IC- Hunter- The Chicago Chronicles

[CowMasterTrojan]

Excerpt from Hunter.net


Devils
There are many of us who claim that our actions are divine. I'm not sure I agree with that, but I certainly agree these creatures appear to be profane in nature. Their true form tends to be generally human in shape, with red tinted skin and horns on their head. Many have claws, and a thin tail. Their eyes usually glow red.

Generally speaking, when unnoticed they blend into human society and lure victims one way or another. Some wear suits and from what I can tell, make deals with people found dead days later. Others just get the opposite gender alone and suck the life out of them, not unlike Rots.

When they notice you can see their true self, they turn very violent. In addition they have been known to stalk hunters who failed at killing them. If you're pursuing one, be cautious, be quick, and do not hesitate to kill.


For those of you in the Chicago area, I think I may have spotted a Devil. Subject takes a human female form, and hits bars frequently. Since I spotted her, there's been three bodies found where males look like raisins. I think she's doing it. If you're brave enough, I know I'm not, she hangs around wriggly field. Mostly frequents the bars from what I've seen, but I have a suspicion she sleeps near there.

Google Search results: Bars near Wrigley Field


Wrigley View Rooftop
1050 W Waveland Ave
Chicago
(773) 362-1050

Slugger's
3540 N Clark St
Chicago
(773) 248-0055

Smart Bar
3730 N Clark St
Chicago
(773) 549-4140


http://traveltips.usatoday.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/103/19/71240567_XS.jpg?w=560&h=560&keep_ratio=1
The group finds themselves standing on the sidewalk of N Clark st, looking curiously at Wrigley field. It's a Saturday afternoon, and against the best judgement of the group they have decided to put a stop to this devil they've heard about. It could be a trap. Or it could be a tip on a true monster. Watcher493's info hasn't been tested until today.

Please describe yourselves

[hayabusa]

Hailey walks in the plaza near the stadium and looks over the baseball stadium. (OOC: Is there a game going on today? I want to know how busy it is in the area.) Her normally black hair has recently been dyed blonde and she wears a loose fitting light blue t-shirt and jeans. For the most part, she looks the part of an ordinary tourist. "All right, which one do we hit first?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

Yes, there is indeed a cubs game going on today

[hayabusa]

Thanks. Sorry if I made you look that up.

"Lot of people from out of town here today," Hailey says to the others. "Let's keep our eyes open for this one."

[Idares]

Tristen is a 37 yo male, scrawny avarage hight with shortly trimed black hair with silver tinge (stress does that to you) with a small goatie of similiar colour. He is currently wearing plain jeans, boots and a black thick leather jacket ending just above his knee as he actively tries not to wear his usual atire of suits when Hunting.

Tristen then pulls his jacket tighter and shivers. Demons? Devils? Cant help but wonder if they are just freaks of nature that folk lore have expanded to be spawn's of a being called Satan or are they actualy birthed by an existing embodiment of evil called Lucifer. Doesnt matter we will find out the hard way.

Ok Focus! Trey was so kind to check up the places on the Net, I think we should try Sluggers. If she is going to be seductive I think she'd want somewhere quiet, like the Paino Lounge at Sluggers.

I suggest Hailey goes in first as it doesnt seem like she is intrested in females, that way you can scout it out, maybe use your abilities to see if you cant pinpoint her. Trey and I will give you 20mins to text me her description then we will come in seprately and sit close to her, then we wait for her move.

[CowMasterTrojan]

I'm sorry, I should have specified. The hunters have yet to have learned about SWORD. It hasn't been announced yet.

[Idares]

Tristen then looks at Hailey: Yeah, too many people if you ask me,bet they dont take kind to people gunning down a pretty "lady". he says tongue in cheek

I will give you a spare key of my car for incase she decides to move me to her lair and you need to follow.

Plan B: We find her and wait for her to get her own prey and follow them to her lair.

What do you guys think?

[hayabusa]

"How you can stand to be in that jacket today, I will never know," Hailey jokes at Tristen as she begins to head for Sluggers. She enters the bar, noting the many jerseys amongst those in there. Some have left early, while others are just there because they couldn't afford the tickets. Walking up to the bar, she orders a diet cola and some fries as she begins to scan the crowd.

Perception+Alertness: [roll0]

[TruorTupnm]

In front of the stadium, Trey slouches his way beside the others. He is in his late teens, is of a fairly average build and height. He's wearing a t-shirt, some jeans, a blue bandana, and his backpack. Also, he looks a little disappointed in himself for not being able to find a weapon blessed by a priest on short notice. These guys seemed confident and eager. He wonders what information they might be withholding but responds to Tristen's plan with a nod and an, "I can work with that."

When Hailey heads into the bar, he tries an encouraging grin on for size and offers, "Good luck!" While waiting outside and running scenarios in his head during the twenty minutes, he unzips his backpack to pull out a couple of pocket Bible's. He offers one to Tristen. "I'd start with the, 'He beget this guy, then that one begat that one,' stuff first, then go for the verses that might really make it mad. I wonder how many lines it would take to work?" He chuckles to himself, skeptical but pleased at the idea of trying something that should be harmless, first.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Hailey walks into the bar, and is immediately disappointed.
The place is basically empty, with only two patrons that he sees. A Caucasian man with a Caucasian woman with long red hair. They sit over in the corner, casually chatting and looking into each others eyes. A Hispanic girls asks if Hailey would like a table or a seat at the bar.

[hayabusa]

"I'll take a seat at the bar," Hailey says with the slightest hint of disappointment in her voice. She orders her meal and quietly finishes it once it's brought out, watching the game while doing so.

[hayabusa]

OOC: Thanks to a suggestion in the OOC thread, I will end up using Discern about the time she begins to leave the first bar.

[roll0]

[Idares]

Mean while back on the street curb:

Tristen takes a Bible from Trey: "Thanks man. Thats what I like about you, always prepared." He then pages through the Bible briefly in an attempt only to comfort his heart and imbue some courage.

"Might not even need it though, I know a couple of verses off by heart." Then he glances at Trey with a slight smirk on his face: "Guess it does help being a good christian boy who attended all his catechesis classes" and then gives a quick wink and returns to reading the little Bible before placing it into his jacket pocket and continues keeping an eye out over Wrigley Field.

He then forms a frown on his face: "How are we suppose to get a priest to bless weapons anyway?" then proceeds to laugh for a second or two.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Hailey returns rather quickly, shaking her head and passing along that she didn't see anything. Where to next? Same plan?

[hayabusa]

(Jumped the gun a bit)

"****! Ok well I was going to be bait anyway." Tristen gives a sigh, then lifts his head inspirationally. Alright, Im gonna go in and see if I can detect her. Here is may spare car keys" Hands keys to Hailey.

"Guess Ill have to leave my kevlar in the car, dont want her getting spooked when it gets all touchy feely. My phone is on set on a speedial please-call-me to you both. I will please-call-me if Im in trouble, otherwise I will text you what she looks like if Im not pressed."

"Im not sure if there is a back door exit, I suggest that if Im in trouble that you cover both exists as you enter. I dont want her dragging me out undetected and make a human raisin out of me." Tristen give a small cheecked smile that fades quickly.

Great! Here goes!

"Only a couple of people in that bar and they're both clean," Hailey says as she returns to the group. "On the positive side," she adds as she takes out a small box. She opens it, revealing a small amount of large french fries. "They have great steak fries there. Have some,"

She nods at Tristen's plan and accepts the keys.

[Idares]

"Ok well I was going to be bait anyway." Tristen gives a sigh, then lifts his head inspirationally. Alright, Im gonna go in and see if I can detect her. Here is my spare car keys" Hands keys to Hailey.

"Guess Ill have to leave my kevlar in the car, dont want her getting spooked when it gets all touchy feely. My phone is on set on a speedial please-call-me to you both. I will please-call-me if Im in trouble, otherwise I will text you what she looks like if Im not pressed."

"Im not sure if there is a back door exit, I suggest that if Im in trouble that you cover both exists as you enter. I dont want her dragging me out undetected and make a human raisin out of me." Tristen give a small cheecked smile that fades quickly.

Great! Off to the Smart Bar! and takes a frie as he leaves to calm his nerves.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Entering into Smart Bar, Tristen looks around. This place appears to have a better early dinner crowd. He would estimate roughly two dozen people. Oddly they mostly appear to be me, with only 5 women here. One sits alone at the bar. Two at a table chatting privately. One sits with a man at a table, and the fifth is at the bar as well being hit on by a guy.

