Hell Bend

[Ironsmith]

[Havnaught Hotel]

Haabeth will quickly learn two things about the semi-invisible creatures swirling around her, after taking a moment to examine their behaviors.

FIrst, they're much more afraid of her than she has any reason to be of them. As soon as they notice she's watching, they scatter in all directions, some hiding under furniture and holding as still as they can manage, while others flee up the halls, out the windows, or into the ventilation.

And second, while most of them flee more or less at random, a few converge on a door partway up the hallway and attempt to pry it open, with no visible success, clawing at it frantically while staring wide-eyed back at the elf.

-

Tiff opens her mouth to reply, but catching sight of something over Blanche's shoulder, seems to think better of it and points toward the spot where the backup she called is starting to touch down. "...Those are your friends, right? We're not looking at a wave two?" She asks.

"God, I hope not." Petty mutters. "I'd hate to think that spider-tank-thing was their preliminary plan..."


[Intact House]

As the little drop of divinity plinks into Mallory's soul, a look crosses her face that... well, it doesn't exactly appear out of place on a succubus's face, an enraptured smile crossing her lips as her eyes glaze over.

"...Well, now. That is different." Mallory croons, licking her lips and staring at Zophiel. "...And what matter of being are you, then, paladin? What is it exactly you hope to offer us in exchange for what's left of sweet little Mallory, hm?"

[Zefir]

[Havnaught Hotel]

Mia stays in the airship after the others are dropped off. She will wait a bit away from the others on a safe spot ready to jump in for medical support.

[Morty]

[Havnaught Hotel]

Another dead end. If she tries to open this door, she'll make enough noise to bring every demon in here on her head.

...wait. They're not on her head yet. They don't know she's here. She can't run and she can't hide, but she can try to blend in. As one of the degenerates coming here to enjoy the demons carnally. Risky, but also her only option. She runs back to the room she entered through, locks the door behind her and starts stripping off her armor.

Finally she exits, wearing only her trousers and a thin undershirt that she had under the armor and padding. Her weapons were left behind as well. All in all, she could be mistaken for a customer who was caught half-naked by the attack on the hotel.

Outside, Wenomir sweeps the area with no small amount of surprise and trepidation. Is the fighting over? Seems that way, but it might be a brief lull. He sends the Vigil members out to secure the area, watch for enemies and help the injured.

"Come here. Looks like the area is safe for now, and many civilians need help," he tells Mia before trying to contact Blanche. "Blanche? Come in. What's the situation? Have the attackers retreated?"

[Arkhosia]

[Havnaught Hotel]

Blanche turns to look out the window, her guard visibly relaxing when she sees the approaching figures and hears her communicator ring. "Seems like it. I'll verify." She'll step aside and answer unless stopped.

"I'm here, Commander." Blanche turns towards the window more clearly. "Seems the attackers pulled back as fast as they struck. They tried to shell the shield around this place briefly, but since then we haven't seen anyone." A beat. "...Well. No massed forces. Ilpholin Xar'cha sped by on a hovercycle not five minutes ago." The tone in Blanche's voice should be all Wenomir needs to pick up on her suspicions.

[Zefir]

[Havnaught Hotel]

"Affirmativ." Mia replies befor she heads to the droppoint.
When she arrives she is followed by two steel boxes around her size. As she stops the first one steps forward to an open space. there it opens up like a transformer slowwly building a big tent. The tent is in white and his size is bigger then a treatment room. The tent also has the red cross on it making it obviously a first aid tent.
The second box drieves into the first one and unfolds it's property inside as it wurns into chair, table, treatment lounger and some minior medical devices all with first aid equipment and all.

"Bring those who need medical attention to the tend, I look after them. Is there anything I should look out for?"
Maybe they want to speak to people who had specific encounter and suffered special injuries.

[Ironsmith]

[Havnaught Hotel]

There are, perhaps unsurprisingly, relatively few demons that require medical attention. The attackers were remarkably efficient in that regard; the demons either escaped, or they were slaughtered, with very few in-between.

