London Ripper [IC] [GURPS 4e]

[Bowerbird]

"N-not really.. I'll go with you then... shall we?" Oscar wraps the pendant in a handkerchief, and follows Adelaide to Hyde Park.

[Godna]

John arrives at the station and after showing the neccessary authorization he asks for a copies of the case files.

[sazzer]

I'm surprised you don't have 'em already, but I'll go see what I can do. Which ones are you after exactly?

[Ella]

Adelaide looks around for signs of the crime scene, something to indicate to her where the best place to speak to the dead would be.

She turns to Oscar and looks him in the eyes to ask him, what in her opinion is an all important question.

"So tell me, do you believe in spirits?"

[Bowerbird]

Oscar can't quite meet Adelaide's eyes, "Umm.. Yes.. I've recently been.. made aware.. of certain things.. certain..." Oscar's eyes glaze over, he seems lost in his own little world, and judging from his expression, not a good one. He drops to his knees with his hands over his eyes, "Please, don't let them get me, don't let them get mee.. scratching, clawing, waiting to get in! Have to stop them, cannot stop them, must run away, can't escape!" After a few minutes of sitting on the ground crying, Oscar stands, wipes tears from his eyes, still visibly shaken "...sorry, what were we talking about again? Oh right, spirits, yes.. umm.. I think it's safe to say I believe in them." Oscar looks up at Adelaide, "You think I'm crazy now don't you?"

Spoiler

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Hooray for Severe Flashbacks, and various other mental disads..
On the plus side, once he gets to know you, the umms should lessen :P

[Ella]

"I am able to speak to them, and I wouldn't ever reveal this fact except for the fact that you seem to have even greater problems of your own."

The perfect situation then, someone who had become aware of spirits and wasn't formally trained in the arts, she could reveal enough about the dead to gain his assistance without risking her secrets.

"You aren't crazy, they are real. I would prefer if you kept my ability to yourself the last thing I need is the true crazies to find out and see myself in the tabloids."

She turns away from him to examine the area looking for signs of police investigation.

"We need to find the actual place that the death happened. Any suggestions?"

[Godna]

"Primarily, things like the pictures taken from the crime scenes, any evidence found, and the like." John says in response to the query.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar shrugs, "Haven't a clue.. but, umm.. shouldn't we try over by the police tape?"

[Ella]

"Well lets take a look."

Adelaide walks over to the police tape, and starts to focus her mind, she turns to Oscar.

"I am going to need your assistance here, cover for me if anyone asks questions then stall them."

Adelaide wonders towards the middle of the police tape and prepares herself to Speak to the Dead again.

Spoiler

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summon spirit:(3d6)[9]
Less than 16 is a success I think.

Under her breath Adelaide whispers "What happened to you here."

[sazzer]

John B

Nah - You misunderstand me. I meant which crimes you want the files for?

Adelaide / Oscar

Arriving in the trees near the serpentine, you find a spot where there are no people around near some remnants of the police tape. Performing the summoning, you can feel a presence but not actually see any change.

Spoiler

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Adelaide: Cost of 5 + 5 for every question you want to ask, and a duration of one minute for every question you want to ask.

Oscar: You (presumably) saw Adelaide perform the casting. You can do a Sense Roll at +2 to see if you detect any trace of what's happening (+2 for the fact that you saw the casting and for the Occultism)

[Godna]

John apologizes and gives here the case numbers of the crimes. "Sorry I'm kinda new at this" he says in a slightly nervous shy tone. "I was only recently assigned to this case, and its kinda my first."

[Ella]

Feeling a slight chill Adelaide knows that the spirit is listening and ready, she carefully asks the one question that matters to her knowing that she wont have the strength to ask another.

"What happened to you here, please help me to prevent death reaching out and plucking more lives."

[Bowerbird]

Oscar just looks on, wide eyed, with his mouth open.

[sazzer]

John B

Right you are. I'll go see what I can find... and the man goes into the back room...

Adelaide

You hear a voice whispering: I... I was out for a walk through the park. I do that when I can't sleep, it helps me to relax... There was this man down by the lake - I think he was walking his dog or something... When he saw me, he started running towards me. I was scared, and just ran but I couldn't get away. He was so fast... I know he caught me, but I... I can't remember anything that happened after that...

Oscar

You can hear a whispering sound, as if a voice, but can't make out any words...

