Post by: Fniff on July 25, 2012, 04:00:49 pm
Connecting...
Password? Password will be supplied by informant
> umbras arma
Welcome to the Aesir Initative's private website, UNKNOWN. Please select the reason you are here.
Current Member ☐
Customer ☐
Job Applicant ☒
What job offerings would you like?
Criminal, Terrorist ☐
Uplink Hacking ☐
Scientific Research ☐
Extraterrestrial ☐
Supernatural ☒
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hello, then. We are very sure you are confused. First, we should explain some things. You have obviously seen through the veil of our very thin, pretend reality and now know that our world isn't how it seems. You may have seen things of a supernatural nature, or you may even be of a supernatural nature. Then we contacted you. We are the Aesir Initative, a group that consists of multiple corporations formed into one entity to expand into formerly unused territory. The military, criminal activities, scientific research, and of course, paranormal investigation.
How your new job will go is that clients will contact us with cases, which we hand over to the team of people you will be partnered with, usually a group of four. Cases can range from investigation to capturing of a hostile supernatural entity to out and out battles. Be prepared for anything, and always keep your eye on the prize, a good paycheck and guaranteed dental and health insurance at any of our private hospitals! Isn't that great. Now, fill out this form and then we will contact you within 48 hours.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Name: Please give us your first name and surname, and include middle names if needed.
Age: Date of birth and current age in numbers.
Biography: Be short and to the point.
Personality: Please give a list of traits so we may be able to evaluate what would be the best team would be for you.
Species (Mark Where Applicable): Human ☐ Vampire ☐ Werewolf ☐ Demonic ☐ Undead ☐
The Aesir Initiative is not responsible for any dismemberment, death, extreme danger, extreme trauma, extreme pain, extreme terror or anything unpleasant that begins with "Extreme" during the job. If you attempt to take legal action after suffering from any of the above, then legal action will be taken against you. Do not reveal your identity as a paranormal creature or you will be discredited and your field operative status stripped. If you compromise the Aesir Initiative we have full authority to terminate.
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Characters (click to show/hide)
, DemonicSpoiler: Waitlist (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caellath on July 25, 2012, 04:02:40 pm
Spoiler: Character (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fniff on July 25, 2012, 04:22:05 pm
Post by: wolfchild on July 25, 2012, 05:50:06 pm
Done
Spoiler: character (click to show/hide)
edit: fixed a typo in DOB
Post by: Spinal_Taper on July 25, 2012, 06:07:51 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fniff on July 25, 2012, 06:11:26 pm
Character unfinished just making coffee then finishing
DoneSpoiler: character (click to show/hide)
Werewolfism is transmissible from bites, scratches, sexual intercourse and it's also hereditary. So, you're in!
Post by: Caerwyn on July 25, 2012, 06:19:34 pm
Name: Bakstur
Age: 04/28/1992, 20 years old.
Biography: Bakstur is...An interesting fellow. He doesn't really help people unless it benefits him, but he occasionally has a soft spot for the innocent. He's unruly, crude and a bit of a brute, but his heart melts at the sight of a kitten.
Personality: Lucky, Quiet, Responsible, Foolish
Species: Human ☐ Vampire ☐ Werewolf ☐ Demonic ☒ Undead ☐
Post by: Firelordsky on July 25, 2012, 06:20:22 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 25, 2012, 06:21:59 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 25, 2012, 06:53:15 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 26, 2012, 12:00:16 pm
Post by: lawastooshort on July 26, 2012, 12:09:11 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 26, 2012, 12:14:21 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on July 26, 2012, 12:20:06 pm
Quote
Name: Kathryn Lynch
Age: 11/04/1987 24
Biography: Former Miami PD officer, I was well decorated for my few years on the force, trying to make investigator. I ran into a case I couldn't explain-about a guy who shot fire from his hands-who I had to put down. Took alot of ammo. I told the truth to my superiors. They told me I was a nutcase, fired me, and sent me for psych-eval. Lost my pension. I don't exist in the service anymore. Seems all my old friends have amnesia. So...I'm looking for whats really happening out here.
Personality: Dedicated, Extrovert, Religious, Steady, Honest, Optimist, Truth Seeker
Species (Mark Where Applicable): Human ☒ Vampire ☐ Werewolf ☐ Demonic ☐ Undead ☐
Post by: lawastooshort on July 26, 2012, 12:26:47 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 26, 2012, 12:27:50 pm
Post by: Haspen on July 26, 2012, 12:34:13 pm
Waitlist me or something?
Post by: Fniff on July 26, 2012, 06:53:29 pm
Spoiler: Assignment (click to show/hide)
Eric drove the SUV down the empty highway, the silhouettes of the trees impeding upon the concrete as the sun began to set. Bakstur was staring out the window in the passenger seat, and Ambrose and Kathryn were talking in the backseats.
"Yeah, it's all kinda weird, isn't it?" Ambrose said, continuing a discussion Kathryn brought up about the Aesir Initiative. "I mean, seriously, a bunch of corporations collaborating to form a monster-hunting group?"
"Sounds like a really really dumb novel. Like, the kind you buy at airports." Kathryn said. "They even have a website."
"That was the weirdest part!" Ambrose laughs. "I wonder if they have a Twitter."
"Or a Facebook." Kathryn said, then smirked. "Maybe they have a facebook test for what paranormal monster you are, then they send a hit squad to take you out if you score anything other then hu--"
Amborse had a rather unhappy look on her face as Kathryn said that, but then Eric looked over his shoulder as he pulled into a road, and stopped. "We're here."
Ambrose nodded, then stepped out of the car with Kathryn. Bakstur stepped out as well, and looked at Eric. "Which way then," He quietly asked, "Is the scene of the crime?"
Eric nodded in the direction of a dirt footpath into the woods. Ambrose looked up, and saw the trail was leading up a hill. She sighed with worry for her legs, but followed them all the same. The pine trees formed a dark barrier around the trail, and it almost blocked out all light. Kathryn looked around and muttered something about Twin Peaks. As they finally got to the top of the hill, they saw the corpse.
Ambrose recoiled. "Oh, Jesus!" Eric looked rather ill. Kathryn and Bakstur managed to keep their cool.
A corpse, clad in mountain climber gear, hung from a tree. What skin was visible was covered in spirals and runes carved by a knife. The blood had been long dried.
This was a bad start, to say the least.
But, it was a start.
What did they do next?
Post by: Dwarmin on July 26, 2012, 07:04:27 pm
"Nobody touch anything. Let's get a good look before we take down the body. From what I understand, paranormal...things...aren't very careful when they kill. They don't care about a mess, which makes it easy to tell this from the totally normal whackos. Let's figure out which one this is before we make any snap judgements."
She began searching the scene-looking for the marks...
Action: Search the Crime Scene! Try to answer these questions...
1. Does it look the victim was dragged or carried here from someplace?
2. He's been cut up, but what exactly killed him? Can I determine the killing injury?
3. Take the corpse down from the tree and determine 2 if possible. Examine how he was bound up into the tree and with what.
4. Look around for anything out-of-place in a forest, of course.
Post by: Caellath on July 26, 2012, 07:13:42 pm
His hand slipped to check the 9mm tucked in the holster, checking the safety. Although his family had disappeared from the supernatural business, they still held a somewhat healthy relationship with guns, which granted him a little of training with handguns. He wasn't a pro, but at the very least his feet were out of danger.
"Looks like a cult, but I guess you never know when dealing with those things."
Search for tracks on the ground and the nearby trees.
Afterwards, help taking down and examining the corpse.
Post by: Dwarmin on July 26, 2012, 07:37:14 pm
"...they had the Napalm the town, you know. Keep the parasites from getting out. Nasty business."
Post by: Caellath on July 26, 2012, 07:54:08 pm
"It'll be better if it is not a cult because it's probably easier to deal with a low-level entity than dozens of paranoid psychos who look like normal people and are hellbent on summoning something really problematic into our world."
He moved a little while crouched and stared at the ground under the man, searching for any sign of blood that once was.
"When we examine the corpse, we should look for how deep the wounds are, since we may be dealing with something or someone with superhuman strength."
Post by: wolfchild on July 26, 2012, 08:25:06 pm
Try to identify the scents of the crime scene
Post by: Dwarmin on July 26, 2012, 09:31:21 pm
She still wasn't sure if they could trust the werewolf or not. The person, sure. Ambrose was a good friend, and if she enjoyed red meat a bit more than usual, what of it?
Yet, the thing inside of her was not a person, not even close...it was a monster. No mincing words. She had seen Ambrose in a fight.
Sometimes Kathryn had questioned why Aesir recruited monsters to hunt monsters. She guessed her superiors it was a win-win situation, as long as one of them was destroyed. Kathryn just hoped she wouldn't be the one to put Ambrose down if she lost control.
Post by: wolfchild on July 26, 2012, 10:19:48 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 26, 2012, 11:22:57 pm
Post by: Tiruin on July 27, 2012, 12:16:06 am
Watching with intrigue.
Post by: Fniff on July 27, 2012, 05:55:41 pm
Spoiler: Note From Author (click to show/hide)
Kathryn judged the corpse and it's surroundings with a critical eye. She looked over the corpse, and saw it was bound with rope tied around the hiker's chest, tightly. As she and Eric cut him down, she examined the stiff in further detail. The killing blow was two shots to the head, most likely smaller then a shotgun. She almost got pissed that her superiors took her to a gangland warning or a serial killer's latest victim, but then she noticed the guy's guts were ripped out and appeared to have been chewed rather vigorously. Looks like this guy was a meal, but what was with the gunshots? The killer was armed, at least she knew that... And smart enough to use a gun.
Kathryn stood up and looked over the crime scene itself, for anything odd. The forest was crystal clean, there wasn't even any bloodstains... It was a contradiction. What the fuck kind of monster executes a random hiker with two precise shots, eats his guts, strings him up, then cleans up everything except the corpse?
She looked behind her. She wondered if someone, or something, was looking at her and licking it's lips...
Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)
Eric was usually a calm kinda guy, but he still needed one minute to calm down. He wondered what the difference was between the corpses he saw of werewolves on the prowl and failed demon summonings, and this fairly tame killing.
Maybe he was expecting worse.
As he helped Kathryn take the corpse down, he looked around the area. No tracks, no marks, it was a complete... Just nothing. He did have an odd feeling of being watched, though... He shook his head and gave a quick look over the corpse. Eric sighed as he looked over the corpse. The corpse was shot two times, had it's guts ripped out presumably after death and was covered in runes. He didn't see anything else that would matter, the victim just looked like an ordinary hiker. Eric looked at the wounds closely... The bullets were probably just ordinary bullets, but the stomach wound had to be done with something like... claws?
He shivered, for some reason...
Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)
Ambrose never really liked the more wolf-ish parts of her personality. Smell, for one instance, had become a major problem. Everyone smelled disgusting. Sweat, urine, general nastiness wafted from their unaware cracks and pores and into her now highly sensitive nose. She had to go to the toilet to vomit up her dinner after a failed dinner with an asshole who turned out to be A. a pick-up artist and B. more in love with body spray then her. It was just too much to bear.
However, it came in handy when in a forest. Forests smelled right to her. She could definitely smell a few things like fear, terror... confusion? No, betrayal. It hit her like a brick when she realized the full picture of smells. The microscopic dots of blood, spit and the dirt didn't smell like it was stepped on by a sneaker a few hours ago. All these smells were most likely made last night.
Ambrose shivered. Her wolf-part was waking up, and it said something in that primal, instinct way.
Something nasty watching.
Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)
Bakstur thought about his situation as he turned the safety off and he shot them and killed them all and ate their flesh and he loved the taste he loved it and looked around.
Well, he certainly didn't expect to be recruited in a corporate monster hunting group. And of course, he didn't expect to be possessed by a demonic being who was in the habit of using the truth the angel was correct as they turned on him, and tried to kill him, and he needed to strike ba illusions to try and cause as much destruction as possible. It was like having a very annoying toddler constantly on your watch, if the toddler was a mass-murdering entity older then time who wanted to kill everyone. So, it wasn't at all like having an annoying toddler. The angel i am the angel do not disob demon was in the habit of calling itself the Angel. Bakstur didn't really remember if he was hearing it at age 4 or age 17, since it was screwing with his memory as well. All he knew, it was not to be trusted.
As he looked around, he noticed something move away in the distance. As he squinted, it looked like a human clad in black clothes, a black suit with a red tie.
"I see something." Bakstur said, narrowing his eyes.
Spoiler: Inventory (click to show/hide)
Post by: Dwarmin on July 27, 2012, 06:54:30 pm
"Who'd you see, Baks?" Assuming he had 'seen' anything. The fellow was supposedly a Class-D Possession case. Caple of self control (in theory), physical changes widely varied, mental condition deteriorating. But she had to trust his instincts, if he was to trust himself.
Action: Since Bakstur saw him, follow his lead.
Post by: Caellath on July 27, 2012, 06:57:30 pm
"So, did you find anything?" he asked, directing his questions towards the women of his group, since the possessed member of his group seemed to be busy doing whatever it was.
"I didn't get much except that these wounds on his stomach must be from claws..."
Then Bakstur said something, drawing his eyes to the spot he was watching.
"What, is anyone you know here?"
If the man is seen, examine him from afar for his characteristics and follow the group.
Post by: Caerwyn on July 27, 2012, 07:56:56 pm
Also, I don't see any underlined...anythings. Can you maybe bold the words that have the rolls? Sorry...Thanks, man.
Post by: Dwarmin on July 27, 2012, 08:07:46 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 27, 2012, 10:55:53 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 28, 2012, 08:12:46 am
Also, the ones that have rolls are like this:
(http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff366/Fniff/Picture4-1.png)
Post by: Caerwyn on July 28, 2012, 02:12:08 pm
Well, there still are no underlines, but I can see the bolded actions.
