Feeling Blue in the Emerald City [IC]

[ZeroNumerous]

23:33 PM

It's a cold day in Seattle. December had just rolled in, and the rain has turned to sleet most days. Today is one of those days. The sunsets as sleet pummels Seattle's sleepy streets. The damp darkness drapes the city in a blanket of mystery, and a meeting of malicious malcontents takes place beneath this blanket. A single shot pierces the night sky. A coat-clad man falls to the ground clutching his chest. He looks to his attacker and opens his mouth to speak. Another shot silences his statement before it's even begun.

The fuse is lit and the powderkeg of tension is just a few feet away...

Zephyr

The phone rings. It's loud, shrill and more obnoxious than a small yapping dog. Yet Zephyr knows who's on the other end without even picking it up, as only one person has the number to this pay-as-you-go cell that arrived in the mail last night. As soon as it's answered the computer-masked voice on the other end launches into an undoubtedly rehearsed tirade.

"Good evening, Zephyr. I hope you have enjoyed the money, but I'm afraid I'll need to call on your services. At 23:33 pm, thirty minutes ago, a semi-well known member of the Sanctified, one Thomas Wellburg, was shot twice then drained of his blood. His body was then crucified outside St. James Cathedral. As you know, the cathedral is a stronghold of the Sanctified and is the primary gateway of their covenant's members into Seattle. I want you to go there and investigate. If you are questioned, tell them that Canoness Agna sent for you. She will be within the Cathedral. Explain to her that a 'mutual benefactor' has tasked you to investigate this situation. She will assist you to the best of her abilities. Do you have any questions?"

Intelligence+Politics to see what you know about Thomas Wellburg, if anything.

Pete Sung

Pete's sitting ring-side in one of the seeder underground fight clubs in Seattle. The owner, a weird guy who goes by the pseudonym Sandalman, dances around the ring as he goes bare-knuckle with a scrawny runt from uptown. The kid can't seem to catch up to Sandalman, as the later is always one step ahead of the former. The black-haired, stick-thin teenager looks pathetic as he struggles to catch up to the aged, gray-haired ring-owner. Yet Pete can't quite let that sit, as something seems off about the way the older man boxes. Almost as if there was a hole in his defense that Pete only catches glimpses of.

Unfortunately his enjoyment of the match is interrupted as Roy steps up behind him. The deeply tanned fighter leans over to Pete's ear and whispers quietly. "Some bible-thumper got himself offed a while back. The rest of the Sanctified are going on like it was a hit. The blue-bloods are about to start rounding us up and I wanted you to get an earful and go to ground before then." Normally Roy wasn't one to joke, and his voice gets ice-cold as he finishes his statement. "It's not bad now, but if something ain't done it's gonna turn violent."

Almost as if on cue the cellphone Pete received in the mail, along with the generous donation of money, starts to vibrate.

Avery

A swirl of color coalesces into a woman. Tall, dark, dignified and completely lacking clothing. Her body, a shifting mass of rolling inch-long white lumps, could entice anyone with it's near-divine proportions. She reaches out to Avery, a few maggots dropping from her extended hand, and motions for him to step forward. Her body shakes as she shifts weight to one leg, places a hand on her hip and runs a disgusting hand along her thigh.

A polite, but loud, knock on the window jerks Dr. Avery from his nightmare. While the good doctor is busy readjusting to the waking world, a second knock demands his attention. Outside his window, stuck to the wall like a spider, rests a very young lady. She couldn't be more than thirteen or fourteen. Her pale face is framed with dirty blond shoulder-length hair. A concerned face looks toward the window's lock, then back toward the doctor. She knocks a third time, demanding to speak to the man beyond the glass.

The Werewolf Pack

HONK HONK!

A very irate young man sits within an aging vehicle pummeling it's car-horn with increasing frustration.

HONKHONKHONK

The shrill sound of a car-horn risks rousing the neighbors, but the man in the car has no way of getting a hold of the werewolf pack otherwise. The pack in question, following the fox-spirit called Fox-Who-Watches, are within a small apartment complex claimed by their totem and by proxy their pack. The building is run by Miss Brauer, a fifty-something widow a bit on the meaty side. Dorothea, Menawa, Noel and Hector are all accosted by another short series of blasts from the horn.

HONKHONKHONKHONK

Whomever it is has been quite insistent.

[Odentin]

Menawa glances out the window at the man again, sighing. He looks back at the rest of his pack, "Anyone know this idiot? Or should I go tell him to bugger off?" His deep voice, tinged with a brazillian accent, comes with a slight tone of annoyance tonight.

[Merrow]

Noel puts down the radio he is tinkering with and gets up off the chair he was sitting on and goes to the window, opening it he looks down at the car.

"Well we got to do something or he's going to piss the neighbours off and Miss Brauer."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

The good doctor takes a moment to compose himself, smoothing down his sleep-messed hair and making sure that he's decent before he goes over to the window. He contemplates grabbing the flashlight from under the bed - one of those big ones that doubles as a bludgeoning implement in a pinch - but deems it unnecessary. Sleepily, Marshall unlocks the window and slides it open. "Hello, miss. I don't recall an appointment for this time of night, so does that make this an emergency?"

