorized parts of Japan over one thousand years ago. Although details were fuzzy, one thing was certain: A secret Japanese society known better as the Yakuza was after pieces of his mystic armour, which, if all pieces are collected, can supposedly house his vengeful spirit and perhaps bring him under their control..

Fast forward to today, a warm sunny day in Columbus park where an Asian street festival market is full under way. While it's approaching evening and many tents have already closed down for the day, a few booths still linger..Could one such artefact be found in a place like this? There had been rumours of a certain booth, selling rare, ancient artefacts including some pieces of armour..

Megan is here of course, having heard something or other through her own contacts, although she's also enjoying some window shopping on a lovely summer evening. So much to look at, so many pretty shinies!

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Japanese mystic armor, cursed. Oh definitely something that shouldn't be out. Instead of Ryujin, Tetsuya is on loan because of his unique skills if it gets out. That's lead to his assignment to try to get at least one of the pieces or two so said evil warlord can not be resurrected. It'd be a bad thing.

That's left him in his rather regular clothes as he wanders the festival, sampling food here and there on his budget and currently going around with some yakitori. Fried chicken on a stick as he looks around.

One of his informants told him of a booth with rare artefacts of all things, so that's what lead him to this area. Especially as he knew a sign or two to look for on the armor.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
And although Daniel is not a fan of Japanese culture (he blames that to ninjas trying to kill him) the rumor he has heard is the Deathwatch clan is interested in something that is being sold in this market.

Which makes some sense. Smuggling something illegal here wouldn't be too hard. City hall inspectors can be bribed. Unfortunately, Danny can't recognize a genuine Japanese historical artefact from a cheap modern Chinese copy to save his life.

But the Ghost Rider probably can, if he comes close to it. So, Danny is perusing weird looking stuff, trying not to look too bored.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn continues to wander about, maybe a bit too distracted with pretty shinies and delicious bubble tea to remember just what she came here for. "Oh, right! Cursed mystical armour.." she murmurs between sips of tea..And then she spies a familiar face and smiles and waves cheerfully at the grumpy antihero. "Heeey Daniel, how's it going?"

As the shoppers bustle about excitedly, a small group performs some lovely taiko drum music to add some rhythmic flair to the colorful market..Thankfully there are only about six booths now, but of those, there are at least two that sell antiques. And of those, only one of those sells genuine antiques while the other sells cheap knock offs.

Most shoppers seem none the wiser, save for one, a dapper dressed middle aged Japanese man with a few streaks of silver in his carefully trimmed hair. He's dressed in a dapper black suit and walks with purpose, snorting at the fake antiques, muttering some not so friendly words to the storekeeper, something akin to 'Moneygrabbing knock off slime, don't waste my time!'

When he strides up to the second antique booth, a slow smile creeps up on his face, pointing to the ancient broken rusted shield displayed on the wall. "I want that shield." he demands of the shopkeeper, his tone a bit too commanding. The shopkeeper nods and starts to take it down. "That will be $1000 sir.."

Hmm, something odd about the black suit man..For those with such senses, he reeks of dark magic..

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Tetsuya happens to spot that. Yep. Mystic senses going haywire around a Japanese man and they said Yakuza clan was after it? Oh yes.

He happens to be walking nearby whenever he hears the man buy something and happens to glance towards it. "Oh, that is a fascinating dou. Where did you find it?" Shields are one thing, but well... everyone knows Japanese warlords rarely used shields. That means he can lean it towards the other main piece of armor. "Do you happen to have any matching pieces from the set?"

Yep. Tetsuya just butting in like it was no problem. Rude Japanese man that he is. Or Americanized. Who can tell. "How much did you say it was again? Perhaps I can make a better offer. I happen to know someone who would happily take such an item for a much more better price. An antique collector, you might say, getting up there in years."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel turns when his name is mentioned, spotting a familiar mop of pink hair. He hehs, reluctantly raising a hand as greeting. "Megan," beat, "funny meeting you here... wait, are you here for business? Because I have a lead on something."

The well-dressed Japanese man is given a suspicious glance. Bad vibes from the suit. Daniel has the mystical senses to notice something wrong, but not the training to know why. He steps back cautiously, listening to Tetsuya as well.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
The shopkeeper chuckles as he holds up the square looking 'shield'. "It's actually a cuirass, but it does look like a shield, especially the round symbol painted on the front. It's a genuine piece worn by a real samurai from from 900 AD named Taira no Masakado. At least according to legend." he looks to Tetsuya and nods, "I'm afraid that's the only piece I was able to acquire. I hear a museum across town has a matching piece however..And yes, I am selling it for $1,000. Are you making a better offer than that?"

The black suit man scowls at Tetsuya, dark eyes narrowed. He may well be Americanized, his accent doesn't sound very Japanese at all. "I don't make deals with the likes of you, and I already purchased it so get lost." he snaps at him, pulling out the cash.

Megan smirks at Daniel, holding up her hands in surrender, "Heey, it's not my fault trouble always finds me! Yeaaah, I was gonna buy that shield..Thingy, but looks like someone beat us to it. The black suit guy though.." she shivers, "I'm getting major bad vibes from him, I don't think he's even human.."

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
Tetsuya raises an eyebrow at that, "$1000 in US? Hm... doubt he would. You said a museum across town, though? I may try there. As interesting as it is, your... buyer here seems like the sort that you would not want to buy from."

A shrug is given as he moves away, but he does glare at the black suit man. As if to say 'watch your back' sort of thing. Tetsuya isn't going too far, though, and keeping an eye on the black suited man very, very subtley. Pulling his phone out, he even takes a not-so-subtle picture or two to make sure and contact his contacts to get more information. A museum is never safe, after all.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Daniel shakes his head. "Probably not," he sort of agrees with Megan. "Not sure he is the one I was looking for either. That shield might be a genuine antique, but... did he say Taira no Masakado? I better write that down," he mutters.