Post by: Fniff on July 28, 2012, 02:18:35 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 28, 2012, 04:23:08 pm
Post by: Fniff on July 28, 2012, 04:26:33 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 28, 2012, 05:05:22 pm
Post by: wolfchild on July 28, 2012, 07:30:48 pm
Ambrose draws her pistol, and quickly checks that it is ready to go, using the small amount of gun training that the cops had given her in the time they had been a team
Post by: Fniff on July 28, 2012, 08:31:43 pm
Bakstur stared at where the figure was, and tried to scruitinize his memory for specifics. He thought and thought black suit, red tie, are you an idiot? you know who he is, or more aptly, it is. it's not Slender Man.
Bakstur realized it couldn't be that thing he knew a bit about and that the Aesir Initative gave explicit instructions to ignore and not to interact with. This thing had a face, and thus it was not an incredibly dangerous and murderous entity. That said, what was it? Brown hair, Caucasian, definitely not non-human in any obvious way. For some reason, Bakstur's memory was blanked on the matter of what the man's hands looked like. He did see them, it's just that his mind was suspiciously fuzzy on the details. Bakstur thought of Angel dont look at me i wouldnt do that then decided to dismiss it. The Angel wasn't dumb enough to try and obscure those details. Bakstur would obviously then decide enough was enough and murder me wouldnt you youre just waiting for an excuse to kill me you little prick... well, it was obvious what he'd do next.
Bakstur thought the man was approaching, but it became readily apparent that it was leaving.
"It was watching us, and now it's leaving." Bakstur grunted.
____________________________________________________________
Eric tried to get a good glimpse of the shadow he saw as he turned around at Bakstur's remark. And it was nothing more or less then a shadow, a faint moving thing that was soon gone.
He gripped his pistol and kept on the lookout. Things watching in an isolated forest were not exactly good news...
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose clicked the safety off as she whispered. Her wolf side almost begged her to give in and attack as a werewolf, but she was going to fight like a person... in broad daylight near a highway was not a good time to lose control... but it couldn't be worse then a biochem class, anyway. She had some training, so she should have been good... Maybe...
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn thought Bakstur was going to start heading toward the watcher, but Bakstur was remaining still. As Bakstur talked, Kathryn sighed.
Fucking demon possessed. They're either too smart or too dumb. And she was hoping that Bakstur would be different, because she didn't want a puppet as a co-worker. Maybe the demon in his head was fucking with him and telling him not to move after the shadow or something...
Post by: Caellath on July 28, 2012, 08:36:56 pm
"Come, let's follow it."
Follow the watcher, gun in hand.
Post by: Dwarmin on July 28, 2012, 08:48:38 pm
Action: Backup Eric and pursue...whatever it is.
Post by: Caerwyn on July 28, 2012, 08:53:39 pm
Post by: wolfchild on July 28, 2012, 09:19:44 pm
Keep up with the others, memorise the things scent so I can recognise it later
Post by: Fniff on July 29, 2012, 04:50:27 pm
Eric kept a brisk pace through the wet ground, slippery from rain and fallen leaves. As he made his way to the crest of the hill across from the crime scene, he looked around quickly for the suspect. His eyes found a man with pale skin, brown hair and the blackest eyes Eric had ever gazed upon, hiding in the shadows of a grouping of trees... and ready to strike. The man's hands dissipated and became jet-black, 10 centimeter long curved claws. In seconds, the man grabbed him by the neck and held him up high, neglectfully failing to deal with Eric's gun. Eric managed to fire off the gun in the man's leg, causing the man to let go and stumble back, clutching his wound.
Eric felt his throat. Lucky for him, it wasn't bleeding... The monster seemed to want him alive...
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur clicked the safety off as the man stumbled back, and prepared to fire. A single shot flew through the air and hit it's mark, square in the chest. The man fell to the ground. The man stood up and ran at Bakstur, then slashed across Bakstur's face, creating a bad gash on his cheeks.
painpainpainpainpainmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop
Bakstur couldn't help himself, the Angel's screaming in his mind. killkillkillkillkillkillkilkilllkilkilkkillikillkilikillll He screamed so loud and punched the man square in the face. Pain overran his senses, but he kept himself sane... For now. The suspect gasped as he tried to stand up, but failed.
The man was on the ropes.
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose followed quickly behind Kathryn, and smelt the air. The smell of blood and adrenaline overran the perp's scent, and as she arrived the man ran away, Kathryn quickly following.
Dammit...
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn sprinted as she heard Eric gasp. When she got up to the hill, she saw what was happening. A man in a black suit was a few meters away from Eric, half-collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest and right leg. Where his hands should have been were long, nasty looking claws. The man looked at her, then scrambled up then ran like the world had it in for him, despite his wounds. Kathryn ran after him, through the bracken and the closely grouped trees. Soon, she lost him.
She grunted with frustration, and wondered what to do next.
Post by: Caellath on July 29, 2012, 05:02:14 pm
Eric stood up and calmly brushed off his clothing. If he ever found that creature again, he'd make it pay for leaving him alive. The young man then turned to Ambrose, already running to give chase.
"Can you follow his scent?"
Run towards the direction the man disappeared.
Post by: Fniff on July 29, 2012, 05:18:15 pm
Post by: wolfchild on July 29, 2012, 05:20:58 pm
Track the perp, if unable to track like this, warn the others then shift so I have a better chance
Post by: Caellath on July 29, 2012, 05:28:45 pm
"I'm sorry if you are sensitive about these matters. I don't see you as a monster, but as a bright girl a year younger than me who had a future ahead of her and was stuck into a mess she didn't deserve to be thrown in."
He touched his neck with a resolute expression.
"I just didn't want to lose his track and asked for your help, but I'll let you do your work from now on. My apologies."
Post by: wolfchild on July 29, 2012, 05:41:21 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on July 29, 2012, 05:55:45 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on July 29, 2012, 09:28:42 pm
She motioned for the others to gather. It was easy to get seperated in the adrenaline rush-everyone wanted a piece of the monster. She had read personnel transcripts that started like that, and most of those were post mortem.
Action: Make sure our entire group is together-keep anyone from running off by themselves.
Then, continue tracking the beast, follow the physical trail.
Post by: Fniff on July 30, 2012, 03:12:11 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Also, Caerwyn, as long as the demon sleeps (Not for long, thankfully) you're going to lose the bonus.Ambrose sniffed the air, trying to piece together something recognizable. The guy would have be running, he'd have to breath fast, excrete lots of energy, adrenaline... Something would have to be there. Nothing. Not even a scent. She grunted with frustration.
"I'm sorry, but could you guys move places?" She asked. They moved aside quickly, and she sniffed again. A scent. An alien smell, like adrenaline mixed with dried out cola. Sticky, very sticky, and it didn't leave her mouth and nose when it needed to. Ichor-like, would be an apt description.
She pointed in the direction of the monster. She knew two things: the direction of it, and that this thing wasn't human.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn made a motion for them to follow her. It wouldn't do having them separate like b-movie characters and get decapitated or eviscerated or whatever. She looked down for a proper trail, just having Ambrose to guide her wouldn't be an amazing move since her wolf-nose seemed to fluctuate like a lie detector on a politician. There was no trail of footsteps, or even a sign that the area had been disturbed. Supernatural types, they don't have the courtesy to actually have a way to track them in any sane manner. She almost felt lost... After a few minutes, she found her way back to the actual part of the forest. Annoyed and slightly embarrassed, she let Ambrose lead the way.
____________________________________________________________
Eric followed Kathryn's lead, then Ambrose when Kathryn seemed to get frustrated after walking around in the middle of nowhere. They tracked the perp perfectly... to a road, with a few signs of a car being there for a time and then driving off recently.
Cars, firearms, eating flesh... This thing was a contradiction in terms.
____________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, Bakstur was at the back of the group, fighting back occasional stings from his cheek. The Angel's moaning was a hurtsmakestophurts low drone on his mind, and he had to stop himself from yelling angrily from sheer frustration. He whispered the Lord's Prayer, hoping it would keep it quiet for a few minutes. fuckyoufuckyoufuckyou Bakstur fell to the ground, on his knees. don't dare whisper that dead gods chant to me you little prick you fucked up not me you made the pain come
Bakstur's hand prepared to slash across his face like before, but it stopped. you know what i dont even care at this point go fuck up elsewhere im going to sleep go die or something
And with that, Bakstur was free. A weight came from his shoulders, and now it was just him.
It was oddly quiet.
Post by: Caellath on July 30, 2012, 03:28:24 pm
"I don't think we'll get much from staying here and I guess we found everything we could with the body. Any ideas aside from chasing him? I guess examining the woods is one of them, but then we could definitely lose his track."
If they don't have any other ideas, then get the SUV, get everyone inside and try to give chase.
Post by: Caerwyn on July 30, 2012, 03:53:26 pm
Post by: wolfchild on July 30, 2012, 05:51:51 pm
Follow Eric back to the car, trying to get rid of the cloying scent
Post by: Dwarmin on August 01, 2012, 08:16:39 pm
OOC: Sorry for the late action. :X
Post by: wolfchild on August 02, 2012, 10:17:02 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 03, 2012, 01:22:23 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Eric ran to the SUV and climbed into the driver's seat, waiting to start it up as everyone climbed in. He began driving onto the main highway, and moved in between the empty lanes as the sunlight showered down above them, lighting up the road like a Christmas tree. A sole car ahead of them was driving quickly, the driver looking exactly like their target. Quickly keeping pace with the car, Eric rolled down the window. He shouted "Pull over immediately and we won't harm you." Eric didn't think going all guns blazing was such a good idea, and since the perp had no weapons apart from his claws, he'd have to ram Eric with his car which didn't work in anything except the movies.
Surely, the guy had to know that it was a really terrible idea to slam your car against another car at high speeds, having to concentrate on both the other car, your car and whatever was ahead?
This guy sure didn't. He tried serving right into Eric's car, but then one of the wheels caught on a concrete barrier and it started skidding all over the place, an out of control, clumsy hunk of metal going at 80MPH.
"What the hell is he doing? Is he crazy!?"
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose, before this, was busy sniffing the tree-shaped air fresher she had taken off the mirror. The smell of the artificial lavender did not play well with the sticky oil in her nose, and made her feel like she had the worst cold ever.
Evidently so. Ambrose stared in horror as the suspect's car served into position right in front of the SUV, the suited man grinning at the SUV. Was he asking for a horrible death? Eric barely managed to swerve out of the way, smashing into the car along the way sending it twirling right into a concrete barrier. Now was the problem that the SUV was about to flip over.
Through various methods of jumping out of the car using kicks to windows, being very dexitiorous with a handle on a door and just being quick, the team managed to jump out of the car before any serious damage was done.
Somehow still alive but holding his arm that looked pretty beat-up, the suspect stared at them beside the wreck of his car.
Then tried to run away.
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur stood up from the wreckage and grinned.
"Where you going, friend?" Bakstur walked toward the fleeing suspect. "Don't you wanna stay and..."
Bakstur laughed, as the pain would begin.
"Play?" He continued laughing, and then he ran and began to play.
When Bakstur was done, the suspect was terrified, covered in blood (His? Bakstur couldn't tell) and the Angel sounded like he was laughing.
Well, at least the suspect was disabled... His legs didn't look like they'd be moving any time soon.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn stared in total horror as the demon did his work. When he was done, Kathryn was confused as to how the suspect was still alive and... basically uninjured. She walked over and stared at the suspect, then at Bakstur.
"Well, then..." Bakstur casually tried to break the ice.
Kathryn only had this feeling at the funerals of kidnapped children. A complete blank on what to say.
Maybe she'd think of something in the next twenty seconds, cos she was probably going to punch him if not in anger, then horror.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 03, 2012, 01:28:39 pm
Bakstur will...Uh...What will he do? Calm the fears of his partners? Yeah, that sounds fine. Keep the pistol aimed at the man's hands. Also, er, check for any wounds.
I'm going to need to find a priest who can give me some sort of amulet or fetish to seal this..."Angel" away. Of course, if the amulet/fetish/etc is removed, it will have control again...
Does Bakstur know of the location of any churches around here? Or is this in completely unexplored territory?
Post by: Caellath on August 03, 2012, 02:43:56 pm
It was just an investigation. His countenance was the same calm one; differently from Bakstur's demon, he wouldn't inflict pain on the suspect for any kind of twisted pleasure gained from inflicting it, but if any incentive was needed for the creature to start yapping...
"You may start spitting it out now. Who you are, what were you doing there. Everything."
Calmly question the suspect.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 03, 2012, 03:15:25 pm
"...what the Hell, Baks? Why don't you give me your gun...and take a breather. Do you need something to help you...?"
She knew he didn't need his gun to hurt people, but it would make her feel safer.
Action: Keep an eye on Bakstur!
Post by: Caellath on August 03, 2012, 03:22:10 pm
Action: Keep an eye on Eric!((Hey, Bakstur was the violent one.))
Post by: wolfchild on August 03, 2012, 10:21:58 pm
Make sure neither Bakstur nor the perp do anything funny
Post by: Fniff on August 05, 2012, 12:22:19 pm
Spoiler: Author's Notes (click to show/hide)
Eric stared at the creature in the shape of a man.
The creature stared back.
"Look, man..." The creature smiled in a terrified grimace. "You're some fucked up hunter organization or something? I didn't do it, okay! It wasn't me!"
"Then who?"
"I dunno, man! I'm not whatever the fuck is in the forest, I was just scoping this area out for ritual places and then I saw you!"
