15089/Songs of the Brotherhood

Songs of the Brotherhood
Date of Scene:	05 June 2023
Location:	New York - Tenement Building
Synopsis:	A ninja and the Shadow take on assassins of the Sengh Brotherhood.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, June Connor, Natasha Cranston

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Monet St. Croix has posed:
It was one of a countless number of rent controlled apartments in the city that had fallen upon hard times. Apartment managers trying to evict the few remaining renters so they could knock the place down that head lead to a cutoff of services and resistance and deteoriation of the building. Then the deals had fallen through, and the building was left as it had been - but in worse state and with less money.
    This type of thing was an unfortunate thing of life of the city, and not the type of thing that normally warranted attention - at least from costumed vigilantes. But suddenly two blocks around the building had suddenly gone completely quiet almost overnight. Unnaturally so. Not a single person outside, not a single business open.. And no one outside the area seeming to care. About midnight - some that had noticed the eerie calm and teh sense of magic about the area had gone to poke thier head in.

June Connor has posed:
    June knew a couple of people in the area. Not well, but when a mutual acquaintence brought up the absence in the area...well, whatever the cause, magic, mass kidnapping, or whatever, it wasn't her problem. Her problem was to get whatever goods might have been left behind. She wears black leggings and an equally tight fitting top, and a tac vest over that top. Mysterious things like this usually are trouble, so she decided to actually come prepared this time, a pair of hook swords over her back, and a number of kunai and smoke pellets, every ninja's best friends. No mask on her face, but instead she's opted for smeared face paint to make her look a little like a raccoon tonight as she makes her way into the abandoned area, climbing up the fire escape toward the roof so that she can start from the top and go down.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
        Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of Man?

    Natasha herself is no more sensitive to magic than the next man or woman -- but the Shadow's network includes more than a few practitioners. Minor ones, mostly -- tarot readers, purveyors of small good luck charms, the occasional street entertainer; those without great power who fall beneath the notice of the mighty, but who by virtue of their position and occupation have their ear close to the ground.

    Several of them, independent of one another, sense the aura of oppression seeping into the area, and report in... And now the Shadow Knows that here is something that calls for closer investigation.

    Benny scowls in the general direction of the area as he pulls up to the curb about a block away -- he might be as magical as a house brick, but New York cabbies have evolved to smell trouble from as far as a mile away, and he's pretty sure he's smelling it now.

    "You want to be careful on this one, boss. I don't like the look of it."

    From the back seat, Natasha favors him with a sweet and innocent smile as she slips her gloves and scarf on. "Aren't I always?" she asks almost innocuously. "All being equal, though, do keep your distance for now. I'll let you know when it's time to leave," the Shadow finishes, putting her hat in place and opening the passenger door.

    As the cab drives away there's only a brief flicker of shadows underneath a street light before those, too, are lost in the gloom...

Monet St. Croix has posed:
As June goes to sneak her way in and advance and climb down, she's the first to see it over on the wall. A symbol over in an old language. Not quite Arabic, but something that was definitely close to an 'S' that had been written over in blood - scribed with magic to make it appear out but only to those that had a sensitivity to it. Her own training would let her see it - she might or might not know what it is.
    The Shadow is able to pick up those within the apartment building by their steps. Everyone is being completely still. Quiet and not moving. Every door closed and locked, the people within petrified if she likely had to guess.
    There's definitely magic here - not particularly powerful magic, but street magic of an old, potent nature. Cast over a wide area but subtly.

June Connor has posed:
    June tilts her head as she comes across the symbol. She walks up on it, examining it for a moment as if it would give her some insight as to what it was. It doesn't, of course, because she can't read that language, nor would likely know what the spell was even if she could." She turns to the roof access, moving to the old door, and pulls a kunai from her vest. She wedges it in the old lock and pops it open, pulling the door open and then starting her way downstairs, nonethewiser to the Shadow's arrival.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The front door is, of course, locked - but not particularly well. It's only a few moments' work with lockpicks to persuade it to yield, and the Shadow slips into the stairwell, taking stock of her surroundings.

    She glares at the symbol on the wall -- it seems vaguely familiar, but she can't quite place it. Grandfather's files, perhaps? -- and takes a moment to snap a photo of it for later examination. It's quite obviously bad news; hopefully her contacts will be able to tell her more.

