Inside a shipping container at the stern of a cargo ship...
A window had been cut into what should have been a sealed container. Wires had even been strung inside, and an air conditioner installed...
The four tall gargoyles standing at the container's corners had awakened the moment the cargo ship docked.
A ray of sunlight fell across one gargoyle's face. He gave his thick neck a stiff little roll. With a series of creaks, he stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the busy pier. "Have we arrived?"
A slightly smaller gargoyle stood up from a corner. After taking a couple of steps, he suddenly shimmered with light, transforming in an instant from a fearsome gargoyle into a beautiful middle-aged woman dressed in silk formal attire.
Her pair of stone wings had transformed into a crimson sash embroidered with the character for Abundance. It fluttered behind her as if alive, lending her a particularly heroic air...
As the middle-aged woman transformed, the other three gargoyles changed in an instant as well.
Two men and one woman, warriors of varying builds, gathered by the window. One bald warrior with the fierce bearing of a battle-hardened people looked at the middle-aged woman, bowed his head, and said, "Lennore, this must be New York...
We should go find the scoundrel who destroyed the Gargoyle Monastery right away!"
Lennore looked through the window at the busy pier. Her gaze suddenly fell on a huge man standing at the edge of the pier, muttering to himself: Kofi.
The beautiful woman, who looked gracious and dignified even inside the container, suddenly became agitated and tried to push open the door. Even when a powerful current burst from the container and burned her palm, she didn't stop...
Lennore, who didn't look particularly strong,