[TruorTupnm]

Trey shrugs at Tristen's compliment, raises an eyebrow at, "catechesis classes," pretty sure that the dude made that word up, then sighs with relief, when Hailey pops back out. He hopefully offers, "Maybe there's no such thing as demons, eh?" But he perks up at the fries, though, and grabs a couple.

At the Smart Bar, he tosses Tristen a nod of encouragement before offering to keep an eye on the front door, his phone, and his pocket Bible, another of which he offers to Hailey.

[Idares]

Tristen returns to the group a lighter shade of pale: "Way too many nasties in the Smart Bar, but it doesnt seem like she is there, only a beastial man and two other monsters, one is a lady, but they are two, so I dont think its our target.
We should however make a note of this hotspot."

"So that leaves us with Wrigley View Rooftop. We will use the same procedure. Hailey do you want to go in first then tell me when you see her then I'll come in. Like we discussed before?"

[TruorTupnm]

Trey grips his backpack a bit tighter at that news and pointedly looks at the door of the Smart Bar, trying not to resort to constant searches over his shoulder. They really have no idea how many of these things there are. But upon gathering his thoughts, he repeats, "'Bestial man?'" He wonders if this could be the werewolf thing that he encountered, when he was Imbued. If the place has windows, he'll scope the patrons out, then ask for descriptions. If not, "Yeah, we should check out the next spot. I didn't even bring my silver-tipped cane! But first, I think that Hailey and I should step in, at least to compare the fries, eh?"

[hayabusa]

"Normally, I'd be all for it," Hailey says, looking at the bar in question. "Three against three aren't exactly the odds that I'm looking forward to, especially since we're ill-equipped for what's in there like we are now. We make a note and then go in some other time."

[TruorTupnm]

Trey frowns with frustration. "Sorry. I meant that we should go in, so we all know what these things look like. I wouldn't want to mess with them, now, either. No silver-tipped cane. Werewolves. Silver?" He shrugs. "But, yeah, next place!" He'll at least poke his head into the Smart Bar, before leaving, scoping the patrons out, while asking what the hours are.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Is Trey getting a description of the people from Tristen, or is he going in and using a special sight of his own?

Also, everyone can make a Intelligence+awareness roll.

[hayabusa]

Hailey begins to follow Trey into the second bar, hoping that her sometimes overzealous nature won't lead them to ruin. [roll0]

[Idares]

[roll0]

Not sure if meant me aswell

Tristen then looks out over the street while his collegues leave for the 3rd bar. He is seated inside the car while strapping back on his kevlar.

[CowMasterTrojan]

As Trey waits for the attention of the bar tender, something occurs to him. This bar, and the bar before it, both have huge mirror walls where they put the bottles of alcohol. It's quite common in bars.

Remembering that supposedly Devils hate mirrors, he concludes the creature they seek wouldn't come into this place if that war true. But a bar... on a roof top... would have no mirror.

The bartender, who supposedly smelled like wet dog to to Tristen, seems nice enough when he gets to him and shows Trey the hours of the bar.


As for the Roof Top Bar, if you didn't know, with Roof Top seating where you can watch a cubs game. To get onto the roof there is a 10 dollar cover charge. The Roof Top area is currently packed with people.

[hayabusa]

Hailey heads over to the car first and quietly hides her weapons under the passenger seat. For some reason, the idea of carrying a weapon into what's technically stands of the baseball game scares her. Too much visibility if something goes wrong. Her duty done, she jogs back to the third bar and pays her cover charge.

[CowMasterTrojan]

The bar's main seating is located on top of the building. Heading up the group looks around and see's a huge amount of people. Roughly 70-80 people. Which is understandable, since you can see the cubs game great from your seat.

Relying on Discern here is especially hard. All the people, the noises, and the fresh sunlight makes the extra high tuned sensory ability cause a bad headache. Being new as hunters, none of you have ever used it in such a crowded place before. And you may be more reluctant next time.

With that being said, you don't see any sign of the Devil despite Trey's intuition that this is the bar the creature will likely use. What you do find is another handful of people who stand out to you for reasons you don't fully know. A few have bite marks on their necks, two guys in the corner are pallid looking and have throbbing veins, a little girl with her parents seems to be reflecting light in a way that makes her appear to glow, and there's another person that reeks of wet dog.

[hayabusa]

Hailey sits down and pulls out her cell phone, texting Trey.

No devil here. Yet.

Wet dog, bite marks and pale, bulging veins, but no devil.

And some little girl's glowing like the sun...

[TruorTupnm]

Trey tilts his phone, so that Tristen can read the message. He sighs and raises an eyebrow at his own conclusion, "Well, the girl's the odd one out. Glowing? Wasn't there a theory that they were some kind of divine?" He shrugs. "It wouldn't be a bad disguise. Who would be afraid of a little girl?"

He checks his phone again, hoping for more information from Hailey, grunts with frustration, then starts texting, speaking aloud for Tristen, in case he would want to add something, "Have some sunglasses? Keep an eye on the girl. Tristen is headed in to back you up. I'll be working on my Sunday school lessons."

Unless Tristen has anything to add, he will send that, then point out, "I dunno. See if you can find anything that fits the description better. She should have a guardian or something, right? Maybe see if you can start up a conversation with them, see if they're okay?" He scopes their current location outside of the bar out, looking for an unobtrusive spot to sit tight and later tail a family with a possibly radioactive child. "Keep me in the loop. I'll tail her, if it comes to that."

[Idares]

Well she is only one that we havn't been able to pin anything on yet, so we might aswell take a look into it. I'll see if I can find any "gaurdians" there as you suggested.

Tristen then heads to the bar where Hailey is. He tries not to make too much eye contact with Hailey. He seats himself in position where he can view the game as well as the little girl at the same time, thus seeming inconspicious.

He tries to see if she is attached to anyone like a parent or if she is eyeing someone...

Empathy + Perception:
6d10 + Merit 2d10

Tristen has a a merit
Socially Aware (2) - Gain 2 dice on any Perception roll involving interaction between other people and human-seeming monsters.

[Idares]

Empathy + Perception:
[roll0] + Merit [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Watching her from a distance, Tristen tries hard to catch her every move. She sits closer to the man, and talks to him more. However she seems to be equally close to the woman. It appears quite likely that these are her parents.

[Idares]

Tristen takes out his cell and texts to his colleagues:
Not sure if girl is it. Doubt she would be able to lure 3 adult men to death. I stick around here n keep an eye on her. Lets split up to cover 1 bar each, maybe she comes at night. Report every 10mins.

[hayabusa]

Hailey looks at the text and then nods in his direction, but texts him a reply just in case he doesn't see.

Sounds good.

I'll take the second bar as I haven't gone in it yet.

Going to be a long day...

[TruorTupnm]

"Whatever it is might not even be here, today. Hey, maybe I'll have time to get a weapon blessed by a priest! For now, I'd say that this place is our best bet, if we're going to take that thing about it not liking mirrors seriously. I can do more research on that specific piece of information. My vote is for focusing on this place, for now. If we don't find anything, we can try the other bars." Finding an unobtrusive spot to read and keep an eye out for the girl, he settles in, resolving to ask around, to see if anyone has noticed anything strange in the area. The thing was thought to live around here. Maybe someone outside of a bar has noticed something. Later. He nods to himself. If they don't find anything here tonight, trying some homeless guys or something might turn something up.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Trey and Tristen find themselves watching the bar carefully. The added perk being they get to also enjoy a cubs game. After a hour and a half, the couple with the little girl leaves. She does nothing that catches your attention the entire time. In fact most of the time that is spent there, none of the people the group detects does anything suspicious in the slightest.

With the cubs game almost over, and nothing indicating a devil, the group gets restless. Something akin to feeling like you've got a bug bite because you're itchy all over, but you can't actually find the bite.

Meanwhile over in the smart bar, Hailey also finds herself getting antsy. Nothing has turned up other than lots of odd people. The bartender who smells like wet dog to her has noticed she's sitting at the bar counter alone, and has started making small talk. He seems perfectly normal and friendly.