"Ritual places?"
"Those claws I have don't come from Santa Claus, you know... You heard of the Ancients?"
"I haven't, no, but let's concentrate on this. What's your name?"
"James... James Harkinsaw." James nodded like he just realized his name for the first time. Eric thought he was hiding something, something he knew.
"James, you are a supernatural being. We know this. You may be possessed by demons, maybe you're a sorcerer of some sort, maybe you just wave to Cthulhu on your way to work. Now, let's just remember this. You know my friend, Bakstur?" Eric nodded to Bakstur. "He wasn't very nice, was he? Now, you are right that we are part of a group... And we're at the bottom. Bakstur's boss... Well, he can do so much worse things, my friend. Bakstur is comparatively nice."
James frowned at Eric, then looked down and kept shaking his head.
"Now, James... am I going to have to be mean and call in his boss, or will you be the nice guy and tell us what you aren't telling us?"
James looked up, and grinned.
"Let me tell you something, friend. You think you're on top just because the Aesir Initative or the Knights Templar or whoever the fuck is your pimp tells you to hunt monsters? My friend, this isn't Call of Honor or the latest action movie where you can talk a guy into speaking just by threatening him when you don't know who his masters are. And when you wake up, a few years from now, and you just see black..." James giggled. "And you just see black after you turn on the light, then you see red eyes... And then you scream... You'll know why this isn't a game."
Spoiler: Health and Inventory (click to show/hide)
Kathryn held out her hand to take Bakstur's gun. He looked at her and smiled.
"I see you're trying to take my gun." Bakstur said matter-of-factly.
"Yes, I am." Kathryn said, looking into his eyes. He really would have been quite attractive if not for the fact he's a coworker and... well, possessed by a horrific demonic intelligence. She would probably date him if not for that fact, but it probably wouldn't have gone anywhere. Kathryn felt vaguely embarrassed as she thought this.
"I don't need help, thank you, and I don't need a breather. I've been dealing with this for years, and I've never killed anyone that I didn't want dead in the first place." Bakstur said, looking at Kathryn's eyes with an intensity. Had he been offended? Kathryn noticed that Bakstur had the oddest eyes. They looked like they were meant to be blue, but lit with something. Very odd. "I think we can both agree that I can keep my gun, yes?"
Kathryn broke eye contact and nodded. She felt like she was being talked down to by a father. Polite and kind, yes, but the feeling of utter guilt weighed down her stomach like a lead weight...
Oddly, she hadn't really done anything, but she felt utterly guilty all the same...
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur kept his gun pointed at the creature, (James Saw, he think it said it's name was) and thought things over. He felt vaguely angry about the Angel taking over, but that was nothing compared to what it could do...
He hadn't killed anyone he didn't want to kill anyway, but this didn't mean he didn't kill people he wanted alive.
When you're 17, the world feels like it's against you in every way. Your parents hate you, you have no friends, your teacher gives you the hardest questions and getting the shit kicked out of you on a regular basis is a relief. They tell you, this is the best years of your life and that real life is so much harder. You wonder what the fuck real life must be like if high school is meant to be a fondly remembered memory, cos it's worse then hell...
Then the voice, the Angel, started speaking to him.
Bakstur shook his head. He didn't want to think about his past, it was worthless. What he had to think about was the present and how to deal with the Angel. He didn't know churches around here, but they might not even work. He could ask the Aesir Initiative to get him a fetish or a amulet or something to help him.
Yeah. Maybe things would go okay then...
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose searched the back of the SUV for some sprayable air freshener or something... She found a can of "Smell-o" which she promptly sprayed, then smelt. She immediately coughed as she realized all the smell of nice things went away and was replaced with dust.
She tossed the can to the ground and sighed after the coughing fit was over. It'd go away eventually, yes, but it smelled awful... She looked at the perp, who seemed to be talking to Eric, who looked pale...
She walked over and stared at the perp.
"What exactly are you telling my partner?"
The man looked at Ambrose, and frowned. "... I was... I was just a bit angry at him, that's all. It's justified."
"Right, uh... How do I put this... stop fucking with my partner or I'll shoot you?"
"... Alright. What do you want to know?"
Post by: Caellath on August 05, 2012, 12:45:32 pm
"...So. You talk big. Let me tell you something."
Eric sighed to calm his mind down and try to shake the cold chill in his spine, grasped his pistol and smiled before answering the monster in deadpan.
"You talk about me waking up years from now and having one of your buttfriends from the rainbow dimension screwing with me? Well, that surely is a big threat, and I have to admit it can carry a bit of truth. But I'll tell you what; right now, I have a gun and you can feel pain. And if I screw with you now, for the rest of your miserable life, even if I happen to die - and believe me, death or insanity is a thing I am expecting - you'll be limping or carrying a very nasty scar. And every single time you look in the mirror or walk around with a funny gait, you'll remember me."
"Alternatively, I could just destroy your family jewels or put a cap in your head if you keep being funny. Your choice~" he finished with a smile.
If he keeps acting smug and doesn't comply, just grin softly and shoot one of his kneecaps.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 05, 2012, 01:45:16 pm
Then again, who could say that's who Bakstur really was or not? Kathryn remembered her training-how things like him could mess with your head....of course, Kathryn wasn't the starling example of a well adjusted person, was she?
No. She had been worse off than this. A bit too quick on the gun, some of her fellow officers might have said-she had a few too many shootings on record. She also drank too much off job, but those bouts were infrequent. No, Kathryn wasn't an Angel herself. The Demon-or whatever-was in Bakstur could read her like a book.
At the end of the day, she was alone, frequently depressed and sometimes enraged and disturbed by the things she saw and felt on the job. But like every good soldier, she kept it all locked up-didn't let it come out. Couldn't afford it.
Kathryn stormed off with these thoughts in her head, back to the van. She needed breather herself, actually-without Baksturs hoodoo working on her.
Just...a minute to clear her head. Concentration was the key. Calm. Cold. Wall it off...deal with it later.
Action: Kathryn storms off to clear her head.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 05, 2012, 03:47:23 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Bakstur will wander around, and explore a bit. Maybe the vehicle wreckage? Look for anything interesting, or just something to take his mind off things. The others can handle this.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fniff on August 07, 2012, 02:37:45 pm
Post by: wolfchild on August 07, 2012, 05:19:51 pm
Ambrose catches eric in the eye and asks him"Do you want me to scare this guy?, I am fairly irritated right now and it would cheer me up"
Ambrose tries to tune out her nose for a bit, while keeping the gun on the perp
Post by: Fniff on August 07, 2012, 06:30:23 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
James stared at Eric, then grinned. "You seem like a professional, I like you."
"Then we can talk. I need questions answered. Who is killing people in this town, is there a cult and why did you try to take us down?"
"The thing killing the tourists? Well, here's the thing, I'm a paranormal investigator... You can consider me one, anyway. I was just investigating myself, funny thing. Anyway, the entity is most likely a demon case, probably of gluttony. Classic Dante shit, none of the Outsiders. I thought it was a bonethief, but nah." Eric almost took out his gun and shot James when he reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette, then lit it. "It's smart enough to shoot a guy, so it's got a human body with some memory remaining. It erased the tracks, so it's probably a cop's body it's throwing around."
"What's a bonethief?"
"Heh, you can learn that later... Don't shoot me or anything, it's just a little fucker who crawls into your skin and possesses you. Common in Persia, France, Rhode Island, pretty rare anywhere else, so don't keep a gun trained at the door for em... Now, a cult? Not sure, actually. Demons sometimes raise cults, other times they are alone. In a backwater town like this, everyone could be a cultist... Maybe the demon's been around a while and it's just considered a tradition in the town, similar things have happened."
"Now, about the taking down part... I'm sorry, but last time Aesir Initiative was on the case, then I got a whole cult I wanted alive in a church set on fire by a bomber. So, yeah. I'm kinda pissed about that, I'm afraid. However, you guys are good..." James nodded.
"Touching. Now, one last thing."
"Hm?"
"Who exactly are you?"
"A good ally, believe me... I'm an independent detective. Hey, when this is done, you want have lunch in New York or something? You'll probably get an apartment there, the Aesir Initiative gives agents they like good apartments. I know a great restaurant."
James smiled with a genuine air of a friend asking a friend to lunch. In this business, it goes from trying to smash you into the trees to asking you to lunch.
Eric raised an eyebrow.
"If you want, we can discuss business. I know a few things."
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur walked over to the wreck of the vehicle. It was mostly okay, just flipped over and the doors were totally smashed. He opened the door, which fell off, and looked in.
She blinded me with science! She hit me with technolo-geee!
Bakstur remembered that trademark synths and voice. That was Thomas Dolby, one of his favorite artists. If he remembered correctly, it was his hit single She Blinded Me With Science. He was popular in the 80's, part of New Wave. Bakstur got into him a year ago, that's the only music they had in the sanitarium, so that's probably why he can recognize literally any song in any of his albums. Apart from maybe A Map Of The Floating City, he hadn't listened to it enough.
He jumped up and pulled the car down lightly, trying to get it to fall down to look through it more easily. He fell into the car, causing a few scratches and pains.
Bakstur grunted, and struggled into a betterow that hurtposition.
I don't believe it! She's tidied up, and I can't find anything!
He was going to be here a tiny while, so he looked around. James, for at least one thing, kept his car tidy. The only things here was glass and a single empty coke bottle.
Well, at least he had good tunes.
you know, i like kathryn better then you, youre kinda a pussy now but im stuck with you for now you should get together with kathryn i can do the talking you do the fucking or maybe just pose right yeah it could work id really like to get with kathryn
Bakstur sighed. He was going to be here a while longer then he thought.
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose sighed and scratched her nose, trying to tune out the smell. It went away slightly. Not by much.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn stood in the forest she had walked into, and thought things over.
She hadn't been the best in the Miami PD. A few suspects shot too early, a few more shot too late... No-one wanted her on the proper cases, she was stuck with domestic abuse cases by her superiors, not an official thing but it was there. Assigned to traffic only in spirit, really. Her boyfriend was getting more and more distant every day, and she felt like everything was going to end. Her job, her romance, maybe her life if both happened badly. At some point, she was considering suicide rather casually. She was always around the worst of humanity with the domestic abuse, and it brought her down. Eventually, she was beginning to think she wasn't seeing the worst, but what humanity truly was.
After the tenth mewling, beaten wife, the husband trying to explain and the kids crying in the corner, you tune out. You start seeing patterns. The wife's bruises, the husband's lips, and the kid's tears all synch up, like music after a while. She could swear she could time the wife's chokes with the husband's attempts at explaining things.
Eventually, she stumbled upon something really fucking bad that shook her like a bullet to the chest.
Outskirts of town in the suburbs, screaming followed by gunshot. Neighbors say the married couple had been on edge a while. Kathryn assigned almost as soon as the call ended. She drove up to the picture-perfect house, drew her gun and knocked on the door. No answer for ten minutes. She noticed it was open a crack. She pushed it open.
Inside, dead husband immediately on the floor, shotgun in hand. His face... had been chewed off.
This wasn't a fucking domestic abuse. Another one of those bath salt fuckers must have broken in. She gulped, then she checked all the rooms. Annoyingly picture perfect, she was unable to stop comparing it to her nice little No sign of the wife or the kid, until she went into the kid's room.
The wife was there. The wife was there alright.
The wife was on the wall, stuck by an organic harpoon. The kid was crying in the corner as a huge insect lumbered toward him. The kid was in his PJs. The insect looked like an ant and a fly mixed together and 9ft tall.
Kathryn immediately aimed at the thing and shot it. Confirmed kill, but it crumbled into tiny insects who scuttled off. She ignored it, and walked over to the kid.
"You okay?" She said, putting a hand on him.
"Mommy... Mommy said the monster in my closet... wasn't really real... But... then it ate mommy."
From that point, Kathryn woke up. She realized that her life wasn't going to be the same ever again.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 07, 2012, 06:45:04 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 07, 2012, 06:48:46 pm
Cause she sort of...vanished from the face of the game this turn. I don't mind if you literally took my action as not doing anything, but I at least need some lead-in to where I am.))
Post by: Fniff on August 07, 2012, 06:52:35 pm
I am REALLY sorry!
Post by: wolfchild on August 07, 2012, 07:31:57 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 07, 2012, 07:57:34 pm
Just crazy enough to accept that what she was seeing was real-and crazy enough to shoot it. It was a good shot. She couldn't remember much else-she later found out Aesir had 'relocated' the Kid, whatever that meant-but it had given an odd sort of survival instinct, to go with the deconstruction of her reality. A good trade, maybe?
In a world of grey morality and endless red tape, Aesir had showed her the Dark Black-utter, complete evil-and given her free reign to fight it as she wished. Liberation.
She laughed a bit, leaning up against the van. Wow.
Kathryn wondered where her boyfriend was now, who he was with. Jackson...they had been on the way out when she was 'transferred' so it wasn't a terrible loss. Still. She missed him. His stupid jokes. He could make pretty good waffles. Nice in bed. He couldn't play guitar worth a damn, but he certainly tried for her, didn't he. He always tried, and for a bit...she could just imagine, maybe...she could have married him. Could of had kids. Could have been happy.
Yeah, right. Then came the Bug-she didn't tell anyone about that, not way in Hell. And after that, the Man who could shoot Fire from his hands. He actually left a corpse when she killed him. And how to explain, gunning down an 'unarmed' man?
Funny. What might have been. Pointless regrets.
As far as Jackson knew, Kathryn had been assigned to some obscure section of the FBI as a criminal profiler. All contact with a past life, had to be cut-for normal people like her. Too many things could smell out her thoughts and feelings (or they just used the internet), and find, and hurt those she had loved.
