Scions of the Divinity [IC] [Game]

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Room 630

The Bacchae was able to withstand strikes from a mortal, but now she's taking strikes from a Scion, one just coming into his power, which is being enhanced by divine cesti. The wind is driven from her lithe body, and after a flurry of strikes and a final uppercut to her jaw, the Bacchae is knocked out cold, and missing a few sharpened teeth.

Meanwhile, Paul Brighton has managed to loop a length of his chain around the last Bacchae's throat, tightening it and then letting the divine sunfire surge through the links. The Bacchae gives a choked wail before being reduced to ash. Coughing and rubbing his throat where the she-creature had been choking him, Brighton looks to Lupo and blinks. "Looks like your Father spoke to you," he says, nodding to the cesti. "You'll probably hear from him again soon, when he'll give you something like this." He holds up a hand, where Lupo will now notice the gold ring on his middle finger, embossed with a sun symbol. "A focus item. Weapons are one thing, but a focus item like this lets you channel more of your new abilities."

Kiki - Outside Room 510

At Kiki's outburst, Anna's eyes suddenly snapped to look... well, not quite at her, but in her general direction. The other Scion's eyes narrow slightly, and then there's a shimmer of silvery light to her eyes, and then they track straight at her. "Oh," she says. "There you are. Okay, calm down, hon, and ... well, try letting yourself be seen."

A slight tuning of her willpower will enable Kiki to be seen, and once she does so, Anna nods. "Okay, I'll explain. Let me guess: you just heard a voice in your head? Don't panic, that was your Mother, Iris. And that," here she points at the pendant, "is what we call a focus item. We're only part-divine, us Scions, so not all of our special abilities work properly unless we have one. Unless I miss my guess, that pendant of yours lets you turn yourself invisible."

Riley - Room 714

Holtzman shrugs. "A lot of us have the same kind of reaction, at first," he says with a rueful smile. "But it only works on items of a divine or supernatural nature, and only if they've been attuned to you." He spreads his hands. "So hiding your wallet there to keep it safe from thieves wouldn't work."

Then he smiles a bit. "Well, you heard from your Father, I trust. Now you're almost a full-fledged Scion. Once you get a focus item from your Father-- which probably won't be too long-- you'll be able to tap into more of the abilities you've inherited from Him."

He checks his phone. "For now, though, you go ahead and prep for the poker tournament, but ... well, keep your eyes open. The Titans have agents in play somewhere in the area, judging from what I heard from our resident intel-broker. The draugr are a definite clue. I'll do some sniffing around, myself. But for now, don't let on that you're any different. You're freshly Awakened, so you won't trip their radar unless you overtly display any sign of it."

Liam - That Museum

Mac Dubh smiles a bit at Liam's initial reaction to suddenly receiving a weapon and hearing a voice in his head. "Aye, that's about normal fer the newbies," he agrees. When Liam stammers out who his Mother is, however, even Mac looks surprised. "Yer feckin' WHAT?" He looks taken aback, and then taps his forehead with a knuckle and gives a slight bow. "Honored ta meet ye, then, O'Keefe. Yer Mam doesna have many children, and them as She does, they usually have great destinies."

He strokes his beard a bit. "Right, then. She hasn't given ye yer focus item yet-- it's like a wee geegaw or something, lets ye use yer 'superpowers' better. Won't be long till She does, I think. Meantime, I'll keep me eyes peeled ta find out where the Fomori are hidin'. You, you keep yer eyes open around the hotel. I think whatever's gonna happen, 's gonna happen there. Just... ye'll feel when something's wrong. Trust me."

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 714

Riley gives the dagger a few test thrusts and spins it around once in her hand marveling at its craftsmanship. "Ok... so that was weird." She subconsciously causes the dagger to wink out of existence startling her at first.

"Holy..." she exclaims. Then the dagger winks back into existence. "Ok... now that is cool." She winks it out and back a few more times. "I could get used to this." After making the dagger blink back and forth a few more times she catches the eye of Holtzman who seems to be wearing a look that says Really...

She shrugs, "What, you gave a video game and anime geek access to hammerspace..." She sighs, "Alright, so what now?"

