7566/The Idol: Lets Talk

The Idol: Lets Talk
Date of Scene:	27 August 2021
Location:	Faati's household, Egypt
Synopsis:	The gang meets up 'Khrad' and the Cult of the Sand Lamia after the attack on Faati's household. They learn they are on the same side and so a makeshift alliance is created. But is all what it seems?
Cast of Characters:	Thea Queen, Abcde Prescelta, Vintridr, Sif

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Thea Queen has posed:
As quick as the battle started so it also ended, some of the sand acolytes tending to their priestess who has been knocked out by one of Abcde's sleep spells. The two Asgardians? The spell that was holding them by the mysterious, well-dressed man dissipates once it seems that the rage is gone, Thea standing in front of the duo to rest hands on their shoulders. "Are you two okay?" she asks of Vin and Sif before glancing at Abcde to check on her. Perhaps to see if any more of those .., consequences had afflicted the young sorceress. But it seems the theory was right. When at a magic realm just let loose. So she smiles at her and offers her a nod before turning to regard the group, frowning.

"Care to explain?"

It's the man that steps forward, "As I said, it would seem we started this on the wrong foot." hands up to adjust his tie and a faint smile creasing his lips, "You can call me Khrad, I am an ally to the Cult of the Sand Lamia." a gesture towards the acolytes nearby, "It had been quite some time since Priestess Jameel had found defeat. Impressive. Might I know who you are?" he asks, curious, blue eyes going over each of the four of them.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    It's rare that Abcde is anything at all approaching intimidating. But in this moment, to the acolytes of the Cult of the Sand Lamia.. she just took out their priestess. Sure, the Asgardians are huge and have weapons and were raging. But they didn't do magic that put their priestess to sleep.

    Abcde lifts her chin a touch proudly at the sheepish looks they give her and the space they are affording her. With a twirl of her wand she slides it in to her holster and then peers at Khrad.

    He effortlessly caught two Asgardians in the air with magic. That's extremely concerning and impressive. This is the kind of magic she knew they might have to defeat - except none of the preparations have been taken to give them that edge. Right now, they are magically sitting ducks.

    Introductions.. great.. the team hadn't exactly talked about how they would be identifying themselves once they got to Egypt. "Uh.. Abcde," she says with a small smile and awkwardly a small wave. Her mountain twang betraying her place of birth instantly.

Vintridr has posed:
    Vintridr glares at the Khrad, clearly not impressed with either his tactics or his judgement, but willing to follow Thea's lead and accept a truce.. For now. "You may call me Wind-Reader," she replies curtly in a language each person hears as their own native languge spoken in an accent they can't quite define, then turns away briefly to fetch a shirt from her pack.

    "Tell me, do you often engage /suspected/ cultists with heavy weapons in a populated area?" she asks somewhat more pointedly than courtesy would normally permit.

Sif has posed:
Sif is even less one for words right now than Vintridr. "Sif," she says curtly, as the only means of introduction before she, too, joins Vintridr in getting clothing.

And armour. It's time to armour up. Among which is the shield named Svalinn, which in legend stands before the sun to protect the Earth, but in reality is a shield so good at dissipating magical flames that a full-on dragon breath splashes and is anulled by it.

And weapons. It's time to bring out the arsenal. Among which is the blade Hrotti from the mound of Fafnir, wielded once by Siegfried. And the famed axe Cairnbiter, strong enough in the right hands to cut through cairnstones in a single pass.

All rounded out by a spear made by the Dwarven weaponscrafter Dvalinn that was the precursor to his more famous Gungnir: nigh-indestructible and in skilled hands incapable of missing its target once loosed.

This Sif is out for war. The grave face. The massive personal armory. The economy of motion as she moved, ready for swift action upon her return.

Carrying on her introduction, she says, "Lady Sif of Asgard. Goddess of War."

Thea Queen has posed:
Thea simply mutters out a, "Thea." no need to go with the Queen part of it, arms folding together in a sort of suspicious manner. Gaze narrows just so as she takes in the cultists, then this Khrad, "Yes, do explain on how you all considered us enemies from the get go."

Khrad, for his benefit, does look somewhat surprised at what Vin says, brows furrowing before letting out a, "Ah.", then a nod, followed by a confident smile. "You mean the situation in Cairo. The Cult did not know exactly what happened, but there were reports of ..., superhuman abilities being used. Chaos." a gesture with his hand, "Something that has been happening as of late..." his eyes straying to one of the Acolytes, Haruk, as if for confirmation, letting out a sigh. "Reports of mutants arriving, creating chaos. Pure rage is out there, insidious." a pause, "And this is not news for you, is it? It's why you are here..."

"As for finding you.." A shrug, ".. It was simply just follow the trail of magic you left in your wake." his eyes resting on Abcde, kindly. "You caused quite the stir with your storm." followed by a dashing little wink at the southern belle.

As Sif returns prepared for war, and followed by that intro Khrad quirks a brow, some surprise there. Had he considered them to be Asgardians? Not really. "The actual Lady Sif..." he looks over at the others then back, "What brings Asgardians interest to this matter? And to ..., have such a diverse grouping in the four of you?" another adjustment of his tie. Is it getting hot in here?

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Under her breath Abcde mutters, "Damn it" They followed her mess here. "As you can see we're not under the sway of the rage and they are not mutants." She pauses as she looks Sif up and down. So much shiny. An unvocalised 'whoa' on the tip of her lips. The pair of Asgardians are always impressive but she's never seen Sif in her full kit before.

    Jameel awakens amid the huddle of her acolytes. She rises up and adjusts her clothes looking quite irate that she was bested by an -American- of all peoples. Haruk whispers in to her ears to catch her up on the situation. She nods her head and lifts up a hand, "We the Cult of the Sand Lamia wish to apologise. We acted in haste, fearing more mutants had arrived to join the Cult of Rage." For want of a better name.

