London Ripper [IC] [GURPS 4e]

[sazzer]

There's a serial killer on the loose. Not just any normal serial killer though, this one seems to have a taste for the vicious. 5 people so far have turned up dead, all very obviously by the same killer. They always turn up in the morning, normally over the weekend, and always in a very bad shape. Dismembered, or even missing, body parts and the strange teeth marks all over the victims body are the only things that link the victims apart from the fact that they have all died in the last two weeks and all inside central London.

The story about latest victim was on the front page of all the newspapers, and was headline news on all the morning news reports. Katie Barlow, a 19 year old University student at UCL was discovered at 5am this morning - Monday, January 25th - but a couple of ladies jogging through Regents Park.

[nerd-7i+e]

The moment John J. hears about this latest murder, he heads over to the murder site. Finding forensic stuff can wait.

[Godna]

Mr Brooks keeps his normal agenda until the package from the police arrives giving him further reason to believe that the earlier meeting with that associate of his grandfathers was real.

[Jibar]

Sitting in the cold of a library, Michael Green sits rubbing his hands together devouring the information from the news websites open before him, looking for more information on an all too familiar set of murders.

[sazzer]

John J, heading over to Regents Park, unsurprisingly finds the entire area roped off with what at first glance seems to be a large number of police officers patrolling the area. It certainly doesn't seem to be possible to get close enough to even see where the body was found...

[Bowerbird]

Oscar feels the urge to pick up a newspaper that morning and notices the headline. Not again, it's like it wants me to investigate.. his curiosity getting the better of him, and with the book mentally nudging him, he decides to find out what he can about the other murders. He hops on his bike and heads toward the library.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. walks up to a policeman near a building at the edge of the group of other policemen. He casts Command. "Follow me."

Roll to command. Target: 13. Roll: 7.

I believe he gets a chance to resist.

[sazzer]

Could you please roll all dice on here.

WILL resistance: Target=13. [roll0]


Yes Sir. Where to?

[Ella]

Adelaide looks deeply into her own eyes in a mirror and sighs, she is in the break room in Whittington Hospital, she sighs and raises her hand to touch the cheek of her own reflection.

She sighs and turns away from the mirror, something felt wrong, nothing she could put her finger on, it was like a germ in the aura of the body of the city, something attacking it from the inside. She knew she was being silly and over excitable, but she felt it anyway.

She turned her head back to the mirror for a second, as if she expected something to have suddenly changed, but nothing had. She walked to the breakroom door and opened it before turning down into the hospital corridor, to go look for her chance to do battle with death for the life of an unknown person and she smiled, death might be eternal but she had the tools at her disposal to defeat it.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. leads the policeman behind a building. As he walks, he prepares Sleep. Once they are out of sight, he casts.

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: 9.

He gets a HT resistance.

[sazzer]

HT resistance: Target=13. [roll0]


Seeing you stood there waving your arms around and muttering, the policeman starts towards you as if alerted that you were up to something. Then, as you cast the spell, he just stops and slumps to the floor.

[nerd-7i+e]

Could you please roll all dice on here.

WILL resistance: Target=13. [roll0]



I just realized that I shouldn't have succeeded here – his roll was less than his Will, so he resists.

[sazzer]

I just realized that I shouldn't have succeeded here – his roll was less than his Will, so he resists.

No - he did succeed. From my understanding of it, you perform a skill check against the spell to see if you cast the spell, and then if you do the policeman performs a check against his will (of 13 in this case). If the policeman passes his check against his will by at least the same amount that you passed your check against the spell by then the spell is resisted - so if you passed the spell check by 6 then the policeman would have to pass the will check by at least 6 in order to resist the spell...

What this means is that the more competent you are in a spell, the harder it becomes to resist that spell even if nothing else changes with regards to actually casting it...

[Godna]

Upon the confirmation that the package from the police is real John decides that perhaps he should have turned down the offer, but as he begins to get cold feet, reports of the new victim come in, and he gets swept along with the flurry of activity until he is suddenly at the crime scene.

He hadn't look at the body yet, but he wanted to put that off for as long as possible. He listens in the conversations the police are having. The looks they give him after he shows them his authorization make him rethink his plan of putting off investigating the wounds of the body.

So he heads toward the place where body rests with his authorization already out.

[nerd-7i+e]

Really? Cool, didn't know that.

John J. takes the policeman's clothes and puts them on. He hides the policeman in a bush if there is one near him. Otherwise, the best hiding place is right there behind the building.

Camouflage roll. Target: 8. Roll [roll0]\

Hm, I hope there are no bushes nearby. Or that no one comes back here. Or both.

[sazzer]

John Brooks
You show your papers to one of the policemen keeping civilians out, and after checking over it - and double checking with his companion - he shrugs and gives it back to you, and then pulls the rope up to allow you under.
She's down by the path by the lake. Brutal mess this. Don't know what gets into some people. Still, I guess that's what they've got you here for...

John J

It occurs to me that I've screwed up here as well :( The nearest building to the new murder site is 150 metres away, so I'll let you choose if you meant that far away, or something else in the actual vicinity...

[nerd-7i+e]

A character only has two turns in which to fulfill his Command, so unless the policeman had Move: 75 I would have to keep casting Command again and again, which doesn't sound particularly fun. Is there a grove of trees or such in which I could bring him in only a few turns?

[sazzer]

Look at the map :P

[nerd-7i+e]

Hm, the lack of natural cover saddens and angers me. Why, Sazzer, why?:smallannoyed::smallmad: I have only one idea, now. I will make him go to the nearest buildings or natural cover by his own volition, but first I must know: Am I allowed to use Shape Water to funnel most of the water in his body into his bladder?

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. walks up to whichever policeman looks the most like him (who would probably stick out like a sore thumb given that anyone looking even remotely like John J. would be terribly ugly). He casts Forgetfulness. You've forgotten your handcuffs he magically tells the policeman.
Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[sazzer]

The policeman looks over at John J with a puzzled expression on his face, watching him wave his hands and murmer something. Calling over his shoulder,'Ere, Jim. I think this blokes having a fit or something. What'd you think we should do?.

The policeman's friend comes over to see, nods in agreement and says to John J Calm down there, you'll do yourself a mischief. I'll get someone to come take a look at you. He then puts in a radio call back to the basecamp requesting a paramedic to come and assist.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. casts Command on Jim. "Don't worry; I'm fine."

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

He looks at the first policeman and casts Command again. "That goes for you, too."

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll1]

[Bowerbird]

Oscar finally arrives at the library, he locks up his bike and heads inside to where the newspaper archives are. Alright let's see if there's anything of note here. To the book: "Shut up, I'm looking, I'm looking."


Rolling research to look for new information [roll0] need to get less than 13.

[sazzer]

John J

WILL resistance: Target=13. [roll0]


The first policeman shakes his head, but otherwise is unaffected. Come and sit down sir, and when the paramedics get here I'll arrange for you to be taken to the Whittington.

To his associate, It's a bit of a trek, but they've got a brand new psych ward there and I suspect getting him away from this mess can't be a bad thing...

Oscar
You find many articles on the recent killings, but so far nothing more than tabloid speculation and repeating of the facts that you already know...

[Ella]

Adelaide walks down the corridor, with a slight smile on her face, she had grown to find the smell of disinfectant comforting, the world was a big place, but within these four walls she knew exactly what she was doing, and exactly what was going on.

She enterted the Emergency Admissions ward, and held her head high looking at the assorted people in the beds, nothing urgent, not a single sign that death stalked these people, some of them had gotten off easily, but it looked like for the most part they would pull through without complication.

She continued out of the ward and headed towards the admissions desk, in her quest she knew that the best way to guarentee her success was to be proactive, and cut short the plans of the reaper, the sooner she found a patient needing critical care the better it would be for the patient.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. obliges and sits down by a tree, grumbling. After a few minutes, he casts Ignite Fire on the tree he is sitting by.

