The Mist (RPG)

Concha Beach, San Sebastian

San Sebastian. A winsome city in the Basque province of Guipuzcoa, it's flaunted charm best advertised not by it's enthralling culture or beauteous grandiosity, but by it's ambrosial beaches. Having begun his day with a light breakfast of mint tea and exotic fruit, the blue-blooded Madridista now basks in the city's warm, oceanic climate. Garnished only in cerulean-flushed swimming trunks, the chiseled features of his Olympian sculpt scintillated by the incandescent rays of the Sun above as black-tinted Armani aviators shield his sapphire blue eyes from the bombarding sun-rays, Santi fully indulges himself in atmospheric relaxation.

Insouciantly seated on a reclined beach-chair, the Spaniard's feet find themselves touched by the fine, golden sand of the Concha Beach, the entrancing sound of it's calm waters furthering his relaxed disposition. "Ah, maravilloso", he quietly murmured, his mouth curling upwards into a debonair smile of sincere contentment. Following recent weeks of intensive work in Avalon's Knightfall Aeronautics department, Santi believes himself deserving of a vacation, a period exempt from stress. Yet as he completes his full integration into his leisure time, coincidental circumstances disrupt and terminate his vacation. "Hm?", an encompassing, thick cloud of ebony mist emerging from beyond the oceanic horizon.

The air growing denser and darker, partially blocking the sunlight descending from above. And with the thick mist came a supernatural phenomenon. Unknown forces perverting the surrounding environment, warm golden sand turning into moist, gelid black grains, the beach water growing murky, a pungent scent emerging from it. Tamely removing his onyx sunglasses, the Madrid Mamba's azure eyes widen, his comely features incapable of veiling his horror. And yet, as the mist spread throughout the city, the misadventure had only begun. "What is this?", frantically jumping to both feet while the rest fled, all except for one. A woman, strangely poised, perhaps she knew of what was occurring, perhaps she was causing it.

Her absent alarm piqued the Spaniard's interest. And so he approached her, pausing three feet from her. With no intention of inciting unnecessary conflict, he remains affable. Casting a gallant smile of cosmopolitan charm, the Madrid Mamba begins, "Hola bella", tersely meeting her eyes prior to shifting his gaze towards the sea, "Everyone else fled from the mist. Yet you did not", he pointed out, "I'm assuming tis because you have experience with these uncommon situations", Santi paused, his carbon-nanotube, nano-fiber aggrandized Madridista Armor emerging from the hollows of his bones, enveloping his entire frame. "Which I hope to be true because I will need help solving whatever this is", he smiles.

Brigid walked along the warm sands of the beachfront, her long, red hair falling in a braid over her left shoulder, her ivory skin clad in a light purple bikini and covered in a black silk, see-through tunic. Basking in the morning sun, her piercing dark blue eyes watched as the other vacationers frolicked in the ocean or lay on the beach under the sun. Taking a deep breath, she relished in the ocean air and smiled. Her vacation had been relaxing to say the least, and after all the training she had been through, she quite thought she deserved a rest.

Her relaxed state, however, was quickly cut short as her senses picked up traces of magic in the air. Her eyes were drawn to the waters as they darkened, the air becoming filled with a magical mist, so strong she could taste it on her tongue. The sun's bright rays were blocked out as the people on the beach began to run in terror from the mist. Beside her, the man's greeting caught her momentarily off guard, distracting her from her attempts at locating the source of magic causing the darkness. Her eyes met his, widening as his body became enveloped in armour.

"It's magic." She said, her eyes returning to the waterfront, the trail she had been following no longer present. Whatever had been present at the beach was no longer within reach. Raising her hand and flicking her wrist, her eyes darkened, becoming completely black as she manifested her gold gladiator sandals on her feet and a pair of dark blue, denim shorts around her waist. "And not the friendly kind." Raising her eyes to meet his, she introduced herself. "My name's Brigid. Nice to meet you. As you can see, I also happen to be a witch." She turned, facing the town. "Whatever or whomever cast this magic over the town, is no longer in the immediate vicinity." She furrowed her brow slightly as her mind picked up on something. Muttering a few words in Russian, both their bodies were encased in a dark red light momentarily as she cast a protection spell from the effects of the mist over them. "The mist causes strife and illness. We're going to have to be wary of the people around us."

