Lost in Fog, a D20 Modern Adventure.

[♠Spade♠]

The Carolinian countryside rolls by as you ride in a pair of puttering Model A Fords(except for Wolfgang, who rides his motorcycle). The agents driving inform you that micro is only an hour or so away, now; but you think back to the initial meeting yesterday...

The United States Bureau of Investigations Charlotte field office was a four story brownstone building with small, narrow windows, looming like a squat fortress. One by one, you were shown into a briefing room already occupied by two men in suits. The older of the two had graying hair and horn-rimmed glasses, seemed grouchy and less than pleased to see you. He introduced himself as Special Agent In Charge Geoffrey Gibson and identified the young man with him as Agent Patrick Wolfe with a dismissive wave of his hand, clearly not much happier at the young man's presence than with your own. For his part, Agent Wolfe shows a mixture of excitement tempered with apprehension.

When everyone was seated, he cleared his throat. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear, here: you are all here because to on extant or another, you believe in the supernatural. I think you should all be committed to an asylum, but my superiors have decided that I'm going to Micro with you. So here is what's going to happen: you can go to Micro, and do whatever sightseeing you need to do, but you will stay out of my way while I take care of this.” Glaring around the room again he stalked out, muttering darkly.

Agent Wolfe sighed and addressed the room in a distinctive accent that identified him as being of Irish descent. “I uh, I apologize on behalf of Special Agent Gibson. He's been under a lot of stress lately.” Glancing at the door Gibson had exited, he continues “I for one am glad to have you along. Nothing adds up about this case and the Bureau is stumped. “ Gathering up some papers he sighed again before shutting the door. “Okay, in a nutshell, the problem is that a small town effectively vanished off the face of the earth. In it's place is a dense fog bank that doesn't burn off in the sun, and appears to swallow people and animals. Oh, and now it's growing in size. Any questions?”

[Krennel]

"Yeah, we got enough rope to tie everyone together? We don't wanna get lost." John says, leaning back against the wall.

[Selinia]

"Anata baka." The two words, dripping with scorn, come from the mouth of the girl leaning against a wall (having refused to sit in the first place). She continues in English - her Japanese accent is heavy, but she's understandable. "Why do you send a man as leader who is too stupid to see what is in front of him? He sees fog and concludes that the whole world must be white. You should report him to your liege - I do not think even you Americans are so idiotic as to allow a madman to lead an important expedition."

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OOC:
Knowledge (Arcane Lore) check: (1d20+11)[23] Has Miya ever heard of a fog like this before, in a myth or legend? If so, what caused it, what did it do, and how was it stopped (any of those that the roll qualifies to answer, anyway).

[Elvenoutrider]

Wolfgang towers above the rest at over 6 feet tall. He stands clad in his fullplate armor watching over the room. When he speaks it comes out in a booming tone that seems amplified by something in the armor.

"There is beauty in ignorance and I do what I do to preserve it. This is clearly the work of the deceiver. The fog must conceal a greater threat."

Wolfgang nods to the japanese warrior across the room.

Im glad to see another on our team has taken up the art of the blade. This fog will mean our fights will have to be up close.

Wolfgang nods to Agent Wolfe

Any information you have on this town needs to be given now. We need to know the history of the town, criminal records, what churches are active? How heavy is the police force? And even more importantly do you have a map?

[FlamingScales]

Marleena Feyr

Having turned on the safety of both her guns, she hefts the Springfield rifle so it rests on her shoulder, completely at ease. She frowns at the obvious frustration the senior officer displays. Turning to the younger Officer Wolfe, "I agree with what's been said so far. I agree with our armored friend that we should definitely look into whatever's been going on in the town recently."

She leans against a wall, still holding her rifle in one hand. She decides to observe the rest of the meeting to see what will happen.

[Selinia]

The girl who had introduced herself as Kirino glared at Wolfgang, taking a step away from the wall. A keen observer would note her wrist twitch towards the enormous sword slung in its sheath across her back. "There is no beauty in ignorance. That is a stupid thing, and you should feel stupid about saying it. Ignorance is ignorance. Preserving it is the work only of liars and idiots."

Her glare flicked to Wolfe. "But you should answer the idiot's questions, even if they make him also a hypocritical idiot. I would ask also the names and domains of the greater Yōkai of this place, but you probably have not even recorded them, let alone learned to pay them their respects."

[Elvenoutrider]

Wolfgang had trained with swords for long enough to know how to watch an opponent for subtle movements. How quickly her hand seemed to twitch for her sword prior to her outburst worried him. He hoped they would be able to stay civil for the mission.