[Ella]

"What sort of dog was it?" Adelaide whispers, feeling her strength drop entirely, and collapses forwards hitting the ground.

[sazzer]

Adelaide

I... I didn't see the dog, but I heard it down by the lake...

[Ella]

After the reply Adelaide whispers "Thank you Holly, rest peacefully"

She attempts to get back up but upon finding it difficult, instead lies down on her back breathing deeply.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar walks over to Adelaide and offers her a hand up, "What was that?"

[Ella]

Adelaide accepts his hand, and rises to her feet."A gift, a costly one, the dead can you tell you many things but there is a cost, the very act of listening to them will tire you out quite fast"

"I think now would be quite a nice time to take a stroll around the lake."

[Bowerbird]

"Ah, magic?" Oscar asks, indicating for her to lead the way, you seem to have shocked the shyness out of him, at least temporarily.

[Godna]

John waits for the attendant to return. His thoughts turning to what the best course of action would be and reminding himself not to forget about the meeting with the strange officer later.

[Ella]

"Magic indeed" now, take my hand and lets head for the lake.

Adelaide leads the way as much as possible down towards it, and upon getting as close as possible to the water she slows down, searching eagerly with her eyes, looking for anytihng unusual. "Keep your eyes open, if there is anything more to be found it will be around the lake."

[Bowerbird]

"Oh good, it's not just me then." Oscar mutters as he gives Adelaide a hand keeping balance if she needs it, and sets about the business of investigating the lake.

[sazzer]

John B

The officer returns from the back after quite a while...

Ok - you're cleared, and I've arranged for the case files to be brought to a meeting room for you. There's really not an awful lot to go on though.... He then leads you through to a room out in the back of the station where there is a table and chair, and 5 cardboard boxes sat on the table...

[Godna]

Taking a look at the pile John has one of those moments where he realizes the effect of his actions. John pokes his head out of the room

"Wow man, I didn't know there was this much here. I apologize for making you dig all it out. If I'd have known I'd have offered to help. I'll probably be a while back there. If I don't emerge before six would you mind giving me a reminder? I have to meet another officer later."

John waits for a response before starting on the box marked with the earliest date. He also clears the table of the other boxes so he can get to work. Taking a quick moment to catch his breath after doing so as he discovered. Those Boxes are loving heavy...making a mental note to buy coffee and donuts (or what ever the local sterotypical office morning food is) for that officer he gets to work.
Checking list of contents on the box to confirm that it was all there, and making note of items of interest in the evidence section before getting started, John makes notes on his laptop as he goes. (This in addition to written notes)

Reading the crime scene report, John makes specific note of the location for future investigation.

[sazzer]

Hey - it was no hassle. We keep it all stored like that anyway - each box relates to a single crime, and I just grab the boxes with the right numbers on 'em.

You will notice that each of the five boxes relates to a single one of the murders. The first one you open is labelled "027-11456-012__________30112009". Inside it there is yet another copy of the crime scene report, 4 packs of photographs - each initialled differently - and about a dozen plaster casts of different footprints.

Spoiler

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Underscores represent a large gap between the numbers - the forum collapses spaces down into a single space

[Godna]

John checks the section the section of the report for what evidence they have found.

After that he compares the foot prints of the cast with the foot prints of the crime scene he investigated.
(3d6)[3][5][2](10) Per Target: 16

He next reads the crime scene report and compares it to the scene he was at previously, and to the pictures within the report. He is also checking for anything that might give a hint the presence of the occult. (Like strange smells, unusual cold areas, etceria.)
(3d6)[6][1][5](12) Per Target: 16
(3d6)[4][6][6](16) Occult Target: 16

John pokes his head out and asks if he can use their scanner so he can upload the photos to his laptop.

[sazzer]

John B

You find one set of casts that look about the same size as the ones you found before. With nothing physical to compare with it's difficult to say for certain, but it's possible they are the same feet.

There's nothing mentioned that would suggest any occult presence - apart from the obvious fact that the injuries are inhuman...

[Godna]

John also checks the other boxes while keeping track of the time.

[Ella]

"So do you have a story to share, Oscar?"

Adelaide clutches his arm, and stops for a minute, searching around the ground with her eyes, hoping to find something anything that would require teamwork to decipher, after all she now had the young man's assitance and he seemed quite capable.