[ZeroNumerous]

Avery

The girl pulls herself up to sit on Avery's windowsill. "I apologize for waking you, doctur." She drags the last word a bit due to a vague accent that Avery can't quite place. "I've been contacted by a 'mutual benefactor', if you will excuse the idiom, to ensure you got this..."

She reaches down the neck of her loose fitting T-shirt, then produces a polaroid of a man literally staked to a wall. He's middle-aged, wearing a dark gray suit and a close buzz-cut. He's clean-shaven and bleeding from a headwound that isn't directly in the picture. His arms and legs are in the customary pose for crucifixion, and he hangs from an old brick wall. A final stake is shoved through the man's chest, between the second and third rib and downward into the heart.

"This is, or was, Thomas Wellburg. He's Sanctified, and those stakes are hand-crafted aged cedar. Whomever killed him did so to as a message, or at least that is what our 'mutual benefactor' believes." She's calm as she speaks of the man's death. The kind of heartless detachment common to older members of her kind. "I was told to escort you there, and to take you to Albert Wesser, the... Well, he's our esteemed lord's loyal dog."

Noel

The car in question is a cobalt 1996 Nissan 240SX. It seems to have seen better days, as bits are dinged and dented from wear and tear. The man behind it's wheel seems hurried, bouncing one knee up and down with anticipation. He picks up a smoldering cigarette, brings it to his mouth, thinks about taking a drag then shakes his head and puts it back in the ashtray. He, strangely, repeats this motion twice more before finally taking a drag.

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Marshall winces slightly at the picture - it wasn't the blood, but the violence and the casual way that it was mentioned that unnerved him. "I see. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I can help you, ma'am, or our 'benefactor.' And... well, I try not to get involved with politics. They tend to shrink one's life expectancy quite a bit. Not that I'm refusing, mind you," he's quick to point out lest he shrink his own lifespan quite a bit more, "I'm just wondering what you need me for."

[ZeroNumerous]

Avery

The girl raises but a single eyebrow. "Good doctur, do I strike you as the girl to ask questions?" She sighs, a distinct and feminine sigh, and hops backwards. In a scant few sec.onds she's grabbed the windowsill, twisted her body around and pulled herself back up to sit on the windowsill like schoolgirl sits in a desk. "Of course not, doctur. I know as much as yourself, and I prefer to keep it that way."

Now that Avery has had time to fully awaken he notices she's wearing a form-fitting but open raincoat, and pressed to her chest is a distinct L shaped bulge that could easily be a gun. In a flash she pulls it out. Soon the rapidly rain-slicked pistol is thrust toward Avery handle-first. "I was also told to give you this. It's a Glock 17. If you haven't used one before, then you'll get the hang of it." She waits until he takes the gun before pointing a thumb toward the general direction of his front door. "I have a car out front. How long do you think it'll take you to get dressed?"

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete nods respectfully and whispers back "Got it, coach. Speaking of which, I'm getting a call. I think it might be about exactly that, so I'd better take it."

Pete lifts the phone and answers it, glancing at Roy to make sure he approves before turning back to Sandalman's bout as he listens for the response.

[horngeek]

Dorothea sighs. "I'll go down... see what he wants. Anyone who wants to come along can."

[ZeroNumerous]

Pete Sung

The unfamiliar voice on the other end sounds like he chews cigarette butts for fun and drinks whiskey like vampires drink blood. "Good evening, Mr. Sung. As you know a member of the Lancea, one Thomas Wellburg, was found crucified outside St. James Cathedral earlier this evening. As you undoubtedly realize, this is bad for our fair city. In interests of keeping things... Running smoothly, shall we say, I have spoke to our 'mutual benefactor' and he has allowed me to borrow your expertise for a time."

The voice stops and Pete hears the scrap of a hand covering the receiver. It continues speaking after a few seconds of silence. "I have a suspect, but she's hardly willing to talk to me. She'll be at number 15 on Bell Street in an apartment complex called Shady Seas. Room number 233B. Go there, find her and... eh... Persuade, if you will, her to talk. I need her alive to prove it wasn't the Invictus though. If you succeed, we might keep the city in one piece for one more night. Any questions, Mr. Sung?"

[horngeek]

Dorothea heads down to the honking car, and scowls. "Keep it down, please."

[Odentin]

Even as the offer escapes Dorothea's lips, Menawa is zipping up his heavy leather jacket and pulling his sap/riding gloves over his hands. As they head down, he takes a defensive flanking position behind the younger 'wolf, staying at her shoulder all the way to the car. He watches the young man closely, though still keeps well aware of his surroundings...

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

"Nah, no questions for you. I'll be over there soon."

Pete stands up, cracks his neck, and grabs a sweatshirt draped over the bench. Walking over to his sire, he quietly says "I've got a lead, Roy. I'll check on it and then get somewhere quiet as soon as I can." Pete quickly scribbles down the address on the back of a leftover tournament bracket and hands it to Roy. "Just in case it gets interesting enough for you to want to check things out. It'll probably be nothing special."

With that done, Pete throws on his sweatshirt and heads out towards Bell Street. He's got a lead on the case, and if it's some kind of trap... he'll cope. At least Roy knows where he'll be, in case things go south and he cares enough to get involved.

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Dr. Avery gingerly takes the gun, checks that the safety is on, and stows it. "Very well... I'll be out in five minutes."

