Network | Text Post - backdated to November 25 - The eyes have it

[musicdied]

Who: Yelena Belova
Username: jelica
Warnings: arson, eyes where there shouldn't be eyes

[Yelena's message goes out relatively early on the morning of the 25th, not long after dawn.]

There is definitely some sort of cult operating out of the Holy Light Church.

Someone tried to set it on fire last night. I think there were two ignition points. One was in the communal kitchen. The other might have been in the priest's living quarters of the room they use to prepare for the sermons, but I can't confirm. They were behaving like they were trying to keep the fire from spreading from there, but without letting anyone who wasn't one of the senior members of the congregation inside.

[And yes, she is incredibly frustrated by that. Thank you for asking.]

While we were putting out the fire, I caught a glimpse of Greta Thomas glaring into one of the windows. I don't know if she was communicating with something, or was seeing through it, or was using it like a tracking device, but while she was doing it, she had too many eyes.

[There is an image attached, a sketch of an older woman with far too many eyes, seen from the side, looking up at the rough shape of a church window.

Yelena's artistic skills cap out at "decent image of a human", she's not even going to try to reproduce something as ornate as that window.]

Whatever she got from it, she was furious, and she collected some of the other church elders and went off somewhere. I doubt it was to do anything as benign as report the fire to the police, so we should all be very prepared for even more trouble to add to all the fires.

Comments

un: mercyme; text

[graveyounglady]

Should we prepare to attack this church?
I do not wish to wait for them to come to us if they're involved with the fires.
Or the victims of them?

[musicdied]

I think they're victims of the fires, but that doesn't make them not dangerous.

We should be ready to stop them. Unless there are two eyeball cults in Gloucester, they're probably at least linked with the symbols that have been appearing for months.

[graveyounglady]

Aye.
They seem like they're building up to something.
Any notion what it is?
Putting those eyes up all over can't be all they got if it's another ritual attempt.

[musicdied]

It does. Right now, it seems like they're claiming territory: the eyes, pushing back Ava's musical bullshit, the push to make the city conform to what they want it to be.

What was happening with the cameras could have been the side effect of an attempt at a magical surveillance system.

And then I remembered that Mercy is way more formal in text...

[graveyounglady]

You do not think just going in and finishing what the fire started would suffice to root out these cultists, then?

[musicdied]

Maybe. But it would be better to have enough intel to be sure that when we take our shot, we don't miss.

[graveyounglady]

The moves of a wise general. Were you in the town guard or a military before your arrival here, Ms. Yelena?

un: hickey

[friendsfordinner]

Be prepared for even more trouble, she says like we don't always have trouble.

[musicdied]

Trouble that people are not usually adequately prepared for.

[friendsfordinner]

Their loss. I'm of the opinion that if ADI's got a grip on you like it does on all of us, you should be prepared for any and all bullshit.

[musicdied]

So you think it's ADI that draws trouble?

[friendsfordinner]

Makes sense, doesn't it? You don't hear stories about people in different countries dealing with this shit. Sure some of it could be brushed away but at least a few suspicious things should make the news.

[musicdied]

You do, all of the time. It just looks different because you're looking at it from the outside: disappearances, strange illnesses, contaminated water, mutated animals. Not all of those things are going to be linked to magical bullshit, but some of them definitely are.

[friendsfordinner]

Even just looking at it from afar, some of this stuff goes further than strange illnesses or contaminated water.

[musicdied]

If you know the whole story. The news is never the whole story.

There are entire sites online dedicated to people sharing stories about strange things that were swept under the rug, or were just not believed because people don't just dissolve into birds, or get swallowed by trees. A lot of them are just crazy or looking for attention, but some will be telling the truth.

[friendsfordinner]

My point still stands.

As far as I can tell? These things thrive on attention. I'll give you your point that they might go bother other people. But if you've got to choose between some random person who nobody'll believe or an organization full of people who DO believe, who do you think you'll terrify first?

un: Aberration

[aelwyn_aberration]

I think it's best we stage an attack while they're still reeling from the fires. Although maybe some more investigation would be warranted first.

[musicdied]

At minimum, I would want to know what's happening in the closed off parts of the church, and how many of their members are actually a problem so there aren't as many nasty surprises. Ideally, it would be good to know what they can actually do.

How much research have you done on avatars of the Eye?

[aelwyn_aberration]

Strangely there hasn't been much of a pressing need to research them in particular... We've dealt with a lot of avatars but rarely of the Beholding variant.

They're less active in their feeding than other cults, and they rarely actually kill their victims, just feed off their terror indefinitely.

Capturing one of the cult members and interrogating them about it would work but it would also warn them we're coming. On the other hand, blowing up the church all together and burying the survivors in the rubble is another option.

[musicdied]

Assuming they don't already know we're coming. Or have plans just in case. They have to know what ADI is, and I don't think they would make their base here by accident.

Someone just tried to burn them down. They're probably going to be alert for other attempts at destruction. Which doesn't rule an explosion out, but would make it more difficult to pull off.

[aelwyn_aberration]

Good point. I'm admittedly not much of a strategist.

We'll wait, try to assess their weaknesses, then bury them under their own church.

un; mkblackwood

[lowficharm]

If they've to do with the Eye, then they probably know we're coming. Or at least, they will if we try anything. You'll have to go at them with a distraction first.

[musicdied]

A distraction that draws them out and splits their attention, preferably. We've seen how they react to destruction now, and they'll just circle the wagons.

[lowficharm]

Doesn't need to be violence. Just needs to be something they can't stop watching. Something too irresistable for them to pay attention elsewhere.

Could stage a break-in where some get 'caught' or something. Can't be too obvious but if we find out what they want it shouldn't be impossible.

UN: Chosewell

[failedpromise]

Wait. If the church is the headquarters for an entity cult, why bother putting it out?

(They're going to have to do something about them anyway...)

[musicdied]

There was one of me, and pouring oil on the fire would have blown my cover. And then I would not be here to tell you it's the headquarters for a cult.

It was more useful to get out and make a report than to press sabotage that was already failing.

[failedpromise]

Fair enough.

Find anything else interesting?

[musicdied]

Just a lot of very malicious gossip. Even if these people were not apocalypse cultists, they would be horrible.

They're probably going to move on whoever tried to set their shit on fire, if they haven't already. That should give us more information.

[failedpromise]

You know, it didn't occur to me to think of malicious rumour spreading types as ideal cultists, but I guess they really don't have anything better to do, do they?

Guess we should be on the lookout for victims of supernatural attack.