It is ignorance that allows a grown man to sleep soundly at night knowing that the monsters he feared as a child were only the work of fiction. It is ignorance that allows a person to leave a full life without fear. I wish I did not know what i know. I wish I did not know that the monsters of nightmares are not only real but more powerful than any writer could have imagined. I wish my sleep was not wracked with nightmares of the monsters I have faced and will face in time. But I do not have that blessing. I am not ignorant. And I would not wish my enlightenment on anyone. That is why I fight. Clearly we both have different methods and reasons for what we do. I am sorry if I offended you in some way.

[Selinia]

Miya didn't turn her gaze towards the idiot saying stupid things. It was one of many rules of battle - just because everything was worth noting didn't mean that everything was worth deigning with a response. So she pointedly averted her eyes, spitting a short "Anata baka." out of the side of her mouth as she did so. Maybe later she'd explain to the tin wolf why he was an idiot. Maybe.

[♠Spade♠]

Looking at Miya, Agent Wolfe silently mouthed the words "your liege". "I do not think he is mad. He rode with Theodore Roosevelt against the Spanish in Cuba and fought the Germans in the Great War. He's had a successful career against the Mob, and this fog is new. As far as I know, no fog has ever been observed to behave like this."

Turning to Wolfgang, he said "The population was last recorded at around a hundred people, covering an area of less than half a square mile. The police department consists of six officers, there is one church that I am aware of, and the heaviest criminal record in the town is five counts of disturbing the peace. Unfortunately, we do not have a map as Micro had never been deemed important until the fog came."

Agent Wolfe blinked at Miya's new verbal assault. "What's a yoaki?" He asked, mangling the word. "That some kinda ghost or something?" Rather than Gibson's utter disdain and flat out hostility about the supernatural, Patrick seems...curious.

[Krennel]

John looks at the Jap, and stands up. While not so big as the plated Wolfgang, he is still fairly large. "Just because someone doesn't believe in something that doesn't show up in their day to day life doesn't make them stupid. Not all of us have had the opportunity to fist fight with vampires." He says, clearly citing his own personal experience.
"But if we start fighting each other this early on, we won't last eight minutes in the fog. And don't call me Baka, cause I ain't."

[Selinia]

The warriors eyes widen somewhat at Wolfe's query - and at his mouthed phrase. "Naruhodo..." She muttered the swift phrase another might say 'ah' or 'hmmm'. "That is actually a smart thing to ask. I can not blame anyone for being ignorant - only idiots who wish they were. You I think are the more intelligent of the wolves in this room."

"The Yōkai are those among the kami who walk the lands. They have the blood of the Heavens, but they tread the earth like man and beast do. Some are wicked and cruel, like the Oni. Some are mischievous and cunning, like the Kappa, or wise and full of trickery like the Kitsune. And some are noble and kind, like the Tengu. Those in this lands are different from my home, but they are the same in that they have names and powers of their own. But the people of this country are stupid and blind. The Oni with no offerings rages and kills in the dead of night. The Kitsune whose messages are ignored might find tormenting the idiots who ignore him to be more amusing than aiding them."

She send another dagger-like glare at Wolfgang. "My family knows little of the names and customs of the Yōkai of America, but if they are raging against you for your willful stupidity and lack of respect, I can hardly see fit to blame them. Slay an Oni, and you have a hundred and eight days of peace before he returns in a fury. Hold a festival in his honor, and your village has an honorable protector for many years to come."

Her line of sight flicked again - she had a knack for seeming to redirect a great deal of ire while moving nothing but her eyes. It gave her a presence despite being the shortest person in the room by far. "I have read your histories, American. For hundreds and hundreds of years, your people believed just as much as I. But today you deny things in plain sight, and somehow claim that it makes you wiser! Soshi-te kon, anata wa gaikoku-jin, watashi no ie ni iki, peinto, sono shisen o nani seiki ni mo watatte meikaku ni sa rete iru hitobito no bijon de!" And now you foreigners go to my home, and paint over the vision of those whose gaze has been clear for centuries!

Her voice some perilously close to a shout, slipping into her natural language before locking her jaw in place and carefully regulating her breath again. Calmness was a virtue - to maintain a level head and steadfast demeanor. She... wasn't very good at it. "But... you are at least correct that we have no need to be divided. So you are all forgiven for prior idiocy." She said it in such a way as to make clear that future idiocy was a different matter entirely.

[Elvenoutrider]

Wolfgang smiles at John,
A fistfight with a nosferatu, Impressive. Im curious to know what everyone else brings to the team, and what experience everyone has.

Wolfgang turns his head to the investigator

And how thick is this fog? Will a length of rope be necessary?

[Krennel]

John smiles back at Wolfgang, cuffing him on the shoulder. "I fought three, actually. I'll tell you all about it sometime."

[FlamingScales]

A fistfight with a nosferatu, Impressive. Im curious to know what everyone else brings to the team, and what experience everyone has.