[hayabusa]

"I'm doing all right," Hailey says as the bartender begins to start with the small chat. She can no longer smell the wet dog smell that she could when she first entered the bar, but she knows that it's still there. "I hope my friends don't forget about me after the game," she lies, giving her an excuse for being here. Just watching the game while waiting for my friends to arrive, she thinks to herself.

C'mon, where is this devil? she thinks.

[Idares]

Tristen is looking at his wrist watch and realises its getting late and he has work tomorrow. He texts his fellow hunters:

Doesnt seem like shes pitching. Im heading home to bed. Meet u at car if u want lift. We can check scene where bodies were found 2morrow, maybe set up cameras here.

He then waits outside the bars for a few minutes before he leaves for his car, using his Discern ability for the last time on the few people on the street.

[hayabusa]

"Speaking of," Hailey says as the phone beeps with the received text message. "Yeah, gotta go," she says as she hands the bartender her credit card and takes one last drink out of her cola.

[TruorTupnm]

With his fellow Hunters backing out, Trey grumbles to himself and trudges his way to Tristen's car. "Thanks for the ride, man. If you have cameras to set up, I can get in and do that, sometime. We might have just missed it, tonight. I'll see if I can find some rumors about it, tomorrow. Maybe see if our source has any more information." He frowns out at the bar, disappointed. "What do you think about filling syringes with holy water? Can you just pick that stuff up at any church? I don't know. Would a syringe count as a holy weapon, or is it more of a tool?"

[hayabusa]

"The syringe would have to be blessed," Hailey chimes in as she enters the car. "Unless, maybe, it's still wet with the holy water... I don't know. They didn't exactly teach me stuff like this at St. Mary's, you know."

[CowMasterTrojan]

And so the group of hunters leaves the Wrigley field area. Their senses tell them the creature must be near, but sadly their eyes & ears cannot find it. When do the hunters next return? And what preparations are they making for future visits?

[Idares]

Tristen chuckles "That brain of yours is always running it's gears. Id love to see you get close enough to gently insert a needle without bending it to ****"

He then goes quiet "Hmmm, now a dart gun..."

Tristen proceeds to drop his fellow hunters off at their respective residence then goes to bed.

The next morning he calls up Chief Jonh Brodie asks of him a small favour as to the locations of the 3 recent deaths, as he wants to see if there is a link to "another case" he is currently handeling. He also logs a call to his contact at the mortuary as to who dealt with the autopsies and has his junior District Attorney, Liza Eastes, make an appointment with the said a.s.a.p.

He also makes a requisition for 3 survailance cameras used to set Drug dealer traps.

No too sure of rolls, but here goes:

Chief Brodie (should be realy easy): Dont believe I need to roll
Contact at Morgue: Manipulation + Expression: [roll0]
Requisition: Manipulation + influence: [roll1]

[hayabusa]

Hailey returns home and almost immediately hops onto her computer. She searches through what's known about demons, both from fellow hunters as well as general folklore, hoping to find out how hungry they get and/or how to lure them out of hiding.

Computer+Int or Wits: [roll0]
If Perception, add [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Tristen
To his surprise, John Brodie responds with a bitter tone "Four actually. There was another one we found this morning. If the papers get wind of it, they're going to be naming a new serial killer" He has no objections to giving Tristen the locations though.

The morgue does indeed allow you to make a appointment, the following day. (Because they need a chance to process the new body).

His requisition is denied however. They tell him they need a warrant first. Which requires he show actual evidence to a judge.

Hailey
The Wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon)

As I said above, Doctor119 is the most knowledgeable of them and he has his info presented. Other hunters however suggest using yourself as bait since the creature seems to prefer male victims. A victim has been found every other day, so that too seems to answer a question of yours...

[Idares]

After his failed attempt at getting survailance gear from the cops he tries his luck on checking the internet for any that are for sale. Ugh! How could there not be a single retailer for this crap in the entire Chicago!
Again, to his dismay.

Frustrated, he calls Trey: "Hey buddy, I need you to save from suicide... This damn web is messed up with all kinds of information overload and that dumb ass police clerk got smarter since last time! I know your good at this kind off thing. Do you mind looking up any sites or retailers on the net that sell "spy" cameras. Something wireless and smallish, size of a cellphone or even slightly bigger. Three of them should be good and I will pay for them ofcourse.

Alternatvely, and I guess its for the greater good, go see what your fencing friends have in stock. I will see you later and then we can see what you found, Cheers."

He then makes a second call to Hailey this time: "Hey friend, Im having some bad luck getting gear. I recall you saying you have a stash of equipment you own, do you have any kind off survailance gear at your disposal? Go have a look and come back to me, thanks!"

I see Arsenal background does include such kind off gear, just clearify with CMT

[hayabusa]

Hailey answers the phone call and heads towards her bedroom, dragging several footlockers out from under the bed. "I know I have something that might be useful, but it's somewhere in here," she says as she unlocks the crates and begins to rummage through them. "I was looking up on them a bit earlier today and didn't find anything that could be of major use. Unless we can find a fish fry in the area..."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Once more Tristen and Trey return to the Wrigley field area. They haven't had much time to be better prepared, but they have done more research.

Four bodies have been found, and every time the scene suggested a body dump. All of them in alleys where people generally don't frequent. Going off when the chief told him, all the bodies were discovered in the nights or early mornings. Suggesting they were killed in the evening. (Although he hasn't met with the coroner yet, Tristen has read initial crime scene reports. Estimated time of death has been unable to be determined at the scene).

Currently they find themselves looking for clues that could have been missed by the police at the murder scenes. It is 7pm. Thurday, June 28th.

[TruorTupnm]

"I'll have the cameras, next time. I'll see about setting them up, when the place is closed, sometime, but after we check these crime scenes out, we should head to the Roof Top Bar." Trey is always searching the crowd, looking for anything that seems off, relying on his natural awareness and wits. He raises an eyebrow at Tristen. "Are you up for staying, until the bar closes? We don't know when she'll show herself, and we need to watch each other's backs."

[Idares]

Tristen left a message on Hailey's phone that they are heading out to the bars again tonight if she decides to join them.

He sighs at when Trey mentions cameras: "I dont even want to talk about that crap, cant believe I was conned. We can talk about it again once you get them though." They then pull up close to the last scene of the murders. As they approach it he talks without facing Trey: "I should be fine to stay up late. I took a quick nap right after work and if I can get an hour or two in in the morning and an hour during lunch, I'll be fine. I'll just have my junior DA cover for me"

Tristen stops before entering the alley. "This is completely going against my survival instinct, enetering a dark secluded alley at night..." He takes a very careful look around the area before getting any closer.

Perc+Alertness: [roll0]
Perc+Awareness [roll1]
Tristen has Cat Napper Merit, so he can split his sleeping hours around counting the total in the end.

[CowMasterTrojan]

The sun doesn't go down until about 7:30 Chicago during summertime, and so as a result the dark alley ways are still fairly well lit. Stepping into the alleyway, Tristen doesn't see anyone hiding about. Simply police tape blocking off the casually bystander from entering a crime scene.

The body marker is partially atop a green dumpster. Indicating that the victim was found leaning against said dumpster. No bullet shells were found, and no prints reported being found. The dumpster doesn't appear to have been sorted through however, if Tristen would like to do that.

[TruorTupnm]

Trey snickers at Tristen's gullibility, then rolls his eyes at having a subordinate help out with his doubtlessly fascinating business of ruining decent criminals' lives. He scoffs, "How old are you, anyway, worrying about staying up late? You should probably get used to it." When they get to the tape, Trey ducks under it and strides over, as if he belongs here. "Let's try to make this quick, alright?"

Used to having to search for wallets and things after car crashes, he searches around and inside the dumpster in a thorough and professional manner. While doing that, he muses aloud on how one could prevent being turned into a raisin by whatever this is, "Would giving him an IV or sticking him in a tub be enough? How soon would you die? Does she have some kind of instantaneous attack? Oh! Speaking of, 'Jesus wept,' John 11:35. Shortest verse in the Bible." He gives Tristen a serious nod.

Perception and Alertness ---> [roll0]
Perception and Awareness ---> [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

The thing that jumps to Trey's eyes sits nearly at the top of the trash pile. A empty condom wrapper lays on the side of the garbage bags, indicating it was most likely thrown in there by someone who didn't own the dumpster.

If it is indeed linked to the murders, it would indicate the victims weren't dumped at the scenes but logically were led there by the suspected temptress.