Kathryn was ready to move on. She was back in the game. Batten down the hatches. It's game time.
Action: Head back and help the interrogation. Good Cop?
Post by: Caellath on August 07, 2012, 08:55:28 pm
"Yeah, I guess we can talk. No problem, I'll just go and fetch our last member."
As he moved towards Kathryn, he noticed her expression quickly changed in a matter of seconds, from somewhat shocked to determined. Well, that's a tough one, at least.
Allowing himself a smile, he waited until she was halfway towards the wreck to join the ex-cop's side as they moved back to the place James was. He knew she didn't need kind words, but at least showing he was there for her could be important; God knew how much she had lost when she had her moment of revelation, while he was a vagabond investigator by choice. It was just curiosity that got him into that life, he tried to convince himself. Deep inside, though, he suspected he would die sooner or later in that business and that was only his way of trying to do something good for the world instead of living just for living.
"Nice to see you better, Kat."
Upon reaching James, he stared back at the man/creature's face.
"I do think we could have a better conversation far from the road, though."
Get things fixed so we can have a little chat with James. Stay wary anyway.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 08, 2012, 11:04:23 am
"Nice to see you better, Kat."
Kathryn nodded, offering a smile herself. Her confidence and resolve were fortified a bit. At least they could all be crazy and messed up together.
"Thanks, Eric."
She was actually fairly comforted that there was another Human she could talk to, at times-the Werewolf wasn't big on Human niceties, and Bak was usually saying something creepy and disturbing.
Up till now, she had been treating Eric with a sort of professional detachment. From what she knew, he was something like a private investigator, but he actually dealt with these...things...as a way of life.
While the Black had all but leaped out of the gutter and grabbed her by the neck, Eric had been born and ready to fight it on it's own terms. While she didn't believe that made him any less horrified by the things he saw-she wondered if he carried the same scars she did-Kathryn knew he could handle it better than she did, no doubt.
Maybe something she would ask him about, later. If they survived.
Post by: Fniff on August 08, 2012, 12:19:39 pm
As she saw the latest message, she winced.
Spoiler: From boomchickaboom. Subject: Questions (click to show/hide)
Boomchickaboom was also known as Michael Leary, Ambrose's boyfriend. A medical student, a kind British guy who rarely drank, wasn't an asshole and was quite smart and funny. Ambrose had to cut all ties off with him due to Aesir, but... She couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. She tried to replace him with one-shot dates, but nothing matched. Maybe, she thought, it would be possible to meet up again... Maybe if she asked?
...
She really missed him.
____________________________________________________________
"Heh, sure... I'll get your cars fixed, if you want." James looked on at the wreckage.
"How, exactly?" Eric asked, raising an eyebrow. James was a mystery, but he didn't seem like a complete hostile. Maybe the tactics were to scare them away? James was confusing.
James smiled in a "Watch This" way, and walked over to the cars. He closed his eyes and held his arms out, and began to whisper something. Red runes appeared around him, and something began to whisper.
Chattur'gha, Antorbok, Magormor
The cars floated in the air, suddenly covered in a red energy, flipped themselves properly and were set down, perfect condition. A very confused looking Bakster also tumbled out, and looked around.
"What the hell was that!?"
"I agree, what did you just do there?"
"It's a gift." James smiled at Eric.
Eric sighed.
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur was having a dream. Usually his dreams were tainted by sanity being destroyed, gods being obliterated and sentient life reduced to screaming, cannibalistic savages. Not this one. He was dreaming of Ambrose.
Werewolves always made him... curious, to say the least. Bakstur was an aspiring writer, and for some reason his mind always drifted to werewolves when writing. That beauty and the horror of being made not yourself, the curse and yet the power that comes with it... It would make a brilliant story. He always found werewolves much better protagonists then vampires if he was asked to write about urban fantasy. Bakstur just liked werewolves, though, it wasn't a fetish or anything. It was just interesting for him. He always wanted to talk to Ambrose, have a good long talk about it, but he never got a chance. They lived states away, they wouldn't be able to talk except on missions, which is no place for it.
Ambrose and Bakstur were sitting across from each other in a forest. Ambrose was naked, as was Bakstur. It wasn't an erotic feeling, it just felt natural as if that was how it was meant. Bakstur looked at Ambrose, and she looked back at him. Then she began to change. Subtly, at first. A patch of fur here, a claw there. In 10 seconds, she was a humanoid-ish wolf staring at him.
Bakstur didn't change. He felt vaguely awkward.
"Why don't you change?" She tilted her head as she asked this.
Bakstur awkwardly smiled and chuckled. "Uh... Uhm... Well, I'm..." He scratched his head and sighed, feeling socially awkward and idiotic for no real reason.
Then he woke up.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn raised an eyebrow at James.
"Could you be less vague?"
"Yeah, or you're probably not going to be breeding any time soon." Eric nodded, playing along with the routine. Things were going okay. James knew what he was doing. Question is, would James buy it?
"It was a gift from dark gods called the Ancients who would like to eat the universe ASAP since they failed at eating another universe the last time. What else do you need to know?" James chuckled. "Seriously, it's just a magical art, the Aesir Initiative knows about it. It's not evil."
Kathryn's eyebrow was in danger of falling off with the raising of it she was going to need to do if this guy was the norm for wizards.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 08, 2012, 12:43:53 pm
"...whatever, Gandalf. We need to track down this thing that's been munching on tourists. I'm guessing you want to, as well?
I know, we might have different goals here, but at least that one is the same. Instead of getting in each others way, let's take this thing down-why don't we work together? My name's Kathryn Lynch." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder and staring him down-a combination of friendly cop pressure and a bit of feminine charm.
Action: Try to convince James we should work together.
Post by: Caellath on August 08, 2012, 12:52:53 pm
"Let's find somewhere to eat and talk, then we may try to figure out things together. Pick a nice place, though, your jewels still aren't out of danger. You drive in front of us, we'll follow."
Since Kathryn was making introductions, he tapped James' remaining shoulder.
"And I'm Eric Lowe. Can't say I'm too pleased to meet you, but that goes both ways, eh?" he said, smirking. He knew that although James was a freak, they were probably similar in some points.
Then he moved to the repaired SUV, calling the rest of the team.
"Ok, I guess is time to go. Bak, enough dreaming and mumbling creepy things about people from our team, come here."
"Ambrose, we're leaving now."
Convince James to work together with the team and have a strategy meeting with the group and him in a restaurant.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 08, 2012, 05:04:51 pm
Post by: wolfchild on August 08, 2012, 07:05:57 pm
Bakstur was off in his own head, but the two cops seemed to have the guy, now, not, the purp? talking"Hey you two, I am at a complete loss here, has anything this guy said been useful yet, I see he fixed our car though," This to the guy "thanks"
Post by: Caellath on August 08, 2012, 07:10:21 pm
"Hey you two, I am at a complete loss here, has anything this guy said been useful yet, I see he fixed our car though,""Yeah, he has been useful. He seems like a common guy these days, trying to strangle you first then inviting you to hang out with him later."
Post by: wolfchild on August 08, 2012, 07:31:08 pm
"Yeah, he has been useful. He seems like a common guy these days, trying to strangle you first then inviting you to hang out with him later."
"Better than the other way arround"
Post by: Caellath on August 08, 2012, 08:27:00 pm
"Better than the other way arround""You got a good point there. He just can't get back to the first step, though."
Post by: Fniff on August 09, 2012, 04:41:43 pm
After they all got into the SUV, they got from the forests to the town of New Hempenshire itself.
The town was a dark little berg in the middle of nowhere, the forests harboring dark spirits and secrets, the sun staring down at the gray plains as the occupants shuffled from one place to the next pointlessly. He wondered how a town like this would even exist without God deciding it wasn't worth the effort and wiping it off the map. He stopped next to a classic American diner on the way, and stepped out of the car. The rest followed and apart from Bakstur entered the diner. They sat at a booth and Eric started the conversation as Ambrose browsed on her Android.
"So, James. Let's talk business."
"What's up?"
"James, I think you should be part of our team in tracking down this thing."
"... I work alone, I'm afraid. I don't play well with teammates, I'm sorry."
"I'm sure you will be fine, James."
"Seriously, I'm no good. I'll give you information, but I'm a loner type."
"Your jewels are still in the danger zone, James."
"You have a lot more to lose if you take my balls off, my friend. I'm doing you a favor here, I'll fuck up the team dynamic. I will give you information, though."
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn really liked the town of New Hempenshire. It was a nice little town, surrounded by lovely pine wood forests and it seemed like the kind of town you could grow up in and remember it fondly. The sun was even shining down and it was a nice day. As they entered a diner, they sat down and Eric and James talked. She interjected.
"James, you're a smart guy. We're just investigating this and you seem to have a grip on things. This could make a career if you do it just right, and the Aesir Initiative is powerful. Even if you just have your support, you're set. What do you say, James?"
James smiled, and nodded. "Hm... This could be the start of a beautiful a partnership, my friends."
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur began to think about nothing.
Simply just dont try that buddhist shit on me man i dont like it when you do that nothing. Not even black, or white.
His thoughts were on a screen and he was watching.
For twenty minutes, he was at peace.
Post by: Caellath on August 09, 2012, 04:49:18 pm
"Well, then you can start to talk about what you know. We just got there and we don't have a lot to analyze aside from that body, and the fact it was tore by something what looked like claws didn't narrow it down too much. Information would be appreciated."
Ask James some questions.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 09, 2012, 05:37:09 pm
Post by: wolfchild on August 09, 2012, 06:35:52 pm
"I'm gonna get some food guys, you want anything?"
Ambrose orders a medium rare steak (not liking to eat raw or rare meat in front of strangers) and some thick cut chips
Post by: Dwarmin on August 09, 2012, 07:20:46 pm
"Hmm. Burger and curly fries, Long Island Iced tea." Kathryn had to be careful drinking on the job, dulling herself just enough to calm her nerves-just enough to keep her sharp, and not enough to start hitting on Eric. Though-ha ha-it wouldn't take much for her to start. She was in control though.
Right?
....
She saw Erics look, and it told her enough. She backed off a bit.
Her role would be 'Good Cop'-we can use that, that's interesting, and you did that all by yourself? All bullshit, but it made the mark feel better about talking to your partner. If they were talking to a woman, she'd been the straight cop and Eric would be the helper.
Right now, she'd let Eric do the meat of the questioning, and she would smooth out the conversation between the men. This wasn't exactly an interrogation, but it would certainly help.
Naturally, she'd be reading James like an open book while he wasn't concentrating on her.
Action: Aid the Questioning, but don't step on Erics toes. Try to get a read on James-tells, habits, quirks.
Order a Cheese Burger (No onions, No Pickles) with a side of curly fries, and a Long Island Iced Tea.
Post by: Spinal_Taper on August 09, 2012, 07:35:02 pm
((Please roll for this.))
Order a Cheese Burger (No onions, No Pickles) with a side of curly fries, and a Long Island Iced Tea.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 09, 2012, 07:44:10 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 12, 2012, 01:14:10 am
Post by: Fniff on August 12, 2012, 06:56:04 am
Post by: Fniff on August 12, 2012, 03:03:44 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
After Ambrose got some food, Eric decided to ask James some more questions.
"Do you know what the runes mean?"
"I know what type they are, but not the exact meanings. They seem to be pretty regular summoning runes, nothing demonic or in my specific area of expertise. It could be a regular necromantic 'Life-Swap' thing or it could be a zombie uprising."
"The intestines were eaten or taken out specifically?"
"Eaten, the clawmarks are too random to be specific removal."
"You suggested demons, now you're saying it's necromancers. What's with the discrepancies?"
"Can be both, necromancers can be best buddies with demons depending on the rituals involved."
Eric nodded, then thought.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn had seen a lot of liars, good ones, but this guy was a blank. He didn't have any habits or quirks, he was as still as a statue apart from his mouth and the hand to drink his coffee. If body language was learned, he didn't speak it.
He was either paranormal or a damn good faker.
"If this was a necromancer, then what do you think is the motive for killing all these campers?"
"My original guess was the usual gathering of life force to spend in a resurrection, but then I thought about it and it didn't make much sense because of the wounds. A gunshot is the best option, you need to make sure the life force doesn't dissipate immediately, the trauma of being ripped apart means that life force will not hang around."
"Then what is this thing?"
"I'm thinking some necromancer who has a werewolf lackey. Necromancers are usually brainy, so they get friends. Feed the werewolf with the kills, carve up the rest of the skin with runes. However, what's the purpose? I'm going out on a limb and guessing that the necromancer is absorbing the life force from the corpse. We're talking a lich-wannabe here."
Kathryn felt a fall in her stomach. Liches were bad news, spirits of death that were usually bond to a person, persons or a location. Looks like some necromancer wanted in on that act.
"Any suspects?"
"One definite guy. Harold Harker, his ancestor who came here in 1830 looks exactly like him. Harker's meant to be 54 at this age and he doesn't look a day over twenty. Definite necromancer, but we got a problem."
"Problem?"
"He's the chief of police."
"Shit."
Post by: Caerwyn on August 12, 2012, 03:39:28 pm
Post by: wolfchild on August 12, 2012, 08:34:45 pm
Post by: Caellath on August 12, 2012, 09:13:48 pm
And once again, James acted less defensive when talking to Kat. Better keep an eye on him, lest he gets some bad ideas.
"I think we could get moving after we finish this then. Asking questions to the common populace will probably get us inside their radar, so shadowing seems a better idea, but only after a small interview, of course. We can pressure him, and he may panic, get sloppy. I know necromancers usually have centuries of experience in dealing with those who hunt them, but sometimes even professionals make mistakes. It is just a matter of how you deal with them."
