Mark, Phil, Parthipan, Nathan, Tim, and Tom wander into the temple, looking for the mostpart like gaijin tourists. Mark grumbles for a bit but manages to hide his Chinese straightsword in his jacket, then says, "I've never been here specifically, but I've been to Japan before."
After crossing the coutyard, there's a staircase leading up into the temple proper. It's got wide, open doors, and the cavernous interior is dimly lit. There doesn't appear to be anyone around.
Phil's scanning with his earth-vision doesn't go through the temple floors, but there does appear to be a rather substantial basement or tunnel area beneath the temple. How to get in is an entirely different question.
"What a dull temple," Dracos commented, meandering in the public area and taking heed of anything suspicious about the design or structure that might hint at passage entryways, obvious or not.
Dracos
[13:28] <Dracos> roll 3d6 "Hey, it's architecture!'
[13:28] * +Hatbot --> "Dracos rolls 3d6 "Hey, it's architecture!' and gets 12." [3d6=5, 4, 3]
Phil's absorbption in the architecture leads him to note a couple of interesting things. There's an eight-sided mirror over every doorway, on both sides, the rafters are solid wood (and look ancient), the small shrine in the back housing a bronze statue of some bare-chested goddess is made exactly the same way as the temple (though, much, much smaller), and by not looking at the people around him, he can walk into a businessman.
The businessman shoots Phil a dark glare, then grumbles and stalks away, vanishing through a sliding doorway and shutting it behind him.
"Smooth," Mark opines quietly. "Though, that does make us look more like tourists." He's busily reading a placcard with handy English that sits before the shrine.
"What are you talking about, isn't the mirrors fantastic?" Dracos played up the role, complete with weird grammar.
Dracos also checks the placard.
Dracos
[13:57] <Dracos> roll 3d6
[13:57] * +Hatbot --> "Dracos rolls 3d6 and gets 14." [3d6=6, 6, 2]
Well, that didn't take long. Caution to the wind, or are you still unnoticed? Dracos answers back mentally, reading the placard.
Dracos
"They're supposed to ward off evil spirits," Mark says. The placcard actually mentions that, too, but mostly explains the role of Kannon, kami of mercy.
While Phil is perusing this, he gets a contact from Bjorn. In the soapland. He then sends over a rough mental map of the conduits, which Phil tries to mesh with his own memory of the structure. There's a way down from the temple, I think. Be ready. This place stinks of the Cabal. I don't like it.
Hatbot --> "Dracos rolls 3d6 and gets 14."
After consideration, Phil suspects that the shaft roughly lines up with something deeper in the temple. Likely the same door/area the salaryman he bumped into went through.
No more noticed than I planned on being, Bjorn replies (in relation to this (http://pishoque.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1000686#1000686)).
I'm pretty sure we've got the way down. Doesn't seem much obscured.
Dracos continues, considering the rest of the temple, from a standing place near the shrine.
Dracos
Tom, for his part, wanders up to the shrine.
"Always thought this kinda thing was more.. Roman than Japanese," he remarks, idly.
"illustrious temple designs never go out of culture," Dracos remarked.
Dracos
Hatbot --> "Carthrat rolls 3d6 and gets 5."
While Tom is leaning over to examine the shrine, he coincidentally has a fine view out to the plaza before the temple. Where he sees a trio of anxious looking men in solid black suits hustling towards the subway entrance Bjorn and Tetsuo vanished into. They mostly stand out because, so far, every business suit in sight has been blue, or gray, but it doesn't help that these men are lacking briefcases, which also seems odd.
Hey, Bjorn, there's a squad of black suits hustling into the subway entrance, relays Tom.
I dunno, but they're in a hurry. Looking pretty shifty, too. I got a bad feeling, I'm gonna follow them.
Saying so, Tom starts away from the shrine towards that very entrance..
Let's try and maintain casual tourists as long as possible while doing so. Catching them by surprise might be beneficial and there is a potential excuse ready for following them.
Dracos followed Ratty as well.
Dracos
I'm no good without my bow; I'll stay here and keep an eye out?
Sure. Stick around near the temple. If it's connected, I'm sure *something* will come through there. Sooner or later.
Before Tom or Phil can step through the front door, four identical guys (black suits, no briefcases) storm through the door, pause when they see everyone, then proceed towards the door in the rear of the temple.
Bjorn, two groups of goons heading down. We're going to follow. Rez and I will follow the temple group. You guys follow the ones heading to the subway route...let's go, casually but quickly, Dracos quickly breaks up the ranks to handle both groups.
Dracos
Nathan, concentrating a moment, tries to use his influence to pull skills off his dream-self. Hopfully he isn't using them right now . . .