    "I am High Priestess Jameel," she dips her head to everyone _except_ Abcde. "We have protected Egypt from great evil for centuries and now great evil is taking root in Cairo. If you would forgive our mistake, we should work together against this evil."

Vintridr has posed:
    Vin remains skeptical as Khrad spins his tale, but ultimately nods - if reluctantly. "... I see," she replies curtly. She glances toward Faati and Thea at Jameel's apology - as the master of the house and the person in command, it's their decision whether the apology is sufficient or not.

    "Not all mutants you've encountered may have joined the Cult of Rage of their own will," she replies. "We first encountered the cult when we were investigating several recent kidnappings of younger mutants. The trail led us here."

Sif has posed:
One does not ask questions of the Lady Sif as to motivation and movements. There's nothing one could quite point at for how Sif communicated this. Perhaps a slight straightening of the spine. Raise of the head. Piercing eyes staying on Khrad for a moment. That natural-seeming resting of her right hand on the head of her axe. You know. Little, almost subliminal things like that. Still, she communicated it.

Ignoring the question, she instead chooses to nod at Vintridr's commentary. "The one set upon us was troublesome," she says. "What force it is that motivates these rage-fueled mutants is a powerful one. I chose to come properly armed and armoured for this mission."

Her eyes rake dismissively over the cultists before turning back to Khrad. "You will, of course, help us in this matter."

That's our Sif! Diplomatic to the end.

Thea Queen has posed:
There is a brief look from Thea to the Asgardians, then back, as if gauging whether she needs to worry about the resume of hostilities. But quickly enough it passes and she shifts her attention to Jameel, dipping her head as if accepting the apology, "Whoever this group is, they were in the States a while back, led by Al-Fidr. Kidnapping mutants.." a worried frown on her features. "... and even after they left their influence was still there." the memories certainly still haunting her considering the expression she makes after.

The mention of Al-Fidr has Khrad frown. "His name is known to me. Too ambitious for his own good, and powerful." a pause when Sif so diplomatically calls for them to 'join forces', "Well, aren't you like whiskey in a tea cup?" he comments. All that southern charm! But it also shows he is most likely american. But then his hands lift apologetically. "We'd be more than glad to join forces. There's only benefits to be reaped from this." he states. "Of course that the *how* is where it all lies."

"For they have been evading our detection magics. We cannot track them to their lair.." Khrad's tone one of frustration, "Though we have learned they are not directly in Cairo. Most likely in the surrounding area. Close-by. They do have their agents in the city, as you undoubtedly found out earlier but we have yet to find a point of approach..." his tone as if he is listening for suggestions from the group.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde's eyes widen as Sif all but joins their mission with the Lamia cult and Khrad. "You can't be serious. They could have killed Faati and his family! Of all the irresponsible mages - just because you know how to make a mirror realm to shroud your deadly magic doesn't mean real innocent people weren't in the cross fire."

    Arms akimbo as she gestures to Faati and then back at the snek mages. "How are we meant to trust people like this. Those mutants are innocent too and they're running around with machine guns and avatar spells and who knows what else."

    She does pause a moment as Khrad gives them more of a proximation on where to start, "I know how to find them." She says with her lips pressing together tightly for a moment, "If given a close guess at where they might be hiding."

Vintridr has posed:
    "I suspect they assumed that any who sheltered us would likewise be a part of the cult," Vintridr replies to the young magus. "Yes, it could have gone very badly - but the only actual casualty is on their side. If they're willing to accept that as the fortunes of misunderstanding... We, too, can set our displeasure aside for now, and see if they can make honorable allies as we deal with the true threat."

    The unspoken implication is of course that if they don't prove to be trustworthy allies, that will be added to the list of grievances when the time comes to balance the ledgers...

    She nods again at Abcde's proclamation. "... Get us close enough, and I should be able to find their tracks no matter how well they think they hide," she confirms matter-of-factly. She's hunted and tracked stealthier foes, even ones who used magic to hide their trails.

Sif has posed:
"And should the witch and the ... tracker ... prove ineffective, there is the option of a full warband from Asgard scouring where they are thought to be hiding, with the help of my brother to isolate the likeliest places where his vision cannot reach." Sif tosses Thea an amused glance. "I have one ready should the need arise," she adds with a warmer touch to her voice. "I know this is not your preferred solution, but as a last effort it probably serves, do you not agree?"

"So we have several ways to find our shared enemy, Khrad of the Snake Cult. I'm sure we can work together peaceably and part ways as comarades."

Thea Queen has posed:
Ah yes, the Warband, of course. Thea brings one hand up to pinch at her nose to stifle back an headache. Why does she have that feeling that there *will* be an warband before this is all over? But soon enough she looks up at the rest of her 'gang', smiling at them with a committed nod. "Very well, and I think I might just know how we can figure out their whereabouts so we can track them effectively, but it will take me maybe a day." a look to Faati, "And some help from Faati. I am sorry old friend, but even after putting you in danger like this I will have to ask for your aid once again.." an apologetic look on her expression.

"This does not mean we trust you." Her eyes going back to the snek people. "Like my friends said, you endangered an innocent household and put many lives in danger. Nor do we trust you, Mr. Khrad." a gesture, "But for now seems like we are on the same boat."

Khrad is all smiles as they appear to accept to work together. And they even appear to have solutions for the problem! Eeexxceeelleeeenttt. But he refrains from steepling his fingers together. Instead he asks, "Good. It will be my pleasure to fight by your side, ladies." he offers them a respectful bow. "This great evil must be stopped." blue eyes watching them.

Thea then finally looks at Sif, "Keep that warband handy in any case.." she murmurs.