As Haabeth starts back through the halls of the hotel, disarmed but disguised, she's going to find she's actually rather conservatively dressed for someone among the demons; most of them are wearing outfits that might have been considered swimwear if there was water nearby. Nevertheless, she finds that most of the locals seem to have no problem believing she's here for the implied purpose she intends; most ignore her, but a passing pair of succubi stop and examine her appreciatively on her way down the hall, and once she hits the crowds again she's going to find some of them have some rather uncouth tendencies vis-a-vis the placement of their hands.

Not dignified, but at least nobody's trying to kill her.

Meanwhile, seemingly in belated response to VIGIL's arrival, the blue barrier around the hotel finally goes down, slowly fading into nonbeing, to the audible relief of those assembled... Tiff especially, who collapses into a nearby chair and rolls back her head, visibly tired.

[Morty]

[Havnaught Hotel]

Haabeth does her best to avoid gnashing her teeth, grimacing or threatening to break someone's arm. She'll be back and show these filthy creatures what's what... but for now she keeps her head down in order to make her exit as soon as the way is clear.

"Of course she did." Wenomir is dismayed, but not surprised. "She had to be involved. I'm more worried about the other attackers. When and how did she get a strike force?"

The assembled Vigil members will bring what wounded they can find to Mia.

"The attackers seem to have been thorough," a dark-skinned human woman in an armored robe and holding a scythe tells her. "Most victims we've found are dead, not injured."

[Zefir]

[Havnaught Hotel]

"That is quiet a sad outcome." Mia replies. "But please bring them over. I would just check them up in case any of them died on some unknown causes. Otherwise I will prepare them for a burial."

She then turns back to the tent, ordering some other suplies from the base that might arrive soon. Otherwise she will treat the wounded. Mostly using bandages and medicin, only in dangerouse cases she uses magic to stabalize them.

[Thursday Violist]

[Intact House]

As the little drop of divinity plinks into Mallory's soul, a look crosses her face that... well, it doesn't exactly appear out of place on a succubus's face, an enraptured smile crossing her lips as her eyes glaze over.

"...Well, now. That is different." Mallory croons, licking her lips and staring at Zophiel. "...And what matter of being are you, then, paladin? What is it exactly you hope to offer us in exchange for what's left of sweet little Mallory, hm?"

[Intact House]

Zophiel is happy that the other party is interested enough that they can actually proceed to something worthwhile.

"Biologically speaking, I'm a paladin," he answers. Like, literally. He leans on one of his swords, and then - considering it might be a potential bargaining chip - he adds, "In truth, I was originally created as the seal for an unliked goddess. The one who had created succubi in the world I come from." Which is actually why he's become so adept at understanding and creating magical seals, as well as absorbing demonic power from the ambience.

"My initial offer is a few drops of this liquid divinity - this crystalized power - for you to do whatever you wish with it, but if you have in mind another deal, then I'm open to hearing it. After all, that is the point of negotiating."

[Ironsmith]

[Intact House]

"Mmm... that would explain why it tastes so positively divine." Mallory croons, that manic smile on her face only getting wider. "By all means, yes, give us more of that."

Then, in a moment, that smirk is gone, replaced by a look of undisguised fury. "And why should we bargain?" Mallory demands. "The paladin stands right there, why do we not just take him for ourselves? Why are we still denied this new flavor?" She lunges forward at Zophiel, only for her arms to snap back behind her, as though a second, invisible person saw fit to hold her back.

[Arkhosia]

[Havnaught Hotel]

"No idea sir. I've never seen them before." Blanche's fist clenches. "But- sir, we can't let this rest. We need to act. We cannot let Ilpholin and her associates get away with this."

[Morty]

[Havnaught Hotel]

"We can't and we won't. But if we pursue them now, we'll end up with a fight in the streets. Or walk into an ambush." Wenomir understands Blanche's anger but he has to hold her back. "We were too late to save the people here. All we can do is do better next time."

