733/Party Like It's 299

Party Like It's 299
Date of Scene:	04 October 2014
Location:	Scene Box
Synopsis:	Strange things are afoot in Sieg and Rider of Blue's Paris. Mordred and Elliana happen upon the scene as it unfolds.
Cast of Characters:	12, 92, 566, 567

---

Sieg (566) has posed:
Charles de Gaulle Airport
France
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIgGzeNOjqc&

    Something is amiss in the biggest airport in France. Or rather, in and around it. Two planes of great note landed here only moments ago, but it had been with great trepidation from both crew and passengers. The first of these planes had... something... on it. It had arrived approximately an hour ago, and the thing that had crawled out of it had caused issues. The fact that other airplanes are even landing at this point has a lot to do with the influence that had been inflicted on them by the infection that had come off the airplane.

    Both Sieg and Rider could see it as they pulled into their gate. Their flight had been a short one, meant only to carry them from a nearby country's warp gate into France. For some reason Sieg seemed insistent on flying in a plane, and doubtless it was a new experience for Rider as well. External entry might be prompted by the steady transmission of an SOS signal from the communications room, which seems to have been triggered remotely somehow.

    The interior if the airport itself is a mess, and continues to be in the process of being a mess. Everybody who has arrived has immediately had their inhibitions suppressed dramatically. They are, to put it mildly, doing whatever they please. Some of them have chosen to loot and vandalize, others yet invaded the airport's bars and restaurants and spread the wares around. Especially the alcohol. Bottles, particularly wine bottles, have been spread around.

    The wine bottles seem the most plentiful.

    To put it mildly, the overall atmosphere is violent, drunken, and lewd. At least one plane has been rammed into the terminal a distance down, the emergency slides activated. Noises can be heard from within the plane, and it's easy to imagine that what is happening there is happening everywhere.

    It's starting to happen to the passengers who just disembarked alongside Sieg and Rider. Ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars are gathered outside at the curb, but they've been abandoned as well. Overall, the place reeks of sweat, blood, booze, and sex. The effect isn't centralized on the airport anymore, though...

    Stepping into it for the first time it seems so, but in fact it's long since moved out into Paris proper. A trail of this madness winds aimlessly through the city, and then abruptly drops off the map. In all, it looks like the police, EMTs, firemen, and civilians alike decided to have a riot simultaneously.

    Sieg looks like he just saw particularly vile parts of the internet for the first time. He scrunches up his nose, activating his magic circuits to clear out the invasive effect that's trying to get him to be a dumb teenager.

    "Um, Jean..."

    "Is this when it's appropriate to swear?" He asks of Rider, perhaps only half-jokingly.

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    'Jean' was still dressed in his Evel Knievel getup, blue motorcycle leathers (though the helmet had been unfortunately checked into his baggage,) but his normally wry smile had been replaced with a look of shock. The man looked around, before frowning. "Magic, is this not, Sieg?" he asked, suddenly a lot more grim and serious. Even in deadly combat, Rider had maintained a look of jovial flippancy, but now...

    A phone was produced as Rider intensely studied the screen, and it was quickly replaced. While the expression had softened a bit, Rider still maintained a serious tone as he continued to speak. "It seems the event has stopped spreading, at least through the city. What can you tell me about it?" he asked, uncharacterestically blunt and to the point.

    A wine bottle was kicked out of the way as Jean took the opportunity to survey the extent of the damage, moving to a window to see the looting, boozing and screwing.

    "If I had to guess, I would say that this is some sort of attack, though I cannot say what the aim is. Unless..." The phone was produced again, before he shook his head. "No. It would have been localized and spread, or at least guided there. Perhaps the attacker is not rational, or perhaps this was an accident. It seems to have served no purpose."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    FRANCE! Man, fuck France.

    Sieg having called his Servant 'Jean' had gotten Mordred on a wild goose chase. His Servant was French! That was a French name, right? Maybe he meant to pronounce it like... Jeen? But his Servant is not a woman. So, it must be a French man.

    This involved GOING TO FRANCE and visiting a few museums. Sadly she didn't really find anything extremely telling. Too many Jeans. Too many popes.
    She may have asked her Master along (HELLO ELLIANA). Passes time and makes a MUSEUM much much more tolerable. Fortunately today was not going to be boring at all. Airport difficulties! Maybe she'd get to fight a plane. A fucking plane!

