4062/White Tiger, Black Devil

White Tiger, Black Devil
Date of Scene:	13 March 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Doctor Strange, Lara Croft, Samantha Nishimura

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Doctor Strange has posed:
Dusk.
An Island Far Away....

The carcass of an ox lies upon the ground. It's throat to navel slit open, a gaping mess of green-ish black substance pours out.
Lying not far from it is a camping site.

Standing there is a tall man, broad of shoulders made wider yet with an impressive crimson cloak with high collars, his stance has his head downcast, staring at what lies before him. A grim expression on the handsome man's features, the goatee being stroked at with long ring laden fingers. Long slender things, one would think he makes for a natural pianist or surgeon. If someone where think one of these things they would be correct. There is a 'shine' of light, a glow hanging from the gaudy amulet off his neck, as if a responding beacon one of those rings glows.
What he stares at is far more gruesome a scene than the slaughtered beast of burden, a middle-aged male and what appears to be a teenage boy. White skinned unlike the aborigines here, throats slit witht he same ichor exposed below chin.


A small fishing village not far off higher along grassy coastline and riverways, thatched together huts, deserted, there is a sound though, a beat, continuous and pounding. A drum.

For Lara Croft, Doctor Strange and possibly Samantha... they are here due to seeking location of one of the 'Seasonal Orbs' direction and according to the Sorceror it is from this very island he can divine a proper orientation.

Aspen as a Marine Biologist has heard rumors and witnessed reports of concerned fellow aquatic specialists, several miles extending from this location there has been strange tidal recordings, radar directed sea life going 'insane' attacking on another in abnormal displays, even fishermen and large vessels. A mystery, the last time such a thing happened the US Government was responsible, using sonic weaponry in the form of depth charges.

The island, nestled away and hidden in an obscure cluster formation south of the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean. It's people a tribal folk most similar to those of Nepal. This particular area more secluded than it's mainland portions of isle, estranged more from modern times, technology rare, they cling almost fanatically to old ways, times long past...

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara had arrived via the boat and she was making her way up the island along a simple dirt pathway. Wearing a red winter coat with a fuzzy collar around her neck, some gray cargo pants and tall leather boots, Lara's on her way up to join the Doctor. She sees him up there, concerned over the animal he's looking.

Lara gives a look back over her shoulder. "See, I told you I'd get you out of the States." She says to her closest friend, Sam. "This is probably going to be an uncomfortable sight, whatever it is that he's found up there." She tells the other. "Prepare yourself, Sam." She knew her friend could take it though, she was as tough as Lara.

Turning ahead again, Lara moves on her way up to join where Stephen is. "You're sure this is the right place?" Lara has to ask the man who's stroking his facial hair... she's probably asked him five times now.

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
"Cool, GROSS!!" Samantha exclaims as she rushes past Lara, already rolling the video on her camcorder. "What the hell...Lara, have you seen this?" Samantha is anything but stealthy as she crunches around the corpses, trying to get the best angle as she records their findings. She knows that any detail might be helpful, so she's got to be thorough. She's dressed in a black jacket and tanktop, black cargo pants and boots. All black except the little pink flower painted on the heel of each boot with nail polish. A girl gets bored on her way to a tribal island to do whatever it is they're doing here.

Doctor Strange has posed:
Strange is unaware if they are seeing the human corpses yet, a quiet word to both bodies and he kneels down to fish finger though the adults pockets, finding his wallet, seeking out his ID to tuck it inside of his cloak, "Someone must be informed of this once we are done. No point to it now, they have been dead for hours."