[Idares]

Tristen looks at the empty wrapper and replies dryly with thick sarcasm: "Wow, she lures men with the promise of sex, what a surprise... Cant say this teaches us much. Does bring up the fact that she might be enacting as a prostitute."

Tristen then looks at Trey and says with a smile: "Know any around this area?" and then just laughs it off. "Seriously, maybe we should ask about the local lady of the night that works the bar"

"Im much older than you buddy, age has its toll. I cant walk around the court like a 'rot'"

[Idares]

Discern attempt:
Not sure if the GM would allow it, but Id like to invoke the secondary ability of Discern to detect the monster involved by using the condom wrapper. I know its very little to go on, but its worth a shot.
Perc+Zeal: [roll0]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Tristen carefully picks up the wrapper, and studies it carefully with discern. After a moment, he throws it back into the dumpster. Either it is not connected to the murder, or it occurred too long ago for discern to activate on it.

[hayabusa]

It's around this time that Hailey arrives back at the scene. "You guys could have contacted me sooner," she says, a hint of anger in her voice. "Anyway, find anything useful yet?"

[TruorTupnm]

Trey grunts and rolls his eyes at Tristen's question. "Nah. That's a different line of work from what I might have bumped into. But..." While he is thinking about who might know, Hailey arrives. He nods a greeting and gestures at the dumpster. "Not much. Just something that the cops might not have dusted for prints, for some reason. Think you can help with that?" He steps aside, adding, "It doesn't look like we'll be learning much else, here, but if you wanna go dumpster diving, too, I can wait."

Still mulling it over, he turns to Tristen while fishing a coin out of his pocket. "I say that one of us should play the victim. The other two can watch out. But whoever it is has to look desperate. We aren't just hoping that the right monster will approach us, this time, alright?" He hooks a thumb at himself, then stabs a finger at Tristen, then flips the coin, letting it land on the pavement. "I'm heads, you're tails." [roll0](Heads are even, tails are odd)

[CowMasterTrojan]

And so the group splits up, with Trey acting as the bait.

Trey heads to the bar, sitting at the bar while the others sit in the same room but clearly on the other side of the room. Is this correct?

Also relevant, there's no cubs game going on at the moment.

[Idares]

Tristen smiles: "Seems like its your luck. I will wait inside with Trey. Hailey, I think its best if you stay in the car for incase we need some one to drive us off. Right?"

Tristen takes the Colt firearm with him, but leaves kevlar, if he still has it.

[TruorTupnm]

Trey grumbles, as he picks up the traitorous coin. He searches the sky for inspiration, while gathering his thoughts, reaching for the right frame of mind. "Desperate. Uncomfortable. Think she'd want to mess with a guy reading the Bible? Would she take it as a challenge, or would she keep away?" He shrugs, figuring that he'll try both, particularly after... He points at Tristen and shakes his phone. "Let me know if you spot something that could be our lady. I don't wanna be distracted by the wrong pair of mammary glands."

Taking a final look at the body marker in the alley, he grits his teeth and turns away, looking to the sky, again. "No, wait! Yes, I do! Because I am miserable, at my job, or something!" He works on getting into character, on his way to the Roof Top Bar. Once there and settled, he orders a beer, planning on having plenty, committing himself to possibly becoming easy prey but having his fellow Hunters to back him up. He furtively glances around the room, summoning up various annoyances at his job, his roommate, and his life, in general.

[hayabusa]

"Just remember to say the verse right this time, Trey," Hailey jokes at him as she parks the car, but leaves the engine running. "I heard a guy once stumbled while one of these things was near him. End result wasn't pretty."

[CowMasterTrojan]

The group splits into three, with Tristen and Trey going back to the Roof Top Bar while Hailey waits out in the car.

Being a Thursday night, the bar is steadily filling with people. By eight O'clock the place is just under full capacity. While having few beers to remain inconspicuous, Trey is approached by a woman. Dressed in casual slacks and a white blouse, the brunette appears to be slightly older than him. With a warm smile she sits next to him at the bar counter and begins small talk. "Reading the bible while at a bar? You must either be a preacher or really depressed."

Hailey
As eight O'clock rolls around, Hailey finds herself bored of sitting in the car while the other two are inside on 'the front line.' People come, and a few people go, but no one stands out on her attention. Then she see's a young woman in a employee uniform coming out of a side entrance. She seems young, and in her early twenties.

There doesn't appear to be anything unusual about this woman. Perhaps out of boredom, or perhaps out of the tingling sense in the back of her neck, she turns on her second sight. To her disappointment, nothing changes. Reluctantly she turns back to the bar entrance, only to freeze for a moment. It almost looked as if that woman changed just as Hailey looked away. Turning back, Hailey looks again only to discover the same woman employee walking down the street. But this time, Hailey looks harder. Once more she doesn't see anything, but something in her gut just feels wrong.

[hayabusa]

Furrowing her brow at the sight, Hailey turns the radio off and places the car's keys into her pocket. She fiddles with the knife hidden under her shirt as she opens the door and is greeted with a blast of hot night air, a huge contrast from the air-conditioned car she had been sitting in.

Saw something weird out here. Not supernatural but weird. Going to investigate. she sends a quick text message to the others, hoping it won't ruin their own investigations too much.

She closes the door as quietly as she can and attempts to blend in with what little crowd there is.

Not quite sure on what to roll here. I know my one die of Stealth, but do I add my dexterity or Intelligence or Wits?

[CowMasterTrojan]

Tailing stealthily is dex+stealth

[TruorTupnm]

Trey uses his worry and fear to fuel a weary smirk, as he closes the Bible on his finger and turns to the lady. His eyes sweep the crowd, on the way, seeing if Tristen is occupied or distracted or anything. "Heh. I should have been a preacher, though. I don't get stage fright or anything. And making speeches all the time sounds like a pretty fun job, huh? Better than what I've got, now, anyway." He waves a hand, trying to get the bartender's attention, then gives her his little brother's name, as he usually does, in such situations. "Can I get you something? I'm Julius, by the way."

As he nods a greeting, his phone chirps. Hoping that it is Tristen telling him something good, he rolls his eyes and brandishes his phone, looking exasperated. "Watch this be my boss!" Upon reading Hailey's message, he laughs to cover his surprise, "Ha! Yeah, it's my roommate, telling me that they're thinking about calling me in, in the morning." He grins sardonically, "Let me tell him what I'd like to tell them."

He then tosses this textual message at his fellow Hunters ---> "Law, tell me if I'm wasting my time, over here. If I am, we can get out of here. Beat-Stick, keep him informed, but only call me, if you need me."

[Idares]

Does Tristen notice the woman approaching Trey:
Perc + Alertness [roll0]

[Idares]

Tristen continues drinking his light beer while reading a newspaper, seated at the darker corner of the bar. He notices the lady taking a seat next to Trey. He tries not to seem obvious and thus only glance their way every minute or so.

His phone vibrates. Its from Hailey. He reads it briefly and a frown forms on his face. "I dont like her going off alone." he thinks to himself. He texts back: "Keep finger on speed dial, let know if anything happens asap Then puts his phone away.

His phone vibrates again, this time its from Trey. Tristen cant help but give a small grin at the nickname "Law". He hides his smile quickly. He holds his paper infront of his chest, as though he is reading the top part of it, but in fact he is peeking over it and staring at the woman, seeing if he cant find any fault with her.
Discern roll: Perc +Zeal [roll0]
Edit: Guess I'll know if even her grandparents ever interacted with a monster :smallcool:

[CowMasterTrojan]

The woman introduces herself as Sally and even fakes a few laughs at Trey's little jokes. As best Trey can tell, she seems sincerely interested in him.

Tristen doesn't catch her on the approach, but he notices her presence rather quickly. Looking closely, he spots the bulging neck he's seen before. In fact he spots it on three other people at the bar.



Hailey
Stealth+Dex [roll0]

Hailey follows along, trailing the woman and ducking behind cars parked on the street. She appears to not have a car, as she continues to walk for several minutes. Several times Hailey will get a chance to focus Discern on her once more, and every time it seems normal but catches her attention. After several minutes, she begins to smell some kind of smoke. Brimstone perhaps.

As the woman walks, she continuously stops and looks behind. Whether she see's Hailey or not, she seems to sense her. Finally after several minutes of walking and Hailey's most recent use of discern, she turns down into a alley way.