Liam - That Museum

Liam's eyes go wide. Still holding the Falcata his jaw drops, "Was t'at... I mean... t'e... " He stammares, "Me mam is t'e feckin Danann!" He finally manages to choke out.

Doo-doo-doo-DOO

(OOC: You have acquired the falcata, to use the falcata equip it to a C button and then press that C button )

[Mytical]

Lupo

Since the weapons are just extensions of his hands, Lupo doesn't change tactics. He knows how to fight, and no she demon will get the best of him. He automatically goes into the furious body blows that he has used to take down much bigger targets then this. He will deal with hearing voices after the fight, the fight was all that matters.

Kiki

Kiki..is not taking the voice quite so well. She was panicked, looking around trying to see WHO had just spoke to her. When asked where she went, she couldn't answer for a moment. Her mind was having a lot of trouble making sense of things. Finally she squeaked. "W..wh..what d-d-do you mean...I'm right...right here?!"

[Jay 2K Winger]

Lupo - Room 630

The Bacchae that Lupo punches lets out a cry as she's pummeled, but she proves to be a lot more resilient than one might think. She stumbles and falls over, but she trips up Lupo as he tries to go assist Brighton. She almost flows back to her feet, and now he can see another inhuman trait to the attacker. She has rectangular pupils, like a goat's. She bares her teeth again in a gruesome smile, and she comes in with another few swings, but nothing an accomplished boxer can't handle. His retaliatory strikes, however, don't seem to be slowing her down any.

And then... Lupo hears a voice, and the events around him slow to a crawl. "Lupo, My son." The voice is deep, rough, a soldier's-- no, a general's voice, weathered and gruff. "You will smash Our foes like a hammer. Fight. Make Me proud." Lupo would feel... it was like his blood was on fire, as he felt something... unlock within him. He felt... stronger. More focused.

And then he felt a weight on his hands. A glance would reveal a shimmer of light, and he saw he had a shining metal cestus on each hand. He could feel that they would make his punches much more powerful.

Then events return to normal speed, the Bacchae not yet noticing that Lupo's got weapons, as Paul Brighton manages to loop a length of chain around the neck of the one grappling with him.

Kiki - Room 510

Anna and Art both nod, as she rises and nods to the door. "Let's walk. Give Art a chance to clean up a bit."

As they step into the hall, Kiki would feel her perceptions slow to a crawl, and a voice would intone in her head. A light, soft voice, feminine and somehow conveying the sense of colors. "Kiki, My daughter. You will tease out Our enemies' secrets. I am proud of you."

She would feel a gentle weight around her neck, where she would find a pendant hanging on a silvery chain. The pendant itself was crystal, prismatic, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, and she would know it was capable of changing shape. Of elongating into a handy dagger, or flattening into a lens.

With this, she also feels a sensation of something... unlocking. Her blood feels briefly like it's on fire, but then this fades, and she feels a sort of rush.

Then the world returns to normal and Anna blinks, momentarily turning. "Ms. Toshioto?" she asks, apparently not seeing her. "Where'd you go?"

Riley - Room 909

"Yeah," Holtzman sighs. "Skyrim. Except draugr are real, out of real Norse legend." He looks around. "We should probably get some place more secure. What I have to tell you does not need to be heard by anyone else's ears. Let's get up to my room." He takes out his cell phone. "I'll make a call, get this cleared up."

He ushers Riley out to the elevator, while he makes the call. "Hey, it's me. Could-- wait, is that you, Hoffman?... no, I-- no, wait--please stop talking and let me say it. ...yes. Room 909, the Hilton in Branson. You can-- Solomon's in town? That's good news. Yeah, a couple of draugr, decapitated. Thanks, love ya."

They get off on the 7th floor, going to room 714. Holtzman locks the door behind him. "Okay, so... you know now that the myths are true. And you know that you're a part of all this." He explains how things are for the Aesir. They are battling the forces of the jotnar, the frost giants, plus the fire giants of Musphelheim, desperately trying to stave off Ragnarok, and recruiting their children in the World to help fight the War on Midgard.