    Arrival at the airport has the Servant frowning though. The hell is that feeling? It's bouncing off her, so it's low-grade thaumaturgy at best, but what is that about? Hn. Well, there's a magus here, either way. Or a shitty Servant. That's way less fun than maybe getting to fight a PLANE.

    Whether or not her Master is following, Mordred pushes past the crowds and security, walking into the airport and glancing around. She's not armored-- just wearing a red jacket, white tank top and some short jeans, with biker boots.

    The presence of a Servant, at least, is easy to lock on to. She beelines for Sieg and Rider, although comes to a dead stop upon noticing them. It doesn't feel like they are the source of the effect, sooo...

    "Welp. Ain't you all over the place. Sup?"

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "It is magecraft, but..." Sieg frowns, crossing his arms over his chest and inspecting the area critically. To a mage's inspection the 'work' done here is sloppy. It's like somebody just nerve gassed the entire place, only instead of nerve gas it just made them all incredibly drunk. In fact, that's the 'feeling' of the effect itself -- trying to induce a sort of drunken relaxation. Only, given an opportunity, it'll clearly infect somebody deeper and get its hooks in. He looks sideways at Rider.

    "Either the magus who did this would have to cover the entire airport in magic seals, or... it would have to be something other than a magus." In other words, this is either the work of a servant or another powerful nonhuman. Sieg gestures around broadly, "The effect is just too big for a normal magus to pull off. I might be able to do it if I knew how it worked, but even then I doubt I could spread it out as far as this is going. And this spellwork is SLOPPY. It's like whoever doing it was under its influence as well. I think the place you're concerned about it safe."

    "Whoever did this probably ran out of juice when--" Sieg is cut off by Mordred's arrival. He looks slightly alarmed at this, but he doesn't identify her container type. "Mordred... did your master do this?" Oh would you look at that, Sieg knows who the mystery Saber is. He forgot to mention it to Rider. Evidently the fact that another servant is here is enough to make him suspect foul play from her master, though. It's probably why he didn't address Mordred in a more friendly manner -- he's not sure she isn't here to cause trouble.

    Though... come to think of it... Mordred doesn't seem like the type who'd get along with a Master who would pull something like this.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Psht, no. She wouldn't do something this sloppy. She'd just tear right through my resistance like it's butter. Whoever did this wasn't thinking of using it to take out superfreaks, just regular ones. Maybe someone's desperate for food," she theorizes with a shrug. She look towards 'Jean' then, apparently in no hurry to save the day and solve the mystery. She's not a magus, anyway. Sieg is! Kind of. He can fix this. She'll just like, be a snarky jerk, provide one-liners, and maybe sword some guy in the face if Sieg's Servant doesn't beat her to it.

    "Heeeee~llo mystery Servant. Cool biker duds. What does a supernatural biker need with an airplane?" That's right, why the airport? This Servant can ride a motorcycle through the harsh snows of the Tundra, but he'd need a plane to get to France? Or... did they come investigate this place and it's unrelated to needing transport? 50/50 chance.

    "Either way, you got your Sherlock Holmes cap and a magnifying glass on you? Sounds like you'll need it, unless you want to just sit back and watch what this thing does to people once it claws deep into them."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "Again. Perhaps our foe is not rational, or it is not a foe, more...a force of nature. A weapon, perhaps? But one would typically have an objective. Perhaps this was a test." He turned to Sieg as the homunculus explained, his brow continuing to furrow deeper. He raised a thumb to his chin, apparently lost in thought as Sieg introduced more facts to add to his rationalization of the entire incident.

    Mordred could tell that gears were whirring in Jean's head, but he suddenly snapped back to reality when Sieg was cut off.

    "A master would not be capable of this, would they? Not without preperation. Mordred's master is, last I checked, not in the competition for our grail. Unless they are the type to revel in mindless destruction, I would question that particular attribution."

    "An attack...but why? A mistake? Something set as a sort of...bomb, and left to its own devices?" Jean said to no one in particular.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "Like I said. It's a big maybe. It's not impossible, but it would require setup time to do it. Let's keep moving..." Sieg looks back towards the throng of passengers that disembarked with them. They're starting to spread out now, some trying steadfastly to carry out their intended actions. Most are succumbing, and some never made it off the plane with their minds completely intact. Apart from instances of people starting to attack each other, it doesn't seem to be harmful in and of itself.

    Progression through the terminal mostly isn't hard. Occasionally a particularly aggressive victim will wander close and attempt to accost them, but mostly they seem to realize that Mordred and Rider are just too much trouble to bother with. They seem rather... animalistic, overall. They're not entirely rational, but they haven't been stripped of complete awareness.