[Morty]

[Picking up the Pieces]

Fayyaad arrives in Hell Bend on mission from MERC. As a tiefling, he can hopefully blend in here somewhat, more so than others might. The job is to find out more about the relatively brief but vicious attack on the area, allegedly on Ilpholin Xar'Cha's orders.

He's wearing his padded jacket with armor-plates inside, just in case. It's still inconspicuous and hardly anyone can blame someone for being cautious after what happened in this place.

[AshenAmbrosia]

[Picking up the Pieces]

Accompanying him on this job is Cass, who is conservatively dressed in a well-fitted two-piece robe, along with a light outer coat and scarf. While he doesn't have the horns and tail like Fayyaad, there's something of the demonic in the way his silver eyes seem to glow whenever the shadow of a building falls across his pale face, and to anyone with the sense for it, his aura definitely carries a demonic flavor to it. In fact, to any succubi in particular, his presence would almost be familiar as one of their own, though muted by regrettable mortality. The product of a liaison between demon and elf, perhaps?

Like Fayyaad, Cass has taken some common sense precautions - specifically the carved wooden staff, clearly marking him as a spellcaster of some kind.

[Morty]

[Picking up the Pieces]

"We should start casually," Fayyaad suggests in a quiet voice while the two are away from a any crowds. "We came here looking for work, suggesting we had to leave our last residence in a hurry. And we have some friends here, but nothing specific. That will make asking about the attack sound natural."

[AshenAmbrosia]

[Picking up the Pieces]

Cass nods slightly, pale eyes wandering over the surroundings with a distracted air.
"Lead on."

[Ironsmith]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

If the two were hoping to blend in, they're likely going to be sorely disappointed. Most of the demons here share a common origin, and apart from the tails, horns and wings, don't look that different from more mundane folk. Among this crowd, the two stick out as foreign elements to an otherwise nigh-homogenous neighborhood.

But at least not dangerouns foreign elements. Their presence earns them stares, not glares.

Though that distinction might be lost as the two proceed up the street. Every demon they see seems to either be carrying a weapon or have one within easy reach; the scantily-clad succubus on the street corner is leaning against a baseball bat, the incubus in the top hat quietly tending to his cup-and-ball table has a handgun strapped to his hip, even the succubus sweeping off the steps of the local hotel has a sabre on her back.

And speaking of that hotel, it seems the Havenaught is the only building here that isn't missing a minimum of a quarter of its load-bearing architecture. A ring-shaped crack in the pavement surrounds the place, forming a perfect circle with a few spiderweb-like tributaries radiating from it in both directions.

Further up the street, Crimp's Casino And Bar seems to be in the process of extensive repair, but is at least actually getting repaired. A pair of suit-clad bouncers stand at the main door, both carrying heavy wooden staves with intricately carved heads. The side of the building has a large hole in it, which is roped off and blocked out with a set of hastily constructed support beams made from fresh timber.

Madame Fidelity's House Of Delight seems to be in a similar state, along with having some amount of broken decor out front. The entrance to the House is flanked on both sides by several rows of nude, decapitated statues, the latter descriptor appearing to not be an aesthetic choice, given the roughness of the cuts. The first two are in notably provocative poses, while those thereafter seem to invoke more of a sense of impending doom.

The pounding music that normally radiates up and down the street, sourced at the Rave Cave, is quiet today, barely more than background noise that can be vaguely heard if everyone in the immediate area goes quiet. The Cave itself is still a distance away, but it seems unlikely it's escaped the recent catastrophe.

[Morty]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

"This is definitely a place that was attacked," Fayyaad says quietly to Cass. "Damage aside, everyone is on a war footing, expecting another bout of violence. We should decide where to go first... and if we want to split up."

[AshenAmbrosia]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

"It's more natural that we stick together," says Cass, surveying the damage with interest. "As displaced itinerants, we would to want to stick together for safety and comfort. Refugees are rarely willing to be separated. Splitting up telegraphs far too much confidence and security, especially when it's obvious that this isn't a safe area."