Magic? A self-described man of science, the chivalrous Spaniard was admittedly, less than well-versed in things pertaining to the supernatural. "Hm, I'm not quite knowledgeable in magic I'm afraid", the facially veiling helmet completing his armor's envelopment of his herculean frame, an unblemished rufescent visor shielding his mesmeric, sapphire blue eyes, his audibly cool voice altered to a more deep aural register. "My name is Santi, tis a pleasure as querida", issuing a gentlemanly inclination of the head as they daintily move past introductions. "Do you know what could have caused this to happen?", he inquired, casting analytical gazes all about their perverted encompassment.

Succinctly invigorated by the magical energy from Brigid's protective ensorcellment, Santi calmly nodded, "Si. We must exercise caution". Quickly, the Madridista accesses his armor's biological computer, an innovative, parasitic blood-glucose infusion and electrolytic microstack impeccably organized within a miniscule chip. Exploiting it's first-person input of a maximum of 6,000 channels, acoustic, barometric, pheromonal etc. the spaniard constructs a clear and informative tactical and environmental summary of their present predicament through an integrated interface in his visual cortex. "You're right. This mist is spreading illness. Waterborne diseases. Some of the fleeing people, my biological computer says they've been plagued by things like cholera and malaria".

Materializing his M-Plasma Assault Rifle and fitting into his armor's shoulder-mount hold, the Madrid Mamba returns his attention to Brigid, "Well, you seem to know about this situation more than I do. Please bella, lead the way. As you guide us to the source of this dilemma, I'll be your cover", he assured prior to subtly alleviating the atmospheric austerity with playful verbal suavity, "Ladies first", gesturing that she lead the way, Santi materializes his TH-4 Pistol in anticipation of inevitable conflict along the way, and maintains his plasma-based assault rifle in a readied state shoot elephantine firepower be required.

Brigid began to walk towards the town, reaching out with her senses trying to find the source of the spell. She smiled at his agreement."I'm never wrong when it comes to magic. I'm not sure what could have caused this. A spell, a curse or even just a magical being, it could be a number of things. Whatever it is, however, it would be best we find it as quickly as possible. I'm not sure how far their reach can go. And the sooner we find the source, the sooner we can end the calamity." The town ahead already seemed to have fallen to a dark place. She could hear loud noises and sirens in the distance. The magic had worked fast, almost instantaneous and she pondered if this attack had been premeditated or not.

"So a man of science." She stated rather than queried, throwing a soft smile over her shoulder at the armour clad Spaniard. Her eyes were quickly drawn to her hotel as a fire burst into life on it's beachfront, causing people to run screaming in terror. Cursing, she raised her hand, violently sweeping it to the side and causing a harsh gust of wind to hit the hotel. It died out immediately, the structure taking damage from the force of the wind and people in the vicinity were thrown into the soft sands. Berating herself for not ensuring that no one was close by, she bit down on her bottom lip hard, a painful reminder that she could cause as much harm as she could do good.

Control, Brigid. Control and awareness. She silently thought.

"Do your computers detect anything untoward in the area?" She continued on her path towards the town, noting that the mist seemed to be moving from the ocean towards the centre.

Never wrong when it came to magic? Brigid's certainty was, admittedly infectuous. Her subsequent remark regarding his orientation towards science as opposed to the supernatural incited the tame, upwards curl of a socially engrossing smile on his debonair features, features currently veiled by the obsidian shell of his enigmatic armor. "A man of science and a woman of magic. An unlikely duo, no?", Santiago inquired, a dallying, teasing tone to his voice, his armor's speech synthesizer muffling the exotic notes of his Spanish accent that would otherwise be prominent in his speech pattern and tones. "I'm not quite familiar with the supernatural, bella. Again, your assistance is very much appreciated", an edge of sincerity garnishing his words.

Venturing deeper into the supernaturally perverted city of San Sebastian, the Madrid Mamba's senses remained alert, paranoid almost, aggrandized by the biological optimization provided by the parasitic blood-glucose infusion and electrolytic microstack comprising his battle-suit's biological computer. "Cute smile", the Spaniard flattered with terse flirtation. Shifting his attention towards their deteriorating encompassment, Santiago surveyed the scene for potential ambushes, any form of opposition in the perimeter, he would account for. Prior to any indulgence in combat however, Brigid put her mystical talents to use and snuffed the indignant flames threatening to consume the neighboring hotel. Having observed his collaborator's feat with taciturn wonderment, Santiago soon answered her question.