After retreating back into some privacy, he quickly gets himself dressed. Into his inner jacket pockets go his more portable wonders: the sleek translucent plastic calculator-looking Uplink that served as little more than cell phone and internet access; the matte black cylinder that stored his swiss-army-knife Medical Omnitool; and the large bracer-like Universal Scanner.

With all of that in place, he emerges from the house. "Very well, ready to go."

[ZeroNumerous]

Werewolves

The twitchy man looks toward Dorothea when she comes out of the house. He scratches the back of his neck as he responds. "U-uh ya, ya. Lis-listen. W-we, uh, got this friend, see? Ya, H-he's one of those qui-quiet and s-secret types, see? H-he told me to g-give you this." He twitches again, then grabs a package off the passenger seat and shoves it the window. The man throws a nervous glance around, then just drops the package and scrambles for his keys. It takes him a few seconds, but soon he's started his car and sped out of there; in reverse.

The package is a box covered in non-descript brown wrapping. Beneath it's wrapping and cardboard lies a simple straw or reed doll wrapped in paper. The doll is no bigger than a child's hand, and it smells strongly of blood. The paper is a simple letter that reads:


Greetings my friends,
I hope this letter finds you well,
or finds you at all given my poor choice in courier. This doll
was mailed to a member of the Invictus two nights ago. I do
not know anything of it's significance, but I feel that it
is a fetish of some sort. As such, I feel it appropriate to
have foremost experts on such matters to investigate it for
me. If you find anything, then please contact my associate
at 1313 East Pine. She lives at apartment 33A.
-Yours truly,
Anonymous

As if by divine providence, each cellphone that had arrived with your money goes off simultaneously.

Intelligence+Occult if you want to tinker with the doll.

Pete Sung

Getting to Shady Seas is the easy part and only requires a few minutes in a taxi or car to get there. Unfortunately for Pete, the front door is gated and locked. Luckily, no one is around to see him do anything suspicious. A few lights are on in the building, however, and Pete can surmise that someone is home up there.

Avery

The girl just hops to the ground when Avery takes the gun. She didn't expect him to back out, or knew that she could force him if he did. Either way, Avery now stood outside looking at a coal black 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. A pale-faced girl leans against the passenger side of the sleek, well-cared for and well-loved car. Her coat is buttoned up, her hands are pocketed and she huddles together for warmth. Or, at least, Avery thinks it's warmth. When the insane doctor arrives, she removes an arm from her pockets and pokes a thumb toward the driver's side. "I assume you can drive stick? I took a risk driving here myself, and I'd rather not get carded..." She looks down and does a half bow. "Looking like this."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery nods, partly in acknowledgment at the girl and partly appreciatively at the car's obvious "character," seeming much more alert as the cold air hits him. "I learned to drive on a stick, so no problems there."

He circles around to the driver's side and eases himself into the vehicle, taking a moment to adjust the seat and familiarize himself with the interior as he buckles up, a long-ingrained habit for him. "Well then. Where are we heading, exactly?"

[Merrow]

Noel grabs his coat and puts it on heading to the stairs, getting out side he walks up to the others.

"Hey what did you say to the guy I know we wanted him to stop but he looked like he was scared What the heck is that thing?"

Noel says looking at the doll he takes another step forward and takes a closer look.

(Intelligence + Occult (Fetish speciality) )

(Sorry screwed up roll I rolled 6d10 and it added the score up I post the roll again)

[Merrow]

(INt +Occ )
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[Jesse Drake]

Hector Villalobos (http://www.altmanphoto.com/santana_maracas_v2.jpg) (visual in link)

Hector grins a small grin, which is interrupted by the man's honking. "Hey, Zorro- you couldn't have picked a more quiet location?" He's not angry though- his voice has a slightly jovial tone to it, but it's masked by irritation.

So, he follows Dorothea to the man, to make sure things are okay.

When his phone goes off, he raises it to his head. "'Ey! What do you want?" He shouts quietly.

[Odentin]

Menawa lets the others handle the doll, not wanting to mess anything up. He does snarl slightly as he raises the phone to his head...

[Ditto]

Zephyr

"I understand. I'll see what I can find." Zephyr still wasn't sure what was going on with this Peacemaker fellow, but he wasn't opposed to his ideas. For now, at least. He left his basement apartment and pulled his jacket tight against the night chill and headed toward the cathedral. It wasn't too far, and sometimes it was nice walking place to place.

No politics for me, only streetwise.
Int: [roll0]

[horngeek]

Dorothea raises her phone, and flips it open. "Hello?"

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete briefly considers jumping for a window, then thinks better of it. Smashing into the wrong apartment would cause a lot more trouble than it solved, and if he's going to be seen breaking the law he'd rather not be seen breaking the laws of nature at the same time.

Better do this fast. Pete clenches his teeth with concentration, forcing blood into his muscles, and then delivers a series of solid kicks to the lock, glancing at the building's windows for signs of activity after each blow.

First I'll activate Vigor, then I'll try to break through the lock on the gate if it has one, and then on the door itself. I'll roll 4 attempts for now, if I need more I can make them in my next post.