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[sazzer]

John J

Oops:
Critical Failure Roll: [roll0]

Are you keeping track of your spent energy btw?


Muttering under your breath and motioning with your hands, somehow your concentration slips - probably from the ignobility the policemen have had towards you - and instead of the intended result instead you somehow manage to summon water instead, all over your jacket and trousers...

[nerd-7i+e]

Yes. I'm down to 19.

John J. tries again, not caring what the policemen are thinking. They'll only have a second to wonder anyway...

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[Godna]

John Brooks takes a moment to settle his stomach before checking out the corpse. Upon seeing his mangled the corpse he closes his eyes and calms himself again. A nearby cop seeing this asks "This your first time? Don't worry it gets easier."

He thanks the cop before nerving himself to examine the Corpse one last time for any connections to the occult

Roll:[roll0] Target: 17

[sazzer]

John Brooks

You can see nothing supernatural about the corpse itself - it's just a pretty young girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. On closer inspection though, you start to doubt that the injuries she sustained could have come from someone with human strength. You certainly suspect that it would take a great deal of strength to break someones limbs like that...

Physiology: [roll0]


John J
Successful cast - just. How much energy spent?

[Godna]

"God I wouldn't want to meet the man capable of doing that even if he were a sane individual" John shudders as he said this

"Any idea what caused the wounds?" He asks while taking a look for anything amiss in the surroundings


Roll:[roll0] Target: 16

[sazzer]

John Brooks
If you didn't know better, you would swear that they were caused by someones bare hands. On examination you can see welts where fingers would have crushed the skin, in a rather distinct 4 finger pattern. Surely nobody could physically have done this though? Even if they were mentally capable of doing so...

Any chance of saying what skill your using when doing the roll? These two have been easy enough to work out - assuming this wasn't Carpentry ;) -but might be less easy to work out in the future...

[nerd-7i+e]

4, so I'm down to 15.

John J. jumps up from the tree, as if surprised by the fire. He backs off and casts Create Fire on four trees, waiting for human panic to set into the crowd.

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Rolls:

[roll1]
[roll]3d6
3d6


And down to seven.

Edit: My bad, I made an error with the dice-rolling tag. I'll roll again.


3d6
3d6
3d6
3d6
Oh, can you not re-roll in edits? That makes sense. I'll roll in a response.

[Godna]

OOC:Perception was what i was performing.

"Hey check this out. Any idea what could have put welts like this on a somebody? Its almost as if some body used an industrial Claw to crush them, but there isn't any residue that would indicate it. Its almost as if some Strong monster just decided..." He trails off not wanting to say.


John takes the small digital camera from his pocket and takes a picture of the 4 fingered pattern. He than continues to look at the surrounding area for signs of a struggle. Perhaps this was an ambush, but if so where would the attacker have hidden?
(Perception)[roll0] Target: 16

[sazzer]

John J
'Ere, You. I don't know what you think you're up to, but you can't go around setting fire to crime scenes! That's an offense! He then pulls out his radio again. We've got a guy here attempting to tamper with the crime scene. I need a fire crew urgently and requesting backup to take him into custody

John Brooks
Signs of a struggle are fairly obvious. There are broken branches and mess all over the place. It looks more like a brawl than an ambush site

[nerd-7i+e]

Re-rolls:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]


"I guarantee you I didn't set fire to this tree – I don't have a match or liter on me. You can search me if you want." He'll probably be distracted eventually by the three other trees that are bursting into flame.

[sazzer]

Trees do not randomly catch fire on their own. You were sat there, the tree is now on fire. You must've set the fire. That's a crime, and one you will pay for!

[nerd-7i+e]

"The fact that I was sitting by a tree that eventually caught fire isn't enough to warrant an arrest. Were I carrying a match or lighter, then you could, but it's not enough. Why not arrest that man? He was standing by the tree that's now on fire. I did nothing. And might I, by the way, suggest you, I don't know... do your job and get people away from the burning trees and call a fire-truck?" John J. sums it up with a Command. "Help them."

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[nerd-7i+e]

Well, I still get a reaction roll.
Reaction roll. Roll: [roll0].

Well, today is not going particularly well. Can I go back to rolling my own dice? They like me more.

[sazzer]

John J
At this point you can hear the sirens coming from the south,

Ok, we'll play it that way if that's what you want. You are under arrest for attempting to compromise a murder investigation, and for suspected arson of a public park. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you do say will be taken down and may be used in evidence against you.

With that, the policeman pulls his handcuffs from his belt and advances towards you

[Godna]

OOC: Is any of this happening near me?

[Godna]

John takes several more pictures of the area before checking the nearby area for footprints. Per[roll0] Target: 16

He should be able to identify at least the victims he figured, and perhaps the perps.

"Anyone strong enough to do that would have to have" He begins before pausing to sniff the air

"Do you smell smoke?"

He begins to move in that direction before stopping. "Hey wait a tic...Don't the roads around this area form a giant star?" He thinks "Could this be significant?"Occultism:[roll1] target 17

examining the potential significances the details of the crime may have related to the occult.

[nerd-7i+e]

The fire is taking too long to instill panic. I need a new tactic. He casts continual light on the policeman's handcuffs (but only the side facing the policeman). He spends 6 points, so the light is painful to look at.

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[sazzer]

John Brooks

You can sense nothing about the area itself that is out of the ordinary.

You do manage to find one set of footprints that reach near the body - about 3 metres away from it - and just stop. These you presume must be the victims. You also find based on this another pair that were following her, and after her footprints stopped all of a sudden get much deeper in the ground, as if the owner of the footprints is putting more force into his steps now. More examination reveals that they are most likely from him running since they are wider spaced as well.

John J

There aren't many people around - nothing to see means no point standing around in the cold - but the people who were around have all fled from the fires that randomly appeared, leaving essentially only the policemen and the now approaching firemen.

The policeman who had been trying to arrest you drops the cuffs from the light in his eyes, but they land bright side up. Seeing them lying there still glowing, the policeman instead starts to back away a bit. Oi, Jim. Look at those. Am I losing it or are they glowing?


By my maths, you've now got 1 fatigue point left

[Godna]

After revealing his discovery to the police and examining the foot prints to see if he can discover anything unusual about them. Per [roll0] Target: 16 John heads toward the direction of the disturbance with his curiousity peaked.

"What could be going on over there? Why aren't I taking the intelligent course of action and just heading home after explaining the whole mix up?" These thoughts and more trail briefly in John's mind as he begins the walk to his new found destination. Briefly noting to take a picture of the Satelite view of the area where the crime took place next chance he gets access to the internet because the unusual layout of the roads peaked his curiousity.

[Jibar]

Michael struggles to keep his eyes open. He's been here since the library opened, and this is his fourth day without sleep and it is getting to him. Coffee seems a necessity of life now, like food or sleep. He stands up, ready to leave when he sights someone else in the library.
At this time?
Michael sits back down, keeping an eye on this stranger.

[nerd-7i+e]

By my count, I'm down to -1, but I'll go with your count :smallwink:.

John J. takes the handcuffs. He runs toward the body, shoving them into the face of any human that tries to get in his way. Due to his fatigue, he can only travel at Move: 3.

[Godna]

As John walked his mind was on the case, when out of the blue he sees a rather strange sight. An odd fellow making quite the determined attempt to get past the police line.

He looks from a distance attempting to get a good look at the peculiar fellow as he approaches.

"Huh, better let this nutter by. I may be working with the police, but i shouldn't forget that it is not my job to stop people from going crazy, but perhaps i should intervene he might make this case more trouble..."


OOC:I changed the wording in my previous post to walk as was explain in OOC thread

[sazzer]

Seeing the man grab the handcuffs and barge past, the policeman shouts out Oi, You can't go back there. Stop now!

