Umbrae Machina IC

[EriktheRed]

It's 4am in Metro City, and you have been called into a grisly scene. You flash your Esper Division badges as you duck under the yellow police tape and enter the room. One of Metro's finest is there to give you the rundown. "I'm glad you're here, this looks like Esper's department," he says, as you look around. You are in the basement of a cheap apartment complex, and it smells like rotted flesh. "The landlord says this area is supposed to be locked off. There used to be an indoor pool here, but something converted it into it's own personal meat locker, minus the refrigeration," he says, as you look over the bodies suspended on meathooks from the ceiling. The basement is dark, lit only by an electric lantern the landlord left down here, and the occasional flash of a crime scene photographer's camera. You remember the good old days, when a serial killer was the worst you would have to deal with. "So what do you think we're dealing with?" the policeman asks you. Not sure yet, you tell him that you'll take it from here.

[pieman2945]

OOC: I'll take Dark Orange as my color.

Leo strides into the room, and looks around. Ah, Hell. He flicks on his flashlight to take a look at any markings on the bodies.

Monster Knowledge check: [roll0]

[Waitingnomad]

"Hmm." Elwood muses quietly, his eyes taking in the scene but not flinching at the sight, or smell, of the mutilated corpses lining the room. He begins to examine the bodies for a sign of how they were killed, and then proceeds to scour the room for any clues or indication of what may have caused this, searching his memory for any relevant knowledge.


I'll take Indigo

Monster Lore: [roll0]
Investigation: [roll1]

[Your Nemesis]

"Do we have a list of the current residents? What about IDs of the victims?" Dom asks the officer. Meanwhile, he wracks his brain for anything he has read or heard of about similar crimes.

Blue for me.

Monster Lore (aid another): [roll0]

[MilesTiden]

Jeanette wordlessly surveys the grisly scene before her, and shakes her head slightly. Any estimate on how long this has been going on?" She methodically begins collecting evidence, and inspects some of the bodies to see if there are any telling marks or features that would help identify the creature involved.

Cyan DeepSkyBlue for me. Cyan hurt my eyes.

Investigation:
[roll0]

Monster Lore:
[roll1]

[EriktheRed]

Leo's flashlight plays across the grisly scene. Six human bodies, two men and four women, are hanging from hooks from the ceiling, in various states of decomposition, stripped and butchered. The officer isn't sure how long the bodies have been there, but he hazards a guess of three to four days, based on the smell, as he hands Dom a clipboard. "This is the list of residents. I asked the landlord for them before you arrived. Given the circumstances, he didn't object. Also made a good excuse to get him away from the crime scene before he retched all over it. No clue who the victims are yet."

See OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=291893) for replies to OOC queries and Knowledge Checks.

[Your Nemesis]

"We'll interview the landlord first, I think...how did this place get discovered, anyway? Was it the smell, random chance, what? How long ago was this place found? Oh, and if I didn't say this before: good work, Officer. You definitely did the right thing, calling us in." Dom says. he think for a minute.

Diplomacy (taking 10): 21



"Leo, can you tell whether these people were killed all at once? Or was it over a longer period?"

[pieman2945]

God. Well, the meat hooks look like they were made from scrap metal, maybe from a junkyard. Whoever did this knew what they were doing, look. Leo gestures to the bodies. It looks like a scalpel, and all of the organs are gone. He walks over to the wall Wait! These are new! Hey Officer, sorry, I didn't catch your name. Would you do me a favor and ask the landlord if there are supposed to be construction materials down here? Thanks, man. He seems to mumble to himself Maybe those are here for something particular. Oh! He moves to the walls and starts tapping them with his flashlight, looking for hollow points.

What about Dom's question? Did I notice any differences in decomposition?

[Waitingnomad]

"They've certainly been... meticulous with their extraction of the innards. They're clearly hanging them up here for a reason... maybe a ghoul? It'd certainly explain why they've been left here to rot; those things use rotten flesh as a food source. Still, the precision with which those organs have been taken out isn't particularly... ghoulish. Those things are savages, this looks almost... surgical. Can you run the names of the residents and narrow it down to those with any form of medical experience or criminal record? Include anyone that might have been involved with surgery or anything to do with flesh. Butchers, surgeons, vets; anyone. I want three lists; one of the priors, one of those with relevant experience, and one with both." Elwood says all this as he continues to move around the suspended corpses, wrinkling his nose at the smell but otherwise remaining rather unflinching at the horrifying display. "Should have brought a damn camera," he curses to himself quietly. He takes out his phone and begins snapping pictures of the suspended corpses, taking multiple shots from all angles, as well as of the implements used to suspend them and of the room as a whole. "Can we get a police photographer in here? And if you can get ahold of a blood spatter expert, that'd be lovely. I want IDs on all the victims, and times of death, if possible."