[hayabusa]

Don't know. Smell brimstone. Went into alley near Business A and Business B"

Hailey sends the message and pauses outside of the alley's entrance.

[Idares]

Tristen's face goes pale after reading the text, almost forgetting about the "Sally". He packs up hastely, leaving money at the table with a good tip. In the process he texts both Hunters: "Ditch bitch. Alley now! Hide somewhere in meanwhile"

Tristen rushes to where Hailey indicated, saying a small prayer while in motion.

[TruorTupnm]

Not having noticed anything strange about Sally, himself, Trey figures that he will have to somehow disengage himself, at some point, so that he can remain a target for an actual monster. His phone chirps again, and he sighs, "Sorry. Let me turn this thing off." He stiffens with tension, upon actually reading the message, though. Did they find what they were looking for, or is this another false alarm? Will Bible verses really do anything against it?

He coughs and bobs his head apologetically at Sally, realizing that he is letting his end of the conversation falter. "Ah, have a good night, Sally. I gotta get out of here. Maybe I'll see you around, sometime." He tosses a few bills on the counter and waves farewell with his phone. "Overtime's a killer!" Grabbing his backpack and hustling after Tristen, he mutters, "I'll see if I can warn her about this area, if I do see her. But right now, 'Jesus wept', 'Jesus wept'!"

[CowMasterTrojan]

Tristen and Trey quickly flee the bar, perhaps for the last time, to the disappointment of Sally. As soon as they exit the bar, they begin running down the street.

Meanwhile
Hailey stands at the edge of the alleyway, behind the corner. The woman having just went down there less than a minute ago. Looking down it, there appears to be a open court yard 20 yards down the alley that is adjacent to a apartment building on the other side of the alley. Suddenly Hailey begins to hear a enchanting whistling tune.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENyGj_NQKkU)
Roll Wits+your primary virtue (Your sheet doesn't say)

[hayabusa]

Hailey gets the last text message and then begins to hear the whistling tune, a strange feeling beginning to come over her.

[roll0]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Hailey feels the enchanting tune enter her brain, and for a moment it begins to pull her down the alley. Then will all her might, her mental defenses kick in, almost as if her brain screams to make her body stop moving. But it works, and she halts.
(Spend one point of conviction)

After a minute, when it's clear the music has no effect, the whistling stops. What does Hailey do?

[hayabusa]

As the whistling stops and the odd feeling in her head subsides, Hailey leans against the building near her and breathes a sigh of relief. She checks her phone for any messages that she may have missed in her brief period of bewitching and discovers it devoid of any new missives. "Come on guys, where the hell are you?" she mutters under her breath, maintaining her position.

[CowMasterTrojan]

With Hailey holding back, the other two have no trouble catching up to her. The group of hunters is now reunited.

[TruorTupnm]

Spotting Hailey and the alley, Trey trots up and peers around the corner. He waves perfunctorily, then whispers, "Hey. So, is she just down there? We don't want to lose her, after tonight..." Assuming that he knows the general area or that the layout of the building around here would allow for it, he would then suggest that they go down different alleys and converge on the courtyard ahead. If it would not be so easy to do that, he'd take his knife from his backpack and nod down the alley, inviting the others to go first.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Roll Intelligence+streetwise to determine if you can go around and flank her in the alley. Difficulty 7.

[Idares]

"Eventhough Im certain you know the layout of these alleys, we have an advantage already. The beast believes she has sway over Hailey here and perhaps we should use that."

Tristen looks around to see if there are any bystanders around and once it is clear pulls the beautiful .45 Revolver from his jacket and checks to see if its loaded and proceeds to say: "I suggest Hailey goes in quietly and in the shadows. Make sure all is clear but for her. If so, make yourself seen and get her occupied with you. You should be protected by your abilities. Trey and I will give you 1min or until we hear you whistle, then we will come in crashing. I will hold her in place with my bejudging stare. We will then see what the beast has to say, but only briefly." He then faces the other two expectantly.

[hayabusa]

Hailey listens to Tristen's plan and gives a short nod. Pulling the hunting knife out of its sheath. She wipes a bead of sweat off of her brow as she heads down the alley.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Roll perception+alertness for hailey

[hayabusa]

Roll perception+alertness for hailey

[roll0] for the perception+alertness

[CowMasterTrojan]

To her surprise, Hailey finds the alley and courtyard completely empty. Spinning around, she scans the area. Catching her eye is a building's fire escape stairs. The ladder connecting to the ground has oddly pulled down, indicating it likely has been used recently.

[hayabusa]

Hailey heads to the fire escape and sheathes her knife, leaving only the cell phone in her hands. She sends a single text to her companions.

Fire xcpe

She puts her phone back into her pocket and leaps up, grabbing the bottom rung of the ladder and begins to crawl her way up the fire escape.

[Idares]

After recieving the text, Tristen hustles to the corner of the alley only to see Hailey climbing the fire escape. He then faces Trey.

"Any idea of the building here and any linking fire escapes?"

[TruorTupnm]

Trey follows and pokes his head out of the alley. Not being overly familiar with this part of town, he shakes his head and scopes the courtyard out, making sure that the ladder wasn't just pulled down to throw them off. If he doesn't notice anything, he gestures to the ladder. "No. Sorry. I think one of us should stick with Hailey. We shouldn't be too far behind. But one of us should stay on the street, just in case." Perception and Alertness ---> [roll0] A few quick games of Rock (1), Paper (2), Scissors (3), in case of stalemates ---> [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

As Trey and Tristen decide who shall go with Hailey, and who shall follow along the ground, Hailey scales the fire escape with the tenacity that makes her a good cop. Reaching the roof of the building, she catches the sight of the woman fleeing the roof.

On the other side of the roof, the woman jumps the gap to the next building. The jump is over eight feet in distance, and she appears to just barely manage to make the jump.

[Idares]

Tristen smirks at Trey's gesture of playing the game. While smiling and shaking his head he starts bobbing his fist up and down.

[roll0]

[Idares]

Sorry, correct roll: [roll0]

[TruorTupnm]

Trey shakes his head at Tristen losing to Rock, then heads back out to the street, planning on keeping an eye on her from below. On his way, he waves his phone and shouts, "Okay, I won, so you get to climb up the fire escape. Keep me in the loop!"

[Idares]

Tristen scales the ladder in persuit of Hailey.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Trey is moving along side the building, trying to gain sight of the woman.

Tristen is at the bottom of the fire escape, climbing quickly.


Hailey is at the top of the roof, witnessing the woman fleeing. Is she doing anything else?

[hayabusa]

About how far would the fall be if i tried to jump after her and failed?

[CowMasterTrojan]

Five stories. She also hasn't continued running. She waiting and watching, so theoretically she could hit you mid jump to try and stop you.

[hayabusa]

Hailey glares at the woman from across the building, knowing that it would be nearly impossible for her to follow. Any chance of reaching the other side would be negated by the fear she has of falling and being killed if she messed up.

I really wish I brought my gun along... she thinks.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Seeing that Hailey has either paused or hesitated, she shouts "Stop following me!" before turning and running. A moment later she hops onto another building and continues running. If Hailey doesn't do anything, she will have jumped to a fourth building when Tristen comes up the fire escape. She is 120 yards away.

[Idares]

Tristen peers just over the edge as he reaches the top, careful not to alert the demon to his presence. When he sees how far away she is, he gets on the phone.

"Trey move around to the back of the alley. She is going that way and be ready to corner her"

He then climbs down and heads to where Trey is.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Continuing the Chase, Trey quickly loses sight of the woman. However his mind is ever sharp, and he remembers these old buildings like the back of his hand. Based entirely on guesses, he begins to run down the street and then down alleys as he attempts to follow the woman using his mind and his gut. Three fire escapes later, he catches up with the woman. She's about two stories above him, climbing down a ladder.

[TruorTupnm]

Glancing at his phone every two seconds, he is surprised and nervous, when he spots the lady descending. Dashing off a quick text message to the others to let them know where he is, he pauses to catch his breath, then takes his flashlight out of his backpack. He turns it on and starts sweeping it from side to side. He trots over and stops at the wall across from the fire escape, where he shines the light at the lady, making as if he just noticed her. He plaintively calls out, "Hey, are you alright, miss? Ah, you didn't happen to see a cat, up there, did you?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

There isn't exactly a address for the back alley you're in, so what would have to be sent are more like directions typed out in 10 seconds. Needless to say, they won't be arriving quickly.