Regardless of whether that works or not, he starts moving over towards the rear door of the temple.
OOC:
Drac informs me I should have 23. Okay, one sec . . .
Dex 14->20 - 18 points
DFC+3 -> 3 points
1 point of rec -> 2 points
Total 23.
If I can pull the dex for less cost by not getting bonus speed, I'd like to do that and add:
1 REC -> 2 points
Acrobatics -> 4 points
Noticing the confused eyes of Mark, Dracos quickly leaned over and whispered "Stay with Tim and Tom and follow their lead. Trouble is happening below and we're trying to be in good places to minimize it all."
After that he headed casually after them, hoping to give off a curious tourist vibe.
Dracos
"Yeah. Come along, Mark, we're going to the subway," notes Tom, hauling himself over towards the doors.
Phil and Nathan go after the larger group, sending the bulk of their forces after the trio that descended to the subway.
OOC: Nathan realizes that his otherself has no need of lowly DFC, what with having the Ancestral Buster Sword, so those skills can be used. Tim and Tom now go back to Tokyo Girl (http://www.soulriders.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1000807#1000807), since I don't want to create a third thread. Nyah.
Ultimately, it very quickly becomes evident that there's no way to 'subtley' and 'touristilly' enter the off-limits areas of the temple. The sliding door the four dark-suited men used is now locked. While it could likely be forced easily, it's going to be noticed.
OOC: In that case, I also want whatever he's willing to spare me out of Acrobatics, Breakfall, Shadowing and Stealth.
--
Rez does several things, in order:
1: Walks up to the door.
2: Produces the warbag.
3: Hands Drac a longsword.
4: Retrieves the bow and longbow.
5: Offhands the warbag.
Kick it the hell down.
Through the Dream, Bjorn advises, Don't start anything violent yet.
Dracos pauses a bit at that, frowning. Don't? Huh? What's going on down there?
Dracos casually delays, staying near a wall and mimicking a tourist scanning through their bag for things, chatting with Rez about the wonderful walls as he slows greatly, no longer moving towards the door and keeping an eye on how many have taken notice of them.
if it's a change of plans, we need to talk about less by the seat of the pants stuff in the future.
Dracos
Change in plans? This is exactly the plan I told you...
There is a pause.
Oh. No. I tell you the plan now, but I heard myself telling it when... sorry, guys, I'm really not used to this "non-linear time perception" thing.
The plan is this: the yakuza are mostly opposed to the Cabal, and we know that Tetsuo's yakuza family did have connections to the Cabal, which is probably why they got destroyed -- and then, most likely, on Prometheus' say-so.
Approaching things quietly and conspicuously takes time, and the longer we're in Japan, the better odds that Cabal or Pax notice us. So we kill two birds with one stone. I stomp in here, and make a big conspicuous supernatural noise. The yakuza show up to rescue Michiko, and we go with them to Prometheus. The yakuza are being pressured by both Pax and Cabal; now they can accuse both sides of hitting their operations. That gives them an excuse to cool down relations with either side, which Relm implies they want to. Both Pax and Cabal know it wasn't them. The reason it needs to be me and Tetsuo on the 'being obvious' front is for misdirection. The only reason anybody'll remember me is for the side-effects of my new powers, which I've only had for a week and no one outside the Order should know about. Tetsuo used to work for Cabal, so Cabal will think Pax recruited him and Pax will think he still works for Cabal. Either way, they start to suspect the other side of sabotaging their relationships with the Yakuza, and we make them just that more mad at each other.
You guys are hiding off in the wings both to make sure that the Order doesn't get linked with this directly, and also to back me up in case something goes wrong.
There's another pause.
I saw myself telling you this right after we set off for the soapland, he adds, apologetically. Sorry. For what it's worth, though, once I got here I had a flashback vision to Relm telling us where we'd make contact with Prometheus, and this seems to be it.
That's phenomenally confusing. Got Rat, Hal, and Mark in on this too? Dracos catches the intent and packs the bag up, heading towards the exit instead of smashing up the place.
Dracos
Don't have an anchor on Mark, so no, you'll have to tell him. And I haven't told Tetsuo yet, because his past loyalties make him a bit of a wildcard.
There's a pause.
I think I haven't told Tetsuo yet. I haven't seen the yakuza yet, right? I'm pretty sure I tell him after I meet them.
Oh dear god. Bjorn, you want to be very damn careful about these plans of yours in the future . . .
"This place lacks in oranges. A pity," Dracos lead towards above the subway entrance.
Dracos
OOC: This now moves back to Tokyo Girl (http://www.soulriders.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1000919#1000919).