The policeman and his companion start to chase after him, and from the shouting a few more policemen look round to see whats going on and start to head towards him as well.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. twirls the handcuff behind him so that the ridiculously intense light momentarily blinds the policemen.

[Godna]

Now it seems the cops have joined the chase. John briefly wishes that someone would have had the fore thought to bring along the appropriate chase music. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnHmskwqCCQ)

"I guess I have to get involved now." John says trying to nerve himself into action.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar sighs, "This is getting me nowhere," To the book, in a harsh whisper: "Look, I looked it up, what more do you want? There's nothing here, nothing about the attacks except idle rumours." He stands up from what he was doing, "Look, I'll go and check the internet, but that's it, if nothing turns up, I'm going to stop, I don't know why I listen to you in the first place." He makes his way to the section with the internet to see if there's anything more useful there.


Let's try this again with a different source on knowledge:
Research, TN: 13 [roll0]

[Bowerbird]

I don't know why that roll didn't work.. rerolling: [roll0]

[sazzer]

After spending some time digging through various news sites on the internet and coming up with nothing, you accidentally click through onto a page that is discussing the murders, and specifically discussing the idea that they aren't actually murders - because the author thinks they weren't committed by a human... He instead likens them to "...the kinds of wounds you would expect from a savage animal - maybe a bear or a big cat..."

[Bowerbird]

Oscar mutters to himself and the book as he clicks through various internet sites, "Nothing new, nothing new, hearsay, nothing new, see there's nothing here, what did I tell you it's a waste of ti-," He reads the link.. Murmuring loudly to the book: "Goddammit, you knew this was gonna get wierd didn't you? Animal attacks, murders, this gonna get wierder isn't it?" Stops and seems to listen to something, "I don't care what you think, I just want to study and get my degree and live a normal life." Pause, "So what if I have special abilities? I bet there's loads of people with-" He seems to come to himself, and looks around to see if anyone noticed his outburst.

[Ella]

Adelaide walked over to the admissions desk, and gave the triage nurse running admissions a polite smile.

"Is there anything serious on its way, or is today just one of those days where everyone has the sniffles?"

[Jibar]

My, how... interesting.

Michael sits back in his chair, taking this in. Someone muttering and shouting to themselves, mentioning special abilities and murders. A normal person would dismiss this as crazy talk, but Michael knew all too well that this could be his crazy talk had he stuck around back home. Now not looking away and listening intently, Michael waits to see what this unsual man's next step will be.

[Bowerbird]

Sitting down, somewhat embarrassed by his outburst. Oscar racks his brain trying to figure out what manner of man or beast could possibly do this, ignoring the blatantly non-supernatural. Despite his embarrassment he can't help whispering to himself as he does it: "Ok, think think think, what could it be, what could it be..."

Going to roll a bunch of my knowledge skills so he can make a list of possibilities, which he can strike further candidates from once he has more info.
Occultism: [roll0] TN: 14
Ritual Magic: Celtic: [roll1] TN: 11
Thaumatology: [roll2] TN: 14
Hidden Lore: Ancient Celtic: [roll3] TN: 13
Hidden Lore: TMWNMTK: [roll4] TN: 13

What he's doing is making a list of all the horrible things that _could_ have done this, so he has a checklist.

[sazzer]

Adelaide

Nothing yet dear, but there's been another one of those horrible killings so I hear. Nobodys said anything to me yet but I expect we'll get the honour of checking over this body as well...

[Godna]

John could still see the other man heading his direction, but as he got closer all thoughts of hesitation disappeared replaced with something different...There was something unusual about this man, but what? There was something unnervingly familiar and foreign about this man. John figured he could proably out run the man at his(its?) current pace, but no he couldn't do that. It was than something caught John's notice. The other man was carrying something giving off an insane amount of light.


OOC: Could John perhaps see the bright handcuffs from a distance?

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. keeps running. He looks around, but doesn't slow down.

I'm going to assume I need a Per roll to notice that John B. is staring at me.

Roll to notice John B. Target: 12. Roll: [roll0]

[Bowerbird]

"A werewolf maybe? a demon? one of those.. things.." Oscar recites his options off the top of his head to himself, not quite as quietly as he should, visibly shuddering at the mention of the things.


OOC: Sorry 'bout that >_< the info was a little vague, didn't realise until after :P

[Godna]

"What do I do? What should I do? As a cop? As a citizen?" the question in all of its many variations just kept wrecking about in John's mind. Occassionally interrupted with thoughts of why there weren't any cops heading toward the man from the main crime scene. When suddenly he remembered a conversation he once had with father about the time he caught one of his friends stealing from a store. His father listened quietly waiting until John had finished explaining what was going on before speaking.

A Fathers Voices pierces through the ages, Reminding a troubled Man of who he is!
"What would be the right thing to do?" the words of his father echoed through out John's head as if spoken by his own voice.

John clenched his fists and stood tall, and focused.
Create: Steel[roll0] Link!
Control: Steel[roll1] Link!

He focused on creating a semi Thin layer of steel just under the top of the mud. Starting from his feet and setting to the a good 3 yards left and right of him, and in front of him. He maintained his control in order to allow the steel to achieve a sort of water like cohesion. If something were to step in it, It would move just enough to get out if its way, like deep mud really, but only about an inch deep. He readied himself to let his control returning the steel to a natural state.

ooc: the intent is to basically either root him in place/ trip him. (I believe tripping would be a roll against Dex as in the critical failure table on page 557, but with a penalty based on my levels in control as from the "getting tricky" part of the discription in the powers book.)

[nerd-7i+e]

Did he just create steel out of nothing? I think he did. Is he a mage? I don't know... Is he a human? I think so... Whatever, I'll find out later.

DX roll to avoid being tripped. Target: 10. Roll: [roll0]

[nerd-7i+e]

John J., once he falls on the ground, shines the light from the handcuffs so that they reflect across the steel into John B.'s face.

[Malfael]

Guys, I am so sorry.

I didn't even know we'd started - I kept re-checking the old thread.

Allow me another day or so to get up to speed, and I'll start posting...

[Ella]

Adelaide's face distorts to a look of frustration as she thinks about the fact that there has been a killing, another killing, death was sneaking part her, taking people she had never met and never offering her a sporting chance to face him and put an end to his horrid work.

"You know, I think I will go talk to someone in the morgue, it seems to me like another horrid murder makes this five too many."

Adelaide pivots on her heel and starts to walk quickly away from the admissions desk, and heads towards the lift. She is starting to feel frustrated and annoyed by death. Had she not named him her nemesis so many years ago, she would do so right now.

She gets in the lift, and hits the button for the subbasement where the morgue is located.

[Godna]

He watched as the other man fell into his trap, and John let his control over the metal lapse and let it return to a natural state. As he did this he relaxed his hands and looked to see if this break had given the cops chasing him the necessary amount of time to catch up because he wasn't sure how long it would hold its captive. While he could materialize steel permanently it wasn't something he normally did. He could add another layer to the material above or under the existing stuff, but something told him it wouldn't be a good idea. As John looked for the cops that were chasing the other Man, He was totally caught off guard by the light of the object he was carrying.("Were those handcuffs? Before I couldn't be sure, but...")

"Arg...Damn, thats bright!" John swore as the light struck his eyes. John rubbed his eyes in pain. He could hear the other mans somewhat tired breath it seems he had must have been running for quite some time.

"Who are you, and why do you insist on blinding people? Come to think of it how are you doing that?" John risked a glimpse of the other man's face.
Health:[roll0] (I assume to see if I'm somewhat blinded [I haven't read the spell's effect so I'm unsure]) Target: 14
Perception:[roll1] Target: 16
Occultism:[roll2] Target: 16(To see if I recognize his nature [should i get a bonus on this considering I knew something was up unusual earlier from the OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=7777354&postcount=93)])


OOC: Can we be sure if you spotted the steel or not? (Not too important, but I did create attempting to hide it, and he'd proably know its there now. Even if he did spot it, how would he immediately recognize it as steel?)

edit: P.S. That comment in parentheses is in character.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. ties the handcuffs around his neck so that the glowing side faces outward. I'd guess that takes two turns.