    With regards to Mordred's question to Rider, the homunculus said, "I wanted to try an airplane... and you know, even though he can handle that motorcycle all the time, it's pretty uncomfortable for me. My skin is really sensitive." A polite way of saying that it chafes like a bitch.

    As they progress further from the terminal, the effect gets heavier on the air. Police can be seen outside arresting people, but it doesn't seem to be for the purpose of actually taking them away. Mostly they're just handcuffing them to nearby fixtures. Car doors, benches, and the like.

    "Maybe whoever DID this was drunk." The homunculus theorizes aloud, looking around in confusion. Seeing the trail of people doesn't really clear anything up, but there is a building sense of foreboding. Something's watching.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "So what, the magus equivalent of drunk driving? Drunk casting? I'm not good with the theory but even I know magecraft needs some amount of precision and clarity or else you're losing a lot. This is a pretty big effect. If some douchebag set this up while drunk he's worth like, maybe one line of praise before horrible murder happens." Or maybe his Origin is Casting While Drunk.

    Amazingly that would probably be the Origin of any of the Eight Immortals who invented Zui Quan if they were summoned as Heroic Spirits, but the player digresses.

    Mordred follows along, evidently not bothered by the violence. As long as nobody hits on her and calls her a girl, she will probably not be bashing faces into the concrete hard enough to splashback Sieg and stain his clothes. "And no, we're not after your Grail. I'm told I like mindless destruction though," she answers Rider with a grin. "Fuck if I know though. If this is meant to make people drunk and off their game, it could just be a distraction. Hide something in the effect, count on people being too busy tripping and beating each other up to notice it until it's too late."

    She looks towards Sieg then, curious. "You got any way to track it? I can't really feel much of anything besides its presence. I'd probably have to shut off my resistance for that and that sounds like too much of a hassle."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "I would almost say that this may have..." Jean suddenly looked at Mordred. "...been a more personal statement, but I am sure that...no, it cannot have happened." As she grinned, Jean shook his head, apparently not willing to joke around as he previously was in their last encounter. As they walked, Jean simply shook his head as Mordred put forward the idea of a distraction.

    "If this was meant to be one, then what was their goal? It has stopped, so whatever they have planned must have been done already. A distraction of this magnitude for theft, for example, is too big. Too grand. It would cause much more trouble than it is worth. But it was /caused/ by something that is capable of that kind of power, but if it is a servant..."

    Jean suddenly froze. Unfortunately, his guns and other useful things that he could wield without explicitly giving away any clues were all elsewhere. "Perhaps it is my current sense of paranoia, but I feel as if we are being watched."

    His eyes flicked from place to place, attempting to justify that little annoying feeling in the back of his head.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    A repulsive squelching sound and a horror-struck scream escapes a nearby bathroom. A span of a second or two passes before something comes of it. Three figures move together from the narrow entryway into the men's bathrrom. All three of them are women, each of a wildly different age. One is quite young, only a few years older than Sieg -- an adult, but barely. The next is middle-aged and overweight, and the third is quite elderly. They do not move like humans.

    They attack soon after.

    They are too fast to be human, but by the measurements of heroic spirits they are below-average. They get in one another's way and stumble about as they rush the group. They don't have much maneuverability, but their actual movement speed is absurd. Crossing the distance from the bathroom to the trio occurs in the span of a heartbeat.

    They are flesh-and-blood, but they strength of their grip is monstrous. They could tear a normal person apart easily, and it's only because he started moving back behind Mordred and Rider before they emerged that Sieg manages to get out of their reach.

    Nevertheless, the danger of them seems to be all three of them converging on a single target. Right now they split their attention, two attempting to grasp at Rider while the third attempts to bite out Mordred's throat.

    You would almost think they're zombies, but they have far more presence than that.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Well if I were setting up some big deal magecraft I'd probably stay behind to watch what it does too. Or I'd set up, I dunno, cameras, or some sort of observation spell. They have those right?" She's pretty sure her mother used scrying once or twice, at least.

    Still, Jean makes a good point.
    This is a bit of a grand effect for a distraction. She wouldn't discard the possibility, but he's not wrong either.

    And then zombies.
    No, not zombies. Too fast. Not rotting. Okay, maybe fresh zombies, but it doesn't really... hrm. Nope. This is beyond her grasp. Mordred frowns, and remembers why she dislikes magecraft in general. Too complicated. Too many schools. Too many styles. Too much theory.