[roll0] investigation to further analyse the room for signs.
[roll1] heal to examine the wounds
[roll2] monster lore, this time specifically searching my mind for everything I know about ghouls, relating the info to the scene and the treatment o the victims

[EriktheRed]

"We'll interview the landlord first, I think...how did this place get discovered, anyway? Was it the smell, random chance, what? How long ago was this place found? Oh, and if I didn't say this before: good work, Officer. You definitely did the right thing, calling us in." Dom says. he think for a minute.

"Just following procedure, sir," the officer replies. "The landlord noticed the smell a couple hours ago."



Wait! These are new! Hey Officer, sorry, I didn't catch your name. Would you do me a favor and ask the landlord if there are supposed to be construction materials down here? Thanks, man.



"It's McLendon sir. Leroy McClendon. I'll go ask him." The officer leaves, and then comes back a few minutes later. "Those boards and tarps were used to cover the pool once it was closed."




"Should have brought a damn camera," he curses to himself quietly. He takes out his phone and begins snapping pictures of the suspended corpses, taking multiple shots from all angles, as well as of the implements used to suspend them and of the room as a whole. "Can we get a police photographer in here? And if you can get ahold of a blood spatter expert, that'd be lovely. I want IDs on all the victims, and times of death, if possible."


"Forensics is on the way sir, should be here in about 30 minutes to an hour."

[Your Nemesis]

Dom pulls out his digital camera hands it and it to Elwood. "Here, use this. I also have a forensic kit back in my car, do you want me to grab it for you?"

He heads out to his car, and barely makes it to the alley next to it before he loses what was left of his dinner. He leans against the wall for a minute or so, panting, then grabs his canteen, washes his mouth out, grabs the forensics kit and heads back inside.

"You know guys, if it is Ghouls, I have an idea that might be helpful. Its a paint ball gun that fires holy water pellets instead of paint. I'll see if its in working order once I'm off-shift."

[pieman2945]

Leo grins like a small child. That's AWESOME! Can I try it?I wonder what else we could put in it... He starts to laugh.

[Your Nemesis]

OOC: Depending on whether I'm still outside:

"What's awesome?"

[pieman2945]

That paintball gun! We could get glass capsules, and acid! Then it would be a painball gun!

I'm going to be gone for a week, so if Erik can maim me in some way, that would be great.

[MilesTiden]

Jeanette pauses for a moment, realizing that her own investigatory skills are largely unnecessary at the current moment, and pulls out her laptop. She silently gets to work on documenting the scene, taking notes, and transcribing the comments of the landlord and people involved. Also, eyes are rolled at Leo's fascination with the paintgun. Or well, eye is rolled.

[Waitingnomad]

"Sounds... efficient. And the forensics kit would be appreciated, though if you have some skill with it, it may be better in your hands. Thank you for the camera." Elwood proceeds to use the camera to take multiple photographs of both the victims and the surrounding area, attempting to document any and every possible piece of evidence that may lead them in the direction of the culprits. Once he is finished, he returns the camera to its owner, mentioning that he would appreciate it if copies of the photographs could be sent to him as soon as they have been developed/uploaded to the police database (depending on whether or not the camera is digital or film-based) so that he may look over them. "I'll look over the photographs and do some additional research on ghouls once I have the time. Perhaps the coroner's report can shed some more light on the situation as well; I don't profess a high degree of proficiency in medical matters. Aside from that, there doesn't seem much else until we get the victim ID's and the residency assessment back. We can start interviewing the residents after that and narrow our profile down... any thoughts? We should preserve the crimescene as best we can to see if there's a trail left over. This seems too... precise for ghouls. They aren't the most intelligent creatures, after all."

[Your Nemesis]

"Here's the kit; it's not my forte, but I can pitch in.

Investigation (aid another): [roll0]

"What about the hole Leo found? Is there anything inside it?"

He hands the kit over to Elwood, then pulls out a flashlight and peers into the hole, looking for any blood spatter or indication that there is another way out while listening carefully, just in case.

Spot: [roll1]
Listen: [roll2]

[EriktheRed]

Taking the forensics kit, you realize that it will take a dedicated effort to get any useful information (i.e., waiting for the forensics team to arrive). With a cursory effort, you find no fingerprints or other clues, aside from investigating the hole in the wall. Leo leaves to talk to the landlord.

See OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15615404#post15615404) for replies to OOC queries and Knowledge Checks.

[Your Nemesis]

Dom follows Leo, glad both to get out of the basement and to have something more up his alley to do.

"Does anyone else want to come interview the Landlord with me while we wait for forensics to get here?" He asks.