[Godna]

OOC:I assume from the successes that i was able to identify what he is.

"Hey your a demon aren't you? Never met a demon before. Wonder what your doing on this plane? You don't look like one strong enough to comit the crime, so whats your...what are you doing?" John says his circumstances forgotten because his curiousity was peaked by this new insight.

[nerd-7i+e]

"Help me get the body away and I'll explain everything. But don't worry – I think we're on the same side. Roughly."

[Godna]

"Why don't you just break into the morgue where they store the body? Why is it so vital to get it away?"

[nerd-7i+e]

"More time to study it. You seem to be some kind of cop, so you have all the time in the world. I only get as much time as I can hide the corpse from the humans. Now are you going to help me or not, because I have a strong preference that you decide before those policemen arrive and try to arrest me?"

[Ella]

Adelaide takes a deep breath before entering the morgue, her heart beats a little faster, while she knew this was the last place death was likely to find anyone to strike, it was still a tiny bit too close to an mueseum of his greatest hits.

She wonders in, and looks around for someone to assist her, all she wanted was to see the new body, and maybe a peek at the old reports on the previous ones, and then some more information that would allow her to put an end to this all immediately.

While she could not personally kill the agent of death because it would involve death, there are of course other fates she could deal to anyone she deemed to be guilty. She started to think ahead, particularly to how to best get the information she required.

"Hello, its Dr Rhodes, I have come down to give you a hand, I was told you had some unusual wound patterns again. And if it is just you down here Steve, and you try any practical jokes I will be most displeased with you."

[sazzer]

Your talking about the latest victim? She's not been released from the scene yet, so nothing to see for an hour or two I'm sorry to say...

[Ella]

"I'm actually kind of glad, to be honest with you about it, I mean, the others were said to be such horrid deaths, and the tabloids, I know they are almost always wrong, but I can't help but let it scare me a little."

Adelaide grimaced, at least she was familiar with the man who would recieve the body, this time hopefully there would be some clue, something to assist her in the prevention of death.

"So are the other bodies still here, I need to brush up on their medical histories, and do you have that copy of the reports on the bodies for me?"

[sazzer]

You want to see the other bodies? Their not all here I'm afraid. The family of the Chinese lady refused permission for us to retain the body on cultural grounds, and it was decreed by management that the other lady... Hillary was it? No, Holly... could be released for burial once she was fully documented. Something about not upsetting to many people at once, or something equally daft...

[Ella]

"And if I pointed out the stupidity in letting the bodies go when its a series of murders rather than holding them to make sure that every possible angle gets investigated and every hint that may save lives gathered regardless of the feelings of their families I would be in sensitivity training for a few days rather than doing anything useful."

Adelaide is starting to get worried by the fact that nothing seemed to be happening about the killings, and a upset by the fact that the sleepless enemy was going to get away with it.

"At least I know we have a high level of competance down here, I have watched you work and been amazed by just how astute your observations are."

Adelaide starts to think about how to make the best of her losses.

"So would you like a cup of coffee, I am thinking I will go get some, and then come back and see what I can make out from the notes."

[sazzer]

You know as well as I do what Management said dear. "We've got four bodies, and if nothing can be learned from these two that can't be learned from the other two then we may as well release them and at least try to look good to somebody". Yes, it's a stupid decision but it was a political one and to be honest I'd rather keep my job than play that game...

[Ella]

"And you know as well as I do how foolish that is, and I know you do because you know its just politics. Unless there is suddenly some conclusive proof that the crimes were all done by one thing acting alone, and some DNA to go along with it, but you know all this, and I am just being stupid and venting."

"So do you have time to go over the two remaining bodies in our custody, or is this going to be a solo job."

[sazzer]

I can probably squeeze you in, before the new one turns up, though damned if I know what you think you can turn up now...

[Ella]

"Well how about we start with the first victim first. "

Adelaide prepares herself for the emotional ordeal of dealing with a dead body in an environment where she is unable to do anything about it, the temptation to restore the dead even as a hollow shell of themselves has always been strong for her.

"And I am ready when you are."

[Malfael]

OOC: If the below isn't a viable way to segue into the scene, I'd be happy to start over.

***

Rebrov watched the scene unfold from a distance. A man, dressed in a police uniform, running away from a pack of police; somewhat unusual. That same man, frantically waving what seemed like fantastically lit up handcuffs to blind said police; very strange. Another man, who Sasha had thought was a police officer himself before, stoppingthe first man with steel borne from nothing and then conversing with him; obscene.

Keeping a close eye, Rebrov waited to see what would happen next. He was now determined to follow them, were they to attempt exfiltration from the murder site. There was something about them that drew him. The same something that had kept him looking for Karlina's murderer all this time. Perhaps they knew something. Perhaps they could help. Perhaps they could be compelled to.

Absent-mindedly, he tapped the holster slung from his shoulder with his right hand.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar stands up and goes into the library muttering to himself, or the book, it isn't clear. "Ok, no sense in being unprepared, nothing I can do right now, too far away, will check the scene out later, for now, research into monsters looks like the best way to go." Oscar heads into the library and starts gathering books on monsters, demons, werewolves, vampires, etc. Building up a catalogue of how to kill them or keep them away.


Research TN 13 [roll0] He's just reading a lot, nothing expected to turn up, just hoping that if/when he finds out what he's up against an IQ roll will let him recall the relevant info.

[Jibar]

The stranger got up and headed deeper into the maze of books. Michael followed. Keeping a short distance behind he watched the man go to work, myths, legends, occultism... all the books no one else ever looked at.
He knew something, that much was certain, but what?
The way the man talked aloud to himself, Michael guessed he would find out soon.

[sazzer]

Oscar
Whilst not managing to find anything that seems to relate to this case, you do find several references in different places to some kind of "supernatural police force" that some people believe must exist to control supernaturals that get out of hand - the overriding theory being that for supernaturals to exist and no concrete proof of them to have been found so far, somebody on the inside must be playing cover-up...

[Bowerbird]

Oscar continues to talk to himself in a harsh whisper, oblivious to anyone watching: "A supernatural police force, huh? Interesting.." To the book: "What? What is it now? No I don't want to join it, besides I wouldn't even know where to start looking. The murders? Well yeah I guess they seem wierd enough that they might be working on it, where are you going with this? Look, I can't just try and sneak into crime scenes by myself! Ok fine, by ourselves." He sits down on a step ladder to think.

[Godna]

John paused in another moral dilemma for a second before speaking. "I can not assist you in getting the body away, but I know the havok the police might have if they caught a demon. I'll let you go, but I can't help you with the body."

John closes his eyes and reclaims the metal he manifested.

[nerd-7i+e]

"Fair enough, but if they catch me, could you help me out? Letting me go won't be much good if I'm ultimately captured anyway." Not waiting for a response, John J. starts running toward the body (he has been talking with John B. for more than two turns, so he is already up).

[Godna]

As the Demon fled John was left there wondering exactly what he is supposed to do, and in hindsight kind of shaken by his chance encounter with a demon.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. keeps running until:

A (highly unlikely given his Move): He reaches the body with three turns to spare. If this happens, he grabs the body and casts Entomb on himself and the corpse.
Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

B (much more likely): John J. keeps running until he is 3M-3 yards away from the policeman who will reach him the soonest, where M is the Move of that policeman. If this happens, he takes three consecutive evaluate maneuvers while taking a one-yard step each turn. Then, once the policeman is in range, he grapples him with a determined all-out attack.
Roll to grapple. Target: 17. Roll: [roll1]

[sazzer]

Adelaide

After finishing cleaning up his tools, Ok then - ready when you are I guess, though I still don't see why...

