Scion - Rada Campaign - Guest Appearance 2-2
So, last time I left off after Storm and I had gone to talk to Hiwalani, the jorougumo who had survived the centipede plague. She'd warned us that Puanani had been mysteriously unaffected by the plague despite being at ground zero of at least two outbreaks. Definitely something to check out...
Anyway, on the way back to the hotel, I decided to call Helena and check on how she, Sam and Jacob were doing at the clubs. She sounded a little annoyed when she answered her phone, but that's not really out of the ordinary. I asked how things were going, and she explained that they'd gone to the first club, which was the haunt of a female nopperabo. The Hawaiian nopperabo like to frighten the hell out of people in public bathrooms, and this particular nopperabo used to do just that until the centipede plague hit. She was one of the first to die from the plague.
Helena explained that the club seemed pretty normal until they entered the women's room. Then some magical effect on the faucets, drains and other openings in the bathroom reacted with their supernatural presence, and an endless swarm of centipedes began pouring from the drains, toilets and faucets. Yuck! (>_<) No wonder Helena was pissed off. She hates filthy things like that with a murderous passion!
Helena summoned the power of frost to freeze the centipede swarm solid (killing the bugs in the process), and then she, Sam and Jacob retreated from the bathroom. As far as Helena could tell, the effect that summoned the centipedes shut down once they left, proving that it really was a reaction to the presence of divine or supernatural beings, like us or the youkai.
They checked out a few more of clubs and confirmed that a similar effect had been laid upon those as well. Not good. I mean, like I said, clubs are sacred to me! Well, some of them are anyway. I mean, the first one they checked out had a shrine dedicated to me in it! This plague thing must not be allowed to continue soiling the sanctity of my holy places!
...Says the tainted beauty. But that's beside the point!! (>_<)
Anyway, they were on their way to the next club when Sam and Jacob suddenly tensed for battle and then teleported away, leaving poor Helena all alone. My guess is THAT'S why she's was so annoyed.
So I started texting back and forth with Sam to get the specs on their current situation. I pieced together that Cesar and Carina had managed to find a ruined menehune village in their search for the little people (not to be confused with leprechauns), and discovered an adolescent jorouogumo girl there. She was infected with a very advanced case of the centipedes, and was feral from the fear and pain, so when Carina tried to gently approach and help her, she attacked. That's what prompted Jacob and Sam to teleport to Carina's defense. The girl's assault didn't last long, though, before she collapsed in a shuddering heap and centipedes began to consume her from within and pour from her flesh to swarm the others. But was totally okay 'cause Cesar incinerated the creatures with the majesty of the sun while Jacob use his divine power to cure the spider-girl of the plague and heal her ravaged body.
Jacob insisted on bringing the girl back to the hotel to protect her, and I don't think anyone objected to that. I thought she might be Hiwalani's daughter, and as another survivor, she might also know more about the plague. So we all reconvened at the Sands Hotel.
Puanani immediately recognized the girl. My guess was right - she's Hiwalani's daughter, and her name is Nadine. I gently woke her up once she was safely in Jacob's hotel room. Her first reaction was confusion - she didn't know where she was or how she got there. Then she recognized me as Hikage-no-Mikoto and quickly performed a flustered but respectful bow. Nice to know I'm popular in Hawaii! ^_^
Anyway Jacob and I put her at ease (Jacob made snacks! Yum!!) and we asked her what had happened. Turns out she's a really sweet girl! Well, the menehune she hunts and eats probably don't think so, but I did. I briefly wondered what a shikome jorougumo would be like, and I could tell that Tabby was thinking the exact same thing. I gotta watch out for thoughts like that... (>_<).
She didn't know much that we hadn't already learned, though. Essentially, she had been lurking in the ruined village, where she lairs and hunts, feeding on any stray menehune that happen to wander into her webs. She was attacked by the plague, and the rest we know. Good thing we got to her in time.
She did mention something interesting, though. She said she was relieved that Puanani was okay, since she saw Puanani at the same outbreak where she was infected. Puanani was confused by this, and argued that she wasn't there and didn't remember Nadine being infected, only that she'd gone missing and was assumed dead. Given Hiwalani's warnings about Puanani, we all thought this was easily suspicious enough to warrant some investigation.