    Bright red flames suddenly flare up over her left hand as she pulls it back, and swings it full force towards the woman's skull. You would be absolutely correct in guessing Mordred does not care if these people are being controlled and might revert to normal once the effect dies down. She likes her throat to be not-bitten, and has the speed and strength to punch a (possibly literal) bitch before her teeth can reach her.

    The flames, incidently, don't add to the punch at all. A bit slower than her blow, they travel up her arm and then spread across her body, silver and red platemail appearing in the flames' wakes. She can punch a bit faster than can she invoke her armor, but that's not too unusual.

    Since her identity has been revealed already, her helmet does not appear with the rest of her armor. Or rather, it does, but it immediatly splits into two down the middle, and then fuses with her armor by snapping down. Her status screen becomes unblurred to Sieg, who can now see her stats, as well as Clarent and Secret of Pedigree. There's a third Noble Phantasm blurred out, as tends to be the usual when Servants don't tip their hands.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana had come to the airport with Mordred, but she had been nowhere near when Mordred ran off. Why was this? Because she'd been held up by one of the shops. Specifically, the FNAC. She'd been buying herself a new device to toy with, and it had taken longer.

    "Finally. Go all the way to another world and found one just sitting in the store. Well worth the premium..." She was sort of just walking along right now, hurriedly trying to catch up. She doesn't look drunk at all! She's also dressed in a sharp little jacket and blouse and skirt, looking rather normal all told.

    She was playing with her new iPhone 6 right now, so wasn't really paying much attention to all the fighting. It was just noisy! She doesn't notice the zombies until moments before spying Mordred and the others, and seeing it is three for three, she does what is probably the most natural thing in the world.

    "SIRI, record video."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "..."

    As Mordred simply proceeds to punch a bitch so hard that if they weren't reinforced or enhanced, Jean simply shook his head.

    "I would prefer that you stay your hand. These are innocents, caught in whatever this is. I do not think you need to use the full extent of your abilities against these foes, as amusing as it may be to you. It is true that they may meet a fatal end, regardless of your actions, but I would not like to add to the casualty reports when this is over."

    A nearby broomhandle was suddenly kicked up and whirled around Rider's neck as he suddenly held it in an orthodox position, as one might hold a rather short spear. He moved forward, and with two quick strikes, attempted to simply hit both of his assailants with swings to their midsections hard enough to put anyone human down, but not hard enough to break bones. Hopefully, that would be enough. Otherwise, things would get untastefully nasty.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    You know what happens to people made of meat when somebody like Mordred hits them full force? Yeah, they don't walk away from it. Mordred's punch falls and the woman's head ... surprisingly doesn't cave in. But it is incorrect to assume that this means it didn't kill her. Her skull cracks audibly, splintering at the point of impact like somebody drove a fist-sized object into it with a powerful machine. To put it simply, even if she survived she would be hopelessly brain damaged. Nevertheless, a human should have no such resilience.

    This is a Servant. And it is not a Servant. It has a body of flesh, but it definitely has the physical ability of a very weak servant.

    Rider meets with a similar answer -- when his strikes land they do so with an impact meant to spare a human, so they don't crumple as might be expected. They are pushed back, but the damage is negligible. The pair advance again, one reaching out to grasp the broom handle while the other tries to get around it.

    Sieg scrambles backwards, looking with disbelief towards the woman who just arrived with ... a new cell phone? Gotta do something. He approaches one of the mad women from behind, activating his magic circuits and routing his power into his left hand. He draws back and PUNCHES at the back of the woman's neck, calling out as he does, "STROM!"

    Electricity crackles around the homunculus's fist as he strikes the base of the woman's skull, but... there is a CRUNCH from his hand, and the magecraft itself doesn't seem to have affected the woman very much.

    It appears that there aren't more of the strange women, though, because even the arrival of an additional party doesn't prompt further 'zombie women' to appear.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "Look, they're obviously zombies. And I don't know if you ever opened a history book but I tend to fight back." She will, however, abstain from punching another's skull in. This translates entirely to "let Rider deal with those last two on his own while grinning". Mordred is kind of a bitch, yes.

    Her attention turns as Elliana enters, and she waves towards her as if everything in the world was completely normal. "Yo, master. Look, I'm making friends!"

    Ignore the blood on her hand and the corpse at her feet.
    For someone who just walked in this probably looks horrible.

    She does spare Sieg a glance, at least. "You been practicing magecraft after all? Not bad. You huh, might want to not try martial arts though, I think that was your hand, not her skull."