"But yes, I do believe this is the place."
"Samantha, please, some respect for the dead. Make sure you edit out the 'cool, gross'." A sour expression briefly flits past his features trudging onwards he starts to stride away from the camp, the oxen and those two deceased.
That village, it's as it looked from the outside, devoid of any signs of life. Only that sound. "I imagine having traveled the world like you two do, you are used to such sights?" Small talk, the lanky 'wizard' walks along the wooded riverbank leading out of the village. His pace is quick, trying to beat nightfall.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is not far from Samantha while she's recording and she softly sighs at the sight of the bodies, she's seen a lot of people in similar... to worse condition. "Its just like it was in China... when I was after the Summer Sphere. They arrived, however, moments after me... I fear the tables have reversed this time though."

A glance is given to Sam with her camera, and then Lara steps onward up the path after Doctor Strange, her eyes look up at the ghostly empty village and she shakes her head. "If there was a threat they couldn't face, perhaps the villagers found a way to flee from it before it arrived." HYDRA... Trinity, a division of, had been after the other Spheres. Lara had recovered two of them already, the Summer and the Autumn.

"You don't think the Spring Sphere is here, do you? In a fishing village?"

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
"Sorryyyy..." Sam draws out as she documents the ichor oozing from the wounds on the corpses. Then, she's alone. Sam looks around frantically, and takes off running, crashing through underbrush, in the direction that Lara and Strange have disappeared. She thinks.

Doctor Strange has posed:
"It is possible but no, there is a... " Strange holds up his hand and it palm out faces the north, further along that waterway, "Very intense pull. Do you hear it also?" He continues looking off towards the side away from the drums they are traveling after.

"There." His question about what they hear or do not left in the air as they see smoke, figures gathered and are climbing a small rise, one that lifts highest over the 'countryside' men, women and children are gathered around a large pile of flaming bodies, weeping, around the large cluster there is massive drums, these are being beat upon, steady, continuous. That is what they have been following obviously.

There is upwards of thirty to forty people gathered, a man with a overly tight topknot steps closer, a long gown worn of many colors and gold ringlet through his nose, large discs in his ears, extending the lobes.
"I am very sorry for what has happened here." Stephen says quietly.
"What do you want?" Broken English, immediately the dark eyes of the man are staring at Samantha's camera. His hands rising up and he hisses at her, "Put the evil down."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara looks back to see if Sam was keeping up and when she sees her friend come through the foliage she shows her a faint smile. "Don't fall behind, silly." She chides the other woman lightheartedly. Looking ahead now she steps up aside Doctor Strange and she goes quiet to listen, she can hear the drums and its not but a second or two later that she sees the fires and the sight of the burning of bodies.

When the man appears, Lara takes in a breath and gives Stephen a glance before she looks back to Samantha and the 'evil' camera. Lara nods once to Sam, because she knows full well that something tense like this could go far worse if they didn't comply.

To the man with the hoops in his ears, Lara speaks. "We're here to help, I promise. If you can tell us what happened, we can help make things better." It was a long shot, but a shot worth taking.

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
Samantha nods emphatically at Lara's words, as she stuffs her camera safely away in the specialized camera bag that Jackie gave her. Hopefully the power used to create it won't make things worse here. But at least the camera will be safe. And more importantly right now, out of sight.

Doctor Strange has posed:
The chanting beyond the man rises and falls, the visitors are paid no mind as who may be a chief, elder or shaman it is hard to tell puts his hand down as the camera goes away, "Speak, this is a sacred moment."

Looking closer at those burning they can see, like the animal, the two tourists, these people, these victims all have had their throats slit, that green-black bile burning purple in the massive flame

"Yes, of course. We will make it quick. We seek an orb of great power and importance, a sphere... "
The man stares at Doctor Strange then Lara then Sam then turns around, his voice adding to the chanting.

A quiet voice, Stranges head turns n to his shoulder and he whispers, "I think that's the native version of hanging up on me." A clearing of his throat, obnoxiou sounding to try and get the mans attention and then Stephen sighs. "My condolences." A respectful and polite offer before walking away from the scene, further north, to the otherside of the hill.

A woman in bright oranges and ashawl approaches from a parked wagon further down the slope "The city of Pain, beyond the sunlit lands, you will go there. Stop the glowing eyes of hell." She says, pointing off far over the rise, "Go, go there. City of Pain. Home of Demons."