Investigating is what Sam does best, so he took charge then. He drew Puanani aside and began questioning her in a even, almost hypnotic tone. During the interview, he was able to determine that Puanani isn't under any form of mind control...but she DOES have gaps in her memory and something's addling her mind. We think it might be some sort of latent chaos effect triggered by the presence of the centipede plague. Which, of course, probably means that Hundun is using Puanani somehow. So not good. (>_<)
We'll have to fix her mind ASAP, but right now we have other priorities. So Storm and Sam talked Puanani into going home and staying there, and they reinforced the suggestion with a bit of divine manipulation so that Puanani won't stray from her house if she can help it. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep her safe and out of the way.
Naturally, Nadine was concerned about her mother too. She'd heard Hiwalani was attacked by the plague, and was concerned for her mom's safety. I mean, even though Hiwalani and Nadine take after spiders (meaning that the mother and child don't really have a lot to do with one another once the child leaves the nest), they're still family and still love each other. So we promised to take Nadine to her mother. But first, we had to cleanse the clubs.
Good thing Helena and I have a lot of experience cleansing things - me spiritually, and Helena physically (she IS a neat freak, you know ^_^). I prepared a Shinto cleansing ritual, and Helena got some super heavy-duty cleansing supplies, and we headed back out to the clubs.
We went back to first club, and I did take a moment to admire my little shrine, which sat on its own shelf behind the bar. ^_^ The centipedes were still in the bathroom, thawing out, and Cesar stepped in and cleansed them all away with the purifying flames of his hatred. Well, maybe not his hatred. His glee? The purifying flames of his glee? He was awfully gleeful when he did it, but that doesn't sound right. _>
Anyway, then I ritually cleansed the club - especially the bathroom - while Helena took to it with industrial-strength cleansers. She was actually wearing a HAZMAT suit when she did it. Seriously? I gave her a hard time about it, and she frowned at me, but it's okay. Underneath that grumpy exterior, I know she likes me. ^_^
Once the cleansing was done, I summoned the club's kami to ask her if she had seen anything weird. She actually looked sorta like a Polynesian version of me! ^_^ Totally hot. She was relieved that her club had been cleansed. And she was able to tell us that a creepy-looking creature dressed like a human came in and licked the faucets, drains and other openings in the bathroom, secreting some sort of ichor onto them, which is what caused the centipedes to appear. Eeeew. (>_<). Oddly, even though the creature was a disgusting mass of centipedes, some of them monstrously large, none of the mortals in the club noticed it. The kami also said there was something large and bulbous in its belly - like a big coiled centipede or a large egg or something. THAT doesn't sound good. >_<. Also, the creature was accompanied by a few black calamities, and it spoke in Japanese in a high-pitched voice.
Wow. Well, we'll have to track that guy down sooner or later, I'm sure. (>_<)
Anyway, we moved on to the rest of the clubs that might have been affected, and cleansed them all. Fortunately, it was early enough in the day that they were all vacant, so we didn't draw much attention...not that I think most of us would have minded. By then it was late afternoon, so we decided to hurry back out to take Nadine to be with her mother....after Cesar worked a little blood magic (and licked a bit of blood from my fingers....Yum ^_^) to restore our divine essence. You know, like Elisa does).
BTW, did I mention how pleasant and picturesque the waterfalls and cliffs near Hiwalani's cave are? I mean, the looming threat of centipedes took a bit of the beauty out of it, but still. Hiwalani chose a good spot for her home! And she was really happy to see Nadine. The two of them had a warm reunion. I'm pretty sure Hiwalani thought Nadine was dead, and even though they've gone their separate ways as spiders will do, I think Nadine was glad to be back under her mother's care. Hiwalani assured me that Nadine wouldn't be going anywhere until the centipede plague crisis was over.
By that point, I think Cesar and Storm were itching for a fight. Plus, we wanted to help make things safer for the two jorougumo. So Storm asked Hiwalani where she had seen the greatest concentrations of centipedes. Now we're heading out to face them ourselves and maybe eliminate some of the threat at its roots. I'm not really looking forward to this...but at least I can infuse myself with the power of my wife's purifying sunlight and destroy any of the smaller centipedes that stray too close...