As well, Himy Holtzman, who identifies himself as a son of Heimdall, tells Riley Thorsen who her father is. As she hears this, her perception slows, and she hears a voice. A very prideful voice, strong and clear. "Riley, My daughter. You have a role to play in preventing Ragnarok. I will tell you more in time."

Riley would feel a rush, a sensation like her blood were briefly made of fire, and then this fades, but leaves behind a sensation that she's become somehow... more. And in her hands, she finds she's holding a gleaming blade, a curved dagger with an engraving on the side like a lightning bolt.

Liam - Ripley's

Mac Dubh nods a bit, in respect, as Liam takes it in stride. "Not bad, then. Ye'll probably adapt well to t'e whole kit 'n caboodle then. Shouldna be long before yer Mam contacts ye--"

As if on cue, Liam's perceptions would slow to a crawl and a voice would speak to him. It conveyed eternity, maternal pride, and endless patience. "Liam, My son," it sas, "We need strong warriors in the battles to come. You shall lead Us to victory. Be strong and make Us proud." He would feel a burning rush go through him, as though his blood had caught fire, and then it passes, but leaves behind a sense of newfound power and resilience.

His perceptions would return to normal, and Liam would find himself holding a large iron blade, single-edged and inwardly curving, not unlike a kukri. The edge of the blade shimmered with otherworldly light. Mac blinks slightly. "Bloody 'ell, that was quick. Looks like She gave ye a falcata, too."

GM NOTES

Doo-doo-doo-DOO

Everyone is now a freshly Awakened Scion, with access to a divinely-crafted item. The item can be summoned out of the aether with a focus of will, and returned there by the same.

Lupo Virtus has been granted extra strength and stamina by Mars, as well as a pair of cesti. He has not yet been given his divine focus item to give him any new divine abilities.

Kiki Toshioto has been gifted with her focus item by Iris, a rainbow crystal pendant, capable of changing into a small dagger or into a type of lens, through which she can tease out secrets. With this item, her ability to 'blend in' has been enhanced into invisibility, which she can turn on and off at will. However, it cannot hide her from someone using their own divine abilities of perception.

Riley Thorsen has been gifted a dagger by her divine parent, while her odds-calculating ability has received an upgrade, enabling her to predict outcomes more quickly. She has not yet been given her divine focus item to give her any new divine abilities.

Liam O'Keefe has been granted extra strength and stamina by Danu, as well as a falcata (an ancient Celtic blade). He has not yet been given his divine focus item to give him other divine abilities.

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 909 - Now a Zombie Grave

Riley stares bug eyed at the Draugr. "Holy shit..." she says clearly still in disbelief mode. Then she gathers herself, looks at them looks at Holtzman, then back at them. "That was fuckin' cool. Like straight out of Skyrim." She hops up pumping a fist, "If I get to see more of those, then hell yeah, count me in."

Liam - In get the hell of the streets mode

Liam shrugs his shoulders seeming to take everything in stride, "Oi've seen all sorts a weird shite while Oi was on t'e ERU. Guess t'is tain't much more o' a stretch now is it?"

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo has not learned yet how to back down from a challenge, and female or no, he treats all of his opponents the same..as something to take down. Immediately into his boxing stance, out of habit, he will wait till the creature closes to give her the old boxing stand by the ONE/TWO .. a quick jab followed by an uppercut. If that knocks her out he will head toward the other to help this guy, if not he will keep on his toes to keep her from pinning him like the other has pinned his guest.

Kiki

She stands up straight, gives a slight bow. "If my family has called, it is my duty to answer. I am not sure if I believe what you say, but my honor demands I at least give you a chance to convince me I am what you say."

[Jay 2K Winger]

Riley - Room 909

Holtzman sighs at the laughter. "Yes, I rather expected that kind of reaction..."

Which is about the same moment there's a knock on the door, before it's forced open, the lock shredding apart as two men shoulder their way into the room. Or... man-shaped creatures. They look decidedly ... decrepit, almost mummified-- in the sense that their bodies had been leached of moisture, not wrapped in linen. Incongruously, they'd been somewhat haphazardly dressed in bellhops' uniforms, but this was fitting badly over what looked like leather-and-plate armor. These zombie bellhops brandished hatchets and lunged forward with a rattling cry.