"Ma'am, we are seek... yes, we will go there." Resigning himself without even putting up a fight. He has a calling, a duty, the orb may even be there or in this sunlit valley.
"Your camera is probably safe again, the bag, you may wish to consider a new one, however." This is said rather nonchalantly.

"It appears we have a hike ahead of us."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara turns to see Sam putting the camera way into a rather curious bag that she hadn't noticed up to this point, but thisn't really the time to inquire about one's carry-alls.

When the man starts chanting, Lara looks back to see him stepping away and then her eyes go over to Stephen when he speak of being 'hung up on'. "It would seem so." Lara softly says back to the Sorcerer Supreme.

On the turn to go onward, Lara releases a light sigh before the woman approaches and speaks those rather ominous words. "Thank you for the information." The Brit archaeologist responds. She looks to Samantha then, figuring that those rather encouraging names on where they're going will be received less than 'well'.

"They over dramatize the names of these places often?" Lara says in an almost suggestive way to help Sam's nerves. And her own. At Strange she nods. "As long as there are no more body fires on the hike, then thats a step up, I would say."

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
"City of whaaa...?" Sam boggles, looking from Lara to Strange. "Wait a second, you don't mean we're actually GOING to a place with 'pain' in the name..." She gazes off into the distance in the direction the woman was pointing, half-expecting to see the Eye of Sauron staring back. "One does not simply -walk- into the City of Pain...the home of demons..."

Doctor Strange has posed:
"You, your face, you are on the other side. I see your face." The woman's hands rise up and paw at Lara's jaw and cheek, not hard just the stiff clamy hands of an old woman, "You are in Hell. Beyond the wall of Bones. You... it wears your face." Shes holding Lara's arm as the woman goes past but then releases, a trinket being clutched to her chest. She holds it up and kisses it, shaking it after them.

"You are the archeologist, you may know well more than I do." Stephen tells Lara, "All maps of this island are incorrect, they like to pretend it's a magnetic thing but it is not. This much I can confirm now."

A wry smile is put upon Sam, "One simply does not but three do. Unless you intend on returning to the boat."


The river finally comes to a bend after a while, the side of the river they are on is lush, green, full of life where as the side they are crossing in to, away from them is twisted, rotted, like a drought has struck, a deadland. The stark contrast more than noticable, a full dark to light divide.

The earlier 'shine' of amulet and ring happens once more, Doctor Strange looks down at his chest, hefting that large piece of jewerly up to look at it then drop it again.
"It is unsafe to proceed without protections."

"I need to meditate and find us a breach in this... thing, this curtain of blight."

"You both may as well get comfortable and eat something."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara isn't afraid of the local woman, she's not generally afraid of such things, she lets the woman touch her face like that and doesn't shy away or pull away from it, she just stares back at her. Its an... unsettling phrase that the woman gives her, but these people are often deeply rooted in complicated religious beliefs that lead them to say such things like this.

Lara is an outsider to this woman's people, its likely that what she's referring to is that this 'Home of Demons' is about the fear of outsiders. Nothing more. Lara gives a glance to Strange and then Samantha. "I've been to much more poorly named places, Sam. Trust me, this... we can handle this." Especiall with Doctor Strange with them, if only he'd been on Yamatai with Lara and Sam!

Lara is walking alongside Sam as they reach the river, she'd been asking her random and simple conversational questions along the way, but she stops when she sees Strange's amulet reacting, to something.

"Protections?" She asks then, walking up to him. "A blibht?" Lara sighs then, she looks to the indicated area and then, shakes her head. "The Sorcerers who were guarding the previous two Spheres had their own individual wards against intruders, I was able to overcome them... Somewhat... This one, feels different though. Darker, to be sure."