Cass frowns.

"So I would expect. In any case, if everyone is as tense as you say, sticking together really would be safer for now."

[Morty]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

Fayyaad nods. He was thinking much the same thing.

"You're right. Let's stick together and go to the hotel first. It'd be logical for drifters who just arrived. And it clearly saw some fighting so we can learn something."

[Ironsmith]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

As if on cue, the succubus sweeping the stairs to the Havenaught looks up at the two travelers and gives them a wave; a halfhearted, unenthusiastic affair that suggests the gesture comes more from contractual obligations than a genuine effort to be welcoming, but a wave nonetheless.

After a moment of this, the bellhop-uniform-clad succubus apparently decides she's met her obligation and returns to her sweeping, tapping the broom off to the side of the step before proceeding to the next one.

[Morty]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

Not a warm welcome, but an expected one. Probably best not to bother this particular succubus too much. Fayyaad will give her a respectful nod and try to head inside. If she tries to bar them entry, well, that's something to work with.

[AshenAmbrosia]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

Cass mirrors Fayyaad, bowing politely to the succubus before following him indoors.

[Ironsmith]

[Picking up the Pieces]

On entering the room, Fayyaad and Cass will notice three important things about the place.

One, it's surprisingly small. The lobby area consists of three couches and a coffee table, opposite a hole cut in the wall that looks to be a repurposed breakfast nook. A short distance further back, there's a staircase leading up into a second floor, and a doorway leading into a hallway, the other end of which is visible even from here. There can't possibly be very much here.

The other thing is that, despite the small size, this building is nice. Everything in here is immaculately clean, from the windows and countertops to the coffee table to the little silver bell at the service nook, all to such a degree that they might well have been put in the day before. Even the music playing on the speakers over the counter is notably devoid of any crackling or tinniness, serenading the guests as they come in or prepare to leave.

The third thing they'll notice is the innkeeper herself, a tired-looking succubus with a pixie cut and large bags under her eyes, leaning against the counter on one arm. Her head bobs slightly as they enter, although whether that's meant to be a greeting or just her waking up from a desperately-needed nap isn't exactly clear. "...Hey. Welcome to the Havenaught." She mutters, pulling herself up with a little groan. "Will this be one room or two?"

[Morty]

[Picking up the Pieces]

"One room with a double bed, please." They might be here a while, so a place to stay is needed one way or the other. And it's an important part of their cover. "Had a long day?" he asks conversationally.

[AshenAmbrosia]

[Picking up the Pieces]

Cass' eyes flick briefly over to Fayyaad when he specifically requests for the double bed. No guesses as to how that will be used later. Afterwards, he resumes his study of the foyer, allowing himself to nod his head slightly to the music.

[Ironsmith]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

"Ugh. Don't get me started." The succubus groans. "Been getting lots of requests for rooms and not a whole lot of payments. It's all been going on credit." She sighs, scratching irritably at her neck. "Not that I can really blame them, with the recent disaster and all. The Havenaught's probably the safest place on the block, and there isn't a lot of money to go around. Still sucks I've got an empty till most days, though."

The succubus lets out a weary sigh and rubs at her eye tiredly. "...Speaking of which." She mutters. "Credit's still an option. You're looking at [modest amount] per night. Up front if we're doing cash. If it's going on credit, I've got forms for you two to sign. Or we've got the pay-by-work program, in which case you start tomorrow evening. What'll it be?"

[Morty]

[Picking Up The Pieces]

A quick calculation takes place in Fayyaad's head. This woman will obviously be pleased if she sees some money for once. However, it will also make the two of them stand out among all the other newcomers who don't have any. But it's also probably not a good idea to sign any legally-binding documents here. Both for the sake of their cover and due to what he's heard of this place. They'll have to risk some attention.

He takes out his wallet and stares into it despondently, hoping to create the impression that while they have money, they don't have a lot of it.

"We can pay that much. I was worried it would be more expensive. And whatever happened here, good to know we've arrived at as safe a place as we can find."