Which is when Holtzman suddenly flicks his arm out, and with a rainbow shimmer, two throwing daggers have materialized and flung themselves into the zombies' heads. They collapse to the floor, and he quickly steps over to them, grabbing one of their hatchets and cutting their heads off. That finished, he retrieves the daggers, and with another shimmer of rainbow light, the blades vanish. Holtzman sighs. "Draugr," he mutters. "They must be aware we're gathering in town." He sticks his head out into the hall, then drags the draugr into the room and shuts the door. Though the main lock is wrecked, he puts the chain up. The draugr don't smell any better in the confined space.

With that finished, Himy Holtzman turns back to her. "Now. You have anything to say?"

Liam - Ripley's

Mac Dubh shrugs. "I'd stick out like a sore thumb if I were ta go anywhere near t'e Hilton. As it is, I'm takin' a risk meetin' ye in a public place. But aye, that's the kind of thing yer supposed ta have." He scratches his beard a bit. "Least, ye will now, I s'pose. There's a lot more of us t'an ye'd think. But not everyone receives the call, as it 'twere."

He thumps his chest. "Me, I'm t'e son o' The Dagda, an' from what I hear, ye're supposed ta have quite a high up Mam." He looks to continue, but then both men would become aware of a sudden stench... like seaweed and salt water and mud... and then a very large man-shaped creature lunged around the corner toward them. Mac moved, shoving Liam out of the way as he squared up. The attacker had huge eyes like a lungfish and a mouth bristling with teeth like a lamprey. Its body was of mottled brown and green, and seaweed clung to its hair as it reached out with webbed and clawed fingers.

The creature hissed a challenge, which Mac met by baring his teeth and thrusting a hand into his leather jacket. From within it he suddenly draws a huge length of wood, a proper shillelagh, far too big to have fit in any pocket, and then Mac ducks under the creature's sweeping arm, swinging the knot on the end of the club into the creature's jaw. It goes over with a gurgling cry, and then is silenced with a wet crunch by a downward club from Mac.

"Bloody Fomorians," Mac Dubh spits, wiping off his shillelagh and putting it away in his coat, where it vanishes. He looks to Liam. "Come on, let's get inside. Less likely they'll make trouble around t'e mundies."

Once they're inside the museum, Mac turns to Liam again. "So, boyo, still don't believe what I'm tellin' ye?"

Lupo - Room 630

Brighton nods a little bit. "You're probably right to disbelieve me. Lord knows I wouldn't believe me if I were in your shoes. But it doesn't make it any less true. Your mother was your mother, gods love her. And your father... well, he's your Dad, if you take my meaning. But your father, if what I've been told is correct, is Mars." Beat. "I mean like the Roman god of war, not the planet, obviously." Off a look from Lupo, he spreads his hands, "I've had to make the distinction between planets and gods before, don't give me that look."

He sighs a bit. "I hate being the one they make tell people these things. Here's the way it works: there's lots of people like you out there-- people who were born to one of the gods and don't know it. A lot of them live their lives without ever knowing about the... well, call it the bigger picture. Far as the World and Fate are concerned, they're mortal. Maybe they have a knack of some kind, but nothing too out of the ordinary. But there are a few of them, like you or me, who get tapped for something more. They learn the truth about their heritage, and ... things change.

"They find out about the War, for starters, between god and Titan, over the Fate of the World. The gods are busy keeping the Titans in check Above and Below, which means the task of protecting the World itself falls to us. And word came down from on high that you've been tapped for something more." He points at the floor. "Right now, something big is going to go down here in Branson soon-- we can't find out the details-- but they're calling in folks from all over the country to make sure that it doesn't go sideways. I know for a fact that several of the Titans' agents and soldiers are probably already in town, and I wouldn't be surprised if we get--"

He pauses as some raucous laughter can be heard getting closer in the hallway. It has the sound of drunken revelers to it, which is not too uncommon to hear, but it seems to stop right outside their door. Brighton narrows his eyes a bit, gesturing for Lupo to stay back as he heads over to the door, as a shimmer appears in the air before a golden chain seems to slide out of his sleeve, looking like it's made out of golden light.