"And our 'level of authority' will make sure we have a shot at a meeting." he completed while grinning, obviously referring to their badges.
After finishing things, go get an interview with Harker.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 12, 2012, 09:23:35 pm
They always liked positions of power, didn't they...made it hard to get to them, since they were inevitably guarded by people who were certainly not monsters, just doing their jobs.
"I'm coming with you, Eric. I'll keep an eye on him while you talk."
Action: Accompany Eric to the meeting
Post by: Fniff on August 16, 2012, 04:11:12 pm
The team made their way through the town on the SUV, stopping in front of the police station. It wasn't a very large police station, it was just the right size for a town that couldn't have had a larger populace then 10,000. They parked in the parking lot beside it, surprisingly empty. Eric stepped out of the car before the rest followed. They made their way into the police station. Inside, it was well-lit and rather pleasant, but it was obviously not very well used, with a lack of police officers. It seemed like this police station was less of a needed creation, and more of a precautionary measure.
A receptionist looked up from her magazine at the front desk, and looked at the assembled group.
"Hello, there!" She said in a heavy Maine accent. "What do you fellas need?"
Eric flashed his FBI badge. "We're with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, we're investigating the serial killings. We need to talk to the Chief of Police."
"Oh, Harold? I'll call em!"
Bakstur coughed. "Could I please use your firing range?"
"Oh, well, sorry sugar, that's for police officers of this county only. Regulations, you know."
"Miss Garlintrope, I do believe we can work something out. I need practice, you see, and well... You know, perhaps we should get a coffee later, when I'm off-duty. What do you say?"
Eric noticed a flash in Bakstur's eyes. A flash of red.
"... Oh my, well, we could!" She laughed nervously, but happiness came through it as well. "Well, uh... You can use the firing range any time you like!"
Bakstur nodded, and walked off.
"... Your friend is a handsome little devil. What's his name?"
"Bakstur. Yes, you could call him a devil... A handsome one too. The meeting?"
Eric wondered how the receptionist ignored the fact that Bakstur could tell what her name was, but humans had a spectacular ability to ignore things, an ability that has saved the Aesir Initiative, as well as the SCP Foundation, time and time again, as the "Manual For Containment Breaches and Mind Wiping, produced for Aesir Initiative/SCP Foundation/Order of Assassins Training" said. Humans dislike change, especially sudden change of laws taught to them from childhood, and they dislike their fears coming true. The idea that ancient conspiracies ruled the world, supernatural creatures feed on humans like cattle and that you could die at any time due to an assassin with a hidden blade stabbing you through the chest was not a very nice thing to hear about. Thus, people avoided the thought altogether, avoiding any problems with reacting badly to mind wiping technology. Eric always wondered who the Order of Assassins were. But he shook his head and thought about the matter at hand.
"Well, uh, I'll just get him." The receptonist stood up and headed down the hall.
____________________________________________________________
Bakstur grabbed a shotgun from a rack of weapons, pressed a button and watched as a few targets popped up. He aimed down the sights and fired. Guns, unlike humans, were pretty simple. There was a mechanism that caused a chemical reaction that would fire a lead projectile through the air and hit at a very fast speed. The methods varied, but the simple basics never changed. You couldn't say the same about men or women.
Bakstur, after a few tries, felt like he was getting somewhere but he didn't feel like he learnt much.
He sighed and put the gun back. Maybe he'd be better with a handgun.
At the end of his practice run, he could take down the targets (Even the moving ones) in fifteen seconds flat. He really felt a pulse with the handgun. It didn't have the recoil of the shotgun and he felt he could control it. Bakstur liked handguns.
He put the handgun back. Bakstur felt ready.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn, James and Eric sat across from the rather old looking, pudgy cop across from them. The vitality of youth had obviously faded, but a certain energy still remained within his body. He looked like he was too old to die. This was Harold Harker.
"So... What do you fellas need?" He said, looking them up and down suspiciously.
"So, Mister Harker, there has been a lot of killings recently."
"Yes, I'd rather not have you... FBI boys interfering. This is a very delicate case, we're trying our best not to scare the killer, and the arrival of the FBI will probably cause the killer to run."
"Riiiight, so why would that be? We haven't got a clue who he is, or what his motives are. He's pretty safe, don't you think?"
"How do you know that? It is entirely possibly that the killer may want to leave."
"If he was that spooked, he would have been gone already."
Harold had a deer in the headlights look. "Well, uh... See, you know..."
"What's with the spluttering? Think you're so smart driving the FBI boys away by saying the killer will go? Now why do you want us gone? You know, Harker, that's real suspicious. Seems like you're hiding something. You don't pull this shit on the FBI, my friend, your little bitches in this shithole might be easier but we are not push-overs. What are you hiding?"[/color]
Jesus, James went in for the kill at the wrong time!
A flash of utter terror was replaced with anger. "... What are you talking about?" Harold stood up. "I don't take that kind of behavior towards me! What the hell are you implying!?"
Eric stood up.
"I'm sorry for his behavior, but can we continue?"
Harold stared, and fumed, but sat down again.
Eric shot a dirty look at James, who replied with a shrug.
If Kateryn got involved, this was going to be a case of Good Cop, Bad Cop and Crazy Cop.
"Now, Mr Harker. Many of the killings seem... blatantly impossible. Gunshots to the head, claws to the stomach. What do you think of this?"
"Obviously, the killer had dogs at his disposal. The dogs ripped into the stomach of the victim, gunshot to the head."
"And the runes?"
"..." His pupils dillated, and he gulped. "Um... Look, it's obviously a cult!"
Kathryn nodded at James. This was the time for the kill.
"Right, a cult. Despite no evidence to that. What's the motive? What kinda cult is this? I don't think the latest Manson Family is going to slide by without a blink, cults aren't this subtle."
Harker seemed to think, and nodded. "You're right, I was a bit rash there. I'm sorry, I'm nearing retirement, I'm kinda edgy. All these killings have been getting to me, it's all dead-ends and... they really are brutal, I've never seen anything like them. I'm nervous, to be perfectly honest."
Goddammit.
Post by: Caellath on August 16, 2012, 07:07:31 pm
He had already slipped. Harker would fall sooner or later.
"Well, I'm still a bit curious about your former idea about cults with men who send dogs to rip people's guts and shoot them in the head. Do you happen to face many cases of that kind around here, Mr. Harold Harker?"
It was only a matter of time; Eric had already made dead men talk. Literally.
Keep questioning.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 16, 2012, 07:17:29 pm
Action: Stay ready in case he tries anything. Try to tell if Harker is lying to us on purpose.
Post by: wolfchild on August 16, 2012, 07:19:23 pm
Post by: Caellath on August 16, 2012, 07:23:08 pm
Smell the police chief, see if he matches with anything smelled at the crime sight((This will be Fun due to to vagueness. :P))
Post by: Caerwyn on August 16, 2012, 07:39:50 pm
Also, yay, pistols! Does that section include mini-crossbows? Like, the ones in the original Deus Ex.
Post by: Fniff on August 16, 2012, 07:43:45 pm
Post by: wolfchild on August 17, 2012, 01:46:42 am
SPecifically does his scent match something from the scene of the crime that was about the same age of scent as the blood droplets etc. (in most things I have read about it werewolves and anthropoid wolves can get a general age of the scent)Smell the police chief, see if he matches with anything smelled at the crime sight((This will be Fun due to to vagueness. :P))
Post by: Caerwyn on August 17, 2012, 10:44:09 am
Post by: Caellath on August 17, 2012, 11:41:40 am
Post by: Caerwyn on August 17, 2012, 12:18:50 pm
Poisoned darts, dude
Poisoned darts!
Post by: Fniff on August 17, 2012, 01:05:00 pm
* Lack of recoil, if you are trained with handguns you're going to be expecting the recoil.
* Even with the automatic reloading thing, it's probably going to take a tiny delay of loading it properly and fully, different from a handgun or a revolver.
Still, you can get crossbows and bows, so don't fret. Update should be tonight.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 17, 2012, 05:12:54 pm
Guess I'll have to get used to a stealth pistol with homing rabid weasels..
Siiiiiigh.
Post by: Dwarmin on August 23, 2012, 03:19:27 am
Post by: Fniff on August 27, 2012, 03:02:50 pm
Spoiler: An Apology (click to show/hide)
Eric stood up, walked over to the coffee machine (It was beige colored and looked older then the Pyramids) and poured himself a cup. He sipped it, then walked back over to the chair, where he sat down.
"Mister Harker... Let's continue."
"Let's, shall we?" Harker put a lot more venom in three words then most people manage in a conversation. Eric guessed he was still bitter.
"Have you put out a state alert? As far as I know, you haven't."
"I did, I'm afraid. It's been on for a solid month, since the second killing." Harker eyed Eric suspiciously. A voice in the back of Eric's head wondered if he was catching on.
"That's good, we get a lot of towns who don't even bother with it. Not wanting strangers, I guess. Now, how much evidence do you have?"
"There's some in the... It's not much, you probably can't conduct an investigation with it."
"We'd like to see it."
"Why?"
"I think it's in our job description that we review evidence."
Eric swore he heard a muttered "Shit" from Harker. He hit his mark.
____________________________________________________________
Kathryn kept a close eye on Harker. She analyzed him, seeing if he had any of the tell-tale signs of lying. Big alarm bells when he said that the state alarm had been on for a month. He was definitely lying, and... Did he just shoot a glance at her before returning to Eric's gaze?
Fucking cop supernaturals, they know your tricks!
"Mister Harker, if you would be so kind, may we have access to the evidence room?"
"... No, you may not."
"Mister Harker, you're breaching protocol here. We're your superiors in this situation, and you must allow us access."
"I know you're not FBI." Harker grinned. "You're... not even close, are you?"
Harker had blown himself wide open. Whether or not to go in for the kill or to keep grilling him was a tricky one. He could know more, but this whole investigation could be wrapped up in seconds. Kathryn knew how fucked up supernatural conspiracies could be, but sometimes it was as simple at that, no complications.
It was a tough one.
____________________________________________________________
Ambrose absent-mindly sniffed again for that smell that had left her nostrils at last. She coughed, smelling absolutely nothing. The cough evolved into a fit, which she eventually managed to pull through to. She DID manage to relieve some of the tension in the room but she felt like her throat was scratched up. Like she smelled something real bad.
Spoiler: Health and Inventory (click to show/hide)
Bakstur stalked silently through the oh boy we're stealing shit this is going to be fun police station, looking for things that no-one would miss that he could... borrow.
An unlocked door lead into what appeared to be a basement. He walked down the stairs and took a look around. It was very dark, almost hard to tell where his hands were, but his vision adjusted.
... Ah.
For one thing, this seemed like less of a basement and more of a natural cave. For another, there was an awful amount of runes and blood. Just for fun, there was an inordinate amount of medieval style torture devices around. And he was pretty sure that the roof was open to a black sky despite it being underground. He could feel gusts of air from the ceiling as well.
He had a feeling he stumbled onto something huge.
Post by: Caellath on August 27, 2012, 03:14:41 pm
It was time to try to go for the kill.
Go for the kill.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 27, 2012, 05:11:22 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 27, 2012, 09:54:21 pm
The trick was to do it fast. People who could cast Spells past the beginners stuff-awkward and slow ritual magic- could really mess you up if they got going, with enough room and time to do their work-they could turn you inside out, boil your blood, stop your heart, strike you blind, turn you into a Cat (not an experience Kathryn wanted to repeat), whatever. The older and more experienced they were, the faster they could do it.
So you had to take them down quick. She would have to wait for Eric to move though.
Action: Prepare for violence, but keep my cool until danger presents itself.
Post by: wolfchild on August 28, 2012, 04:52:46 am
Then thoughts entered her mind, not so much words as ideas and feelings. Dangerous, threat, outsider, mad, sick, vicious, cruel. Her wolf was responding strongly to the thought, who preys on other humans for no better reason than that it feels good or to grow in power.
For once Ambrose and her other side agreed that Harker needed to be taken down, but unlike the wolf, AMbrose thought that maybe we should try to take him alive in case he has accomplices, but then she noticed hew companions prepairing for a fight, and against a magic user, she was not going to trust her 1 week of gun training when it could be fitted into her scheduled, and joined her will to her beast's
"Mr Harker, I do not know exactly what it is you are doing,(mouth starts changing here) but it is something dark"
Change to wolf shape and lunge for Mr. Harker, Clamp jaws around his throat but di bit rip the jugular unless it seems he is going to cast a spell
Post by: Caellath on August 28, 2012, 07:40:19 am
Post by: Dwarmin on August 28, 2012, 07:43:01 am
Post by: Caellath on August 28, 2012, 07:51:13 am
((Sure Cael, my actiKILLons alrKILLeady chaKILLnged. :P))((I meant wolfchild. :P))
Post by: wolfchild on August 28, 2012, 06:14:58 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 29, 2012, 07:52:56 pm
Ambrose had kept silent up until now. She wasn't a trained police officer or part of a family line who did this sort of thing, she was just a normal biochem student who happened to be a werewolf nowadays with serious relationship problems due to that. She didn't know how to question a potential suspect. She did, however, know when something was horribly wrong here. He was very obviously a suspect and even Eric and Kathryn seemed ready to pull their guns. The wolf was telling her that Harker had to be put down. However, she tempered it. The wolf wasn't innately evil, it was simply a very chaotic and uncontrolled version of herself, at least that's what the Aesir Initiative said about it in one of their manuals. The wolf would want Harker dead. Ambrose wanted him alive.
