[X] Ethan Sharp, an American… nothing, really. Your Origin and Element are Fire. Your Magic Crest only spans one generation, your father, who was a third-rate magus, and your paltry Magic Crest only contains a few (admittedly good) formalcraft techniques. You've been starved for material since your father died, so you've bought some books from the Clock Tower after finding them and plan to go through them soon. Your natural magic circuits and Magic Crest put together might let you get something close to 800 units of mana. You were a part of your school's boxing club and still practice, with good combat skill and great fitness. You have a short temper and are very erratic.
[X] Scotland. This wheel is not only very ornate, but very well constructed too, showing remarkable craftsmanship for the era, which was guessed to be somewhere around the transition from BC to AD. The craftsmanship and time era lead you to believe that it's probably from someone important.
-[X] Head in and find your man; no point in wasting time.
--[X] Ask questions.
---[X] Why are you meeting at a Mexican restaurant instead of somewhere like a local church and is there anything he'd recommend from the menu?
---[X] Is there anything he can tell you about the war or any of the other participants.
You decide that you should probably head in already. No point in keeping the man waiting. The moment you step in, the smell of cooking taco meat reaches your nose. It's a nice smell, you think, though you've got to wonder what kind of halfwit would try to host a discussion about a Grail War in the middle of a Mexican restaurant.
You look around for your man and lock eyes with what you assume is the moderator. After all, he's wearing a cassock, and his 6'3 stature and brown mullet stand out like a sore thumb. He beckons you with a wave of his hand and gestures you to sit down. Now that you're in front of him, you're able to get a
better look. Frankly, he's kind of intimidating; not just because he's tall, but because under his sleeves his muscles are very well defined, hidden mostly by his clothes. Of course, this is ruined by him scarfing down a taco that's stuffed to the brim with what you assume to be hot sauce. He takes a moment to wipe his mouth with a napkin, and he takes off the outer layer of his cassock to cool down.
"Ethan Sharp, I presume?" Not surprising that he knows your name. You assume that he's a part of the Eighth Sacrament, and if what little experience you have with the magical side of the world lets you know anything, it's that they're efficient.
"Yeah, that's me. First thing's first, who are you, and why are we in a Mexican restaurant? Not somewhere like, say, a church?" You notice that for a moment he eyes you up and finally settles on the blue markings on your hand. The man lets a smirk play across his face, likely in affirmation that you are who you say you are.
"I am Kotomine Kirei, and as I presume you already know, I am the moderator of this Holy Grail War. As for your second question, the church has had an unfortunate history of never being a safe place despite neutrality, due to being mostly unprotected. I have an associate ensuring that it's safe while we're here, and I believe that a place as normal as this would provide an air of normality."
You consider his words. A waiter comes by, but you can't speak Greek all that well. Kirei offers to translate for you; he recommends the chalupa with extra hot sauce, and you ask him to order one without the extra hot sauce. You've never tried a chalupa, but they look good.
"So, there's some questions I have. What are my allies like? Have you met them at all?"
"Ah, I suppose it would be practical to know that. I can safely say that I've met three of the four Masters of Blue so far, not including you. On the side of Blue, the three that I've met are the Einzbern representative who is the master of Lancer, a young man by the name of Shirou Fukui who is the master of Saber, and a young woman by the name of Abigail Cohen, who I believe is the master of Assassin. Caster has been summoned by someone named Ringo Blackmore, but I have not met them, and they seem uninterested in checking in." You don
"Anything more specific? I've heard of the Einzbern, but I've never heard of the Fukui or Cohen families."
"I did not meet them for long, but I suppose there are some worthwhile things you would want to know. For example, the Einzbern representative seemed glazed over, and her Servant seemed to do most of the talking for her. I assume that she was made for the sole purpose of supporting her Servant, and not much else. Fukui comes from an enforcer background, and I presume he is skilled in direct combat, as he carried a mystic code not unlike the Black Keys used by the Church. He seemed to be rather reasonable and shy. Cohen comes from a similar background, and supposedly practices Kabbalah, though what field is uncertain to me. She also regularly took sips from a hip flask and appeared to live in squalor. I don't know much about Blackmore, but supposedly he practices Elementalism."
"What happened to the other two candidates that should be here?"
"Brayden O'Malley, a master from Ireland, had a delay on his plane. Sean Seger, a candidate from England, supposedly lives in poverty and was unable to afford the ride over here. He's taken a boat to get here, but he should be arriving at the same time as Brayden O'Malley." This means you're short on bodies. It's already bad enough that Caster has apparently distanced herself from the team, but the two other candidates aren't going to be here for a day or two.
"Anything you can tell me about their Servants?"
"Other than a basic description, no. Saber looked to be Japanese, but wore no armor despite bearing a katana and a wakizashi. Lancer appeared to wear armor that I believe is Spartan, with a red cloak, minimal armor and brush helmet. I did not see his weapons. I have not seen Assassin, as one might expect.
Your chalupa arrives, and it's… dripping in hot sauce. You look to Kirei with anger in your face, and the asshole just smirks at you. You know what? You won't let it get to you. You begin stuffing it down your face, and it feels like your body has been shoved into an oven. About ten minutes later, you've finished your chalupa with sweat dripping down your face. Kirei almost looks impressed. He gives you a napkin, and you graciously take it to wipe yourself off.
"Once you're done with that, might I offer that you come to the church with me? The masters of Saber, Lancer and Assassin are there, and we have a summoning circle already drawn." Going with him might allow you to meet and plan with the other Masters. On the other hand, some minor degree of paranoia is clawing at you.
[] Do you take his offer?
-[] What do you do when you get there? Do you want to talk to the Masters, try to get information about their Servants, or other questions you want to ask? Of course, summoning your Servant is an obvious conclusion.
[] No, you'll go somewhere else.
-[] Why do you not take his offer? You have a hotel that you've booked for tonight, so you can perform the summoning there. Ultimately you'll be worse off, however.
[] Other (Write-In)
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Character sheets coming soon. Sorry if my writing seems a little janky, I'm not good at working slight exposition into this.
Also, thanks to Theadier for breaking the deadlock. Ethan Sharp won by a single vote, and the Scottish wheel won by two votes.