[nerd-7i+e]

Sazzer, I'm going to assume from the lack of you posting the policeman's response that he doesn't try to break free or dodge. Either way, he'd have little chance of success, given that there's an intense source of light shining straight in his eyes.

John J. pulls the policeman's head down so that it covers the handcuffs from the other policemen's view – the blinding light would make the threat less visible. "Don't move," commands John J., revealing his claws and putting them at the policeman's neck "or this one dies." Just for oomph, the demon applies some pressure to the policeman's neck, causing a small trickle of ruby blood to crawl down to the human's collar. John J. watches contentedly as the fearful policeman squirms pitifully in his arms and the others stare in horror at the hostage. "Now," he continues, backing up so that he can see both the corpse and the policemen, "Get me a car and someone who can drive it."

[nerd-7i+e]

Okay... Since my ST is halved by my fatigue, ST-4 for me is 2. But, here goes.

[roll0]

Still don't see what the roll is for.

[sazzer]

John J

The demon clambers to his feet and starts running towards the body again. After only a couple of paces however, he feels the presence of a magical force acting on him - one that he instantly recognizes as a spell affecting him, but not one that he recognizes - and he finds himself unable to pull his feet from the ground all of a sudden...

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. collapses. Bad. Very, very bad. John J. casts Counterspell.

Roll to cast. Target: 13. Roll: [roll0]

[sazzer]

John J

As you finish attempting to dispel the spell, you feel your feet come free from the ground just as one of the policemen finally catches up with you. He grabs you by the arm and wrenches you to your feet, grabbing and pocketing the still-glowing handcuffs with his spare hand, and as you get up you hear him whispering in your ear I don't know who you and your friend think you are, or what you think you're doing, but you're drawing an awful lot of attention to yourself. The kind of attention that I personally would rather not have... I'll try and smooth things over for you to get out of here - though no promises with some of the stunts you've been pulling - but cause this much chaos around me again and you won't live to regret it. Is that clear?

[nerd-7i+e]

OoC: Did I say Counterspell? I meant Dispel Magic, but whatever.

"Thank you," whispers the weary John J.

[Godna]

ooc: Do I see any of this?

[roll0] Per Target: 16
[roll1] Occ Target: 16
[roll2] (If a third roll is needed for whatever this will take its place) Target: (Pending)
edit: Do the dice love me?


John upon seeing the demon accosted by a policeman begins heading in that direction at a modest pace. Something was strange about that policeman...He didn't seem startled at all with the Demon's appearance, the bright handcuffs? are gone, and the demon doesn't seem to be struggling. As John approached he could see the demon the absolutely exhausted. "He should have caught his breath while we were talking, and he wasn't running that fast...Whats going on here?" John was thinking as he examined the scene.

OOC: Is the policeman supporting the demon?(Like is the demon leaning on him for support?), Is he cuffing him?, Is J.J. Actually in police uniform?

[Ella]

Adelaide leans forwards and examines the body, starting at the head and slowly working her way down. she pauses when she reaches the wounds and examine them closely.

"This looks horrid, I wonder what on earth happened. Have you any further knowledge from your indepth examination?"

[Jibar]

Supernatural? Murders? This is something else.
Michael keeps an eye on the guy, still talking to himself. He kept referring to someone else and it unnerved him. But still, he looked reasonable enough.
'Did you say murders?'

[Bowerbird]

"ARGH!" Oscar jumps when Michael speaks to him and falls off his stepladder. He stands up holding a leatherbound book in front of himself protectively, "Yes.. no.. maybe.. and what if I did? Who are you?"

[Jibar]

'My name is Michael. I think we're on a similar track here. You're investigating those recent murders, correct?'

[Bowerbird]

Oscar lowers the book slightly, "Similar track? What do you mean? I've been following the murders in the news and whatnot, yes." Raising the book again, "What do you want?"

[sazzer]

Adelaide

Well, Cause of death was Exsanguination - you'll need no clues as to the cause of that, I'm sure. (The right arm has actually been detached from the body) Who, or what could have done such a deed I'm really at a loss to say however. My current best guess is that it was some junkie out of his head on Meth or PCP or something similar... The rumours you've no doubt heard that it was an animal are just not true. If you look here. (Pointing to the right shoulder) And here (Pointing to the left wrist) You can very clearly see impressions left by a human hand, but unfortunately they are nowhere near clear enough to get any kind of fingerprints and the rain of that night has washed away any DNA evidence that there might have been

[Jibar]

'I was wondering what you know about them.'

[Bowerbird]

Oscar looks at the stranger thoughtfully. "Well I don't think they're normal, if that's what you mean. Stuff just doesn't seem to add up, and I keep getting these..." looking at the book, "...Feelings. Feelings like I should do something about it." Oscar looks down pitifully "But you probably think I'm crazy like all the others..."

[Jibar]

'If you are then we share a madness. What do you intend to do about these? You mentioned breaking into a crime scene.'

[Godna]

John strokes his chin for a moment before speaking. "You...know for someone so determined to escape a second ago...You don't seem to be trying to hard to run." John pauses a second and notices that the Demon remains uncuffed. "And you don't seem to have much impairing you...why the sudden stop?"

John turns to the officer and notices he seems unfaced by the sight of a demon. "Do you have any idea why he might have been running? Woah, Check out his hands. " He says pointing at the demon's clawed hands which he hadn't noticed previously.

[Bowerbird]

"You were listening to that? You're not going to tell the police or anyone I was saying that, are you? I don't want to go to prison." To the book: "Not now, shut up" To Michael: "It's just I think maybe I can figure out what manner of thing committed these crimes, but nobody would believe me if I told them. I haven't the faintest clue how to go about doing something about it. The books mention the possibility of a secret police force that deals with this kind of stuff, but I have no idea how to find them"

[Jibar]

'I'll keep my silence. I'm afraid I'm in the dark about your secret police force though that's an interesting choice of words, 'what manner of thing'. You're sure then that this wasn't a normal murder case?'

[Bowerbird]

"Oh good. Well the murders do seem unusual, an incredibly high level of violence, unheard of until now in London, plus there's all the people likening them to animal attacks," his eyes dart to the book, "Something just gives me the idea that it might be something... unusual."

[Ella]

Adelaide examines the rough edges of the gaping hole where once there was an arm, then the bruises on the arm and wrist, and finally the various other injuries on the body. She has a nasty feeling about the murders and uses her knowledge of the occult and physiology to try to figure out how the wounds on the body were made.

Alright, can you stand infront of me for a minute, I want to see if we can re-enact how the victim must have been held. I am assuming the arm didn't fall off on its own accord.

She puts her hands on the morgue attendant in the right positions and then takes a large step backwards.

"Say have I ever told you the story of why I became a doctor?"

[nerd-7i+e]

"It's all right," he whispers to the policemage. "He has some magical ability, and he seems to be roughly on our side." No longer whispering, but not being particularly loud either: "What makes you think I've been caught?"

[Godna]

"I don't recall saying you've been caught...I was just curious about the sudden stop. Although now that you mention it you don't seem handcuffed"

[nerd-7i+e]

"You seemed to be implying it," says John J. with a shrug. "And if you think I'd give a full answer in the presence of so many policemen, you're even crazier than most humans."

[sazzer]

You and I are not on the same side as you seem to think. I am here to uphold the law, and as far as is possible to not get myself killed in the process. From what I have seen of you, you are here to cause chaos and disrupt an ongoing murder investigation!

[nerd-7i+e]

"Perhaps our ultimate objectives are different, but I would assume you also want this murder solved. We are merely proceeding along what we both believe to be the most efficient route, which happen to differ."

[sazzer]

Thinking this over for a bit, If you don't break the law then I can't do much to stop you; other than that you are a liability to my safety and I can't allow that...