"Mr Harker, I do not know exactly what it is you are doing, but it is something dark." She said, with surprising clarity. Usually whatever she was talking about usually degenerated in growls at the end. She rapidly transformed into a wolf, leaped across the desk and grabbed Harker's neck in a tight grip.
"Holy shit!"
___________________________________________________________
Eric stood up. He was surprised, but he kept calm.
"Ambrose, get off him."
Ambrose (Or the wolf that was Ambrose) whined, then grudgingly jumped onto the floor, letting go of Harker who was terrified out of his wits.
Deciding that at this point, cutting to the chase was a great idea, he pulled out his handgun.
"Right, mister Harker. It is the time for honesty, it seems. We are not from the FBI, correct. We are from the Aesir Initiative. Whether you know that name or not is of no consequence, since we will most likely wipe your mind if you are not the man we seek. Now, you are going to explain whatever the hell you are hiding, or you are going to wake up in a dark room, and you are going to experience tortures that the guys at Guantanamo Bay would shit themselves hearing about. You may not have heard of us, or any other supernatural creature besides us if you ARE the man we seek, and may think that you are on top. Let me just say one thing: you are very very wrong. Now... explain."
The torture line, Eric knew, was bullshit. They didn't torture people, the Aesir Initiative knew that was ineffective and useless. They had other, better methods.
Harker stared in utter fear at Eric, and then came a rush of "Oh God"s and "I don't know anything"s.
Eric began to wonder if Harker knew anything at all, and if this was a false alarm by James...
James, as if on cue, stood up and then closed his eyes. Green runes, one by one, appeared around him.
Ulyoath, Aretak, Tier, Garii...
A green energy fired towards Harker. He momentarily spasmed, causing the energy to pull back, then he succumbed and relaxed, causing the energy to flow in.
"Now, would you mind telling us exactly what kind of supernatural creature you are?"
"... A necromancer." Harker looked and sounded dazed. What had James done?
"Did you want those people who were killed intentionally dead?"
"Yes."
James smiled at Eric.
"What did you just do there?"
"That, my friend, was me when I want answers." James looked at Harker. "Uh, he may be slightly... brain damaged."
"What?"
"Listen, I'll check. It's a sideeffect, this part of my kind of magic has a habit of ignoring the body and focusing on the mind."
James held up his hand in front of Harker, then slapped him.
Harker pulled away.
James smiled, and nodded. "He's fine."
___________________________________________________________
Searching around in the basement, Bakstur found an amulet that hurthurthurthurthurthurthurthurthurthurtssssssssssstopityouybastastastard made the Angel react in an odd way. The amulet was a red, metallic sphere that felt like a live battery. He put it on.
Again, he felt that same feeling that could only be achieved through meditation, though it felt... fragile, as thought something was actively clawing against it. Nodding, he walked up the stairs and headed for the office. He opened the door.
"Hey, I found somethin--"
When he fully opened the door and saw the scene, he was silent.
"... Wrong room?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Operation Complete!
Aesir Initiative Interrogation Summary: Harker has been certified as a necromancer, and was attempting to cause a Lich Conversion, but oddly not of himself. He was in fact attempting to convert his former wife who had died in 1843, who had been preserved in a large glass jar of necronomically enhanced blood, causing her to have the same appearance as the day she died, preventing any rot. What his sentence is will be decided in one week by the Aesir Initiative Supernatural Laws and Upholding Committee.
The Aesir Initiative has decided that this mission was favorable, but suggests that Operative Merrel get training in both combat and interrogation, as well as being less ready to "Jump the gun" as it were, possibly by getting therapy to help prevent any further incidents if this was related to her supernatural status. Operative Bakstur is commended for exploring the police station fully, and has been designated as the group combat operative due to his proficiency in it. Operatives Lowe and Lynch are also commended for their professional handling of the mission.
James Harkinsaw has been judged as unknown as a potential recruit at the current time of writing, but this may change.
The team has been promoted from "Trainee Operatives" to "Full Operatives", which includes an apartment in New York. It would be suggested that the Operatives move to the address, which is Ryanheart Street 467, at Melbourne Heights, as the Aesir Initiative would like the team to get to know each other personally.
It is optional, but suggested that an operative give his/her/it summary of how they thought the mission went.
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Post by: wolfchild on August 29, 2012, 08:09:06 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 29, 2012, 08:10:55 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 29, 2012, 09:43:47 pm
Quote from: After Action Report
Agent: Operative Kathryn Lynch
Testing. Is this on? ... Good.
I've been asked to record a summary of the mission while my memories are still fresh...
Turns out the exsanguinated bodies were being used as fuel for some sort of Lich Ritual. Not surprising. Necromancers need alot of spare parts...
I wonder why the killing was so 'cinematic', though. Did Harker really not fear any sort of suspicion? How many of the people in this town knew or suspected? I'd be willing to bet a few. But as long as he kept doing his job, and didn't hurt their families-well, they could look the other way. I just hope he didn't take on any pupils.
...
In the end, it seemed he was just trying to bring back his wife to some state of undeath. Was it a twisted kind of love? Or something else? If she was also a Necromancer, he might have been bringing her back for darker reasons. It doesn't bother me much-whoever that woman was, she deserved a proper burial.
Necromancers. They are all ultimately in denial, I believe. Why can't people accept that somethings are lost forever? Why they can't move on?
...
Ambrose showed me her true side. She wolfed out-the equivalent of someone pulling a gun, I guess-but she also backed off when Eric ordered her too. It pretty much took the steam out of whatever Harker was going to do...
...
Bakstur creeps me out, okay? He's got the voodoo eyes. It's that thing inside of him-mostly. I get the feeling he's watching me, sometimes-and something in him is watching me. It's...how can I describe something so horrible? Because it's a bad vibe I'm getting. Sometimes I feel strange. Not bad. Just strange. Like I want to be with him.
I'm going to shoot him if he tries anything. I swear it. You can put that on the record.
...
I like Eric. He's very professional...I don't know how he deals with it. It's alot of pressure, him being leader of a sorts. I'll be sure to ask.
...
All in all, the Mission went fairly well. No one was injured, died or worse. We subdued the target with speed and minimal interruption to the populace. We made a fresh contact.
I feel like we hit a homerun, but I know all he threw was a slow ball. Pitchers getting warmed up. I know it's going to get worse.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 29, 2012, 10:09:01 pm
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Fniff on August 29, 2012, 10:18:27 pm
Also, thank you. I tried my best to make it fun to read and informative. I read Let's Plays and After Action Reports in my spare time, and I love when it includes a story to hook you in to boot. Sometimes you get stuff that would be worth your money if you bought it at a bookshop.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 29, 2012, 10:51:08 pm
Post by: Caellath on August 30, 2012, 12:18:48 am
Spoiler: Action Report (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caellath on August 30, 2012, 07:29:20 pm
Post by: Dwarmin on August 30, 2012, 07:51:57 pm
She would also request a somewhat drastic measure due to her recent experiences-going into the Aesir Battle Meditation program. Which consisted of 100-year old Monks bombarding you with harmless (but exposing) psychic attacks, digging out your secrets, testing your level of resistance and shoring up your weaknesses. All in pursuit of keeping your mind strong against those who wanted to break in.
Actions Between Mission:
1. Checking the Aesirwiki, looking for patterns related to our last case.
2. Undergoing Battle Stress Programs to harden my mind against hostile intrusion
3. Exercise and firearms training routine to keep fit and battle ready
4. Moving into our new apartment and establishing defensive measures, mundane and magical
@Caellath: I think our GM will give us funds for that...I'm posting my action right now, anyway. Also, feel free to open an RP Cael about our team time together, and I'll pitch in.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 30, 2012, 07:53:37 pm
((Double post for bump and question: How will acquiring equipment work, such as Eric wanting to search for an artifact or relic to help him in his missions?))
((Good question, I was wondering it myself. Are there any shops around, and can we see what our budget is?
And, finally, - What level would you say that "Magic" (Or whatever similar) is in this universe? Low-fantasy, a la seers, gypsies, premonitions of the future, slight abilities like telekinesis, etc, etc...Or is it more high-fantasy, a la fireballs, lightning bolts and potions of healing?))
Post by: Caellath on August 30, 2012, 08:01:07 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 31, 2012, 03:53:44 am
Basically, general rule of thumb about magic: the better it is, the more run-off you're going to get. And that runoff can do unpleasant stuff.
There are Aesir Initiative sponsored shops, so that means you get under the counter shit, but you do still have to pay for it. You get supplied with weapons at the start of every mission, but it's the basic minimum. Plus, it's not just weapons you need. I'll write up the turn later.
Post by: Caellath on August 31, 2012, 01:55:28 pm
1- Take the team out to have pizza. Everyone likes pizza.
2- Enhance mental resilience;
3- Train with rifle-type weapons;
4- Move into the apartment;
5- Search for an artifact, as following:
Eric had already heard of artifacts and relics. Objects filled with power, capable of miracles and curses, with enough power to cure or kill. Of course he knew the secrets that were hidden behind most of those. Eldritch magic, that sooner or later ended up rotting your mind to such an extent you'd be damned.
But then again, he wasn't looking for those. No, he had a hot tip about a type of artifact he had heard about; an object, sometimes mundane, which had been regarded as sacred or powerful, and used so many times as a weapon against forces of darkness, piercing through the hearts of forsaken men and beasts from beyond during the time men still wore metal armor that it seemed their beliefs and the very reason of existing of said weapons was accepted by the fabric of reality itself. The weapon "accepted its purpose, and was turned into a relic which excelled in fighting the taint that spread under the veil of the night.
Or at least that was what he heard. Eric was looking through black markets searching for something. A hunting rifle, but not for the weapon itself, mostly for its barrel. He had heard it was used in a musket of the Spanish Conquistadores during their violent conquest of part of South America and somehow it had become stronger. But even before that, its components had been part of a fake "lance of Longinus", which although fake had apparently gathered residual faith in its corporeal body.
The barrel had been re-used several times and now was part of a semi-automatic hunting rifle which was either in the black market as a holy weapon or in a pawn shop somewhere. Of course, Eric knew it was a long shot, but it was way better than getting a cursed axe with soul-devoring properties. He had to check it himself.
Post by: Caerwyn on August 31, 2012, 02:06:42 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 31, 2012, 02:10:16 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on August 31, 2012, 02:14:52 pm
It's the Training Arc right now, right? Enter the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, become super-powerful and face an evil and corrupt Nemesis, and shatter his goals to destroy the world!?
Post by: Fniff on August 31, 2012, 02:17:32 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on August 31, 2012, 03:55:58 pm
Also: Was Bay12 down for all of you guys, or just me...?
Post by: Caellath on August 31, 2012, 04:51:08 pm
Post by: Fniff on August 31, 2012, 05:56:13 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Eric had some luck, it seems, as he managed to track down the place where the rifle was held. He originally thought it'd be in a pawn shop or in a cult's church held as a holy artifact, but the truth was a strange combination of both. He stopped next to the squat, stained building that apparently held the holy gun. He looked around at the wasteland that surrounded the area, filled with trash and abandoned buildings half-lit in the pale moonlight. Apparently, some parts of town were filled with supernatural creatures, which were tracked using a chip implanted in their arms to prevent any problems with them running off or trying to eat people,which had varying effects on the surrounding area. Sometimes it was kinda obvious, other times it was pretty subtle. This area seemed like one of the more wild areas, where humans were only 10% of the populace, with the rest being assorted nasty creatures that fed on the humans. Obviously, thousands of mysterious deaths tend to make all but the most stubborn leave the area, meaning that this whole area of town was left to rot while the supernatural creatures turned on each other as they are inclined to do if there aren't any humans.
He opened the metal door to the inside, and looked around. The inside was filled with various weapons, artifacts and trinkets: he noted an awful lot of flags for various rebel/terrorist movements, and a lot of gasmasks. With all the supplies he saw, it would be enough for a decisive victory for a guerrilla force against a small island nation. The room was not very well lit, and large, which didn't go well together. At the end of the room a man was leaning against the wall next to a torch lit with blue fire.
The man was in a hooded trenchcoat, and wearing a purple scarf as a mask, leaving only his eyes which glowed an odd orange in the darkness. He was obviously supernatural, but what kind was up in the air. He seemed to be currently talking with a young man in a white hoodie and jeans, which Eric could only see the back of. The conversation seemed jovial enough.
The young man suddenly turned around, and Eric realized that he knew that young man. His name was Jordan Svenson, one of the most infamous Aesir Initiative assassin, and probably one of the best. He only read one account of Svenson's misadventures, but apparently he once flayed, hung and quartered a soldier under the command of a despot, then threw his corpse over the wall of the palace, repeatedly doing this to the soldiers inside until they finally surrendered. Apparently they thought he was the devil up until then.
Jordan grinned at Eric, and Eric felt a chill in his spine. That was not a smile. That was an attempt at smiling that ticked all the checkboxes but missed the mark completely. Jordan nodded at the hooded man and left the room, brushing past Eric without saying anything. He never could have believed that a human could fall straight into the uncanny valley without being supernatural at all, but now Eric knew.
The man nodded at the rather terrified hunter of the supernatural (And not fucking Jordan Svenson, thank Christ) and chuckled. "Well, hello, stranger..." He said, in a thick cockney accent. "I suppose you could call me a merchant, if you wish. Now, what would you like to buy?"
"I was looking for an artifact."
A glint of a thought passed through the Merchant's eyes. He nodded. "Would you perhaps like my latest purchase? The Angel's Fire, can of octane oil, multiversal horror blessed it and it will purge any heretic you care to mention! Hehe..."
"... The Angel... I'm looking for something else, but about that. The Angel is a demon?"
"Oh, far from it. It's a thing that... Nevermind, what were you looking for?"