Brighton cracks the door, and then jumps back as someone kicks it open the rest of the way. In the hall and rushing inside are a trio of women. Or at least they look like women. They are dressed like club-goers, and the smell of booze is strong around them, but so is the scent of blood. If Lupo didn't know better, he'd have just looked past them altogether, but now... he can see the jagged claws their fingernails have been warped into, see the sharpened nature of their teeth, and see the bloodlust in their eyes.

"Godsdamn Bacchae," Brighton swears as he swings his chain out, which wraps around the neck of the one nearest to him. He yanks her backwards as the chain glows brightly, until sunfire erupts from it, engulfing the Bacchae in its coils, which shrieks as she's burned to ash. The second comes at him and pins him to the wall, claws flashing, as the third leaps over the bed and rushes toward Lupo with clear intent to kill.

Kiki - Room 510

Anna and Art look at one another, and then Art busies himself with grabbing the decapitated harpy and dragging it to the broken windows to dispose of it. Anna approaches Kiki. "Sorry, this can all be a bit much to take in, I know," she sighs. "Heaven knows, there are days I kind of wish I hadn't found out the truth, either. Especially since it often means I'm away from my own family." She smiles sadly. "Not married, no kids, but I have a mortal family. Brothers and sisters to my mortal parents, the ones who raised me." Then she chuckles a bit. "...though the adventures can be fun."

"If a bit undignified," Art grunts as he heaves the harpy's body up to the lip of the window, grimacing as he hurls it out, then following this up with its head. His clothes are now covered in the harpy's filth. "Ugh."

"At any rate," Anna continues, "that's one of the reasons we asked you to come up here. According to the word we've gotten from on high, you're the daughter of the rainbow goddess Iris--"

"Which probably goes a long way to explain how you can blend in so well," Art interjects as he tries to clean some of the filth off his hands.

"--and," Anna continues, "you could do great things for us in the War against the Titans." She pauses, then stands up, holding out her hands. "I understand this is all a bit much to take in, and truth be told, you have the right to say no to all this. You can go home, deliver your report to Art's wife however you like, and we won't stop you, and you can go about living a normal life.

"Or, you can say yes, in which case your life will get considerably more... interesting."

GM NOTES

Hmm, gone a little lopsided in terms of action and events, but we should level that out soon.

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 909

Riley says nothing but breaks out in gales of laughter.

Liam - Ripley's

"Really... ye drop a bombshell like t'at on me in front of a museum of oddities and expect me to believe ye?" He gives Mac Dubh a pointed look. "So what, does this mean I'm supposed to have super powers. Like Cu Chulain?"

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo can't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you, but you have to admit it sounds a little crazy. Me I'm just Lupo. I ain't nothing special. Just a man who loves a good fight. My father had always told me I was adopted, never hid anything from me..but even he doesn't know who my real parents are.."

Kiki

Kiki just sits there stunned for the longest time. She saw those..things..and she still couldn't believe it. She had witnessed the two of them pull something out of thin air..and she still didn't believe it. Heck she didn't believe her own eyes..finally she just sat down. "I .. what...thats...this is insane..."

[Jay 2K Winger]

Riley - Room 909

Holtzman shakes his head. "It's just a sort of... speech impediment, you could call it," he says.

"But yes, I mean that kind of thing." He hesitates a bit, then says, "Ms. Th--*koff* Thorsen (so sorry), the gods are real. They always have been. All of them." He pauses. "And the tales of their children, who become heroes and battle monsters... those are also real."

Holtzman grimaces slightly. "The monsters are still out there, hidden among us, and it's up to the children of the gods to stop them. Children like me." He then looks at her, meeting her gaze unwaveringly. "And you."

Liam - Ripley's

Mac nods a bit. "I heard about that," the biker grunts. "Nasty piece o' work, that one. But... well, might be good news, might not be, depending on how ye want ta look at it... but what if I tol' ye t'at the woman he beat ta death wasn'a yer mam?"

He pauses to let Liam digest that a moment, then continues, "The gods ye swore by, O'Keefe? They're real, boyo. Real as you or me. And there's heroes out there, the gods' children, fighting the same old war against the monsters of myth." He strokes his beard a bit, and says, "People like you and me, we're those heroes, Liam."