The woman pauses and looks Trey over, not sure what to make of a random stranger in a alleyway talking to her. After a second of thought, she responds "I am fine, but I have seen no cat. Don't go up there. The people up there wish to hurt you."
With that, she starts running again, down the alleyway and into the street.

[TruorTupnm]

Growling to himself with frustration, Trey runs after her, calling out with a note of fear, "Hey, wait! Should I call the cops or something? What's going on? I mean, thanks for the heads up, I guess! What, does someone have a problem with cat people or something?" Hoping that she'll slow down enough for him to run with her, he plans on throwing his backpack to tangle her legs, if she decides to just leave him behind.

[CowMasterTrojan]

She does indeed appear to continue running, so make a dex+athletics roll to trip her.

And roll damage dice equal to your strength.

[TruorTupnm]

Wondering why a demon would be this skittish and hoping that his fellow Hunters will show up in time to help, he very hopefully shouts, "Jesus wept!" while tossing his backpack with intent to trip. I'll spend a point of Willpower to add a success to this, as I have few dice to work with, argh. Dexterity and Athletics ---> [roll0] Strength ---> [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

The backpack throws as you would expect, unwieldly. Yet Trey's determination makes the difference, and it strikes the back of her leg. She staggers a bit, loosing a couple of feet in distance, before catching herself and continuing to run. After he calls to her, she shouts back "More of you! Leave me be. I don't want anything to do with your kind."


She still contains a lead of about 12 yards on Trey, and is slightly faster than him. It also occurs to Trey that when she stops, the likelihood of Tristen and Hailey finding them quickly is very low. So it would just be Trey and the woman.

For the moment, she takes no actions against Trey and continues to run, darting out of the alley and across the street.

[hayabusa]

As the woman races away, Hailey runs past her fellow hunter and swiftly moves down the fire escape, knowing about halfway down that she'll never catch up with her. She stops at the car, struggling to pull enough air into her lungs.

[TruorTupnm]

Dismayed that shouting the Bible verse at her did nothing, Trey rolls his eyes and wonders if any of the information that he has on demons will end up being useful. In the meantime and seeing that she will probably get away, he goes with something that he has a lot more confidence in: his Edges. This one has had varying results, but he hopes that it will at least slow her down. He takes a deep breath and projects, "I got one question for you! Have you always been so filled with hate that you can only pervert love?" Mercy, Manipulation, and an investment of one point of Conviction for his Insinuate Edge ---> [roll0]

[CowMasterTrojan]

She covers her ears and screams "AGH! What are you people and why do you torment me so?"

The effect is visible, she begins to have trouble running in a straight line. However she still continues to run, and nearly trips on the side of a parked car. Slowing down, it becomes clear Trey will catch as her run slows to a jog. She staggers into a alleyway, and provided Trey stays on her heels, she will stop and confront him. Tears run down her face.

"You are seekers of the favored, yes? I know where they wish to send me. You will not force me back into the darkness of the closet. I won't let you."

[TruorTupnm]

Momentarily elated that he managed to slow her down, Trey puts on a burst of speed to close in on her. He calls Hailey's number and puts the phone on speaker mode. Seeing the tears, he remains on edge and wary, suspecting a trick. But then, if his Edge was able to do this to her, he figures that this lady could have plenty to fear. He nods to himself. He can work with that.

Of course, he has no idea what favored ones she might be bawling about. He thinks of the shining little girl at the bar that this lady works at, first, but then figures that she is probably talking about something a bit scarier. He stops in front of her, at the entrance to the alley, hoping that Tristen and Hailey spot him.

"Here we are, all the way at [Insert landmark or somesuch here]. Why don't you slow down, first of all? You want me to tell you something? Why don't you tell me something, first? Me and my friends know a thing or two, but I have to wonder what made you slip up so badly? You must know how to blend in, how to survive. I'm just looking for information. What's changed, huh? Did you just have a streak of bad luck, sucking people dry? Or am I missing something?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

She turns her head, as if slightly confused. This time when she speaks, she has an accent. Trey isn't sure what kind, but it sounds... old. "I ask no questions. I only seek solace, but you seek more. Information? Have the favored not told you everything? It must be. Be wary, when you cross them they too will lock you away in... the closet. Why do you of the favored hunt me so relentless? I only purge the corrupt, as I did long ago before I was sent into the darkness of the closet. If you can sense me, surely you can sense their impurity. There time grows short for them, can you not sense it? Others will soon make their move against them. You cannot stop it. They are your enemy. Why do you care?"

How far away from her is Trey standing? She holds no weapon, nor anything that could be used as one.

[TruorTupnm]

Trey concentrates on the accent, trying to identify it. Only having guesses at what this lady is talking about, he decides to keep his cards close to his chest. The comments on sensing impurity make him flinch, a bit, but she could just be trying to keep him off balance. He shrugs, "Hey, you know how it is. The guys in the field aren't going to have all of the information. We're all just looking out for Number One." He pauses, as if considering, then reluctantly adds, "But I need to protect my own, too. You could be part of that." Looks like we're both trying to keep the other off balance, at least, he figures. Close enough swing at her, if he thinks that he'd have to. Far enough to give a bit of time to react to an attack, since he's ready for one. Four or five feet away?

[CowMasterTrojan]

Trey can only guess at the accent. Middle eastern maybe, but parts sound eastern European. She stares at him boldly and her face has turned bright red. "I wager the others, also of the favored no doubt, are near yes? You won't stall me any longer. Either leave me be, or face the consequences. I try to hurt only the corrupt, but you are just tools of the favored, and I've no love for them."

[TruorTupnm]

Trey meets her stare with his own and growls with annoyance, "Don't think about my friends. Don't think about the favored. I'm talking to you, right now." Even he isn't sure of where he's going with this, when he starts, but he ends up sounding plenty convinced, by the end of this little rant ---> "We are all individuals. Sure, we all have our flaws, - some more than others - but at the end of the day, we are the ones to choose what's right." He shrugs and sighs, "I doubt that I can stop you, if you wanna run. But you'll just get caught again, and the next hunter might not be so reasonable."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Trey's words do little to calm her down, and she decides he must be hostile. As she stands before him, she quickly undergoes a rapid transformation. Her eyes glow red, her skin turns a shade of crimson, and her fingers stretch and sharpen into claws. She grows a good foot and a half in size, horns spurn through her hair, and giant bat like wings grow out of her back.

Roll for initiative
http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/192x/d5/ec/ed/d5eced1f827d9c0ad547abb622ec0641.jpg

[TruorTupnm]

Suddenly, his Maglite doesn't seem so useful. "Damn." He wonders what's taking the others so long. He wishes that he hadn't been so awesome at Rock, Paper, Scissors. His brain screams at him, telling him to run, that he is up against some giant and scary demonic thing, and he should be long gone, but his conviction holds him steady, for the moment. Maybe she's not as tough as she looks? He squeaks, "Flying away, eh? Well, I'm not surprised. Too bad, though. We could have worked something out." Initiative ---> [roll0]

[hayabusa]

Hailey regains her breath after a few seconds and begins to race towards the building that she thought the woman had ran to, disappointed in herself that she left another member of her group alone.

[roll0]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Now in her natural form, and much more dangerous, the creature becomes much more threatening. Pouncing at Trey, she attempts to shank him with her claws. She moves with amazing speed, and brings both sets of claws down upon Trey in a single instant.
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

Attack [roll2]
Damage [roll3]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Forgot the extra dice for extra successes
attack 1 Damage [roll0]

attack 2 Damage [roll1]

Trey apparently pulls back at the last moment, and her claws shred his cloths but barely break his skin.

[TruorTupnm]

Surprised at not being immediately eviscerated, or at least fainting, Trey focuses on stringing her along, hoping that the others will show up to provide an advantage. "Woah! And I thought that you were stupid, before! Giving anyone such a clear trail to follow, and now, trying to leave a mysteriously-mauled corpse in the middle of Chicago! What's your next plan, huh? Leaving elementary riddles for some heroes to find?"

He tries not to dodge too far out of the alley. He wants to be visible to the others but not back so far off that he can't try to stop her, if she bolts. With her speed, though, he should probably just start swinging, now, and hope that he gets lucky. In the meantime, he wishes for body armour and squeaks, "Speaking of heroes, demon, neither of us comes close, but you might notice that I haven't attacked you yet!"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"You dare mock me?" The voice growls, now much lower in octave. "Very well. Then let you burn..."