"Also, Jeanette, for your records, one of the ground floor basement windows has been broken from the inside in the alleyway, and someone has dragged something through the crawlspace--although there is no blood."

[EriktheRed]

Leo the Temporary NPC

"Maybe somebody should check out the crawlspace and see where it goes."

[EriktheRed]

Dom and Leo walk up to the first floor office. This apartment building has one long hallway, with doors to apartments running down both sides of the hallway. A door on one side has a sign marked "Administration." The light is on in the room, and opening it, you see a shorter man with a long face and a pointed chin, with tanned, almost leathery skin, black eyes, and a shock of unruly white hair. He has a stout build, and is wearing a grey polo shirt and khaki pants. He introduces himself as Andre McGrane, the apartment manager.

[Waitingnomad]

Elwood murmurs his thanks as he takes the forensics kit and speaks a few words. "Call me if you find anything interesting. Or dangerous. Here's my number. He scrawls his contact details on a piece of paper and hands it over, then continues to look over the area while he waits for the forensics team to arrive.


Don't know whether or not I can assume that everyone has everyone else's contact details already saved on their phones, seeing as we work together. If not, I figure at next opportunity we should all just assume our characters have exchanged relevant contact information.

[Your Nemesis]

Dom shows the manager his badge, smiles as kindly as he knows how, and says "Hello, Mr. Mcgrane? I'm Dom Arcolin, with Metro PD's Esper Division. Now, I know that you must be extremely distraught by what has happened, but could you go over for me one more time, in your own words, exactly what happened that made you call the police?"

Diplomacy (taking 10): 21

[EriktheRed]

"I was in the basement, and I smelled something foul. I looked around for the source of the smell, and I found the bodies and called the police."

[Your Nemesis]

"Thank you, but if you don't mind, I need to ask you a few more questions. Its just a routine. Could you tell me why you were in the basement at that time of night?"

Sense Motive: [roll0]
Bluff (about all this being just routine): 21 (taking 10)

[EriktheRed]

"Well, I was having trouble sleeping, so I went to use the treadmill in the basement."


Seems to be telling the truth.

[Your Nemesis]

"Do you often have difficulty sleeping, or was that night unusual?"

[EriktheRed]

"No, I used to sleep pretty soundly, but these past few weeks, I've had some pretty bad insomnia," he replies.

[Your Nemesis]

"And does everyone in your building have access to the basement?"

Dom uses his skill trick Conceal Spellcasting to surreptitiously cast detect magic, to see if there is anything 'off' about the landlord that he can recognize.

[EriktheRed]

"Everyone has access to the basement. The laundry and exercise room are down there," Andre replies.

[Your Nemesis]

"All right. So, you were in the basement and smelled something. Had you noticed any other unusual smells down there before?"

[EriktheRed]

"No," he replies.

[Your Nemesis]

"And you had been down in the basement most nights on the treadmill due to your insomnia?"

Once he answers, Dom continues

"All right, so you smelled something foul. What did you do then?

[EriktheRed]

"No, most nights I'll go for a walk, but it was raining. Once I smelled that odor, I followed it to the abandoned pool. I went back to my office to grab the keys and a lantern, and then I saw the bodies."

[Your Nemesis]

"What did you do then?"

[EriktheRed]

"I went back to my office to call the police."

[pieman2945]

So no one but the killer has been here since the killings start... Oh, by the way Dom, I had some ideas on the paintball gun! He hands Dom a hastily written scrap of paper, grinning again like a six year old. Some of these aren't as practical but there are some good ones there.

Paper
Acid
Industrial grade Superglue
Some type of plague- engineered to be non contagious. Bad Idea
Aerosol Toxin
Glow stick Stuff- Tracers
Tear Gas
Smoke Bomb
Flash Bang? Will it fit?
Flame retardant?
Nitroglycerin
Willie P. Had some nightmares about the stuff, must have used it before.
Napalm- combine with phosphorus
Grease
UV paint? Might mark locations or people
Tracking Device- Can it work?

[Your Nemesis]

"Thank you very much sir; we appreciate your cooperation. If you remember anything else, or notice anything else untoward, please do not hesitate to contact the Department. Also, please be aware that we may need to interview you again. I apologize for the inconvenience, and we will do our considerable best to solve this.

Dom gives him a reassuring smile, then turns and walks back down to the basement. On the way, he mentions to Leo

"Interesting ideas. I mostly thought of it as a last ditch anti-Vampire device--I could use a garlic paste to make it a little more 'paint-like' and slightly easier to work with...and cheaper, I suppose. But I like the other ideas. How about a crossbow bolt with some superglue and Napalm on it? That would put paid to just about anything. Maybe Jeannette can come up with some blueprints in her copious spare time." :smallbiggrin:

Once they reach the basement, Dom says

"Well, the landlord doesn't know much; there were no holes in his story that I could see, but I have a transcrift for you if you want to look at it. But while we are waiting for the forensics team to get here, why don't we check out that crawlspace?"