Stamina + Strength:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Also, can I make a Dexterity + Stealth roll to break down the door in a relatively quiet manner? If so:

[roll4]

[ZeroNumerous]

Werewolves

Each phone call is exactly the same, and the only difference that can be found is how long it takes an individual werewolf to answer the phone. The voice on the other end is monotone and speaks with all the care of someone reading the weather out of a newspaper. "Good evening, wolf-friends. I hope you're well. We've had a situation arise, and I feel it will cater to your talents quite well. A certain member of the Lancea Sanctum, one Thomas Wellburg, was murdered and crucified earlier this evening. The attack was, as far as I know, unprovoked and aimed at the greater Sanctified population rather than Mr. Wellburg specifically. He was going to meet a client in the morning, one Senator John Jameson. I'm sure you've heard of his embezzlement scandal. I want you to see if his client heard anything unusual from him. Further, he had just met a certain criminal, one Jimmy 'the Knife', that he was set to defend in court. I'll need that man investigated as well. Do you have any questions?"

Avery

The car's insides are leather, fresh and well cleaned regularly. A very large GPS panel sits in the center of the vehicle's island, right behind an ashtray filled with cigarette butts. The girl lights up a cigarette once she's inside the passenger seat. She doesn't bother buckling up, and instead just settles back in the seat and takes a long drag off her light. "Nicotine never changes, even when you're dead." With that said she taps the GPS screen and the car chimes your destination with a cheery computerized voice. The girl speaks alongside it. "St. James' Cathedral over on Seventh. Try not to ding 'er, please?"

Unless questioned, the girl remains quiet throughout the trip. Traffic makes the drive a bit slower than normal, but eventually the pair arrive to a scene of several police cars. They've taped off a large section around the Cathedral and blocked the roads leading up to it. The girl points toward a pastel blue Mazda parked in an alleyway near the police cordon. "There he is."

Pete Sung

The first kick shatters the gate lock with ease, and even bends part of the gate inward. No one seems to notice it happen, or at least none of the lights move. The second kick breaks open the door, splintering part of the door frame and door itself. Once again, Pete neither hears nor sees any movement. After a few minutes of moving, Pete finds the apartment in question. No lights are on throughout the entire floor, and no one seems to be home. Yesterday's newspaper lies in front of each door.

I'll need Dexterity+Stealth if you're going to travel through the apartment quietly.

Zephyr

Wracking his mind, Zephyr discovers nothing about the late Mr Wellburg he did not already know. The mage travels toward St James, and after a few minutes of walking he arrives. A coal black car drives past just as Zephyr spots the police cordoning off the Cathedral. Several police officers are standing around making sure the public aren't getting in, and it appears that Zephyr will need to sneak by or otherwise gain access somehow.

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete slowly turns the doorknob and slips into the apartment, closing the door behind him. Smiling to himself, he begins searching for the inhabitant.

Dexterity + Stealth (Moving in darkness skill specialty, athletic shoes equipment): [roll0]

[Merrow]

Noel now kneeling down looking at the doll moves around it looking at the doll very intently, he goes to pick it up then pulls his hand back quickly moves around it and lowers his head closer to the ground to look at the doll at a closer angle.

"Ummm, Right, this is some serious **** here guys, I mean just wow, I heard of these things but that's about it never known of one been made, it is something that will allow people to cause the death of another."

Noel leans in and smells the doll avoiding touching it.

"Granted that's not all it does it summons a spirit which befriends the user then devours their soul, it supposed to appear every, umm, three days I think. If I remember correctly the spirit is called Wanyudo."

Noel reaches into a pocket and pulls out a oily rag and wraps it around his hand and picks up the doll carefully. Noel then looks around the area and then the others.

"So what are we going to do with it?"

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery proves to be a safe driver, and makes it to the Cathedral in a reasonable amount of time. He takes a few moments to find somewhere to park, before nervously exiting the car. "Well then. I suppose we should... go greet him? I'm not up to date on the protocol anymore, I'm afraid."

[ZeroNumerous]

Pete

The door creaks open with audible groaning. Darkness meets the vampire's eyes, and he finds himself facing a hallway with four off-shoots and no lights. The first room leads to a kitchen, the second to a bathroom, the third to a living room and the last one is locked. His superb hearing detects breathing behind the fourth door, and guessing by the rhythm it's a sleeping person.

Avery

The girl just grins. "Uh-uh. No 'we' involved in this. You go talk to the..." She bites back a curse. "Esteemed loyal dog." She growls and starts rooting around for another cigarette. "I only had to get you here, and I most certainly do not want to deal with him."

When she finishes speaking she crawls over into the driver's seat. Avery notices the window of the Mazda rolls down and a suit-clad elbow pokes out from the darkness within. Whomever sits behind the wheel is growing impatient.

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery sighs, and reluctantly heads toward the car without replying. He nervously approaches the open window, trying to get a look inside as he does. "Mr. Wesser? Dr. Marshall Avery, you called?"

[Odentin]

Mena sighs, watching Noel work, "Is there any way to destroy it? Or send it back to this 'Peacemaker' fellow? All he asked was to examine it. Just give it back to this associate of his and let them deal with it."

[horngeek]

Dorothea looks at him. "We're being payed well enough. We tell our employer what it is."

[Odentin]

Menawa nods to Dorothea, "Obviously. Keeping it with us seems like a poor idea, though. If Noel can destroy it, that's one thing. If not, then leaving it with the Peacemaker is better than endangering ourselves."