$1000 is not that expensive. Not that Daniel has that kind of pocket money, but it is not much for a genuine piece over a thousand years old. Not likely to be a mystical artefact, just something to put in a case in your dinning room, he guesses. "Maybe we should try to track down that guy, but I... was looking for something else, to be honest."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn frowns, peering at the Cuirass, shaking her head, "Oh, it's genuine alright, it reeks of dark magic! That antique dealer probably just doesn't understand it's real value..We gotta stop him!" She hurries towards the dealer and the booth as the black suited man hands over the cash with a smile. However his ears perk at Megan, Daniel and Tetsuya as if he caught every word they said.

"Do not interfere.." he mutters to the girl. But how annoying, they might try to find the other pieces too. As he grabs the cuirass and slips it into the large plastic bag offered, he snaps his fingers, brushing rudely past Megan with enough force to unbalance her. "Woah, so rude!" she yells after him..

The words are barely out of her mouth when a scream erupts from one of the booths, and people start running..Others are suddenly frozen in blocks of ice. Wait, what?!

"Aaaaah! Monsters! Get away!" shrieks the antique dealer that just sold the cuirass to the black suit guy, as a giant blue furred wolf leaps through the back of his tent, biting his arm and instantly encasing him in a block of ice. Megan turns around and shrieks as well, as another blue furred dire wolf leaps at her, biting her arm and encasing her in a block of ice too.

The same thing happens to others, a total of maybe five giant ice wolves, although black suit seems quite oddly calm as he strolls away..

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
The sudden overgrown wolf attack has Tetsuya's eyes widening. "Well. Guess I found the Yakuza clan. Hm. Shikigami? Maybe?"

He steps back towards the shadows of a tent as he puts his phone away, humming a bit. The five giant wolves are all around. So he can only back into one tent. And he's regretting that he doesn't really have anti-ice weapons now. Upgrading his gear with some actual possible lethal weapons would be something to do in the future one of these days.

Instead of like a sword or something, he pulls out a pair of tonfa. Wooden police batons with the side handle.

"Here, doggies. Say, if I beat you five do I get some nun chucks or something? That guy in that video game did with a big one." Tetsuya says to them.

He's as set as he can be, but seriously. Ice wolves and the guy's got a pair of wooden sticks. Suicidal, maybe?

Daniel Ketch has posed:
"What? It does?" Daniel looks more intensely at the cuirass piece, taking a step towards it. But the black-clad man grabs it first, putting it inside the bag. "Now, wait a min..." but wolves!

And to fast to prevent the freezing of the dealer and Megan. Trouble magnet indeed. The young man rushes to help her before the ice block hits the ground, which puts him nose to nose with one of the giant blue wolves.

But that is alright, as the wolf turns to face him, Daniel's face lits up. Literarily. Fire consumes his flesh in a second, and as he stands, now much taller and bulkier, a fist clad in leather and metal is aimed to the wolf's head. "Run, sorcerer," his voice is a deep bass, inhuman, "but vengeance will find you soon."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Thankfully, Megan doesn't just shatter into little fairy pieces as Daniel eases her to the ground..The wolf that lunges at the suddenly fire enshrouded Ghost Rider really doesn't stand a chance as fire meets ice. His strength in addition catches the creature off guard and it shrieks and stumbles to the ground, melting away..When the water clears, it looks like a wolf shaped piece of paper is all that remains of the creature..

Tetsuya isn't quite so lucky, the wolf lunging at him, trying to tackle him to the ground, not paying much attention to those wooden sticks. The black suit uses the distraction to make it to the edge of the square, turning to watch the display with a slight smirk and shrug befire slipping away.

Tetsuya Wakao has posed:
The wolf actually lunging at him is just what Tetsuya wants.

He slides back, and sets himself quickly. Chambering one of the tonfa with the longer end pointed out. And then he actually drops to a knee to avoid the incoming bite before jamming the stick straight up at the wolf's throat. At the same time there is a flash of bright blue from his irises.

Said strike takes on a new meaning as the force behind it is amplified by ki fueled magic. Something that might feel like an odd burst to mystic senses as it turns from a normal man's strike to the equivalent of something much, much greater.

Right after, he performs a full roll back, with a leg coming up to shove the wolf's momentum and make it continue going before he spots something actually useful for him in the tent. Especially as he accidently exploded the tonfa he had used.

That has him sighing, "I need to refine that one day." He looks to see if that took down the wolf before looking for another target.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The Ghost Rider's hollow eyes glance at the retreating Japanese man. But he hesitates only an instant, choosing to stay to protect the people at the market instead of chasing the sorcerer.

There are several more wolves causing chaos, after all. He heads for the closest one, a metal chain covered in hellfire jumping from his right hand towards the neck of the summoned creature.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
*Crack!* the snow wolf that lunged for Tetsuya's neck explodes suddenly, unexpectedly as he shoves an exploding stick down its throat...As a shikigami, it probably doesn't need to breathe, but all the same, it does has a magic threshold and he has superseded this one's.

Daniel is already on the third wolf, yanking it back with his flaming chain..The icy fiend was mid jump but gets yanked back before it can bite into another innocent bystander. Really, it didn't stand a chance with the ghost rider.

That leaves two snow wolves remaining, one which rushes at Tetsuya, even as he heads fir some of those handy weapons at the antiques tent..And the final wolf goes for a more tactile move, grabbing a screaming child in its mouth, shaking it bodily rather than freezing it outright..Can The Ghost Rider defeat the last shikigami without harming the child?