Looking around sheepishly at all the other heavy metal in the room, she smirked as she looked pitifully upon her Colt revolver in her hip holster, and the Springfield rifle resting on her shoulder. She knew that insulting a swordsman's abilities by uplifting a firearm's abilities was meaningless to some. Especially the proud Japanese. Training with a sword took years. Marksmanship wasn't any different, but so many petty thugs made it look easy to kill with firearms. In fact, she could easily, yet dishonorably, probably blow away all the current occupants in the room, barring the man in plate armor.

She decided to be humble, and stir up the least amount of trouble in the process. "Well, I can shoot really well. The Army sent me over here to help with fire support. I also have studied tactics for a long time. I'm also pretty good at staying alive in tough situations." She pointed to the insignia on her uniform shoulder, an indication of her position as Designated Marksman for her platoon in the Army. "I've never really dealt with the supernatural before, but I'll do what I can to help."

[Krennel]

John hears mention of army and does a double take. He extends his hand to the young marksman, who is probably his age, but still. "Major John Talvert, Acting paranormal Liaison for the army. I wasn't informed you would be joining us." It was strange he hadn't been told, but it didn't really matter.

[Selinia]

"I am Kirino Miya, daughter of Kirino Izo, granddaughter of Kirino Toshiaki, of the Bakumatsu Shidai Hitokiri. My family wishes to find something in a nation of the blind, and so I am here." She raises a hand, lightly brushing against the hilt of her massive sword. "This the the Most Great and Noble Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, who has deigned to accompany me as he did Lord Toshiaki, and his father before him, and his before him. I am honored without end by his decision."

She stopped there, falling silent again. That was all any of them needed to know. What did it matter if she had not slain any Yōkai? These idiots bragged and strutted like they were heroes - at least the green-eyed lady had the decency to admit her own cowardice for hiding behind that infernal contraption of a weapon. Miya had trained for this sort of thing her entire life, and she was determined not to fail.

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OOC: Did my earlier Arcane Knowledge check on the fog back in my first post fail to yield any results, or did you just miss it?

[♠Spade♠]

"Rope will be supplied, along with other supplies. If you can think of anything, let me know now."

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A private message has been sent to you detailing what you know.

[Selinia]

Rope. That reminded her of something...

"We should leave a trail back, once we reach the edge of the mists. As solid as we can - rope, string... or marked stones or stakes within sight of one another, if we do not have enough rope. I have heard of mists that can steal away the very land itself, and those on it as well. If we leave a trail, perhaps we will not be stolen." She shrugged. "Or perhaps it will only tell us where lies of the edge of the Earth that was stolen away, once we are stolen along with it. I can not say. But I can not see it bringing us any harm either. One can never be too prepared in dealing with the creatures of Heaven."

[Volthawk]

"...forces of Heaven. Great. How do they attack you? Claws? Teeth? Fire? I'd like to know beforehand what kind of injuries I'll be dealing with."

[Elvenoutrider]

Forces of he'll are more like it. The beasts attack with all man or of tooth, claw, spell, and some with steel. It depends on what we are up against. If it has turned the denizens of he village we can expect to be attacked with standard human guns and steel. I assume your inquiry makes you th group medic. A welcome addition indeed. I am Wolfgang, and I honed my skills in the Vatican Ingestigative branch. My knowledge comes from their archives. They don't part with their secrets lightly.

Wolfgang turns to Wolfe,
For the hellbeasts, silvers bullets would be a godsend, a few extra foglights and batteries would be useful for obvious reasons. The peoe in the town present a different problem. They may be being controlled or otherwise not responsible for their own actions. We may want some magnesium flash charges or some gas grenades to incapacitate them if need be.

[Selinia]

Miya spoke up yet again. For a girl speaking in her second (well... fourth...) language, she was awfully loquacious. It would be a shame if these people didn't understand her opinion on things, after all - seeing as how it was the correct one.

"The Bakaokami has simply given a list of common forms of attack, and common weaknesses even the most jaded and disbelieving fool has heard of. Would it not be simpler to say you do not know, idiot? It is of course true that to be equipped for everything is a boon. It is more true however, that one must be prepared. And trying to pin the Yōkai all into your people's small-minded view of burning pits of 'bad hell' and fluffy clouds of 'good heaven' is not doing that. Yōkai are Yōkai - some are good. Some are bad. Most are simply themselves. And all are children of the Heavens, however unruly. If they have turned against the children of Earth, Kusanagi shall remind them of their place."

[Krennel]

"I'm being ignored aren't I?" John says. He looks at the girl, and decides he's gonna do it. It goes against what he just said, but dammit he's gonna do it. "Ma'm, I understand you love your country and it's teaching in the way of the supernatural and religious, but if you're going to generalize another culture, I ask you generalize it correctly. First, the "burning" pits of Hell are mentioned as actually having fire a single time in the bible, and it does not claim that the whole of hell is on fire. It was popularized by renaissance era art. Second, all Demons and the Devil are, in-fact, fallen angels, also known as children of heaven. Now, can we both please stop this?" He nearly pleads with the woman.