Depending on how that goes, we'll probably try to find some of the menehune later. Carina has their scent, so hopefully she'll be able to track them down without too much difficulty. More later!
Anyway, on the way back to the hotel, I decided to call Helena and check on how she, Sam and Jacob were doing at the clubs. She sounded a little annoyed when she answered her phone, but that's not really out of the ordinary. I asked how things were going, and she explained that they'd gone to the first club, which was the haunt of a female nopperabo. The Hawaiian nopperabo like to frighten the hell out of people in public bathrooms, and this particular nopperabo used to do just that until the centipede plague hit. She was one of the first to die from the plague.
Helena explained that the club seemed pretty normal until they entered the women's room. Then some magical effect on the faucets, drains and other openings in the bathroom reacted with their supernatural presence, and an endless swarm of centipedes began pouring from the drains, toilets and faucets. Yuck! (>_<) No wonder Helena was pissed off. She hates filthy things like that with a murderous passion!
Helena summoned the power of frost to freeze the centipede swarm solid (killing the bugs in the process), and then she, Sam and Jacob retreated from the bathroom. As far as Helena could tell, the effect that summoned the centipedes shut down once they left, proving that it really was a reaction to the presence of divine or supernatural beings, like us or the youkai.
They checked out a few more of clubs and confirmed that a similar effect had been laid upon those as well. Not good. I mean, like I said, clubs are sacred to me! Well, some of them are anyway. I mean, the first one they checked out had a shrine dedicated to me in it! This plague thing must not be allowed to continue soiling the sanctity of my holy places!
...Says the tainted beauty. But that's beside the point!! (>_<)
Anyway, they were on their way to the next club when Sam and Jacob suddenly tensed for battle and then teleported away, leaving poor Helena all alone. My guess is THAT'S why she's was so annoyed.
So I started texting back and forth with Sam to get the specs on their current situation. I pieced together that Cesar and Carina had managed to find a ruined menehune village in their search for the little people (not to be confused with leprechauns), and discovered an adolescent jorouogumo girl there. She was infected with a very advanced case of the centipedes, and was feral from the fear and pain, so when Carina tried to gently approach and help her, she attacked. That's what prompted Jacob and Sam to teleport to Carina's defense. The girl's assault didn't last long, though, before she collapsed in a shuddering heap and centipedes began to consume her from within and pour from her flesh to swarm the others. But was totally okay 'cause Cesar incinerated the creatures with the majesty of the sun while Jacob use his divine power to cure the spider-girl of the plague and heal her ravaged body.
Jacob insisted on bringing the girl back to the hotel to protect her, and I don't think anyone objected to that. I thought she might be Hiwalani's daughter, and as another survivor, she might also know more about the plague. So we all reconvened at the Sands Hotel.
Puanani immediately recognized the girl. My guess was right - she's Hiwalani's daughter, and her name is Nadine. I gently woke her up once she was safely in Jacob's hotel room. Her first reaction was confusion - she didn't know where she was or how she got there. Then she recognized me as Hikage-no-Mikoto and quickly performed a flustered but respectful bow. Nice to know I'm popular in Hawaii! ^_^
Anyway Jacob and I put her at ease (Jacob made snacks! Yum!!) and we asked her what had happened. Turns out she's a really sweet girl! Well, the menehune she hunts and eats probably don't think so, but I did. I briefly wondered what a shikome jorougumo would be like, and I could tell that Tabby was thinking the exact same thing. I gotta watch out for thoughts like that... (>_<).
She didn't know much that we hadn't already learned, though. Essentially, she had been lurking in the ruined village, where she lairs and hunts, feeding on any stray menehune that happen to wander into her webs. She was attacked by the plague, and the rest we know. Good thing we got to her in time.
She did mention something interesting, though. She said she was relieved that Puanani was okay, since she saw Puanani at the same outbreak where she was infected. Puanani was confused by this, and argued that she wasn't there and didn't remember Nadine being infected, only that she'd gone missing and was assumed dead. Given Hiwalani's warnings about Puanani, we all thought this was easily suspicious enough to warrant some investigation.