    She will, in fact, move to catch a blow aimed for Sieg, if it comes down to it, but if the two remaining foes remain focused on Rider, she won't budge an inch.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "N-no, I improvised that, and if you notice it didn't really work!" Sieg withdraws his fist. His knuckles have already turned a brilliant shade of black-and-purple that is spreading across the whole back of his hand. Even accounting for the fact that he struck an obviously supernatural creature, he shouldn't have received that much damage from a simple punch. It looks like he charged full force into a concrete wall and hit it at maximum momentum.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana can be kind of a bitch, too, but... hearing someone break their hand doing some heroics is something she can't help but wince at. "We might need to take a look at that after this," she notes offhandedly. She's seeing all of this through the cell phone camera, right now, but that's not what's important. What's important is these things are obviously superhuman, so she probably shouldn't be goofing off with a cell phone. Even a nifty new one that was hard to find.

    So Elliana tucks the phone away and frowns. "New friends. I see. Well, we should take care of the immediate threat first." She has no idea what she's dealing with, so she's going to play it safe. Conservative. That means... no burning. Lightning might be bad as well. So Elliana's option is a summoning of raw power in the form of a sudden drop in temperature, and an attempt to crystallize a pillar of ice around the strange 'zombie' that Sieg just attacked.

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    At the lack of efficacy of his attack, Jean paused for a moment, gritting his teeth. "They are not. They are something different, I fear. Much different. But you are right, unfortunately. We have no cure, and we do not even know what afflicts them." From seemingly nowhere, the servant drew a firearm. This particular firearm, however, was different from what Mordred previously saw. It was an ornate thing, a piece of art, almost. A flintlock pistol, the steel shiny and polished, the flint sharp and unused, the wood laquered and untarnished.

    In spite of being a flintlock pistol, two shots rang out in rapid succession. The first was aimed at the heart of the first woman who had attacked Jean, and the later was aimed at the head of Elliana's popsicle, aiming to simply shatter the impromptu ice sculpture. As quickly as it appeared, the pistol disappeared, and Jean appraoched Sieg, examining his hand.

    "Are you injured? Their bodies seemed to be reinforced, and much more hardy than a typical human's. Still, it was a good effort."

    As Elliana enters the scene, Jean blinked for a moment, before clearing his throat. "You are the Master of our rather animated aquaintance? It is a pleasure to meet you, though if you would indulge me this question before we speak further, you are not interested in the Grail, whether it be the one of our world or the one where our friend hails, are you not?"

Sieg (566) has posed:
    It's possible that the strange women would have turned on Sieg if they had more time to do so. As it is, they are stopped. Ice creeps up the feet of one of them -- the one that had tried to circle around Rider -- until it cannot move. There is a faint grinding noise from within the ice as it struggles to free itself, and begins to make some measure of progress. Given time it would evidently claw its way out by sheer force, but it doesn't get the opportunity to do so.

    The woman attempting to hold onto the broom handle is shot in the heart and falls dead. Something withdraws from her, and soon thereafter when the frozen woman is shot in the head it leaves her as well. They become distinctly less monstrous in visage, and one could not imagine that either of them were ever the beastly things they were a moment ago. The floor is littered with the corpse of a young woman, a middle-aged woman, and an elderly woman.

    Sieg holds his left hand up at eye level in the aftermath. If it's not broken, it's certainly in bad shape. The bruising isn't getting any better, and it's throbbing quite painfully. "Y-yeah... if any of you know how to heal, it'd be pretty helpful." It's a testament to how frail that he is, though. Even for a normal human, breaking one's fist striking such a lowly supernatural being is unusually frail.

    The sense of foreboding has lifted almost entirely. The people in the surroundings are coming to themselves again. It's probably not a good idea to linger.

Mordred (12) has posed:
    "She can heal. A bit. I think."
    Mordred isn't sure. She thinks Elliana might have basic healing magic but she hasn't SEEN her use it, so it's just a guess. Her repertoire is pretty big. "Gonna warn you though, you might get nightmares from it. I'm not kidding, she causes nightmares with just her presence," she does add though, mostly because she likes Sieg enough to not be dick about that.

    "Too bad whoever set this up got away. Guess we'll have to look around. You give me a call if you find anything, I'll pop along if I've got nothing else to do." The Servant glances about, all too aware with the effect dissipating people will flock back in. Cops, especially. It turns out you usually don't want "three bodies found in airport, girl in full plate armor seen leaving" in the newspaper. Or any variants thereof including an obvious biker gang leader with a flintlock pistol.