Lupo - Room 630

Brighton nods a little bit. "Straightforward man," he says. "I like that. Cut right to the quick." He sighs. "In the stories and myths, the gods oversaw the world, and there were monsters in it. But the gods couldn't fight all of mankind's battles, and so they had children with mankind, and those children became heroes: Hercules, Jason, Achilles, all them."

He sighs. "Things haven't changed since the days of antiquity," he admits. "War's still going on, it's just the battlefield that's changed. Maybe some of the tactics, too." He spreads his hands. "We're the children of the gods," he says to Lupo.

Kiki - Room 510

"It's tea." That comes from Anna. "It's 'the price of tea in China.'" She sighs a little bit. "It has everything to do with it. But... you know how, in the stories, the gods would have children, who grew up and became heroes and everything?" She nods. "Yeah... those are all true. And it still happens today. Heroes battling monsters."

Art sighs, and looks about to speak, but Anna shakes her head at him, speaking instead, "We're children of the gods," she says, and laughs a little. "Gods, that sounds so insane, doesn't it?" Then, after another moment, she says, "Art and I, we're children of Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon. Well, her adopted children. Mother is a virgin. We were children of some other god who relinquished their claim over us, and she adopted us instead."

"When I had to leave all those times," Art said, "it was because I got called in to hunt down monsters. Anna and I are siblings, in the grand scheme of things, and I'm married. Lena and I had an evening wedding, under the light of the full moon, in the eyes of my Mother," he says. "If I were to betray the vows I took, I'd be facing literal divine wrath."

Anna speaks up again. "I called Art here because there's something big going down around here in the next few days. The gods are calling in a lot of us to make sure our numbers are strong."

"And," Art adds, "that's one reason I made sure you heard the call I made to Anna so you'd follow me here. You're the child of a god, too, and--"

He breaks off and turns his head slightly, as if he hears something. His eyes flick to Anna, who has a similar look, and then both are moving, and much faster than you'd think. Art is diving away from the windows behind him, as Anna swivels as she rises, hands moving as though drawing a bow, and with a shimmer of light, a silvery bow appears in her hands, looking as though it is crafted out of light, an arrow appearing as well. Just as she's drawn it full, two winged figures crash through the window, talons flashing. They have talons and wings, but they have the body and head of ugly, filth-smeared women.

"Harpies," Anna snarls, and then releases her arrow, which slams into one harpy's throat, sending it pitching back out the window, shrieking in pain. The second beats its wings as it shrieks as well, and the stench off the harpy is disgusting. Anna's drawing back her bowstring again, another arrow shimmering into being, but then Art stands and swings his arm, a silvery sword like Anna's bow flashing as it cuts the harpy's head off.

As the harpy's body falls, Art glances out the shattered window. "Looks like the other one's dead." He nods to Anna. "Nice shot." He lowers his sword, which shimmers and fades out of view. Likewise, Anna eases the draw, and arrow and bow likewise shimmer out of view. Art looks at Kiki. "Um. Sorry for the shock. We didn't know those harpies would turn up so soon...

[Mytical]

Lupo

"Not much of a reader to be honest. I spend from twelve to fourteen hours a day training, and a lot of the rest fueling up for the training." He sort of chuckles to himself, his father had told him that he was a bottomless pit, but when you worked as much as Lupo you need fuel. "I am a plain person, so lets skip the dance and get down to why you are here?" He was a man who appreciated saying outright what somebody was going to say. "Your as nervous as most of my opponents when I get in the ring."

Kiki

"Pardon the expression, but what has that got to do with the price of rice in China?" Kiki did not trust Art, she didn't like Art, and she would make no bones about it. Even if his story was true, and she doubted it, he still lied to and hid things from his wife. "Why should I believe a word you say?" She might be inclined to listen to Anna, but unless Art could pull a heck of a rabbit from his behind, she would not believe anything coming from him.

[Chanlin]

Riley - Room 909

"You want me to get you something for you cough?" She says with a grin as she flops down on the bed staring up at the ceiling.

"I know my adoptive parents thought somewhat highly of the gods." She pauses a moment, "I took a class on it in college before I dropped out. You mean Odin, and Thor and all those crazy dudes hell bent on death before dishonor and all that crap right?"