[nerd-7i+e]

John J., slightly confused by the statement, ponders this for a moment before shrugging it off. The mage seems to be saying he doesn't plan on killing him for now, and that's what matters.

Suddenly, the demon thinks of something. "Could you please Banish me?"

[sazzer]

I..What..? No! Even if I was capable of doing so, I would never except in the most extreme circumstances!

[nerd-7i+e]

"Don't be so shocked," replies John J. with a shrug. "Do you really think I like this plane? But if you can't Banish me in the first place, then the matter need not be pressed."

[Godna]

John was confused by the willingness of the demon to be banished, but none the less relieved that the policeman seemed to share his overall plan. "Than it seems that perhaps you and I are on the same side after all Mr..?"

John also comments to the demon. "Come on this world is not so bad, perhaps not the best to be bound to but at least your here and not in a more violent land...Perhaps there is something that can be done. I'm only on this investigation because of an associate of my grandfather. He seems well connected and I'm sure if he can not banish you himself he could arrange someone to do it for him."

He returned to the officer. "So whats your story? Not many I know could stare at a demon and not so much as blanch. You also mentioned that he is a liability to your safety. I'm also kind of curious why you mention as long he doesn't break the law there isn't much you can do. Hasn't he already done so?"

[sazzer]

Not that it's any of your concern, but...

The fool here is suspected of Arson, and of attempting to tamper with a crime scene. The Arson is only suspected, and without proof there is no crime, and he has - thankfully - not succeeded with his tampering of the crime scene so there has been no crime actually committed so far. As such, for my part I would prefer for him to just disappear than for what he is to come to light. As for me - and understand I'm only doing this because otherwise there's too much risk to myself - if you really want to know my story then meet me at Marble Arch station this evening and I'll tell you...

You don't get the impression that he's being dishonest, but also he's not telling the full story...

[Ella]

Adelaide leans forwards towards the body and looks down as if to make eye contact with it as well as the morgue worker.

"It all started, when I was young, so very young. I was walking home from school, we used to do that even when I was growing up. You wouldn't see it now though.

I was almost home, minutes away getting myself excited for TV and homework, maybe something to eat as well. And there was a man, he was young, in hindsight he was probably a student and he looked trendy for the time anyway, I think part of the reason I noticed him was he looked like he could have been out of a band, you know, like Duran Duran.

He was halfway across the first lane of traffic when he was hit by a car, I just dropped to the ground my back against someones fence watching in horror while this poor young man bled out on the sidewalk.

Thats the day I swore I would do everything I can to prevent unnecessary deaths, and anymore by the killer of these victims we have here are completely uncessary because they should have been caught by now and I intend to make sure they are before you have more victims in your freezer."

Adelaide takes a deep breath and wipes a tear away from the corner of her eye. She then sits down with her back against the wall of freezers.

"Say could you be a dear and run and get me a cup of tea, I am feeling a bit drained from that story."

[nerd-7i+e]

"This plane is all right? This plane is all right? You only say that because you've never been to a better plane. In my home plane I was respected. My home plane was not ruled by such an ignorant species as humans. In my home plane, I did not have to hide from the world and could learn and practice magic all day if I so desired. Don't tell me this plane is all right, because that is only from your uninformed viewpoint. But it doesn't matter, at the end of the day, what I think of this plane; I am stuck here, for better or for worse."

[Godna]

John makes a note to attend this meeting before answering the demon.
"I can justify my comment by making mention of the elemental planes of water and earth probably wouldn't be too pleasant. What with the lack of ability to survive. And if some of the texts from my grandfather's library are anything to go by there are planes inhabited by creatures that can rend ones mind simply by the nature of its existence, but I seem to digress. It seems this incident has been handled so I'm going to get back to work investigating this crime scene"

[nerd-7i+e]

"I'm not saying there aren't worse planes. Indeed, because there are infinite planes, there are infinite planes worse than this plane. But there are also infinite planes better than this plane, and that infinity is a larger infinity than the infinity of planes worse than this plane. If that makes any sense. But as you said, we digressed. It is ultimately a matter of opinion."

[sazzer]

Adelaide

Of course dear. What'll you be having?

John J/John B

You two can discuss physics, or whatever it is you're blabbering on about somewhere else. I've got work to do here so scram, the pair of you!

[Ella]

"Cream and no sugar please."

Adelaide continues to slump against the wall, and breaths deeply.

[Godna]

"Pardon? I'm working with the police. I'm suppose to be here." says John in a somewhat confused tone.

[nerd-7i+e]

"Not physics. Physics deals, in part, with the fundamentals of multiple planes. We are talking of quality of different planes. And yes, I should go." John J. starts walking away, then remembers his manners. "And by the way, thank you for helping me there. Truth be told, I shouldn't even be in this investigation. I'll leave the rest to you." With that, John J. leaves.

Textbook sucking up :smallbiggrin:.

[sazzer]

Adelaide

Are you sure you're ok? Maybe you should get one of the nurses to check you out..?

John B

Are you now? Then what were you doing dallying with him for?

[Ella]

"I will be alright in a couple of minutes, I just need a cup of tea."

Can I get a rough timeframe for how far he has to go to get the tea, and how long it will give Adelaide ;)

[sazzer]

Adelaide
If your sure dear...

With that he hurries off, still looking concerned for you...

Probably be gone for 5-10 mins, maybe a little longer, and I'm going to say that it's two floors away for the nearest kitchen...

[Godna]

"Well to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I know I left the body because I saw smoke and wanted to see what was going on. It was then I spotted that fellow stirring up trouble, and well something told me I should try to stop him...no that it was the right thing I try. When I saw what he was I just wasn't sure what to do, but I knew that it would do more harm than good to let him get captured."

[Ella]

Adelaide waits one minute before she leaves the room and heads towards the elevator shaft, and pushes the button. She waits til it reaches the level she is on, leans in and presses all the buttons and exits to wait for the doors to close with that she runs back to the morgue and leans over the corpse. She begins to attempt to speak with the dead.

"What happened to you?"


Summon Spirit
[roll0]
Need less than 14 for it to work I believe, because of the -2 modifier due to it being over a month old, but less than a year.

[sazzer]

Adelaide
You hear a whispering in your ear, coming from behind you. Spinning round, you see nobody there, and yet the whispering is still happening...

I... I don't recall. I was walking in the park, walking my dog in the evening - I do that most evenings, it helps me relax. There was this man walking around too - I've seen him before - as well. Then all of a sudden my dog started going crazy - he's normally such a quiet boy, nothing gets him worked up. I bought him as a guard dog originally, but that was a waste of time... Where was I? Oh yes - Benny started going crazy, pulling at the lead and barking like nothing else, then I felt a hard bang on the back of my neck, and the next thing I remember was waking up here with you...

What's happened? Where is Benny? Is he ok?



John B

Well - I guess you'd best get back to your job then, before anyone else starts asking questions... And with that, the man turns and walks away, leaving you (reasonably) alone...

[sazzer]

Oscar

What worries me is the lack of witnesses to any of them. From what little I've heard, nobody at all has come forward having seen anything. You'd expect from 5 murders that somebody would have seen something

[Bowerbird]

"I know, and they've all been in fairly public areas, too. Maybe whoever saw it is afraid to say anything for fear of being called crazy, if the murderer is indeed something supernatural.. Though if they are, there's hardly anything we can do about it." Oscar sits down thoughtfully on the library stepladder and rests the book in his lap.

[sazzer]

Oscar

What about the mafia? Maybe they're all mafia hits and nobody is saying anything for fear of being found...

[Bowerbird]

"Well yeah, that's possible, but I thought the Mafia tended to dispose of the bodies a little better, or at least not kill them in such a way. It's always like that in the movies.. wait we have Mafia in London? I always thought that was an American thing?"

[sazzer]

Oscar

How would I know? You get them everywhere, don't you? And I thought they were Italian originally, not American...