She extends her arm, pointing it at Trey as if there was something on her palm to show him. And then... nothing happens. A sight of panic runs through her, and she examines her palm before pointing it once more at Trey. Nothing happens once more, and she screams in fear and agony. A sound that does carry all the way to Tristen, and possibly Hailey. But then she turns and begins to run, her wings flapping so that she might take flight once she is out of the alley.

[TruorTupnm]

Trey resists shouting something along the lines of praise for her wisdom to flee his presence only due to being intrigued by what prevented her from roasting him alive. With a curse of frustration, he leaps after her, swinging his Maglite and going for the wings. "Maybe if you'd sit still and listen, for one minute, we could save each other a lot of frustration!" Attack ---> [roll0] Damage ---> [roll1]

[CowMasterTrojan]

Extra damage dice [roll0]
Soak Dice [roll1]


Caught trying to flee, Trey lands a solid hit on the back of the monster's head with his maglite. He hits true, and it begins to bleed profusely. She staggers and stops in her run. Turning back upon her attacker, she growls "What do you want from me?" and bears her claws, readying another attack.

[Idares]

Alertness check to hear her screams:
Perc + Alertness [roll0]

[TruorTupnm]

Trey hesitates, at the baring of claws again, but keeps her within striking distance. He growls, "I just want information! What did those guys do to deserve death? And how can I be sure that you aren't just another monster? You just attacked me for looking out for my people. How messed up are your standards of evil, anyway?" He flips his flashlight around, partly to look polite, as if he doesn't want to shine it in her eyes, and partly to possibly be visible to his fellow Hunters. He offers, "Mine say that murder is wrong. But we've all done things we aren't proud of, and we all have room for improvement."

[CowMasterTrojan]

"I run... you people... no different than I... you chase me. Relentlessly. So I attack. Leave me be. I have only harmed the servants of the false prophets. The leeches. The pale ones. Their time draws to a end. Can you not sense it? Do the favored not tell you this already?" The sound of fear is in it's voice. However the distant sounds of running, which isn't very loud, breaks her speech. "You will not corner me." She hisses. With that, she begins backing away quickly, out of the alley. (Yet not fast enough that Trey cannot follow).

[TruorTupnm]

Which he does, still swinging his flashlight around, hoping that the others have been listening in on the conversation, heard what he was close to, and will spot his light. "Will you calm down? Maybe de-Hulkify?" He fingers his slashed shirt. "You can buy me a new shirt, and it'll all be good, as far as I'm concerned. But it sounds like you're talking about vampires. At least that's what I call them. See, if we're both looking for them, why can't we work together? Trade information? I'll see what I can do about keeping people off your back," He mutters, "Maybe give you some tips on how to lose a body..." Then continues, brightly, "You may not like us, but we'd be better off if we could work together, right?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

"I would never work with pawns of the favored. You will not force me back into the darkness of the closet." She hisses. Turning suddenly and very quickly, she take a run fueled entirely by willpower out of the alley. Once there she spreads her wings and takes flight into the air.

[hayabusa]

Per+Alert: [roll0]

Hailey thinks she may have heard something in the distance and lifts her head up, leaning upon the car nearby.

[TruorTupnm]

"You're making a mistake, lady!" Trey shouts, mostly with frustration, as he tosses his Maglite, aiming for the head. Attack ---> [roll0] Damage ---> [roll1] If that doesn't knock her out of the sky or somesuch, he just runs after her, trying to keep her in sight. While doing that, he takes his phone out of his pocket and yells, "Where are you guys? Again, I'm at [Insert Landmark Of Some Sort Here]!"

[CowMasterTrojan]

The maglite passes by her head, missing by inches. Trey chases her as long as he can, but the night has fallen and he can only follow her for so long. Flying into the night, the creature disappears into the sky. As Trey stands helpless, cursing, he finds him companions arriving roughly a minute or two later.

[hayabusa]

Hailey begins to race towards the sounds that she hears, knowing that she'd likely never make it in time. Wishing that she'd have just taken the chance before when it came to leaping from building to building.

[Idares]

Tristen arrives, stops with hands on knees, out of breath: "So... where... is... she...?"

[TruorTupnm]

Trey, wanting to blame the escape more on the others than himself, paces over to pick up his Maglite, then heads for wherever he threw his backpack at the thing. He shrugs and points in the direction he saw it fly, "I'm surprised I managed to hold her as long as I did, by myself." He takes his phone out and jiggles it at Hailey. "But did you hear any of our conversation? I mean, it doesn't tell us anything about where she might be hiding out, but it might mean that she isn't really a threat." He waves distractedly at Tristen, in an, "I'll tell you about it later," sort of way. He flits his gaze at the sky and rooftops, musing, "I'd like to ask at the bar about her, anyway, since she worked there. Unless either of you have any better ideas?"

[Idares]

"I'd like to ask at the bar about her, anyway, since she worked there. Unless either of you have any better ideas?"[/COLOR]

"And that..." he looks up at them "...is what we should have done before tailing her into dark alleys. This was just reckless"

[hayabusa]

"I'm sorry," Hailey says, shame in her eyes. Her actions had the potential to kill every single one of the group and it was through the grace of God that all of them were still breathing. "I saw her and she saw me. I felt something strange about her and decided to creep after her."

[TruorTupnm]

Trey nervously tries to laugh it off and fingers the hole in his shirt. "Well, I'll live. But she knows that she owes me a new shirt, so we'd better go see if she can afford it." On the way back to the bar, he fills them in on what he learned, even though he can only guess at what most of it meant. "What are, 'the favored', anyway? Angels? Hunters? What's, 'the closet'? That bit sounded more informal than the rest of it. Is it just Hell, and she meant it like, 'the slammer'? I don't know! And it sounded like she was just into hunting vampires, so maybe she isn't so bad?" He shrugs, inviting the others to call him crazy for not just wanting to destroy the thing.

[CowMasterTrojan]

The group returns to the bar where the girl works. A usual 'seat yourself' policy seems to be in place, as no host comes to greet the three. Looking around, the place seems pretty busy for a Thursday night. But the place is oddly quiet. Everyone just seems to be watching the TV or something, including the bartender behind the bar. He doesn't even give the trio a welcoming nod.

[Idares]

"I must say, eventhough from what you tell us, it seems like the enemy of our enemy would be our friend, I could not condone such vigilantism. However, I have no problem in using criminals to catch criminals."

He then falls quiet and a frown forms upon his face. "Kind of ironic to think we are vigilantes to"


Tristen notices everyones preoccupation and looks over to the TV to see what captivates the room.

[hayabusa]

"Id say that only after I know what the enemy is. From what it sounds like with our stray, that's not our friend," Hailey says as she glances up at the television as well.

[CowMasterTrojan]

On the TV, the US president is speaking. The sound has been muted, but captions run across the screen with what she is saying. With a straight face, the President is announcing to the world that Vampire's and Werewolves are real. The people among the bar sit entranced at the words, their jaws wide open in disbelief.


(This was on the recruitment thread, but I'm re-posting it as a refresher)


"...And so it is with great regret that I must inform the country that a great change is about to occur. But we, as Americans, have always banded together in hard times. We have always done what is required of us to carry on, as a nation. And I am sure that this time will be no different."

"Now most of you at home are wondering what I'm talking about that could warrant such radical changes. I will show you, but first I must warn you that what you are about to see is graphic in nature. If there are children in the room, or individuals with weak hearts, please have them leave the room."

The president pauses for a moment, clearly giving time for children to leave the room. After a moment, she nods for someone behind the camera to roll the video.

Several video clips are quickly played. On it are several different scenarios where a vampire is killing a person. In one, a man's arm is ripped off with the vampire's bare hands. In another, a vampire is drinking a woman dry. In another, a man punches a kid's skull through like it was cardboard. Then the video changes to vampires who have been caged, and their appearance is much more obvious. They're being poked and prodded, and they raise their fangs in a defensive position. Then the video changes to a giant man-bird (a corax), who is trapped in a shark cage and seems to have gone a bit hysterical. The final video is security camera footage. In an alley, it shows a man fighting a werewolf in Crinos form (that looks absolutely feral) with a knife while a person off camera peppers it with bullets. After that, it cuts back to the president.