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
"God I was REALLY hoping that was their name for Burger King. Home of the Whopper sounds SO much better." Her stomach growls as Strange mentions food, but she looks around them and back to his face, then Lara's. "Is it possible to get comfortable in the presence of a blight? And what are we gonna eat? I mean...if you're plannin' on going full-on Bear Grylls, I swear to God..." Sam sighs and swats away a wayward insect. "Bugs are not food."

Doctor Strange has posed:
"This is entirely different. I am not sure I can even overcome this without some aid, we shall see. That is what I am about to figure out." Doctor Strange says to Lara, "I will commune, find a safe breach and then we shall enter, once everyone is protected. Think of this as... enviromental suits only ones you'll barely see, where we go beyond this City of Pain, whatever else lies ahead, it is not fit for the living. We would quickly decay if we were to cross this river as we are now."

"Yes, Sam, you are in my company. I am the epitomy of comfort and preparation."

A twirl of his fingers, hand rolling before him and he concentrates, wave, weave, stare, a glow of his ring and 'zot'... a large baquette with no butter.
"Hrm, that never happens to me."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara is walking past the Doctor down to the water to look beyond it at the source of the 'Blight'. She then stops and turns back to Strange. "Take all the time you need, Doctor. I know that you don't really even want to be here... but this is important, these Sphere's locations have been compromised and if they fall into HYDRA and Trinity's hands, then the ramifications are... not good."

The Archaeologist is walking back toward Sam now while digging around in her jacket pocket, she pulls out two crinkly wrapper-sealed protein bars. "Here." She says to Sam. "They have all the nutritional value of bugs... but I promise they taste better. They're peanut butter." She shows Sam a little smile then.

Looking back to Strange then, Lara notes the sudden presence of a baquette and she just stares at it for a moment, then up to his eyes. "And to think of all the times I was out on these sorts of things alone... eating bugs." She huffs out a little laugh.

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
Samantha narrows her eyes as Strange and Lara converse. She gazes over the river at this blight of which he speaks. Should she put on insect repellent? Fertilizer? One never knows what to wear in the presence of blight. Is there some etiquette that she's unaware of? Then, suddenly...bread. She looks to Strange.

"That's what all guys say," Sam utters forlornly as she stares at his big, bare baguette.

Doctor Strange has posed:
"Yikes. It is butterless too... I feel like an apprentice all over again." Strange says quietly, trying to lighten the atmosphere a touch. There is darkness to be confronted after all and being grim... it doesn't help.

"I assure you this is a first." A light smirk appears and quickly fades as he carries on speaking, "The rules appear to be different here, something has everything almost folded, do you see beyond the curtain? Look at the skies." A point of one finger past, through that dark wall, "It is dusk here almost night time, moon should be cresting behind the clouds soon but there... " Through the black murk, glowing faintly but there over the horizon to the east, yes, a discolored sun. As if looking through it polarized yet, backwards.

"I am not hungry so the two of you, enjoy." Frightening when a sorcerer will not eat his own food no doubt but he is also referring to the protein bars.

Lara Croft has posed:
When the baguette arrives, the protein bars are put back into her jacket pocket which is sealed back up and Lara just shows a slight grin at the Sorcerer's abilities. She steps away then and moves past both he and Sam, but glances back when Stephen starts to point out he environment around them.

"Is that a morning sun?" Lara asks then. "Rising in the east when it should be setting behind us?"

She looks back in said direction but there wasn't a visible sun to be found due to the weather and the foliage in the way in that direction. "Is this part of the protection over this place?" She asks the doctor.

Samantha Nishimura has posed:
Samantha listens to the two quietly, chewing her bottom lip. Something doesn't set right with her about the sorcerer's refusal to eat. But now's not the time to speak up, as she'd interrupt a conversation she doesn't understand in the least. She waits for the two to come to a natural pause in the conversation before interjecting. "No...you need to eat. Seriously. You need your strength. Not just to protect our hides, but your own, too." It's a rare moment of singular sincerity. "Besides...I just don't want you going hungry."