"They do. That", gesturing towards their left, a swarming mass of afflicted pedestrians darting towards them. Their skin pallid, their eyes onyx and devoid of features, and their screeching voices, raspy and demonic. Inherently hesitant to incite the slaughter of those who were once innocent, and were now victims of circumstance, Santiago asked. "Will you be able to return them to normal? If so, we don't have to kill them. Just incapacitate them. If not... then we'll do what's necessary". With his right hand holding his M-Plasma Assault Rifle, the Spaniard dynamically thrust his left palm forward, technologically harnessing the properties of the graviphoton, the graviton's superpartner. Commanding the fifth fundamental force, the sibling of gravitation, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force, the repulsive, anti-gravity force of the graviphoton manifested.

A fulminant, clear wave of unmitigated force accelerated towards their rushing opposition, violently forcing them back, flinging them off their feet and propelling them meters away. Subsequently enveloping both Brigid and himself in a protective, spherical barrier or bubble of this repulsive force, Santiago inquired, "So what do we do, bella? Do we kill them. Or incapacitate them?".

Brigid's gaze followed Santi's gesture, her eyes widening at the sight of the infected people coming their way. She briefly glanced in his own direction, noting his stance, his weapons, he was definitely ready for a fight. With her attention drawn to Santi, she didn't notice the wave of magic headed in their direction. Brigid was swept away by the blow, landing on all fours in the barrier made by Santi and glaring through the in the direction from where the magic came from.

It's easier to kill them.

Brigid scowled slightly as she heard the ever-persistent Baba Yaga's voice in her head.

I'm not a killer, she forcefully reminded her ancestor. She quickly recounted the facts, mist, illness, chaos... The odds were it was a curse of sorts. Curses could be broken. "I think I can return them to normal. Chances are this is a curse of sorts. Find the source, end the curse. I'll leave them to you." She drew herself to the upright position and muttered a few words in Russian. Her eyes blackened once again, this time changing her vision. The impressions and traces of magic were everywhere and they were strong. She could see the miasma of the dark magic hovering like a black fog between buildings, so thick she could barely see through it. A far cry from the dark mist any normal person could see engulfing the city. Biting her lip, she continued her search, her rush to find the culprit causing her to almost miss the faintest trail of energy heading out of the city and away from the beach towards the rocky craig to the right of the beach. Blinking, her vision returned to normal, just in time to see a young man purposefully walking in the same direction as the trail.

"Brigid, wait". Despite the urgency behind his words, the Enigmatic Elitist's tone, his disposition remained largely relaxed, poised, collected, self-certain. "I'll hold these ninos off while you make your attempt at uncovering the source behind this supernatural perversion. But use this", an unassuming, cellphone-esque device materializing atop his free palm, "To communicate with me. Tis linked to the entangled system of quantum particles (qubits) in my mind". Following his succinct interruption of Brigid's departure, both his M-Plasma Assault Rifle and TH-4 Pistol dissipated, making way for the manifestation of his technologically-aggrandized European long-sword 'Mamba'. Sporting a blade forged from a steel-obsidian alloy and reinforced by a powerful alternating current, enabling it to resonate at extremely high frequencies, this oscillation weakens the molecular bonds of anything the sword cuts.

Exercising restraint so not as to incite death, the Madridista readied himself, his grip tightening around Mamba's hilt with defensive anticipation. And as his graviphoton, repulsive barrier dismantled, a fervent cluster of supernaturally afflicted pedestrians darted towards him. Expertly thrusting towards one of the afflicted, arm shooting, extending from his shoulder, maximizing his considerable reach, the long-sword's bladed tip pierced into the supernatural thrall's right shoulder, predating the blade's vehement rampage as it drove through his target's right shoulder. Governing himself with tactical temperance, pulling his sword back, Santiago engaged his approaching opposition with simplistic, practical swordplay. His ensued bladework flowing with superlative fluidity, mirroring the cinematic smoothness of a water fall. Perpetual stepping advancements, wide, speedy sweeping swings targeted and attacked the exposed, non-vital body zones of his opponents.

His swift, aesthetic swordplay executed at horizontal and vertical angles, his attacks perpendicular to one another prior to the transition to diagonally threatening strikes, aggrandizing his blade's flowing speed while reducing his own body movement. Dexterously dismantling and picking his enemies apart, thinning the cluster of afflicted pedestrians with incapacitating, non-lethal attacks, preventing them from disrupting Brigid's attempts, Santiago tapped into their communicative line, his voice uttering, "Have you found something yet?".