Eric raised an eyebrow, but he supposed he had better things to do, and it seemed like the Merchant was brushing it off as unimportant rather then actually important. "I was wondering if you would have a semi-automatic rifle that has parts that are magical in nature."
"Oh, the Rifle of Our Lord? Perfect choice, used by a little old hunter who only used it to hunt werewolves on Sunday!" The Merchant walked to a safe, keyed in a combination on the electronic keypad and stepped back as it opened automatically, then took out a hunting rifle. He then moved in front of Eric and presented to him. "It's a Marlin Model 25N .22 LR, scope and strap included. Faith has been put into this weapon's parts, my friend. Look, it's even got an engraving."
The Merchant flipped the rifle over and showed the stock to Eric. It had a rather beautiful engraving of a woman with long flowing hair in a dress. "Used to belong to a vampire named Gerald Sperns, nice fellow, wanted to get rid of it cos this lady here just wanted him to settle down. She's a witch, one of those new ones, reformed you see. Now, the effect is that the bullet is corrosive to 'Unholy' creatures such as vampires, demons, things like that. It'll melt at temperatures that equal the sun, and may beam with light, meaning their arm is going to go at least. However, here's the problem: it's a bit old, and the magical parts that work are unreliable, shall we say. You gotta soak the magical parts in holy water for at least a week if you use it often, so if you happen to get attacked by monsters on your day off it's not going to be handy. Price is $150 quid."
Eric put on a confused expression. "What's the catch?"
"... Alright, you got me. It need a real repair of the non magical parts too, which may cost you a bit. Honestly, top to bottom, this is a catch but it's going to require maintaining. Like a woman." The Merchant chuckled at his own joke, as he seemed to do a lot. Eric politely joined in, which seemed to throw the trader off a bit, as an awkward silence ensued.
"... Right, uh." He put the rifle against his soldier, aiming it to the ceiling. "What do you say?"
___________________________________________________________
Spoiler: List of Shops & Training (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Money & Inventory (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Ambrose Merral (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Bakstur (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Kathryn Lynch (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on August 31, 2012, 06:23:45 pm
Guess my order is changed!
Post by: Dwarmin on August 31, 2012, 09:14:33 pm
Action: Kathryn spends the week increasing her Mental Resistance
Post by: Caellath on August 31, 2012, 10:16:54 pm
Bakstur will head to the TRADER'S PAWN SHOT for the first day, and on the second the "SPIRIT CHARMING blah blah" shop. During the third day, he'll head to the CYBERNETIC's shop, the fourth to the UTKIN MILITARY shop, and on the fifth day he will head to the PHARMANCY. For the last two days, he'll practice his Pole-arm skills. Mainly, his spear skills.((The GM pointed out training takes the whole week, you might want to change that.))
Eric wonders why the hell he still feels that chill in his spine. He thought time would make it subside, but apparently James' "hex" did not go away even after they started cooperating. The next time they found him again, James should better compensate him or Eric would do something nice in return. Like maybe shooting one of his balls off.
And Svenson, he had already heard about him. Creepy and unsettling, but Eric supposed he'd end up like that in due time if he kept surviving these missions which involved the supernatural. He supposed that if life had a sanity meter, Agent Jordan's would have already reached zero but he still kept going on regardless while still keeping his mind to himself. Or maybe he was trying to wrestle control his mind with half a dozen other entities, it was hard to pinpoint.
Anyway...
"I'm taking it, anything else interesting? Maybe a special holster for it that may be filled with holy water? And something for shorter ranges, like a lever-action carbine? Or something to ward off mental attacks? I have a lot of unused space inside my longcoat to hide weapons" he said, giving his good old coat a tap, thinking both about how troublesome having a bolt-action rifle be useful at close-quarters combat would be and how he needed protection from cheap tricks like James'.
It was like his brain had been attacked instead of his sanity itself, since he felt fine but the chills were still there, and he knew that if he kept being bombarded by those psychic influences, he could go mad due to a change in his brain's chemistry before his mind was broken. And sincerely, he preferred to match wits against those beings than let them use his flawed organism to their advantage.
...
Try to contact James to undo his mental hex so no time is wasted on it. If it doesn't work or he doesn't do it, then St. Dymphna Psychology College/Sanitarium for Supernaturally Affiliated or Supernatural Creatures it is if the chills do not go away on their own.
In the Apartment:
Eric walked through the apartment the team was sharing now, with a somewhat paternal smile and a face that told them he had a bit of cash to spend and was fully willing to do it. "Who wants to go out? I'd say we can get some pizza, but we can go anywhere a group may go as long as you don't make me fight with pidgeons for their bits. Also, I'd say I do know a place with a great pizza and calzones around these parts."
Post by: Dwarmin on August 31, 2012, 10:54:39 pm
"Pfew...I could use a break, I guess...I have built up a pretty mighty hunger." she mused, setting them on the floor with a heavy *clunk*.
"Give me five to get proper."
...
Five or so minutes later, Kathryn exited the shower room in loose, casual summer clothes, smelling of spring-blue tinted sunglasses and a shade hat-perfume on, lipstick on. Hair done in bouncy brunette bangs, comfy running sneakers on her feet. She looked completely unlike Kathryn the Cop, the way most people knew her. Maybe it was the smile, so rare on duty-she had, for this moment, let down her guard. Mostly-the barely concealed outline of the pistol in her hip holster was in many ways, as indicative a mark as any of the other things.
She spoke to Eric, approaching him.
"Whaddya think? Do I make this look work, or what?" She said, motioning to herself.
Post by: wolfchild on September 01, 2012, 12:37:29 am
I thought it was excelent
Going to the crime scene was interesting, but I felt that the others were more help than I was, which is partially why I attacked the necromancer when I did, this is completely out of my element and i may need more training, and on a more personal note, do I have to keep out of contact with old relations?
AMbrose goes to the Mental Capacities, Resistance and Indoctrination Training
And tries to spend some social time with the group
Post by: Caerwyn on September 01, 2012, 11:49:32 am
Bakstur will head to the TRADER'S PAWN SHOT for the first day, and on the second the "SPIRIT CHARMING blah blah" shop. During the third day, he'll head to the CYBERNETIC's shop, the fourth to the UTKIN MILITARY shop, and on the fifth day he will head to the PHARMANCY. For the last two days, he'll practice his Pole-arm skills. Mainly, his spear skills.((The GM pointed out training takes the whole week, you might want to change that.))Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Aye, I know. I meant training by myself, - Not in the facility/guild/whatever it is. Just stabbing some trees and practicing my holy slashes.
Post by: Caellath on September 01, 2012, 01:27:44 pm
"Whaddya think? Do I make this look work, or what?" She said, motioning to herself.
"Well, I can tell you it worked pretty well." Eric then motioned towards his own travel longcoat, which he never abandoned, and the mix of casual and formal clothing he usually wore - long sleeved shirts and vests, thin ties and jeans - which made him look a bit stylish, if not for the fact all of it was usually disheveled.
"At least getting me feeling like a bum is certain." he completed with a smile. "Let's go, we can talk a bit there. I just wish Bakstur would join, but he doesn't seem exactly like a teamplayer...Well, nevermind, let's eat until we're full then talk when our moods are improved by food."
With that, Eric drove both Kathryn and Ambrose to a nearby pizzeria. A good one, actually, he loved their pepperoni.
Post by: Dwarmin on September 09, 2012, 02:18:17 am
*gets out the RP paddles*
---
Kathryn downed four slices of pizza that day-she was as hungry as a Wolf! No insult intended to the actual Wolf among them.
"Yeah...this is good. Great actually. It's been a long time since any of us could just sit back and relax."
She enjoyed a moment of companionably silence.
"You know, I don't think you've ever told us much about your past, Eric. You seem to be a natural at...all this stuff. At least as best as one can be. How did that happen?" She queried with a small smile, sipping her drink slowly. Her eyes were bright, calculating-needs, and wants. She needed to know how he did it. She wanted to know more about him.
Post by: Caellath on September 09, 2012, 09:49:03 am
"I have always been curious, and when I was a child, I found something in my grandfather's house about some of my ancestors. It was well-hidden in the attic, which was also hidden and had a lock, but I was a very curious child. When I asked my grandfather, he simply dismissed me and managed to keep eluding me from getting into the attic again. Eric chuckled a bit.
"Fast-forward to my teenage days, in which I played detective in part of my free time. I examined some cold cases and things the police was in doubt about, thanks to a very good friend of my father in police. I liked staring at those files, but some things kept not making any sense to me. Of course, I kept digging deeper and deeper until I dug my own 'grave'."
"I discovered the supernatural did not exist only in movies after some extense research and facing a shapshifting creature in the streets of my hometown after it committed a crime. Not nice at all. After that episode, I went to my grandfather's house decided to get more information out of that attic, and I was granted access." he stuffs his mouth with another bit of pepperoni pizza before continuing.
"Turns out some of my ancestors were witch-hunters or monster-killers. Our family's name already changed various times so we wouldn't be so easily discovered, and the last one saw us adopt Lowe and apparently stop with the supernatural activities. I was already knee-deep into the swamp, so I decided to get in further. I think I like the work, and most people out there don't know the truth. The ones who know should try to keep them that way by maintaining all the 'anomalies' in check." he shrugs before continuing.
"I have a measure of control over my impulses and manage to keep a cool head even in some nasty situations so I have fared well so far."
Post by: Dwarmin on September 09, 2012, 10:13:02 am
"I guess it was a get them before they get you sort of deal...honestly, though, I'd like to train with you, Eric. I'm not too proud to say alot of this is over my head-unlike the rest of you, the Supernatural reached out of the gutter and grabbed me by the neck...I wasn't ready."
She paused a moment, running a hand through her hair.
"So, I'd like to learn from you-coping methods. Tactics. Knowledge. Your family history. What have you. I'd be lying if I wasn't intrigued in you as a person...and, I figure it can also be a team thing, we've all got our strengths, we should share them, you think?
Statistic don't lie. Most teams...don't last long, frankly. So we're going to have to step up our game, all of us."
Post by: Dwarmin on September 17, 2012, 11:15:00 am
Post by: Caellath on September 17, 2012, 04:33:27 pm
His eyes narrowed and he interwined his fingers in front of his face. "I still lack knowledge about my family history, and as you may have noticed, my strengths are investigating, interrogation and narrowly avoiding death."
He sighed before continuing.
"I also fake mannerisms and body langague, as well as eliminate them when I need to. I suppose I'd be a good poker player. And as coping methods? I guess I have none aside from avoiding romantic relationships and friendships, as well as moving far away from whatever family I still have. I try not having anyone to worry about during the night."
Post by: Fniff on September 17, 2012, 08:16:33 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
Connected
Aesir Initiative Mission Board
We at the Aesir Initiative want to make sure that you, our employees, get the best treatment. The following missions are based specifically on what would be best for your teammates and you! Please, vote with your teammates on which mission you would like to begin.
Spoiler: Mission 1 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Mission 2 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Mission 3 (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Mission 4 (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caellath on September 17, 2012, 09:09:55 pm
"Which one do you choose, by the way? Straight-up combat is probably dangerous for us, and investigation may prove underwhelming and is also the most picked option by other teams."
Post by: Dwarmin on September 18, 2012, 10:21:40 am
"We're a bit balanced, our team. Half of us our investigators, the other half more...martially inclined. This case would be the one I would choose. It plays to our strengths."
Post by: Caellath on September 18, 2012, 11:20:51 am
He motioned towards his body.
"Being a frail and nosy human is hard to work whenever there are supernatural or eldritch horrors involved." he completed with a smile. "Ever played Call of Cthulhu?"
Second mission it is.
Post by: wolfchild on September 18, 2012, 08:04:57 pm
Post by: Caerwyn on September 19, 2012, 09:46:32 am
Post by: Fniff on September 20, 2012, 06:23:10 pm
Spoiler: Author's Note (click to show/hide)
The moon was high in the sky as the team began to drive into the town Santo's Cove, passing by the seemingly endless plains on the cracked and abused road. Their car was no G-Man style SUV now, oh no, it was a hardy looking military jeep that Bakstur was currently in love with as he drove. This machine was everything Bakstur wanted from a car, it could take a beating and it could manuever. The plains turned to a town, and Bakstur subconsciously fiddled with the amulet, a diamond-shaped emerald. The girl in the Spirit Charming shop, who would be pretty much dismissed as a hippy in every other lifetime Bakstur could have lived except this one, said that the amulet would lull the demon away into a sleep. She was obtuse, but it was working. For once, his dreams didn't consist of mutilation and horror as they have been since he was a teen, and his thoughts were alone in his own mind.
However, she warned that the demon could break out if it was powered by a sudden infusion of pain and misery, so if he was badly wounded he would be in danger of losing himself.
He stopped the car at the house that was Aesir property, meaning they could rest at it if neeed. He looked at the others.
"We're here."
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Eric looked up from his notes, and nodded. That chill in his spine was gone. Maybe he was going soft or James was lying, but it turned out that his nerves were just that: his nerves.
He had been doing research, not just on the artifact he wished to gain, but on the general situation. He had learned a lot, there was plenty of information around from official (AesirWiki) to unofficial (His tinged by the paranormal but still mortal contacts, a godsend in this business). Aesir had a few allies, some of them with oddly familiar names (SCP Foundation, Assassins Order, X-Com, why did those names register as familar?), but have many enemies. Makes sense. What was utterly surprising to him was the fact that the Aesir Initiative had a seperate operation in the supernatural: they were allowing them to be free.
