confronting Evandau

[gistful]

Characters: Evandau, Anton, Hawke, Septimus, whole bunch of others
Date: August 28th, 2014
Location: The Midnight Hotel, may move to outside one of its entrances in one of the five sectors
Situation: It’s time to confront Evandau.
Warnings/Rating: Probable violence, will update accordingly.

By the time Hawke calls Evandau out, the Hotel is as prepared as it’s possible to be. The radio set has been brought in so they can communicate with the teams outside using the portable WWII handset Akito jerry-rigged. Anton has warned the gang-kedan, particularly the Dust-user and distributers, most of whom are hiding upstairs. The commons aside from the lobby have their doors closed; judging by the rowdiness in the living-room still filtering through the door, ‘noise pollution’ is the going excuse. Anton wants his current patrons as protected as they can be, which is why he encouraged a couple of those present to guard the stairs up.

There are a fair few people in the lobby, which isn’t unexpected, but Anton has warned each and every one of them about the Hotel rules and the fact that, if any of them jumps the gun, he will be forced to defend Evandau. Nothing would ruin the plan more than Anton being obliged to stand up against those with whom he would rather be allies. He doesn’t know most of them, but it’s clear that they’re friends of others who are in on the plan; the only person who worries him is Wreath, sitting quietly in a corner behind the entrance.

Anton himself is behind the reception desk, going through his ledgers and waiting quietly for Evandau to arrive, and keeping Daisy the shotgun close at hand under the counter. Just in case.

Comments

[raavashing]

Wan had hoped they could hash it out quickly and then go to help, but this was better than an all out fight inside. He gathered the elements of earth and water than he had waiting off to the side, sending the stone and ice chunks to orbit around him as he followed the others out the door. He didn't know where Evandau would exit at, but he was going to be in the Wood sector, where he'd entered from.

He'd help Anton clean up the rest of the water once the attack was taken care of.

[alterer]

Nilin had been present for the whole of the exchange, but the camouflage offered by her Sensen had kept her from sight. She'd been ready for a fight within this building, not one from the outside.

Invisible still, she puts a hand on Hawke's arm and flickers into view. "We should move."

[ironwood]

Evandau has since produced a sword from... somewhere, since he didn't appear armed when he entered the Hotel, and is moving towards one of the exits. A straggling cultist manages to wedge himself in the doorway and is promptly shoved back out.

[peacefullywreathed]

Shudder's voice sounded over the intercom, calmly warning the kedan what was happening and requesting volunteers to help barricade the inside. Solomon wasn't particularly interested in remaining. If the attack wasn't a ploy to sidetrack the confrontation, then it was coincidental indeed; and even if it wasn't a ploy, there was too much still to be discovered.

Fortunately Solomon had an edge. He shadow-walked straight to the door and then slipped out into Fire Sector, and shadow-walked from each sector's entrance until he found the one through which Evandau had arrived and was now exiting.

Having a chat hadn't accomplished anything, but if there was anything at all untoward about the way Evandau engaged the cultists, Solomon would know and be able to at least reignite the confrontation.

[ironwood]

Evandau doesn't take long to orient himself in departing the Hotel to a different sector than he'd arrived in and crosses the distance to the nearest cultist and cuts them down with his sword. The movements are brisk, businesslike, and he sidesteps the next one who lunges at him and slashes them from behind. He moves preternaturally quickly, faster than the reaction times of the possessed kedan.

[peacefullywreathed]

Solomon took the time to defend himself when he had to, not too difficult with his taint-sense, for lack of a better word, alight; but for the most part he was interested in observing the Emperor. Which was why he remained more on the Hotel roof, and the roofs of the buildings adjacent.

There weren't that many Foreigners in this entrance--and the cultists didn't seem to care all that much about the Emperor, either. Nor did the Emperor seem to care too much about defending--the manner of his attacks seemed more in the way of execution. They were precise, almost orderly. What was he? Solomon had to wonder. His soul hadn't been tainted, at least not that Solomon could tell with the sense he'd used in the Hotel--but he hadn't been normal, either.

In a lull Solomon shadow-walked down behind Evandau, shadows sweeping aside within a split-second of his leaving the roof. "Offence is the new defence, is it?" he asked. "One wonders why you wanted aid at all."

[ironwood]

"If you have to ask that," Evandau said, not even slightly winded by the exertion of cutting down the cultists. "Then you are less useful to me than most."

Having cleared this immediate area, he began striding purposefully towards the sounds of further fighting, leaving Solomon to keep up.

[peacefullywreathed]

"Unfortunately for all of us, we're not mind-readers," said Solomon, "and you haven't done much leading of the masses lately--so much as vigilante work. I wonder why that is?"

There was one way to find out, and while Solomon's conversation had been relatively pleasant thus far, he kept pace with Evandau. Proximity would make this easier. It took only a moment, a fraction of a second--hopefully that would be enough to work his magic before Evandau enacted whatever nullification power he had.

Solomon extended his senses and turned life to chaos, death to order; his eyes flashed red and he reached out to take Evandau's soul and whatever taint might be part of him.

[ironwood]

Evandau whirled on Solomon at the exact moment that a huge blast of power shoved the necromancer back several feet, and then the Emperor raised his sword and pointed it directly at Solomon. Not an overt threat but a clear warning to keep his distance.

"Try that again and I will have you permanently incarcerated," he said coldly.

[peacefullywreathed]

Before Solomon could think he was sent flying, and shadows swelled up and caught him before he fell or crashed into something. Solomon right himself, gripping the shadows, and looked up at Evandau, studying him.

"What are you?" he asked in a low voice, because no one should be that fast, no one could be prepared for an attack they couldn't even see coming. "The cultists aren't trying very hard to kill you. You aren't exactly endearing yourself to the people from whom you claim you want help. What exactly is it you want? What is it you're after?"