[Elvenoutrider]

The child was becoming insufferable. Wolfgang stopped leaning on the wall and rose to his full height.

You once again insult me and don't even add anything helpful in the process. We both learned our trade from very different sources, you from your family, and me from the Vatican. I have fought that which I call demons, hellbeasts and their followers for years and a child is not about to tell me that I know nothing. Tell me child, have you ever actually tracked a cult, have you ever watched a man get torn apart by a monster from beyond this world. Have you ever embedded your sword in one of the beasts. I have experience. I have fought monsters detailed in the vatican archives and you are not about to tell me that im wrong. No one knows everything about these beasts. I sure don't and you sure as the saints don't either. The only way we can best them is to pool our combined knowledge. If you have anything to add to the conversation, by all means add it, but if you continue to disrespect myself or anyone else in this room you will be left behind.

wolfgang settles himself once again.

Now, based on anyone's experience with these beasts, Is there any other equipment or information we would like to request before we head out

[Krennel]

John slides up next to the sharp shooter. He is ready to order the girl restrained if she continues. Japan is a proud nation, and it is amazing they haven't tried to attack the Us already, if she is a typical girl.

[FlamingScales]

Eying her technically superior officer, the marks-woman weighs the situation at hand in her mind. As part of her duty to the Army, she would have to follow orders from this man. Also, her own training made it instinctive for her to follow military orders. While the Japanese lady showed no signs of calming down, there wasn't much Marleena could do in such an enclosed space. While aiming would be easy, any complication in the shot could cause a ricochet. Not a pretty way to start off an assignment. She watches John carefully, awaiting orders, though silently hoping she doesn't have to intervene.

She tries to ignore the situation, turning back to Agent Wolfe. "It sounds like I might need more than my normal arsenal, Agent Wolfe. Is there any way I could acquire any silver bullets? I would need .30 caliber and .45 caliber shells for each gun. It would be greatly appreciated."

[♠Spade♠]

Agent Wolfe frowned. "I believe I can scrounge up at least some of the specialty ammunition and the rope. Perhaps some other supplies as well." Turning his frown to the young Japanese girl and the big man in armor, he added "I imagine this will be more than difficult enough without everybody at everybody else's throats. So, if nothing else, I would take it as a personal favor if you could work together amicably."

[Elvenoutrider]

I will have no problem provided myself and everyone else in this room is treated with the respect each of us deserves.

[Selinia]

Miya glares at John, then back at Wolfgang. She seems to struggle for a moment, her pale blue eyes glinting like a blade's edge. "...fine. Take pride your battles. I am not going to stop you, Bakaokami. But that you can swing a blade in a skillful parody of a true warrior does not mean you are not an idiot." She looks away. "I see no reason to continue wasting words on you. This conversation is over now."

She finally moves fully, turning her back on the two and facing Agent Wolfe. "I will fight alongside these people to the best of my ability. I can only assume that your government would not choose to enlist incompetents, even if it apparently has no qualms about granting right of blade to morons. They are allies." Her expression chilled further. Most people would likely have taken a step forward here, but for someone with a stature as small as the daughter of Kiniro, doing so was hardly the most intimidating move. "But they are not nakama. I swore to take on this task, and it will be completed. I made no such oath to fake a show of respect to idiots who do not deserve it, and I will not. Now, shall we continue to belabor this stupidity, or shall we proceed to the actual task for which we were brought here?"

[♠Spade♠]

So the initial meeting had gone...rather less than smoothly. Still, that had been yesterday and Gibson's temper hadn't improved any. As the strange little convoy continued it's journey you are informed that Micro should just be over the next hill. Cresting the hill, the vehicles come to a halt and you can finally see The Fog. And a strange fog it is.

You can just make out the peak of a church's steeple in the distance, poking through the roiling cloud. That's exactly what it looks like, too. Not the normal vague clumps of mist, but a dark gray cloud swirling as though it were water on the boil. Not a sound can be heard to emanate from inside, but the strangest thing of all is the edge of the "fogbank". It's edge is straight and flat, from the top all the way to the ground like a wall. Just to add an ominous overtone to the bizarre, ever so slowly, that wall is quite clearly coming closer.

Gibson grit his teeth and glared at Agent Wolfe when the young man let out a low whistle.

[Selinia]

For once, Miya seems too stunned to say anything at all. She makes a few motions with one hand, muttering beneath her breath and clenching tightly to the hilt of her massive weapon, seeming to draw some comfort from it. "Ten ga watashi ni chikara o kashi'te..." This was a place of gods and monsters. Humans would find little solace within, she knew...