He grins slyly, "Besides, we have another job to do, it seems..."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete pauses at the door. While breaking down another door would be easy, things would go much more smoothly if the mark got up without screaming. If he could get her awake without getting her scared...

Pete walks to the kitchen and the bathroom and turns each faucet on full blast, then hides in the living room. Hopefully it would be loud enough to wake the woman up without being unnerving enough to keep her from investigating.

Not sure what, if anything, to roll for trying to lure the woman out like that.

Dexterity + Stealth, same as before: [roll0]

[Jesse Drake]

"None for jefe." Hector smiled, and looked at the others. "Um... I'm no doll expert, but perhaps I should carry it. After all, I'm no afraid of death." He turns to Noel. "Unless you think that won't work for any reason."

[Merrow]

Noel thinks for a couple seconds looking at the doll.

"No I can destroy the Fetish but the spirit will just find a weak mortal ride them and make them make another and the whole thing will start again, the only way to deal with it will be to either destroy the spirit or make it so the spirit never gets another chance to make one of these."

Noel looks at Hector and looks confuised.

"I.....don't.....know, the idea of the fetish is to let the user cause the death of a traget but the spirit that is powering it takes over the user by devouring their soul, it does that so it an use their life energy to power itself. So with you being the way you are I don't know what will happen. It probably wouldn't be a good Idea, but if your willing to take the risk."

[Jesse Drake]

"Well lucky for me, I have no soul." He says, confidently. Though this is not a decision to be made lightly, and the mere backing of his words may not be enough. He thinks for a moment, trying to think if this could end up really bad for him.

Intelligence and Occult, right? [roll0]

[Ditto]

Zephyr hustled around to the rear of the looming edifice, searching for a rear entrance. Cathedrals often had a smaller accessway leading directly to the crypt, and it was possible the authorities had not yet moved to lock down all access to the building while in the process of containing the actual crime scene out front.

[Jesse Drake]

"On second thought." Hector says smugly. "If I didn't have soul, how would my music sound so good. I can't risk losing one of my key sources of income."

[Merrow]

"Well if thats the case we could it in the falt until were ready to deal with it or one of us could carry it and when the spirit turns up to try and take our soul we can try and destroy it."

[ZeroNumerous]

Pete

Sure enough the person inside wakes up and moves to investigate. The door opens and a dark human shape steps into the hallway. It moves toward the bathroom first, slowly and with all the shambling of a half-asleep person.

Avery

Avery draws closer and gets the details of the vehicle. It looks rather new, and appears to be a Mazda RX-8. As he gets within speaking distance of the window he notices the arm poking out is wearing a very well made gray Armani suit. The man within, obscured by the dark alleyway and an aura of blood that makes Avery's hair stand on end, speaks plainly. "Good evening, Doctor. No, I did not call for you but a friend we both know wanted you here. He wants you assessment of the body. It seems kind of obvious to me, but he felt a more... unhinged... look at things would do our investigation some good."

The arm motions toward the passenger side. "They've moved the body to the morgue, Doctor."

Zephyr

Zephyr doesn't find an entryway, but he does find a woman in a nun's habit standing beside a back entrance. She seemed to be looking for someone, and when she spots Zephyr she waves him over. As Zephyr gets closer, he notes she's sweating and seems rather distraught. He can infer from this that she is not a vampire. "Are you the priest that Canoness Agna said would be coming?" She motions toward a very old looking wall. In a few seconds she's pressed against a specific part and opened a secret door built into the rear. "Agna asked me to wait here for a priest coming to help. I don't like keeping this from the police though. Especially after... Why would someone target us for a hate crime?"

Whether Zephyr speaks or not, she leads the mage through a series of twisting passage ways before both step out into the candle light of the main foyer. Two more nuns, one dressed normally and the other with a white habit, sit in the pews. An aged face, hard nose and even harder eyes turn to face Zephyr from beneath the white hood. The canoness nods, acknowledging the mage and his nun-based escort, and the girl with Zephyr opens her mouth to explain. A quick wave of the hand silences her, then the nun beside Agna takes her to one of the side hallways. The canoness clutches a steaming coffee cup with wrinkled hands, but makes no effort to drink from it. "I assume you aren't one of the faithful come to cleanse himself. A bishop tells me that you are here to... Find things, in his own words. I trusted him, and kept quiet about this. But he did say you aren't one of our own, and that makes me wary. So I would like to hear the story from your lips. Why would you help the faithful?"

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery tries not to be offended by the "unhinged" comment, and mostly succeeds. Despite being thoroughly unnerved by the man, he manages to retain his polite and professional demeanor.

Nodding, he heads for the passenger's seat. "It's a right pity that the cathedral is already blocked off, I imagine I might've been able to pick something up with a quick scan. But then, I suppose the medical table is more my field anyway..."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete lets her pass by him, then creeps up behind her. As the woman reaches the threshold of the bathroom, the vampire bursts forward and seizes her, hissing "Hold still or you die" as his hand clamps over her mouth.