    That reminds her.

    "Man now there's a weapon I haven't seen in a Servant's hands before. That! That narrows it down a bit. Pretty cool though."

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana frowns at the things escaping. "Some sort of possession? No matter right now, more immediate needs. I deal with sealing, not explicit exorcisms. Hm..." She shakes away her thoughts and does move in closer to look at the hand. "I cannot take all of us out at once, not without a... detrimental side effect. We'd best make haste and I can look at your hand later."

    She does have a few tricks to help with this. A simple burst of flame that incinerates one of the dead bodies, and she hopes will set off the fire alarms and sprinklers. That should let them get out pretty quickly, to somewhere they can get out fast.

    "I can heal to a small degree, but it is basically flesh manipulation," Elliana admits. "And the more I use it, the more you will have nightmares. I do, however, know typical healing methods that can alleviate the pain and help with natural healing, or perhaps a quickened healing spell. You may want that instead."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "That would be appreciated. Sieg is...well, he's a bit fragile. Not any fault of his, but there are reasons for that that arn't very important right now!" Jean said, nodding his head. His caution about the grail aside, it seemed that if Elliana could heal Sieg, that they could stick together for the time being. "If you could, mademoiselles, we can work out what needs doing later. Standing in the middle of the chaos is not a very good thing if we do not want troubles in the near future."

    In spite of his face becoming significantly less grim and stony, Elliana or Mordred might have seen Jean looking wistfully at the corpses he created, before he motioned to one of the rather convinient fire exits. "If you will, ladies first. There is enough of a mess around that I do not think anyone will bother following us, though we should also take care not to attract any good samaritans who wish to help with Sieg's hand."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred lets Elliana handle Sieg, since she's the one best equipped for that. Her attention is mostly on Rider, whom she is still trying to get a good enough look at to be able to identify. Any and all focus she might have had on that task seems disrupted by something he says-- twice, at that.

    And then Mordred frowns.
    And Elliana knows it takes her a lot of restraint not to burst like a dam right there and then, and paint the airport crimson with the other Servant('s blood).

    Rather than outright attack Rider, Mordred aims a punch for his shoulder-- somewhat hard, given she's not pulling her strength back all that much, but not enough to be harmful. For a Servant. For a human, it might be the last punch that shoulder receives.

    "That's sir. Not missy, not mademoiselle, not dame, not girl, not woman, and especially NOT lady. Sir." Huff. Well, obvious button is obvious.

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "Nightmares...? What kind of healing thaumaturgy causes nightmares?" Sieg has never heard of such magecraft before, and although he's seen a bit of what Elliana has done, he doesn't really understand it. Why it would cause nightmares completely eludes him.

    The dead woman who is set ablaze is fairly easy to dispose of, and predictably it sets off the fire alarms and sprinklers. By the time this is happening, he's hurrying out... hopefully with Mordred, Elliana, and Rider in tow. At any rate, he's not a suspicious figure himself. It shouldn't be too hard for him to get away with it. After all, how could a young man like him cause mass madness and all of what just happened?

    Most likely, it wouldn't even get prosecuted in the greater sense of things simply because of what a mess it is. An investigation will certainly occur, but... the Mage's Association is sure to cover all of this up as soon as possible.

    Sieg spots a taxi parked a bit away, and makes his way towards it but... he stops and turns when there's some hold-up. He looks at Mordred, an expression of profound disappointment settling in. He says, "Hey-- he was just trying to be polite! Even if you think he's being rude, you can't just haul off and hit people for it. You'll just give people a reason to be rude later, especially if you do it when they were trying to be nice."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    In reaction to the Punch, Jean's shoulder visibly jerked from the sheer force of it, but the pain seemed to snap him back to reality. After a brief moment of getting his head together, the man had smiled. "Oh, I see. There are stories like that, that I know of...ah, but that is something for another day."

    As Jean accompanied his charge to the taxi, he gave a small chuckle as Sieg admonished Mordred. "Ah, Sieg. It's nothing, but she is like that for a reason. I simply did not know. Though, I will say, I would prefer not to take another blow from her if I can help it!"

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Elliana, as usual, attempts to smooth things over even as she heads for the exit. "I am a Lady, but my Servant is a Knight. Call her Sir, if you respect either of us. And as for me, call me Lady Fairchild. It is what I insist for my allies." She seems familiar enough with the modern world, nowadays, and kicks open the fire escape to help things along. "I can at least put ice on the wound, but I suggest you get something more potent. I have not been able to mystically heal without side effects in years."