Investigating is what Sam does best, so he took charge then. He drew Puanani aside and began questioning her in a even, almost hypnotic tone. During the interview, he was able to determine that Puanani isn't under any form of mind control...but she DOES have gaps in her memory and something's addling her mind. We think it might be some sort of latent chaos effect triggered by the presence of the centipede plague. Which, of course, probably means that Hundun is using Puanani somehow. So not good. (>_<)
We'll have to fix her mind ASAP, but right now we have other priorities. So Storm and Sam talked Puanani into going home and staying there, and they reinforced the suggestion with a bit of divine manipulation so that Puanani won't stray from her house if she can help it. Hopefully that'll be enough to keep her safe and out of the way.
Naturally, Nadine was concerned about her mother too. She'd heard Hiwalani was attacked by the plague, and was concerned for her mom's safety. I mean, even though Hiwalani and Nadine take after spiders (meaning that the mother and child don't really have a lot to do with one another once the child leaves the nest), they're still family and still love each other. So we promised to take Nadine to her mother. But first, we had to cleanse the clubs.
Good thing Helena and I have a lot of experience cleansing things - me spiritually, and Helena physically (she IS a neat freak, you know ^_^). I prepared a Shinto cleansing ritual, and Helena got some super heavy-duty cleansing supplies, and we headed back out to the clubs.
We went back to first club, and I did take a moment to admire my little shrine, which sat on its own shelf behind the bar. ^_^ The centipedes were still in the bathroom, thawing out, and Cesar stepped in and cleansed them all away with the purifying flames of his hatred. Well, maybe not his hatred. His glee? The purifying flames of his glee? He was awfully gleeful when he did it, but that doesn't sound right. _>
Anyway, then I ritually cleansed the club - especially the bathroom - while Helena took to it with industrial-strength cleansers. She was actually wearing a HAZMAT suit when she did it. Seriously? I gave her a hard time about it, and she frowned at me, but it's okay. Underneath that grumpy exterior, I know she likes me. ^_^
Once the cleansing was done, I summoned the club's kami to ask her if she had seen anything weird. She actually looked sorta like a Polynesian version of me! ^_^ Totally hot. She was relieved that her club had been cleansed. And she was able to tell us that a creepy-looking creature dressed like a human came in and licked the faucets, drains and other openings in the bathroom, secreting some sort of ichor onto them, which is what caused the centipedes to appear. Eeeew. (>_<). Oddly, even though the creature was a disgusting mass of centipedes, some of them monstrously large, none of the mortals in the club noticed it. The kami also said there was something large and bulbous in its belly - like a big coiled centipede or a large egg or something. THAT doesn't sound good. >_<. Also, the creature was accompanied by a few black calamities, and it spoke in Japanese in a high-pitched voice.
Wow. Well, we'll have to track that guy down sooner or later, I'm sure. (>_<)
Anyway, we moved on to the rest of the clubs that might have been affected, and cleansed them all. Fortunately, it was early enough in the day that they were all vacant, so we didn't draw much attention...not that I think most of us would have minded. By then it was late afternoon, so we decided to hurry back out to take Nadine to be with her mother....after Cesar worked a little blood magic (and licked a bit of blood from my fingers....Yum ^_^) to restore our divine essence. You know, like Elisa does).
BTW, did I mention how pleasant and picturesque the waterfalls and cliffs near Hiwalani's cave are? I mean, the looming threat of centipedes took a bit of the beauty out of it, but still. Hiwalani chose a good spot for her home! And she was really happy to see Nadine. The two of them had a warm reunion. I'm pretty sure Hiwalani thought Nadine was dead, and even though they've gone their separate ways as spiders will do, I think Nadine was glad to be back under her mother's care. Hiwalani assured me that Nadine wouldn't be going anywhere until the centipede plague crisis was over.
By that point, I think Cesar and Storm were itching for a fight. Plus, we wanted to help make things safer for the two jorougumo. So Storm asked Hiwalani where she had seen the greatest concentrations of centipedes. Now we're heading out to face them ourselves and maybe eliminate some of the threat at its roots. I'm not really looking forward to this...but at least I can infuse myself with the power of my wife's purifying sunlight and destroy any of the smaller centipedes that stray too close...
Depending on how that goes, we'll probably try to find some of the menehune later. Carina has their scent, so hopefully she'll be able to track them down without too much difficulty. More later!