Dexterity + Stealth, same as before: [roll0]

I'll start a grapple. If she's surprised, she doesn't get her defense. Assuming my Vigor is still active: [roll1]

And I'll roll a Strength + Intimidation check, since it's more the "suddenly being grabbed by a freakishly strong man in the middle of the night" part that's intimidating her than what I'm actually saying.
[roll2]

[Ditto]

Zephyr

As the younger nun escorts him into the cathedral nave, he puts his hand to her arm and offers a simple, "I'm here to help."

After he joins the canoness and is queried, Zephyr answers: "A fair question. I am here because I don't want to see the city erupt into chaos like it did all those years ago. And to be crass, because I am being well paid to attend to your interests. I take this commission quite seriously and aim to do what I can to figure out how to prevent further killings of this sort." He paused, wondering if being frank was the right tack. "At the very least, there is the mundane aspect of the matter at hand - finding a killer. I am in some ways better equipped than the earnest trenchcoats filling your forward square outside right now in resolving this question. Having knowledge of the... full scope... of possible players and motives in this situation as I do will surely be beneficial."

[ZeroNumerous]

Pete

The woman does what anyone would do when grabbed. She tries to kick, scream and fight. Fortunately for Pete his hand prevents her from making more than a squeek.

As she only has 3 dice to your 11, I'm not gonna bother rolling. I assume you have control of the grapple.

Zephyr

The woman nods, as she apparently received a satisfactory answer. "As you know, this Cathedral is special among the pious as it houses several of the... Sanctified, as you call our brothers and sisters of the faith. I, myself, am not. And many of the nuns are entirely in the dark about the matter. If you would kindly keep quiet about what you've found and report only to myself or Sister Superior Louise."

She places the untasted coffee on the floor in front of her, then motions toward the large wooden doors. "Mr. Harry is out there, and I assume he knows you or those like you well enough to know what to do. I will be here if you need me, and Sister Louise should be in the kitchen making coffee. I wouldn't suggest drinking it, but you might like the taste of tar."

Avery

Once inside the vehicle, Avery can get a good look at the Hound. He sports a trimmed goatee matching short and styled black hair. The gray Armani suit hangs off him as if he were born with it, and a matching satin tie makes his chest seem wider than it actually is. His tanned face is young-looking, but not naturally so. He seems to have had surgery, based on Avery's professional opinion. Avery can guess that man is close to what the vampires call 'the Beast'. He doesn't speak, but the good doctor gets a sensation of being watched.

The drive is extremely short, and soon they arrive at Pacific Medical Center. It takes a few minutes to get to the morgue, and the pair are greeted by the coroner. The woman shows the pair to the body, produces a box of plastic gloves for Avery and then begins explaining her findings. "Well, whoever got him drained the blood out of his body and nailed him to a wall. The actual killing blow, however, appears to be a stomach wound with a high-powered rifle of some sort." She points toward a very large hole in the gut. "I theorize that he was shot, bled to death, then drained of his blood via these marks on his wrists--" She points to four matching tiny holes on both wrists. "--then nailed to the Cathedral. The strange thing is: Whomever nailed him up would have to use a sledgehammer to put those nails into concrete. But the nails themselves were wood, rather than steel. They should have broken under the force of those blows."

I'll need Wits+Investigation and Intelligence+Medicine, as well as any other rolls you feel like making Eurus.

[horngeek]

"Well if thats the case we could it in the falt until were ready to deal with it or one of us could carry it and when the spirit turns up to try and take our soul we can try and destroy it."

"No. We'll keep it out of anyone's touch until we can get it back to our employer. Personally, I'd destroy it, but it's his call."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete easily maintains his grip, keeping the woman from crying out, and pushes her forward towards the sink. Trying to keep his voice calm with little success, Pete tells her "You can't get out. If you stop trying I won't hurt you. Turn off the faucet."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery spends the entire ride apparently trying to shrink down into his own skin and avoid looking at the Hound at any cost. Finally arriving at the morgue, he seems to actually relax, more in his element here. He listens attentively as the woman explains her findings, and takes a careful look at the body and stakes himself. "Normally I'd call this level of violence excessive, but in this case I suppose it might have been just enough..."

Discreetly, he also taps the bracelet on his arm, activating the scanner. As he moves his hands over the corpse to check it, the device soaks up all the information that it can.


OOC/Rolls:
Shoot. Can't believe I forgot to invest in Investigation. Not that there's really that much of a reason for him to have it, but at least one dot is easy enough to justify and would be no end of useful. I'll have to fix that ASAP. Burning 1 mania to briefly boost Intelligence by 1.

1d10
7d10

And how about Int + Occult for good measure.
6d10

Also, he'll use the Scanner on the corpse and stakes. This is a Physical/Biological/Metanormal scan. I figure it's sniffing for traces of foreign DNA, scanning for fingerprints, looking for hidden wounds, and whatever else it can do.

[Eurus]

OOC/Rolls:
Sigh. Apparently + symbols are bad for the roller.

Wits + Investigation
[roll0]
(0 successes)

Int + Medicine
[roll1]
(1 success)

Int + Occult
[roll2]
(2 successes)

[Merrow]

"Well in that case I think I put it back in here."

Noel places the doll back in the box and closes the lid.

"But aren't we supposed to be checking up on someone?"

[Jesse Drake]

"Good point hombre. I suggest we make like a tree and get outta here." He says, chuckling to himself. "We've been paid handsomely for our time- so I suggest we keep up our end of the bargain. After all, we don't want to develop a bad reputation."