    To Mordred, the blonde states, "Always give the first one free, so they have a chance to correct their behavior." Then she looks to Sieg and reassures, "I will handle it."

    It's only once they're headed for the taxi that she answers his first question. "It is a matter of public record, so no great secret to tell you. I was a priestess once, and retain some of those abilities, but I sealed a great darkness inside me. The... nightmares... are a result of leakage. It does make for an impressive power source for my Servant, however." She neglects to mention the OTHER one sealed in Mordred. "As for the Grails? I admit that a wish is a tempting thing, but I understand that interfering with another Grail War is more trouble than it is worth."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred is about to grump at Sieg, when Elliana steps in-- and Rider takes it pretty well, all told. That's probably for the best all around. The tiny traitor sighs and rubs the back of her head awkwardly.

    "Fine, fine. Sorry, 'Jean'. You get to punch me once at a time of your choosing, how's that?" Chivalry at its finest. Though, a tale of returning blows is more Gawain's thing, really. She'll have to remember to give the first one free next time, just to make her master happy.

    As Elliana clarifies, Mordred nods. "Yeah, honestly, there's no guarantee we could even get a wish out of yours, right? So we'd have to make yourselves the target of who knows how many powerful pairs just for a big maybe? Meh, might as well stick with ours. Which hasn't even kicked into gear yet. Not that I mind. Second chance at life and all. Weird perspective but this status quo is kind of more appealing than the wish itself at this point."

    She's sure Sieg can understand that.

    "So, have you two found any of your opponents yet?"

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "I'll... I'll figure something out." Sieg seems unsettled by this entire exchange. His expression is a bit mixed, and he seems uncertain about Elliana. The idea of nightmare healing sounds pretty unappealing to him, but she did smooth things over. He says to her, "I'm just Sieg. I don't have any titles, and I don't know that I really want any. I guess I'm a magus, but I'm not really a good one." Truthfully, he doesn't know what to do about his hand. Maybe the best thing to do is go to a hospital... they'd be able to do something about it, right? But maybe not such a good idea. Rider knows how hospitals work, though...

    Regarding the Grails, the homunculus says, "I have no wish. I don't like the idea of the Grail Wars. Just by existing, they've hurt a lot of people. But I don't think that the other masters or servants are going to let us just end it peacefully." An uncertain glance is cast towards Rider. What would he give, in the end, for the wish that he's aiming for?

    They reach the taxi, and Sieg climbs into the back seat. He claims the left side of the car so he won't be sharing armspace with his messed up arm. Buckling up is difficult, and he struggles with it a bit if not helped. He continues, "I guess... participating in the war gets me what I need, even if it's not what I want. The person who made me to be a battery is a master, so he'll probably end up getting himself killed. I don't really want him to die that badly, even if I want him to stop doing what he's doing."

    Red eyes focus on Elliana. "You're not from this world, though, are you? Or one like it. The things you described doing are too wondrous. How did you get involved?"

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "We have, yes. We...well. Saber. Archer. Caster. We've encounted those three, but there is no doubt there are more opponents waiting for us. And as for your repayment, how about we make it a bottle of wine? A good vintage please, not something out of a box or costing two dollars." Jean's eyes flicked to Sieg at the mention of Saber, but nothing else was stated or suggested.

    "But in any case, Lady Fairchild, it is good to know that you are not interested in a wish. But for some of us, it is all we have, and servants...well, perhaps our fiesty friend might have other thoughts, but I have nothing to lose in my pursuit of the grail. It is my purpose, and so I will fufill it."

    A pause. "In any case, ours is starting to heat up as well. There has been a good amount of conflict, and the Church itself is involved. It will be quite the challenge to claim the prize!"

    In terms of 'who gets to sit where,' Jean would have claimed any seat in the back, preferring to let either of the ladies take the front.

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    Questions about the boy and the war were on Elliana's mind, so it's convenient that they were answered. She piles in without comment, at first, but does clarify to Mordred, "I meant the first use of an improper honorific."

    How she got involved is a delicate question. "I would rather not give the details of how I became involved in this, actually. It is both... embarrassing and frustrating. Suffice to say it was not entirely my own doing, much as the only one of the Masters I have met was unwillingly thrust into her role. Neither of us are particularly inclined to fight for the Grail, now, but as we are opposing idealogies we often come into conflict anyway."

Mordred (12) has posed:
    Mordred frowns at the correction.
    Right, right, she totally knew that.
    Free first offense, not free punches.