[Ella]

Adelaide sits back down against the freezer full or corpses feeling relatively drained from the entire process of speaking to the dead, it is what she considers an odd talent, entirely useless almost all the time but oh so worth it when its called for.

She no longer fakes tiredness, and just waits for her cup of tea while considering the conversation with the dead, she considers her plan of action.

Benny, a dog, possibly a trip to the pound, dogs don't just disappear however what use could the dog really be even if she found him. Alternately she could rest, and try talking to spirits at their place of death, or over their graves.

What she needed to find was really more information and some assistance, other mages would make it possible to lend her more power, and more power would allow her to contact all of the dead bodies, but where could she find a group willing to use their powers purely to augment her own.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar sneezes. "True, they were originally Italian, or whatever, but you only ever hear about the American ones.. Back to the original point, what do we do?"

[sazzer]

Oscar

Maybe the others are just better at not being caught... You know, by not leaving witnesses around, that kind of thing...

[Bowerbird]

"Possibly.. but every indication I can think of leads to something more than just random mob hits.."

[sazzer]

Oscar

Hey - I've no idea! I'm just throwing ideas out there...

[Bowerbird]

Oscar sits thinking for a while. "Well we can hardly go interviewing people.. breaking into crime-scenes is out of the question, and we likely would never be allowed near the bodies, so near as I can tell we can do nothing... nothing except follow them on the internet.."

[Ella]

Adelaide finishes her tea and gets up, giving the morgue attendant a grateful smile and heads for the lift. She heads up to the ground level and walks out the front entrance towards some park benches and takes a seat.

She looks up at the blue sky and smiles, she was going to solve this mystery somehow.

[Godna]

John heads back to the crime scene slightly confused as to the goings on, and some what puzzled as to what to do next.

[sazzer]

Oscar

Nothings stopping you going to the old crime scenes though...

[Bowerbird]

"True, y'know I think I might at least give that a try.. Thanks, you've been a big help, wanna come along?"

[sazzer]

Oscar

Not like I've got anything else to be doing, so why not...

[Ella]

Adelaide soaks in the atmosphere full of bustling people, and looks at the sky.

She focuses on recovering her energy so that she will be able to carry out the next part of her grand plan, She continues to look at the blue sky and waits for power to start to fill her.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar picks himself up, and gets his stuff in order, "What time is it? Are the trains running? We can head over to the first crime scene."

[sazzer]

Oscar

I dunno, must've left my watch at home. Must be mid-morning by now though...


I'm gonna call it about 1000 - 1030...

[Godna]

As John returns to his work of investigating the crime scene a few thoughts interrupt his progress, and eventually he decides to voice one "Would someone be willing to forward me a copy of the crime scene reports from a few of the earlier victims? I want to compare a few things."

[sazzer]

John B
They'll have access to them all from the station. Just head back there and grab a copy of 'em...

[Ella]

Adelaide started to consider the steps she would need to take to talk to all the spirits of the deceased involved in the case. She needed exact locations of death or the bodies or ideally both to strengthen the magic, and there was one place she could think of that would have the information she required, the police station.

She gets up and goes inside, heads to the emergency ward and signs out as sick and starts to walk toward the police station. She gave a faint smile, she had a good feeling about today.

[Godna]

"I'll have to do that than, I should also check out the morgue in order to compare the victim. See If I can discover anything." John says while taking picuters of the foot prints of both victim and assailant. "Speaking of which when will we be bringing this body in?"

[sazzer]

John B
Of course! Once you're finished with your photos and the coroner can bag it up...

[Godna]

John finishes taking pictures of anything that might be relevant, and than states hes ready to go.

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. just rests nearby in the park. He has nothing better to do – something interesting may happen yet – and he's ridiculously tired.

[sazzer]

John B
Very well - we'll be taking it to the same hospital as the others in case you need any more from it...

With that, people start preparing the body for transport.

[Bowerbird]

"Fair enough, well there ought to be a train headed in the right direction, let's head over that way, shall we?" To the book: "See, I'm going, you can shut up now."

[Godna]

"I'll just follow you guys than" with that statement John heads to where car was parked, and follows at a polite distance the body to the hospital.

John's thoughts on the car ride were surprisingly enough not on the murder, but on his previous work with metal. He was hoping that the break through he had patented would be ready sooner, as he stood to make a fortune off it, but soon enough it will be selling.


ooc: Just some in character justification for what i plan on putting my next 10-20 points in. (Wealth) It not going to be much help, but I've been planning on it for a while. Speaking of which how is advancement going to be handled again?

[nerd-7i+e]

John J. keeps resting for one-hundred-forty minutes, at which point, through the help of having Very Fit and Recover Energy 15, he has recovered all his FP.

[Ella]

Adelaide walks into the police station, and approaches the front desk waiting for someone to notice her and then explains her problem.

"My name is Dr Adelaide Rhodes, and I would like to speak to whoever is in charge of the case involving the parkland murders around London of late, it is a matter of some importance."

[sazzer]

Adelaide

Im sure it is dear. He's not here right now, out on site at the latest one - doing his job. Could wait if you like, tho I've no clue when he'll be back...

Oscar

You leave the library heading across the road to Kings Cross station to go and visit one of the crime scenes. When you reach the escalator down to Kings Cross itself, you realise that your new friend is no longer with you...

[Bowerbird]

Upon realising his new friend has disappeared, Oscar stops and looks around for him.. trying to remember the last place he saw him.. Well that's just rude..

[sazzer]

Oscar

Casting your mind back, you don't remember seeing or hearing him since leaving the library...

[Ella]

"Well can you give me the officer in charge's name, and I will try to get in touch again at a later date."

Adelaide sighs, it is never that easy however she knew she had to remain determined, she would find a way to get to the bottom of whats going on.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar sighs, Oh well, no sense going all the way back to the library looking for him.. best be going With that, Oscar heads to the station and catches the next train towards the first crimescene.

[sazzer]

Adelaide

That's Detective Collins you want... If you like, you can leave a number he can contact you on - but I can't promise that he actually will...

[Godna]

John finally arrives after a long uneventful drive to the morgue. He enters with the police,and procedes to the morgue.



OOC: I did something

[Bowerbird]

Oscar, upon getting off the train heads down to the area of the first crime scene. "See, I'm here, happy now? I'm doing something!"

[Ella]

Adelaide's takes the contact number and leaves the police station, her frustration starts to boil over, she needs to find something anything to do, to get herself closer to the mysery.

She decides to head for the park where the first victim was found, and she sets off at a walk again taking deep breaths but no longer able to enjoy the days warmth, she was on mission.

She looks around, for somewhere quiet where she can try to commune with the spirit.

[sazzer]

Adelaide / Oscar

You both arrive at the rough area of the first murder - the wooded area around Hampstead Heath. There is still some old police tape hanging from a few of the trees - which is surprising given the age of the crime - which helpfully mark out where things happen. There's not a lot left of the crime scene itself however; all the foliage has long since been trampled by people passing through and the body and any obvious evidence has been carted off by the police...

John B
Hello there. I'm Dr Taylor, can I be of assistance?

[Godna]

"Erm, Yes" John says. He seems a little unnerved to be in a morgue.

"I'm with the police investigation. We are delivering another body, and I would like to take a look a few of the previous victims."

John fumbles out his authorization so that Dr. Taylor can verify it.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar looks around to make sure there is nobody watching.

If there's nobody around he'll cast Mage Sight.
[roll0] vs 14

[Ella]

Adelaide walks around the park, looking closely at the areas with the most police tape remaining after all this time and slowly works her way along the scene, she stops at each tree running her hand along the bark, trying to get the feel of the place to help her to focus once she starts to summon the spirit.

[sazzer]

Oscar

You stand there chanting for a brief moment, casting the spell. As you finish casting the spell, you see a faint black glow coming from the branches of one of the trees near the murder site, though noticeably it's a tree outside the remnants of the police tape lines...