[horngeek]

Dorothea nods. "All right. Wrong choice of analogy, though. Make like a banana and split would be the right one."

She chuckles, then turns serious. "We have a murder to investigate. I want everyone prepared to head out in twenty minutes. Get whatever you think you'll need."

[Ditto]

Zephyr

Nodding his head to Agna, he moves off to the large doors looking for Mr. Harry. Hopefully coming from inside the cathedral, he would not attract undue attention from the others bustling about out there. Stepping aside into a nave before he exits, he closes his eyes, whispers an ancient word, and grips the key hanging around his neck.

Casting Mage Sight (Matter). Gnosis + Matter + High Speech [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Avery

The mortician looks confused at Avery's comment. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" She shakes her head and takes a step back, as if coming out of some sort of stupor. She looks first to Avery, then toward the Hound. "I-I think I'll need to see your papers." Her statement only gets a scowl and a low growl from the Hound.

Zephyr

Harry moves to greet Zephyr warmly. "'Ey! Buddy! Come on." He takes Zephyr toward where Wellburg was killed whilst deflecting questions with the explanation that Zephyr is a hired private investigator. The location itself is fairly obvious. A large amount of blood is splattered against a wall and some of it has run down the wall to pool on the ground below. Four very large holes are in the concrete, and they are bloody like the rest of the wall. Two smaller holes are in the wall, and appear to be gunshots.

Harry shrugs, then leans in close to whisper and nudges Zephyr with an elbow. "So whaddya think? It wasn't a blue-blood, was it?"

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery looks up in surprise at the woman, having apparently forgotten that she was there. Fortunately, as one of the Inspired, he was used to covering for apparently mad comments by changing the subject and relying on the other person to feel too awkward to push the subject. "Oh, sorry. Just thinking out loud. You know how it is. Identification, you said?"

The doctor starts rummaging around a pocket, which seems to take longer than it probably should. "I have it somewhere, really I do... oh dear, did I forget my wallet? I was in an awful hurry... Er... you know what, I'm finished anyway, why don't we just go? Thank you for your assistance, ma'am."

[Merrow]

Noel goes back inside and grabs a bag and then comes back out.

"Well I am ready what about you guys."

[Odentin]

((Kinda waiting on an answer to my question in the OOC thread.))

Menawa head s to his Harley and pulls a tonfa and what appears to be a short length of barbed wire from his saddlebag. He places the tonfa in the back of his jeans, under his jacket. He stares at the wire for a long second before placing it in his jacket pocket.

[Jesse Drake]

"I'm ready esse." Hector grunts. "Let's go. Who's driving? I don't have a car."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

(Assuming the woman hasn't done anything unexpected since my last post)

"We're going to have a talk about Thomas Wellburg," Pete growls. "Starting with who killed him and why. If you cooperate, I'm not going to hurt you. If you don't - " He pushes her head down towards the sink, then yanks it back up by her hair " - I'm going to drown you. So, Thomas Wellburg. Start talking." Pete takes his hand off the woman's mouth.

Intimidate + Strength: [roll0]

[ZeroNumerous]

Avery

The Hound grunts at Avery's words, then gives the coroner a hard look. "The family will be by soon to see the body. They're here to identify it." The woman looks mildly confused, but doesn't talk back to strange man. He heads outside the hospital, motioning only for Avery to follow and seemingly expecting obedience.

Once the pair reach an area they can talk, the hound immediately belts out a question. "What did you find?"

Pete

The woman resists, but doesn't fight as hard as Pete expects. Almost as if she wasn't as terrified as she was before. "I dunno. Someone leaves me packages and notes and things. I take 'em to the church and one of them nuns take 'em. I don't ask questions."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery takes a moment to reply, fiddling with his communicator for a moment - sending the results of the scan to his home computer, actually, but the Hound didn't need to know that. Once finished, he replies.

"Very unusual things. I don't know if you noticed the runes carved into each stake?" He shows the man a picture of said runes. "They appear to be occult in nature, although I haven't a clue as to their purpose or origin. Very old, though. Seemingly even older than the wood that they're carved into, even though that makes no sense... it's possible that they were carved into a living tree which was later cut down and turned into those stakes, I suppose, although I can't imagine why someone would go to so much effort..."

Coughing nervously, he tries to get back on track. "Er, yes. Four different sets of fingerprints, one on each stake. I could try to sneak a peek in IAFIS if you like, but I know your kind don't tend to get in the habit of letting mortals put their information in databases like that. Skin cells were in one set of fingerprints, from a recently deceased human, while another had - if you can believe it - hair from a wolf spider. Finally, he seems to have been diablerized, although there were also some needle marks along with the tooth marks."

[ZeroNumerous]

Avery

The Hound waited patiently for Avery to finish. "IAFIS won't be any good. We make sure any one of us that gets taken in doesn't get their prints in there. Even if they don't agree with us. The best you could do are the old paper records in the P.D. They don't throw anything away these days." The way he spits the word says something about his age, but one can expect appearances to deceive.

