Dirty Old Town - H:tV

[whiskytangofoxt]

As we open, it's a dark and dreary Thursday morning. Tonight is patrol night.
Tell me a little about yourselves - you have a few hours before you and the guys meet up at the entrance to John Wheatly College in Easterhouse.

What are you doing? Got anything in particular to do before patrols? Anyone got any ideas for what to patrol for?

[drakir_nosslin]

Himuro opens his eyes after his afternoon meditation, his eyes wander the mostly empty room for a few seconds, taking in the few details there is. The floor is made of pale wood, probably birch, and the walls are painted in a equally pale yellow. There is a small wooden altar along one wall, opposite the door to the main hall. From the altar comes the smell of sandalwood and Himuro remembers that someone came inside earlier and lighted the sticks of incense that have burnt down almost completely by now.
He looks down on the prayer beads in his hands, and silently recites his mantra one more time before standing. His knees ace a bit from the hour he's spent on the hard floor, but he is used to it and slowly flexes joint after joint in his body until he is sure that he can move with ease again.
The monk picks up his belongings from a corner in the room, it's not much, a simple pouch contains all his possessions besides his robes, prayer beads and his staff. The woman in charge of the Buddhist centre where he is allowed to sleep in exchange for lessons in meditation were kind enough to provide him with a blanket to rest on. He couldn't accept more anyway.
Before leaving the room, Himuro bows towards the altar and quietly prays for wisdom during the coming evening. He will need it, for the beasts he and his comrades hunt are no ordinary prey.
To kill is forbidden according to buddhism, and he still believes it to be so, as long as one is talking about creatures that belong to the great wheel. Others, like the stranger, do not, and they need to be dealt with so that they do not become a threat to the innocent.
But before he goes on the hunt he has other responsibilities to take care of. Another group of curious people have gathered to listen to him. He does not believe that any one of them will take the oaths like him, or even become a believer, but if he can he will help them towards inner peace in this world of chaos. A little meditation goes a long way...

[DJDizzy]

Jericho opened his eyes and quickly jumped out of bed before dropping to the floor almost as if he were taking cover from something, "for ****s sake, those ****ing insurgents" he said. He got up from the floor and put on his trenchcoat, donning his harness with his 2 pistols on it.
Nothing like the sight of 2 fully loaded desert eagles he thought to himself.

[Flashback start] The artillery shell flew over their heads to explode about 500 meters infront of him, "Squad 1, upfront with me, squad 2 and 3 left and right flank in that order" Jericho bellowed sprinting from cover to cover "WHERE THE **** IS MY ARTILLERY?" he shouted into his comm unit "We're getting pounded to scrap here" he added, about 10 second after he said it, an inferno of artillery shells ripped squad 2 apart as Jericho watched helplessly [Flashback end]

Smelling the smoke of a nearby burnt out building he said to himself "Going to be a good day today"

[Chucho108]

Virgil

Pouring himself another scotch, Virgil sipped slowly while he went over the maps. He had been working on this project for close to three months now, tracking the various oddities that stalked the night. He was attempting to locate hot spots, places where these creature congregated. He knew there were more then one type of monsters out in the dark, it was his job to categorize them, attempt to figure out how they worked. So far he had managed to locate several hot spots, but nothing definitive. No actual lairs or nests, just hunting grounds. Even on the nights he attempted to track them himself, without the aid of the others and not attempting to stop them, he was unable to locate any individual's lair.

Checking the clock on the desk, he finished what little scotch was left in his glass before hiding the map back in his safe. Gathering his belongings, more utilitarian then fashionable, Virgil made sure everything was secure, the buckles properly fastened, the sling for the baseball bat at his waist. Piling into the old sedan, Virgil took off at a measured pace, making his way to the Buddhist center where the others would be meeting.

[13379\/\/4R]

Ian


I wake up in his safe house. As always, the first thing I do is check for intruders. After that, my morning ritual includes eating a bowl of cereal for breakfast. After that, I clean my gun and sharpen my sword. Then I am out the door. I check on the local hangouts for the homeless to see if anyone is missing and unaccounted for. The homeless are perpetualy at risk from the various kind of Unnaturals, my word the strange creatures that prey on human kind. Bums are easy targets. They don't have homes that you have to break into or families that will miss them. They truly need someone to help them, and I guess thats me and my team.

[whiskytangofoxt]

*Sorry for the wait guys, was seeing if Suzuro would respond... apparently not!*

Ian, you find that two of the guys have went missing - one was possibly burned to death by a bunch of drunken thugs, the other has just upped and gone.

Virgil, are you wanting to try a research roll to see what info you've uncovered before you head out?

[Chucho108]

Virgil

OOC: Sure why not?