[pieman2945]

Sounds pretty good to me. One sec. Just in case, Leo swaps the slug in his sawed-off shotgun for a tactical round. Close quarters. He explains to Dom.

[Waitingnomad]

Holy water paintball guns! Obviously I can't make an IC suggestion, but still. Just wanted to affirm that I'm still here... Elwood just doesn't really have anything to do at the moment.

[EriktheRed]

Leo moves into the crawlspace, carefully searching for any clues or hidden dangers as he goes. He doesn't spot a protruding nail covered in ichor, which snags his arm as he crawls through. There isn't much pain, and he barely even notices the scratch, until his muscles start to seize up, and he lies paralyzed on the ground. Thoughts go through his mind as he imagines some horrible creature taking advantage of him in his helpless state, but the hands he feels are those of his friends, pulling him to safety. After a few minutes, he recovers.


Failed Investigation and Fort save. 1 point of damage + 1d4 minutes of paralysis. No monster there to take advantage of it, so no need to go round by round.

[pieman2945]

As he recovers, Leo starts to look for the nail. Let's see if we can test this stuff. Do ghouls paralyze things?

[EriktheRed]

Leo is able to find and pry loose the nail, and a few others like it, as he once again braves the crawlspace. The crawlspace leads to a busted out section of wall in another room, this one leading to a supply closet. The basement window has been broken out in this somewhat large storage area, and when you pull the chain on the light, it doesn't turn on. The only light is from the light in the hallway, and your own flashlights.


Unless you guys come up with something clever, that is all the clues I've got for you before forensics/medical examiner/research happens.

[Your Nemesis]

"Let's get what we have straight while we wait for the forensics team to arrive."

[EriktheRed]

The forensics team arrives, and the ESPD team returns to the police department, after making one last sweep of the scene. Twelve hours later, one of the lab techs has something for you; they've found a DNA match on the blood on the nails, and it matches an inmate that was released two months ago, who was imprisoned on an assault charge.

OOC:

Advancing a bit to keep things going. Let me know if there was anything else you wanted to do over that twelve hour period. In this future, DNA samples are kept on a government database for anyone convicted of a violent crime.

[Waitingnomad]

As soon as he gets news of the completed forensics reports, he proceeds to browse the database for the blood spatter report, the identities of the victims and the identity of the individual who matched the DNA sample; he would be paying that man a visit.

[pieman2945]

Leo will call the team to go visit this guy.

[EriktheRed]

@WaitingNomad

What are you looking for in the blood spatter?
They haven't identified the victims yet.


Everyone

The guy's name is Claud H. Sterritt. You have a last known address. He was imprisoned for nearly beating a man to death who he caught in bed with his ex-wife. He was paroled two months ago.

[Your Nemesis]

Perhaps we should get a search warrant first?

[Waitingnomad]

Mostly indications of how the victims ended up the way they were, e.g. were the bodies dragged into the room and then hung up, were the bodies already as messed up as they are before they were brought into the room, or was this done to them inside the room, are there any indications of a struggle within or nearby the room (viz. blood spatter that indicates this) or blood spatter in any peculiar manner or indeed any manner other than what would be obvious for what was done to the bodies.

[Your Nemesis]

In his downtime, Dom gets some rest, then goes out to purchase both Holy Water and a small water pistol, then calls Jeannette.

"Hey, Jeannette, can you modify a water gun for me so that I won't have to pump it up each time? Maybe so it runs off of CO2 cartridges? Thanks."


Once he gets the information about the suspect, Dom files a request for a search warrant on the last known address. In the meantime, he meets up with Leo.

[Waitingnomad]

After having read through the report, Elwood proceeds to draw up all the information the police database has on this Mr Sterritt, looking, amongst anything else that may stand out or be of help, for other prior convictions, occupation, psychological profile and known associates. Elwood also made a mental note to attempt to speak to this ex-wife at the next viable opportunity.

[EriktheRed]

Looking over the database, you find a history of assault charges, drunk and disorderly charges, and a DUI, as well as the murder. Looks like Mr. Sterritt had quite the temper, and a drinking problem. He is an auto mechanic, and amazingly, was rehired at the same auto shop, according to the reports filed by his parole officer, Jessie Holtcamp. You are able to procure a search and/or arrest warrant, as well as his last known address, 342 Dukkha Street, Apartment A.

[pieman2945]

Let's get this guy.

Load outs in my guns
Urban Sniper - Slug
Sawed-Off - Tactical and Buckshot