Well, free in a certain sense. They fitted them with devices that tracked them but also hid them from humanity, and they were operating under Aesir's laws and regulations, they had to agree to it, and they would be obviously sent to be contained if they were unreversably evil. The devices particularly worried Eric. They worked by sending a certain type of signal that told the brains of anyone around they were not seeing an obvious monster but a normal person, and the devices also sent another signal that allowed the person with the chip to see other paranormal beings. A check of his email revealed an order to get this chips installed for his team. So they did, and... it was a rather disorientating experience for all of them, and it was a good thing that it was at the weekend allowing them to get used to the rather bizarre world that was under the skin of what was thought to be the real world.
He stepped out of the car and waited for the others to step out before he spoke.
"Well, then. I got some information here, and we can do a few things here. We can go talk to the police, who aren't necromancers here, apparently. They may have some information. We could always check out the scenes of the crime itself. We don't need to go in a group, so we could split up and check each lead."
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
______________________________________________________________________________________
Kathryn's mind felt a lot cleaner then usual. Those monks were there at the mental resistence training, but they added in a few more tests to boot. Some of them would qualify as torture and some of them would be considered good meditation practices by buddhists. A hatable few would qualify for both. She felt like she just walked into her apartment after a long and weird holiday and found that someone had converted into a minimalist, ascetic wonder. She knew she was going to fuck it up again (A half-baked movie idea was lurking in the corner of her mind already, the festering mug of coffee on the desk in her brain) but she was enjoying it while it lasted, and she knew it was still going to be different.
She got out of the car and listened to Eric. She was curious as to how this mission was going to turn out. The idea that aliens are an accepted fact was intriging enough, just as intriguing as the revelation that Aesir wasn't just a mercenary company but a full blown supernatural conspiracy corpration, but it turns out that the lights in the sky over this fair town weren't aliens... It was mysterious. This could be an interesting mission.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Ambrose was having a pretty weird week. Michael was still bothering her, both in reality and in her own mind via the wonderful emotion known as guilt. Then it turned out that a little chip currently implanted in her skin was lying to her since she was born using her own brain, which seemed less like a fundamental ally and more of a cowardly mercenary by the day. Michael was the more daunting issue, as the latter was pretty much solved. He wasn't dumb enough to actually look directly for her, but her silence only worried him further. He seemed to be trying to figure out what the hell was going on. As the car drove, she studied the last message he sent to her android.
He had got the basics down. He knew there was some organization, perhaps big, perhaps small, involved in her total disappearance. And he knew that something was wrong on a basic level with this whole business. He didn't seem to know much, but he was finding out more and more...
The car stopped, and everyone (Including her) stepped out of the car. Eric explained what they could do, and she sighed and put the phone away. It was time to be a professional. It was time not for fuck ups, but for being a proper operative. It was time to be good.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Post by: Caerwyn on September 20, 2012, 07:13:05 pm
Post by: Caellath on September 22, 2012, 09:29:57 am
"Well, let's get moving, shall we? Kat, you can go check on the crime scene with Ambrose while I try the police station with Bakstur. We'll meet again after we're done, call me if you feel like reporting anything important." the young man said, smiling.
Kathryn had heard about his no-relationship policy and oddly didn't question it. It was a funny thing to see, someone who didn't find him stranger and he already was. Part of it was probably because she had started to understand how he lived; always knowing that he was nothing but dust in the shadow of giants, and keeping people safe by staying away from them was a nice strategy when you could attract enemies that worshipped said giants or simply wanted you to suffer.
To the police station with Bakstur.
Post by: Dwarmin on September 22, 2012, 10:17:53 am
Action: Check the crime scene with ambrose!
Post by: wolfchild on September 27, 2012, 02:32:47 am
"Hey Kat, you know how I'm not hat good at this investigation style stuff, but I want to learn now so I'll follow your lead ok? Also how have you been? This guy I used to know but had to break it off with is kinda weighing on my conceance,(How do I spell that damn word, and spellchecker isn't helping) oh dear I'm rambling!"
Post by: Dwarmin on September 27, 2012, 07:18:16 am
Kat and Ambrose has some time to chat.
"I've been alright. Thinking things over.
...You said you had a boyfriend? Well, so did I, his name was Jackson. He made good waffles. I loved him. We were pretty rocky at the end. Or maybe we were too close, and I was just getting cold feet. Suppose I'll never know."
She paused to check her rear view mirror. No tails.
"They tell us we can't exactly have any contact with them. I know it's hard, but remember-it's for the best, I suppose. I wouldn't...there's alot of ways for these we fight to hurt you. I haven't called him, because if I explained everything...he'd lose that illusion, that everything is alright. He'd be a target
Ignorance really is Bliss, you know. I prefer to keep my memory of him as he was."
She fell silent for a moment, heart burning. Lonely.
"...that said, if you wanna meet up with your fella-I'll help you-help him understand. Aesir won't care if you keep it quiet and it doesn't interfere with your work. The question is, do you want him to be part of our world?
It's pretty damn terrifying...but Love is strong, too. I know this is going to sound sappy, but there's a power beyond bullets and charms and spells. Courage. Love. Hope. Friendship. It's important we never lose these things. It's what separates us...from them." She said.
Kat had come to understand this. Even if her own emotions had been dulled and damaged...she still knew.
Post by: wolfchild on September 29, 2012, 04:20:38 am
"Michael is hunting for me, he is worried and he is on the right track, I am worried aout what will happen if he finds out on his own as well, he is in danger either way"
Post by: Fniff on September 29, 2012, 10:20:17 am
"I'm sorry, we can't let any--"
Eric flashed his FBI badge.
"... I'll let you through." The police officer opened the door. "We were informed there would be... investigation."
Bakstur smiled and nodded, then let himself through the door. Police officers all around were desperately working to figure out what was going on, and it seems that the coffee couldn't be made any quicker then it already was. They immediately strode to the sheriff's office and let themselves in. The sheriff was reading over notes as they came in, and he looked up. The entire office was filled with maps with tacks with wire connecting them, and great fronds of notes and books piled in towers.
"Well, hello there." The sheriff said in a kindly southern accent, but obviously strained. "You be the FBI boys?"
"Yes, we are." Eric took a seat, while Bakstur looked over the books. "So, we understand that lights have been reported in the sky, and that people have been disappearing?"
"Yeah, yeah..." The sheriff took out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass. "I think this isn't an ordinary crime. I've been searching around the crime scenes, and I've been spotting things that aren't... right."
"What do you mean?" Bakstur asked, keeping his eye on the book he was looking over. 'Legends Of The Apache'. Bakstur opened it at the bookmark. Lights in the sky were reported by the Native Americans in the area of Santo's Cove as a sign of a sacrifice being needed to the spirits, or else horror would ensue. The "Horror will ensue" text was underlined in red pen two times, with three question marks. Two bad things: The sheriff was catching on that something was really wrong here, and that something very bad was going to touch down. He looked at the next page. Lights in the sky reported in 1883. Town destroyed in a few nights, explained as an Indian attack by the authorities, despite denial by the native americans and the fact that there were no corpses period.
Shit.
"Well, odd government types hanging around, kinda military but they aren't wearing the uniform of any army I know. Not only is it just home invasions with no bodies, but cars and hitchhikers are being taken. Here's the weird thing too... It's closing in around the town." The sheriff pointed to the map. It was, a rope around the neck of the town, how long until they were out of time...
"That is quite interes..." Eric paused as the book was handed to him by Bakstur. He gave it a look, then another. He stared slightly.
Oh dear.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Ambrose looked over the crime scene of the barnhouse. Every door was opened, and every window too. Bloodstains on every possible surface in certain areas, and every light broken. She looked closer, that was the point of investigating, and tried to look past the obvious. She walked around the house, giving each room a personal look over and a sniff. She noted how the darkness around certain areas was thicker then the rest of the house, not even the moonlight piercing it quite well. In fact, the darkness was thickest in the areas where the bloodstains were everywhere... Her nose was telling her nothing. Just an ordinary house...
She walked over to the kitchen where Kathryn was looking it over.
"Anything?"
"Nada, zilch. I think I saw something move in the darkness, but I'm fairly sure that was just my nerves."
Ambrose thought she saw something move too.
"Did you see that?" said Ambrose, voice edged with panic.
"... Yeah." said Kathryn.
They both stared into the darkness for years.
To say there was nothing to fear but fear itself in that darkness was a lie. The correction should be to remove the nothing, to, first fear and but. The fact there was nothing was the fear itself, for where the fuck was that thing?
Ambrose, at least, was holding herself together. Kathryn sighed but kept an eye out.Truly, that was an exceptionally good idea. Something shadowy kicked in the door and started running at them. Ambrose immediately pulled out her handgun and put two bullets in the thing. It immediately disappeared... Then the silence became rather smug. Something was in the air, like they were at the epicenter of an earthquake about five minutes before it was about to begin.
Post by: Dwarmin on September 29, 2012, 01:51:33 pm
"Let's get out of here, Ambrose. We'll fight this thing on better terms, with our full numbers." She said, gauging escape points. If they could escape...
Action: Tactical Retreat! See if my flashlight holds back the shadows any.
Post by: Caerwyn on September 29, 2012, 05:03:39 pm
Any way to check my character's back-pack or whatever he uses...?
Also: Woo-hoo! I've been missing this.
Post by: wolfchild on September 30, 2012, 03:24:20 am
Retreat with Kathryn, if the darkness is too fast change to wolf and grab Kathryn before running as fast as possible
Post by: Caellath on September 30, 2012, 08:07:20 am
Ask around the crowd and the rest of the police officers.
Post by: Fniff on October 02, 2012, 11:41:31 am
Post by: Caerwyn on October 02, 2012, 02:25:54 pm
But, oh my, how I wish there was any other options! Only other thingy viable would be Dial-up...
Will wait patiently!
Post by: Fniff on October 02, 2012, 03:10:00 pm
Post by: Fniff on October 18, 2012, 03:48:44 pm
"Crap... I'm glad that we got out of there as soon as we did... What are we going to do?"
"Let's get to Bakstur and Eric, tell them what happened, then we'll all figure out a plan. Maybe they got some info as well."
Of course, God hates a planner. The lights on the highway, one by one, began to flicker. Then they died, one by one. Even their headlgihts started to dim. Kathryn opened her eyes wide as she realized the engine was dying. The car began to slow. Through luck and a good bit of fiddling with the ignition, the car groaned with effort and managed to start up the engine again, keeping them going.
"We gotta keep an eye out... We're in the dark..."
They rode in complete silence. They both felt the darkness getting to them, but they both managed to keep themselves up.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Bakstur had asked around the villagers for information. Some were farmhands, some were townies, others were tourists. Even without the Angel having a direct infulence, he still felt it's ability to manipulate minds shining right through him. He had gathered a few things: people disappearing at night, in the dark, usually without light sources. No corpses and no traces of the person apart from bloodstains or lost items. Typically occurs in areas with lights in the sky. He went up to one of the police officers, a bored looking 20-something.
"You wouldn't have any evidence, would you?"
"Yeah, we sure do. Go check out the evidence locker, they're right in there."
Bakstur smiled and thanked the man, then began to explore the police station. He found what appeared to be the evidence room, a small room with a few lockers in it. He found a collection of plastic bags with items in them labeled "DISAPPEARANCE EVIDENCE". That was it.
He looked through them. A phone that appeared to have been melted in what must have been extreme heat, and apparently partially frozen, one half of a shotgun (The rest appeared to have been ripped off by force, mostly the barrel) and dental braces that were fused to ripped out human teeth forcibly, judging by the bloodstains. They were dealing with something supernatural, alright. No wonder the sherieff was suspicious, what could be this strong?
The lights began to flicker off.
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Eric was just learning from an officer that the majority of the people who witnessed the deaths were in complete light, when suddenly the lights overhead began to flicker out. The officers immediately attempted to calm the villagers down, and Eric could hear an order to check the fusebox. A police officer walked out the door.
The police officer suddenly collapsed onto the ground, shaking. He seemed to be coughing up blood as darkness somehow swelled around him, making him almost disappear in shadow. Soon enough, he was gone. In that terrified moment that lasted an hour, no-one seemed very sure what to do.
Eric knew what to do. Or at least, he hoped he did.
Post by: Dwarmin on October 18, 2012, 04:03:04 pm
But the night was awfully pretty, wasn't it?
"Ambrose, we're in a bit trouble here. Look in the back of the truck and the glovebox, we should have some of those road flares-or some flashbangs, but I doubt God is with us tonight. we're going to need a source of light that can't get shorted out. Matches, lighters, all the flashlights we have-whatever.
Hell, find anything we could burn in a pinch and pack it up. We might have to make a bonfire."
Kathryn couldn't really recall if they had any flares or how many, but hey-positive thinking.
Action: Continue to finesse the car as far as it can go, watching out for others cars to avoid collisions.
Post by: Caerwyn on October 18, 2012, 04:30:41 pm
Oh. I didn't notice the part about shadow-men with a fetish for cops.
Post by: Caellath on October 18, 2012, 10:16:52 pm
"Keep the civilians in the light!" he said before breaking into a sprint. God, he knew it was not time to play "split off from team mate and get killed or worse", but he needed to try other sources of light...He took off his hunting rifle and put the finger by the trigger's side, preparing to use it. Not today, I hope. he thought.
Search for other sources of light, shoot at the living shadows.
Post by: Dwarmin on October 19, 2012, 10:26:44 am
Can you take control of him, Fniff? Our Teamwork here is sort of...essential to survival.))
Post by: Fniff on October 19, 2012, 10:35:40 am
Post by: wolfchild on October 23, 2012, 12:59:15 am
Check for stuff to make light, also try to recall if any of the stuff they had included any accessible magnesium, a brief but VERY bright flash of light could stop the darkness for a while