Int: 3
Academics: 4
Research Speciality: 1
Int+Academics=[roll0]

[whiskytangofoxt]

You spend an hour or so researching, and you uncover some unusual information through looking at the local newspapers (The Metro, The Daily Record, and the right-wing's favourite, The Digger) and cross-referencing a few websites and texts.

Seems there are two main areas for concern: out in the Parkhead area of the East End, the corpses of several locals have been found, mostly stripped of flesh and dismembered - police blame a large animal such as a feral dog, possibly an escaped big cat - however, the level of flesh removal described seems to go above and beyond such a beast. Current rumour suggests a large, animalistic shape has been spotted in several wasteland sites across the East End.

Secondly, the City Centre has recently seen an increase in the number of attacks against both prostitutes and their clients - mainly violent assaults, but some murders, and even a few severe mutilations. At least one appears to have been torn in half while out kerb crawling. Police have now ruled out death by misadventure, and are beginning a murder enquiry.

While there are a few other interesting clips and tidbits, you can't quite get them to gel.

[whiskytangofoxt]

So you come together at the Buddhist Centre. It's up on Sauchiehall St, in the heart of the City Centre. Are you wanting to stay in the centre, do some wheeling and dealing, or out into one of the residential areas to do some direct hunting?

Have a quick chat, put forth your reasonings!

[DJDizzy]

Jericho lights a cigar and leans himself against the wall

"Morning, nice weather isn't it" Jericho says sarcastically "Anyone found anything interesting during the night" he asks.

[drakir_nosslin]

Himuro

Finished with teaching for today, Himuro approaches the rest of the group with a bowl of rice in his hands, from which he eats slowly with his fingers. He's halfway through his dinner as he reaches the others.
Greetings, and Buddhas blessing on all of you.
The monk smiles and bows slightly, but then he frowns and turns towards Jericho.
This is a holy house, my friend. Please, try to refrain yourself from smoking until we have left the building. He pauses for a bit, long enough to eat some more rice, and then he continues.
After all, the body and its needs is just an extension of the mind.

[Chucho108]

Virgil

Virgil greets the monk with a small grin and a raised hand,

"Yes and no. Parkland looks to have an infestation of sorts, possibly a shifter, and the Centre's had a rash of murders break out, pretty gruesome stuff, but nothing a determined psychotic couldn't do. Honestly I think we need to do a bit of recon on both, who knows we might even get lucky and catch the bastards in the act."

[DJDizzy]

"What sort of infestation do you mean exactly?" Jericho asks as he continues to smoke his cigar

[whiskytangofoxt]

Virgil's smile wavers slightly as he recalls the grizzly details.

"Well, apparently, police found several corpses. Stripped of flesh, taken apart."

The older man looks a little nauseous and worried. He continues,

"There's even a claim that a creature has been spotted in the area, but it's probably hysteria. It would be folly to suspect only one creature - from what we know, these things are fairly social... perhaps a family?"

By this point, the scholar looks deep in thought, and is mumbling solutions and further problems to himself.

[drakir_nosslin]

Himuro

Hearing of the murdered people, Himuro whispers a prayer for their souls before he responds.
"If what you suspect is true, then we cannot let the creature remain. They have chosen a violent path, and then they will die a violent death. It is for the best."
The monk finishes his rice and puts the bowl in his small leather pouch.
"May I suggest that we start by investigating the area of the murders? I do not know how intelligent these things are, but it is likely that they left some clues."

[whiskytangofoxt]

"Mmh, good plan. As far as I could see, the area was..."

The professor reaches into his jacket pocket, and extracts a small notebook. He thumbs a few pages, brow furrowed in concentration.
"... several abandoned lots throughout Parkhead, near Duke Street. So I suggest we go have a gander, eh?"

He lowers his voice to a conspiritorial tone:
"What weapons does everyone have on them? Just in case, you know... I have my bat in the car. If it all gets a bit out of hand, I suppose I have my multitool somewhere..."

[drakir_nosslin]

Himuro

"Let me just go get my staff, and we can leave."
The monk walks over to a corner and picks up the simple staff that rested against the wall there and returns to the group.
"So, shall we go?"

[whiskytangofoxt]

Virgil turns to the group at large.

"Are we good to go, then? Time to, eh, clear up, eh guys?"

[DJDizzy]

"Yeah, lets go shoot some bad guys"
Jericho says as he puts out the cigar before flicking it into a nearby trashcan.
"So where to? Got any plan of action, rules of engagement?" he asks as he walks over to the car, checking his guns along the way.

[whiskytangofoxt]

Ian

Silent up till this point, Ian feels more confident when tactics comes into play.

"Aye, well hows about yous all distract it, go aboot an act the c*nt, and ah'll creep up behin' the bastard, gie him a wee taste o' the blade?" He unsheathes his sword in full view of the street, and gives it a mighty swing. He misses seriously injuring Himuro by inches.