Liam - Ripley's... an Odd Place for an Odd Conversation

Liam's eyes narrow briefly, "Oi know t'at oi always suspected my da' of beatin' her ta' death. Oi ne'r could prove it t'ough." His voice get's real quiet at the last part and he stares at the ground as if even speaking ill of the man that beat him daily makes him uncomfortable.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Riley - Hilton, Room 909

Holtzman laughs a bit. "Hardly, my dear, I wouldn't ask that of you. One has such a thing as pride." He steps into the room and waits until the door is shut before the somewhat nebbish behavior he'd been using fades and he straightens up. "Tell me, Ms. Th--" again, that cough and clearing of the throat, "Thorsen (so sorry), what do you know of ..." he hesitates, then says, "Norse mythology. I mean, the actual stories, not the bastardized crap that Hollywood puts out?"

Liam - Outside Ripley's Oddities

Mac Dubh shakes his head and indicates with a jerk of it to move somewhere out of immediate public eye. "Funny ye should mention t'e gods, O'Keefe, 'cos it's of 'em as I wants to talk to ye." Then, after a pause, he looks Liam in the eyes and says, "What d'ye remember of yer mother?"

Lupo - Hilton, Room 630

Brighton shakes his head. "Nothing like that, it's just..." He sighs. He steps inside and runs a hand through his hair. "You read much mythology, Lupo?" he asks, looking around the room, even moving to the window as if concerned that someone would be listening outside it, even on the sixth floor.

Kiki - Hilton, Room 510

After she takes her precautions and goes to room 510, Kiki is let into the room by Anna Green, who seems to be aware of Kiki's wariness, and takes pains to show both hands. She's wearing short sleeves, too, so there's no concern of anything being hidden. Art Mooney is in view as well, likewise with his hands in plain sight. The room is a double, two beds.

"Ms. Toshioto," Art says as he sees her. He has a weary look on his face. He looks tired. "I'm glad you came. And I'm sorry you got caught up in all this." He clears his throat a bit. "Let me introduce you. Anna, this is Kiki Toshioto, a private detective my wife hired. Ms. Toshioto, I'd like you to meet my sister, Anna Green."

Now that Kiki has a chance to really look at them, there is something of a resemblance there, though... it would be hard to put a finger on it exactly. Kiki would know from her research, however, that Art Mooney doesn't have any siblings. He seems to see the doubt on her face and explains, "Now might be the best time to explain that... in a way, I'm adopted, as is Anna." He sighs then. "Ms. Toshioto, I said I would explain, and I will, but the explanation might be a little hard for you to believe. But I swear by all the gods that I would never do anything to betray Lena." He puts a hand on his heart. "May my Mother strike me down if I'm lying."

Strange that he'd say that, especially given that Gertrude Mooney died several years ago.

"Ms. Toshioto," he continues, "what do you know about Greek mythology?"

[Mytical]

Lupo

Lupo lets him in to talk. "Come on in. You know if you are here to talk about the purse or anything like that..you're talking to the wrong person .. right? My dad handles the business end. I'm just the meat in the ring." he chuckles. He knows his father doesn't feel that way, but keeping the business parts apart lets him concentrate on what he does best. Fight.

Kiki
Kiki goes up at this..go to a strange guys room all alone, with nobody knowing where she is or what she is doing? No. So she sends a text to one of her police contacts that if she has not gotten back with them in a couple of hours to open the next text called "Where I went." which includes ALL the details of who, what, when, etc. THEN she heads to the room.

[Chanlin]

Riley - At the Hotel - Branson, MO

Riley frowns momentarily at the man. "You could at least let me settle in before bribing me to throw the tournament..." she throws up her hands and sighs with a slight smirk on her face leaving the man to wonder if what she said is a joke or not. She steps aside and motions with one hand to indicate that it's ok for him to come in.

Liam - Outside the Museum of all things Odd - Branson, MO

"Oi swear to t'e gods Mac Dubh if you go telliin' me t'at MacBrides not here after all or t'at he has a small army wit' him O'im gonna flub ya somet'in fierce." He beams a big smile at the man despite the fierce tone of his words.