    That done, she makes her way upward - she doesn't want to start knocking on random doors to ask questions at least until she's exhausted all other avenues of investigation.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
June goes along quietly, covertly.. but still something -reacts- to her. Maybe it's a ward, maybe it's a watchout, maybe it's a tripwire.. but she's noticed. This immediately has two individuals going to slowly move from shadow to shadow themselves along the corridor ahead - barely spottable, with considerable stealth skills, that are each moving with a blowgun..
    The Shadow, for now, isn't noticed.

June Connor has posed:
    June stops, not clear on the location of the figures ahead as she reaches the corridor. She crouches slightly, and pulls her hook swords from their positions. She studies the dark hallway, and steps forward carefully, looking for the shadowy figures to move again.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The Shadow has no inherent immunity to the magic worked by the sigils, and she's well aware of the sense of dread they emit -- but her Will is her own, and she is not so easily intimidated. She makes her way slowly further up, drawing one of her pistols as she goes...

Monet St. Croix has posed:
Something sets off their awareness on the Shadow. Maybe another ward - maybe they're just supernaturally aware. Maybe they're experienced enough assassins to pick up someone coming towards them. One of them gives up a quick signal that passes around an alert while the other goes to move to raise the blowgun to aim over at June.. With a tug of it to his lips, he goes to try and pop it up to fire a paralytic dart at her with a barely audible 'pfft'!

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Of course, even warned by their wards it's difficult for the scouts to find the intruder -- in the gloom of the unlit stairwell there are few if any light sources that might help betray the Shadow's presence. As a result, they sneak right past her, unaware of her presence until she grabs the hindmost one from behind, clamping one gloved hand around their mouth to prevent a scream...

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The Shadow goes to drop on down by another that had been moving to engage June! He struggles, thrashing against her and trying to fight back. But he can't move in her grip. Upon his forehead she notices something that stands out - the brand of a small skull, radiating small amounts of magic. Definitely not something subtle - but impossible to hide. Something that might be a bit likelier to stir up memories of her files, perhaps. Or perhaps not.

June Connor has posed:
    June's training from Elektra is paying off, and as she hears the small sound of the blow dart, she ducks. Not because she can see it, but because she knows that something is coming her way. It means that she isn't knocked out, which is good, and her response is not to take cover, but to instantly burst forward before a reload or weapon change can be executed, swinging one of her hook swords at the shadow in an attempt to catch and pull the figure into the closest door jamb.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The death's head brand gives the Shadow pause as another memory is jogged - the mark seems old, but also familiar. She will have to consult Grandfather's files more thoroughly when she gets home... Unfortunately, it seems that she'll get no answers from her captive - he seems to have taken the brief reprieve her surprise gave her to bite down on a poison capsule.

    Her reverie is interrupted by the commotion when June deals with her other assailant, and she rushes upstairs to see what's going on.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
June's assailant is caught over by the strike with the sword. He was expecting her to be taken down or at least to have to dodge or lbock it. So when she goes into the attack her strike digs into him and smashes him over into the doorknob. He goes to hit the ground, stumbling over with his dart flying away from his hands. There's a mark on him - magic and glowing red even as his 'partner' collapses, foam coming out of his mouth.

June Connor has posed:
    "Da fu-" June spins as she finds the Shadow is interrupting her very provocative assessment of the turn of events. She has the hook swords ready when the Shadow appears, and is quick to defend herself. "Wasn't me, he was that way when I found him," she says before she can be accused of murder.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    The Shadow merely nods. "Apparently they choose suicide by poison over being captured and interrogated. I left his comrade in a similar state a level down," she replies. "That said, I believe we've worn out our welcome - I've an inkling where to look for more information, but I doubt we'll find more answers here. Let's go."

    With that, she turns and stalks off back down the stairway, not even waiting for June to follow her.

June Connor has posed:
    June lowers her guard slightly after The Shadow's explanation. "Oh, now I'm supposed to be your sidekick or something?" she asks. "Hey where are you going?" The tactic works like a charm though, because June does exactly what's expected, and follows after.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "If you'd prefer to stay in a cursed apartment building with an unknown number of fanatical assailants who have been alerted to our presence, that is of course your decision to make, the Shadow replies as they descend the stairs, already fading out of visibility again.

    "Or you could accept a ride to a quite decent ramen shop not too far from here where we can discuss what we've found...]"