The Hound heads toward the car, grumbling loudly as he does so. "So he was eaten, and that means there's one of us involved. Maybe not a blue blood but the fact that one was there will be reason enough for the holier-than-thou crowd to get up in arms." He sighs, an unusual gesture for the man, then looks toward Avery like a wolf looking toward a meal. "Do you want to see the scene itself?"

[Jesse Drake]

"Ay." Hector grows impatient. He gets ready to leave on foot. He quickly heads for the nearest phone-book. He'll flip through the pages- looking for John Jameson.

[Odentin]

((Assuming no one else owns a car...))

Menawa grabs his helmet from inside and rides to the upper-class townhome he keeps, retrieving his Challenger. After returning, he allows everyone to pile in before pulling out into the street, "So, where to first?"

[Merrow]

Noel gets in the car and sits in the back.

"Aren't we going for that Jameson guy?"

[Odentin]

Menawa nods, "Indeed, but we've also been asked to investigate that criminal."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery nods, and sighs. "I figured as much. I'll keep the paper records in mind, though, if I get a chance to look at them. The scene, yes, I'd like that very much."

[Merrow]

Noel scratched his chin in thought.

"Well the longer we leave the criminal the more likely he is to run so it maybe better to go for him."

[Ditto]

Zephyr

Standing up and backing away from the site of the murder, he turns to address Harry. "Not sure. Can't tell too much just yet. Tell me, do you know anything about the history of this place? The cathedral and its grounds, that is? Mr. Wellburg was laid out at this location for a specific reason."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

Pete shakes his head. "'Someone'? 'One of them nuns'? I want names."

[ZeroNumerous]

Jesse

Getting Jameson's number and address from the phonebook is as easy as pie.

Pete

The woman vigorously shakes her head. "I don't ask questions! I don't see anyone drop the packages off, I don't talk to the nuns and I don't get involved!"

Avery

The Hound takes Avery on a quick drive back to the Cathedral. "Just remember, you're here as the medical examiner and you wanted to examine the scene. As long as you don't look out of place no one will ask questions."

Zephyr

Harry shrugs. "Uh, it's owned by the Sanctum. They used it as a hiding place during the riots, and I dunno anything about it before that. It's an old building though, from before the first World War. You'd need to ask someone inside for more than what little I got for ya."

Zephyr&Avery

A pastel blue Mazda RX-8 pulls up to the police cordon. A large, implacable man wearing a suit that's obviously not comfortable for him steps out, followed by Doctor Avery. The Hound motions toward Harry, and Zephyr hears the officer beside him swallow hard. Harry half-turns toward Zephyr, but keeps his eye on the Hound as he speaks. "Careful now. That's the prince's... uh, dog. So, lets try and not get me killed, ya?"

The Hound's approach is only nominally objected to by one officer, whom is quickly subdued with a set of papers fetched from an inner coat pocket. All four meet and the Hound motions toward Avery. "This is Doctor Marshal Avery, the medical examiner I called in." Harry motions to Zephyr in turn. "Uh, private eye called in by a mu... Me."

[SurlySeraph]

Pete Sung

"Like hell you don't get involved. If you're not involved, you sure as hell are now. When do the packages get dropped off? When do you take them over? What do you think's in them? Don't tell me you don't know, if you don't you damn well better take a guess."

[Jesse Drake]

Hector Villalobos

Hector growls as he removes the page from the book. He looks around at the others- trying to pile into a tiny car... no way Jose. He'd rather risk walking- or running.

"I'll meet up with you homies." He says. "Hey- cheer up." He grins, and leaves.

Along the way, he pulls out his keychain... a mini guitar. Now, it's functional but merely a toy. So he strums it- making a rather nice sound- and sings too. After all, the run might take a moment. It's nothing too fancy- just a bit of Black Magic Woman- something to entertain him while he runs. Who needs a radio?

[roll0] This is just for singing. The guitar toy is just that.

[Merrow]

"So shall we get going to the place....where is it?"

[Ditto]

Zephyr

The mage inclines his head to each of the newcomers. "Charmed. What can we do for you here, doctor? Not much around for you to medically examine, unless you're any good with blood splatter analysis. The scene is pretty straightforward, from what it looks like, but there's plenty of blood for ya."

[Eurus]

Dr. Marshall Avery

Avery actually manages to look at-ease, professional, and not out of place at all. He nods his own greeting to Zephyr by way of reply. "Well, I suppose you could say I have experience with forensics. You'd be surprised what people overlook, sometimes. I'll just take a quick look around, if that's alright?"

[Odentin]

((Lol, Challengers are fairly large. Though the back seat might be kinda cramped.))

Menawa whistles to Hector, waiting for him to come back near the car, You find anything on that Jimmy guy? We're headin' to see him first."

Once Dorothea is seated, Menawa begins the drive to wherever it is that the criminal have last had an address in the phone book...

[Jesse Drake]

((Gack- you caught me! I'm automotively challenged))

Hector looks at the rest, and decides to hitch the ride. "Yessir sir. I have obtained the address... Through extensive research, of course."

[Merrow]

Noel nods.

"Good can never do enougth research, granted we may need a new phone book eventually."

[Ditto]

Zephyr

"Knock y'self out." Zephyr steps back and leaves the doctor room to work.

...

Following any interesting discoveries Avery might share aloud, he heads back into the cathedral to talk to Agna or the sister superior to see if they might know more about the history of the church.