"What you've just seen is not fake. It is real footage, collected from around the world. What's been hiding in plain sight all along is that humanity is not alone in this world. Existing side by side with us, hiding among us, are two different breeds of infected species that used to be human. But they aren't any more. They've been secretly responsible for countless deaths and crimes through history, and they have survived because we didn't want to believe they existed."
"The first kind is what we historically have called Vampires. Initial autopsies indicate that are animated dead. At this time we only know for sure that they do indeed hide during the day, and feed on humans at night. If they attack, they may drink a human dry of all blood given the opportunity. If you see a suspected Vampire, call the police and avoid them at all costs."

"The second of the infected types is much more varied, known as shape changers or Lycanthropes. The infection appears to bond them to animals of a various degree, but at this time it appears wolves and birds are the most common. Lycanthropes are even more dangerous because they can walk among human society even less noticed, have a tendency to eat their human victims, and produce a pheromone that makes those nearby unable to remember what happened. If you see one of these creatures, find the nearest object of silver and use extreme precaution."

The president slams her fist down onto the oak desk.
"From this moment on, I am declaring a official war on those infected. For those that wish to turn themselves over so we might study a cure, you will quarantined but otherwise unharmed. For all others who might not be so cooperative, know that we will find you. We will hunt you for as long as it takes, and we will give you no quarter. We are not your prey any longer."

"From this moment on, I am issuing an executive order that suspends habeas corpus until this war has ended. In addition, I am announcing the creation of a new Bureau that specializes in the hunting and identifying of those infected. The Supernatural world Organization of Required Defense, or S.W.O.R.D. Over the next few months, SWORD will start in major cities throughout the country and work their way through other smaller cities."

"Begining tonight, they will start locking down the following cities looking for the infected. Washington DC, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angelos, and Seattle. But this will quickly move on. The infected will be found, and decontaminated. Do not be alarmed if you live in these cities, as traffic may be slowed by road blocks and mandatory checks. It will be inconvenient, but it will also be necessary for your safety. Please cooperate with the random house checks that may happen. If you're not infected, you have nothing to fear."

[hayabusa]

"****, where do I sign up?" Hailey jokes as she takes another sip from her soda. "You don't think there's going to be any crossfire, though?"

[TruorTupnm]

At the reactions to his story, Trey mostly just mutters that he'd like to find out more about the victims, see if they were all vampires or something. When they get to the bar, he probably would have wanted to enter separately, but upon finding that no one is paying much attention, he breathes a sigh of relief and peers around, wondering if he can just waltz into an office to look at the employee records. If it looks as if he would be too easily spotted, he sidles over to Hailey and nods his head towards the employee only section. Focused on finding the demon, he hasn't really noticed what's on the televisions, so he snaps, "Hey. Don't get distracted. Why don't you do your sneaky thing and see if you can find some addresses?"

[CowMasterTrojan]

So is the group trying something sneaky, or just talking to another employee?

[hayabusa]

"Sneaky how? Somehow get there and pull up their credit card records? What good would that do?" Hailey asks.

[Idares]

"****! This is bad, realy bad." Tristen has his head in his hands. "Now every single beastie out there knows that we know. That was our greatest weapon!"
He then starts waiving his hands around "And worst of all I cant see how SWORD will be all happy for us when they see the voodoo we do"

He then stops, looks around to see if anyone notices him. Fortunately it seems everyone is too pre-occupied with the grim news.

"Ok ok caaalm dooowwn. Lets see what I can find out about our mystery lady."

Tristen walks over to the bar tender and orders a drink, slouching onto the bar. "Wow, realy heavy news, hey? That crap doesnt want to sink into my head" He then perks up "You know what could take my mind off this? Where is that pretty little waitress of yours? You know, the one with the <insert discripition here> She just has a way of calming me down, know what I mean?"

Manipulation + Empathy: [roll0]

I have enchanting voice that lowers all social interaction difficulty by two (if you want to make a ruling about this being broken now I dont mind)

[TruorTupnm]

Trey frowns slightly at Hailey, as if he doesn't know her, and she brushed up against him. He whispers, "No, I mean, look up the employee records, so we can find her lair!" As Tristen starts to freak out, though, he raises and eyebrow and starts to take in the news. He probably would have tried to prevent the guy from asking about the demonic employee, but oh well. Upon reading about S. W. O. R. D., he scopes the bar out, again, checking for any of the supernatural things that they've run into in the past but haven't actually pursued yet. He muses to himself, "Huh. At least people won't think that we're crazy anymore. Working for these people could be cool. I could do some good. No need to let them know that we are anything but well-informed citizens..."

[CowMasterTrojan]

The Bar tender continues to clean the overly shiny glass, and waves Tristen away. His eyes staying on the TV "Sorry pal. But I don't follow what you're saying, and I'm not sure I want to. Why don't you have a seat and I'll have a few drinks sent over. I'm sure it would help."

[Idares]

Tristen sits himself back down at the table, to ashamed to say anything. Thinks too himself: "I must have sounded like a real pervert, I even feel dirty..."

Guess I got off easy with a botch like that :smallwink:

[CowMasterTrojan]

The feeling of the bar is uncomfortable at best. A tension lingers within the air that all three can feel. Humanity is being force fed truth, not quite as much as the hunters possess but truth non-the-less. What the hunters don't realize is that humanity has been lying to itself for Milena. The lies are buried deep in their instincts. So even with hard evidence in their faces, many have the look of disbelief.

For those that activate a extraordinary sense, they notice the individuals that were all over in the previous days seem to have fled the scene. Everyone in the bar is 'normal'.

[hayabusa]

Hailey looks around, seeing the crowd of people on edge. "We're acting a little too normal at the moment, I think," she says before taking a large swill of her drink.

[TruorTupnm]

Not recognizing anyone in the bar as anything to worry about, Trey waves distractedly and persists with trying to get Hailey to help him out, "Don't worry it. They're distracted. We can talk about this stuff, later." He hooks a thumb at a television, then shrugs, "Hey, if you don't want to track this thing down, let me know. I can try sneaking in, myself, some other time."

[CowMasterTrojan]

Looking around, it doesn't take much imagination to realize that the bar is too tense and quiet to sneak into the back without supernatural assistance. And even that could be a bad idea...

[hayabusa]

"You know that I want this thing gone, but I don't think sneaking into the employee records is a good idea. Hell, they may even be offsite.

[Idares]

"Well its late and Im paste after all that running and frankly a bit freaked out by that bulletin. I suggest we try keeping shifts look outs for this "girl" over the next couple of days. I do doubt however that she is gonna come back"

Tristen puts on his jacket and heads for the car. "I can phone in to take leave and take the 1st shift."

[hayabusa]

"It'll be a while if she does," Hailey says with a disappointed edge to her voice.

[CowMasterTrojan]

We lost TruorTupnm, so just consider Trey a NPC for the time being. What 'Shifts' are you guys taking? As in, what hours does 1st shift run?

[Idares]

What day and time is it? Have we been up all night?

[CowMasterTrojan]

It's about 10pm on a Thursday night. I don't think anyone skipped sleeping the previous night.

[Idares]

"I suggest we take shifts in 8 hour intervals. I have work in a couple of hours, so do you guys mind taking the first shift, then the other one taking over for the afternoon and I will then take the evening shift.
Right?"

[hayabusa]

"I can take the afternoon shift," Hailey offers. The thought of letting the creature go for another night beginning to weigh heavily upon her.

[CowMasterTrojan]

Trey agrees to take the shift in between, hoping secretly that he isn't the one who has to meet the demon again.

The hunters head home, (other than the one on first watch), and find the city streets eerily quiet. People are afraid to come out of their homes. For those who don't live inside the city, the commute is slowed by check points going out of the city. Of course the officers don't really bother the hunters, other than asking routine questions.

Does anyone have anything they want to do in the next two nights other than watch the bar? Otherwise I shall jump ahead.

[hayabusa]

I think just watching the bar and seeing what's going on after the reveal is enough for Hailey to do.

[Idares]

Tristen scrapes together his courage and faces the demon before him It is a cunning and deceptive fiend. He cracks his knuckles and begins the onslaught.

He clicks: "connect to internet"

He reassures himself that not again will he be a victim. He attempts to trace down and buy survailance equipment again.

This will be all he tries to do: Intelligence + Research roll [roll0]