    Mordred sits in the front, evidently because Elliana might want a closer look at Sieg's hand now that they're having time to sit down and relax. Hopefully the taxi driver doesn't question them too much and just figures they're talking video games or something.

    "Have you actually fought them or just met them?"

Sieg (566) has posed:
    "Um... to a nice hotel, please." Sieg asides to the driver. This doesn't seem skeevy at all. He looks at Elliana, nodding slowly in assent to her desire not to reveal how she got involved. "If your grail war works conventionally, you probably have to deal with opponents anyway. The only way the grail can function is if most of the servants are killed. In an irregular war like ours you don't need so many casualties, but I'm not sure how yours works."

    With regards to who they've fought, Sieg seems unwilling to commit. "One of the two Sabers is already gone. He's the sort of person who just kind of helps people, and I don't think his Master liked that at the end. I don't know about Archer and Caster... I try not to be where the fights are, since I'm no good in one." He raises his busted hand as evidence, wincing as he does so.

    The homunculus twists to look at Rider, "I think Jean has had a lot more direct contact than me, but none of their identities are really obvious yet. I've seen Archer before, and he has some really strange weaponry. It looks... I don't know, out of place. I think he must have stolen it, because none of that equipment is associated with a hero like him."

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "I have fought them, yes. Well, not Caster. But Archer and Saber..." Jean frowned, folding his arms. "I did have an engagement or two with them. There were also a few more, but...it was hard to tell what they even were." As Sieg spoke, the man nodded in agreement. "Archer had some weapons and powers that I would not have expected. Luckily, I was able to disengage without tipping my hand too far forward, but I am afraid it is the same case for him."

    At the mention of Saber's death, he shook his head, sighing. "Saber was...a man of nobility, shackled to forces that he never should have been beholden to. But he is gone now, and there remains still those who seek the grail. It is simply a matter of time until they seek us out to fight, but that is the way of things."

    There was a slighty uncomfortable pause from the man, before he shrugged. "Well, for myself and the rest of the servants in this war, anyway."

Elliana Fairchild (92) has posed:
    "We have fourteen," Elliana says, without worry. "Saber is Red team." Might as well make it sound like a game more, for the taxi driver. "We've met Black team's Assassin and her Master. She is someone I have had personal contact with before. We have something of an on-again, off-again... hmm... frenemyship?" She shrugs. "This war bothers me, possibly because of what you said earlier. It only brings strife and unhappiness to the majority. I do not pretend to be a nice person any more, but I do have my standards, and something like this leaves an ill taste in my mouth."

    She does take a few minutes to look at the hand and provide some minor chilling to relieve the pain, then make sure the bones are set. "You should see a doctor about that," she says offhandedly. "In any case, I am in no hurry to lose my Servant. She still hasn't beaten me in Fatal Battol 4 yet."

Sieg (566) has posed:
    Sieg looks vaguely guilty about the matter of Saber, but doesn't clarify on the subject just now. "Anyway," He says, "I need to support Jean here because he made sure I stayed alive. If he wants the wish, then I think it's only fair that I help him along the way. And he doesn't hurt people if he doesn't have to, so..." The matter of the creatures in the airport fresh on the mind, it's easy enough to believe what he's saying. There is, after all, evidence for it.

    The cab slows and pulls to the curb of a hotel. It doesn't look like an inexpensive one, either.

    The homunculus smiles at Elliana. "I'll get it looked at soon. I don't want to be crippled, but if I really have to I'll just... spend a lot of mana on it, I guess." Healing is a process that Sieg understands, even though he's not good at casting spells. He should be able to put it mostly right in theory, but...

    If it sets wrong somewhere, he'll be in for a world of pain later when it just has to be re-broken.

    "This is our stop. Um, thank you. For the help." He struggles a moment to get the door open, and pays the man in the cab with a handfull of scattered bills. Looks like more than is necessary, but that's probably so Mordred and Elliana are paid for wherever they choose to go. Sieg takes a moment to give them both a phone number (his own), and waits for Rider to climb out of the back before he disappears into the hotel.

Rider of Blue (567) has posed:
    "Fourteen, eh? It's similar, isn't it. But yes, our war is a lot more 'hot' than yours, I think. But yes, thank you, both of you. We appreciate the help. Perhaps I will call in Mordred's favor, and we can all enjoy a nice dinner and bottle of wine." Jean gave a wink to the two remaining in the cab and got up, waving as he walked out.

    "I'm looking forward to it!" he said, before closing the door and joining Sieg.