Adelaide hearing check: [roll0] You don't hear the casting at all.


John B

My, you as well? We only have two of them here I'm afraid. Well, three now I guess. The other two bodies were released to the families by order of the chief of staff - against my wishes I must say.

[Bowerbird]

Oscar walks over to the source of the glow to examine it more closely. "Yes I see it, now shut up."

[sazzer]

Oscar

You find a pendent snagged on a low branch of a tree. It's made of what looks like Silver and is shaped as an inverted pentagram. The ribbon it's attached to is snapped, but tangled in the twigs from the branch stopping it from falling...

[Bowerbird]

"Interesting, a pendant." Without touching it Oscar sets about analysing the pendant and what seems to be making it glow.

I don't have my book on me so I can't double-check Mage Sight, but I'm pretty sure I can analyse the aura with it. Is there anything I should be rolling here?

[Ella]

Adelaide starts to slowly stroll around the park, hoping to find a sleeping vagrant to borrow a little energy from and starts to feel her energies start to restore under the bright light of the sun.

She continues to softly stroll, working her energy up for another casting.

[Godna]

John swallows, and gathers his nerve. "Was there anything of particular note on those two? Do you still have the Autopsy images etcetera? Also, has there been anything in your experience that has caused wounds of a similar shape and nature?"

[sazzer]

John B

The police already have copies of all the autopsy as is standard practice. You should know that surely?

From my report - which the police also have - you'll note that the only thing unusual was the extreme strength that would have been required to cause the damage. From my examination it appears to have been a person, or several people, who did the killings. Certainly not a wild animal like some of the rumours have been saying...

[Godna]

"To be honest, this is my first time working a case with the police." John apologizes to the Doc

"I was actually planning on heading back to the station after investigating the corpses. Has there been any unusual residue left on any of the victims? I ask because the crime scene I was just at seemed to indicate that there was only one perpetrator, and It is possible he may have used a machine to do that kind of crushing damage. Not really likely, but it is better than assuming Superman had it in for these people." John tried to chuckle at his joke, but it came out as a weak smile.

"One last question, Did any of the previous victims show signs having resisted, or were they all killed too quickly?"

[Bowerbird]

Oscar pulls out a hankerchief and picks the pendant up with it. "This may be a clue, I should study it later, when I have internet access." Knowing the symbolism's likely origins, he checks the area again, for signs of some kind of ritual or occult symbolism.

OOC:

I'd probably be easily noticeable as investigating the crime-scene, he's not exactly very subtle, nor does he have much idea what he's doing, so if Adelaide sees him it probably registers as him acting suspiciously.

[sazzer]

Oscar Perception: [roll0]

Searching round you don't find anything obvious...

[sazzer]

John B


Nothing was found on the wounds, no. Right now - as stupid as it sounds - Superman seems to be the best bet for your culprit...

No - wait, there was some brown fur found in the wound of one of the victims. The first one, now what was her name... Anyway, I didn't think much of it at the time because she was found in a popular dog walking park but now that I think of it, there was nothing reported of having found a dog nearby... I guess it could have come from anywhere though...

None of them showed signs of having fought back significantly. I can't tell if that's because they knew the assailant or if it's because they were totally surprised by the attacks though...

[Godna]

"Did that first victim's body show degradation as a result of scavengers?" John asks intrigued before adding a small note.
"I would like to say though that this victim, the one we just brought in might have had a chance to fight back from what the crime scene looks like"

[sazzer]

John B

Some, but not a huge amount. It was estimated that time of death was only a number of hours before the body was found, so there hadn't been a lot of time for that by then...

[Godna]

"well that does narrow down the potential suspect list a bit because if there weren't any dogs reported nearby that doesn't leave too many potential commonly brown furred scavengers, than again it could just mean the perp was wearing a fur coat." John continues to prattle on.

[Ella]

Adelaide notices something slighly unusual, and unlike things that normally draw her attention as weird this one was living.

After seeing the man who appeared to be looking around the crimescene she walks up behind him, trying to act as innocent as she could while watching what he was doing. She sees the strange symbol in his hand, the pentagram and shivers while she used them herself in her various spells it was never a good sign to find one at a murder scene, or at least in her opinion there was no way it could be good.

Walking closer to him, she coughs.

[Bowerbird]

"ARGH!" Oscar nearly jumps out of his skin, "Who, what, where? I wasn't doing anything! Oh, hello, umm... can I help you?" he looks at the book in his hand, "You stay out of this"

[Ella]

"Dr Adelaide Rhodes at your service, and more importantly a little bit interested in what you have there." She extends her hand to him and smiles.

"I can't help but wonder, what on earth you could be looking for in this mournful spot on such nice day."

[Bowerbird]

"Doctor? Oh, umm.. I was just.." He stops for a moment and stares at his book before looking back at her, "Hmm, I don't get a particularly bad feeling about you.. Ok, I was here looking for stuff.. stuff the police might have missed.. and I found this," holding up the pendant, "Over there," pointing to where he found the pendant.

[Ella]

"Do you get bad feelings about many people then, and do you have a name?"

She gives a sigh of relief, it seems like he has as little reason to be there digging around as she does and that makes him a lot safer than the police or anyone official.

"So what mischief are you up to here anyway, you don't appear to be either a police officer or with the papers."

[Bowerbird]

"No, umm.. my name's Oscar.." After a few seconds he looks like he's forgotten something then puts out his hand for shaking, "Umm.. what're you doing here, Doctor?"

[Ella]

Adelaide shakes his hand.

"I saw the bodies, after that you would do absolutely anything to preven it happening again."

She looks at him closely studying him for anything unusual.

"So what do you intend to do with your find?"

[Bowerbird]

"Umm, I'm not really sure. There's definitely something evil about it, I-" to the book, "Shut up! You see this is why people make fun of me!" he looks somewhat embarrassedly back to Adelaide, "Sorry about that, where was I? Oh yes, the pendant! I'm not sure what I can do.. look it up at the library probably."

[Ella]

"I see, so you are looking around the site of a murder and somehow have the ability to sense evil in objects, that is when you aren't discussing things with inanimate objects?"

Adelaide considers him carefully while he seems to be slightly unbalanced he doesn't seem to be dangerous which is probably the best she can hope for in people who might be able to assist with her mission.

"As much as the library sounds intersting, how would you feel about a picnic, perhaps in another park. We could get a ball and kick it into every bush there."

[Bowerbird]

"Umm.. yes.. A picnic? Why? Are you asking me out or something?" Oscar seems genuinely puzzled.

[Ella]

"Cheeky aren't you, there is no point in being obvious when you hunt around to the other sites if I spotted you, who knows who else will. And I suggest we do it together because we are both going to do it, aren't we?"

Adelaide gives him a warm smile.

"I guess I am suggesting as you have found something, that I want to work together."

[Godna]

"I apologize for the rather sudden departure, but I'd like to grab a copy of the case files so I can confirm a few suspicions. I'd like it if you would call this number if you find anything interesting" Bowing as he speaks John makes his way to the exit after writing his name and cell# on a small slip of paper, and begins his drives to the station.

He also makes note of the current time.

[Bowerbird]

"Oh.. alright then.. one second.." He turns around walks away a little bit, and has a short whispered conversation with the book before turning back, "Alright then, what did you have in mind?"

[Ella]

My suggestion would be, that we head to Hyde Park, and have a nice relaxing afternoon looking around, if we find nothing we can move on to Regents or Green Park. Depending on the who is currently in each park.

Adelaide relaxes, while the man seemed strange she didn't get any dangerous vibes from him, much to her own relief.

"Unless you have a better idea?"

[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?"

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.

summon spirit:[roll0]
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.

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.


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.
[roll0] 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.)
[roll1] Per Target: 16
[roll2] 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.