Monster Hunters: Justice [IC]

[ericthered]

Randal Kane:

Randal looks over the door. He doesn't see anything securing it, but something doesn't feel right.

Rolls: Per-based Forced Entry

Jack Brown:

Jack isn't able to stick around to see exactly what's going to happen, but he is able to set everything up, right up to the tabloid. He'll need to check on that tomorrow.

Jack makes it into the house and leaves a nice surprise for Marcus. Then he heads off to the junkyard.

The cursed hunter (Marcus) can tell Jack is coming before he enters the establishment. And he knows exactly who it is. He's sorting through some 'new' stock when Jack shows up.

Rolls:
Theif!

OCC: this is previous to Marcus's current run-in. Play them concurrently. Don't you love PbP? Yes, actions on the earlier thread will effect later happenings, but I hope they will be minimal.

Laura Night:

Tweaks to spell: she's going to need to add more time to properly sort through people or add another sense to figure out who these people are (either expand it to an hour or add a sense mind effect to pick up hostile intent beyond a certain magnitude. Both ways add 2 base energy and increase the cost to 44. I'm going to proceed, but let me know which route she takes, because it might give more info).

Laura gets 'wind' of the murderers, or at least she thinks she does. They match the physical description of the murders, and are there at the right time. They are identical twins (or at least genetically identical), and they aren't quite human. She's has a suspicion they're been tampered with genetically. The spell is too focused on the ritual connection to know or guess anything else.

Rolls:
final ritual roll
bioengineering roll

[ericthered]

OCC: Shadow form + homogenous + damage resistance 1/2 vs cutting and crushing. Sorry, should have told you that in the analysis.

Marcus rams the blade through the Shadow. Bits of brick spray. The shadow screams in agony (a very odd sensation, but Marcus really doesn't have time to take it in, but doesn't stay pinned on the sword. instead it flows around it and into the building through one of the boarded up windows.

rolls:
Jump 15 vs. 6
Attack 15 vs 8
Dodge 10+3(retreat) -6(attack) =7 vs 13
damage: 13d = 50/4 = 13.
knockdown roll ? vs 11 = success.

[the_matrix_walker]

Marcus considers his options.

He's not thrilled by the three to one odds, especially given how much more powerful than him this shadow seems to be...Marcus almost charges in the building despite that, out of concern for the prisoners.

But then he realizes there may be no prisoners at all... He has only Jake's word to go on, who turned out to be one of threats involved... But all these fae do feed on people, so it is likely that if they have not taken innocents yet, they soon will. There are many monsters in the word doing the same every day, and this isn't a paying gig...

Decisions, decisions...

Marcus decides to report this to Vigilae Luminis, and leaves a message at the blind text address he has for sending communications... Maybe they'll pay him to take these fae out.

He then goes through his contacts list and sends a group text to the people he's well acquainted with who might be amenable to a team up.
(IE any PC's and NPC's Ericthered might choose to include.)

I've got a trio of nasties that need dealing with.
No client, Pro Bono situation.  
I'll buy the beers when the job's done.

While waiting for replies, Marcus keeps an eye on the building and tracks the creatures with his sense. He will occasionally check locations (spending a fatigue for precision, and using Breath Control between to recover the FP quickly).

[Skullcrusher]

Randal checks for traps on the door.

[Talosian]

Jack, wearing his moccasins for once, walks casually into the junkyard without even attempting to mask himself with invisibility or illusions. He wrinkles his nose at the pervasive smell of iron, I hate this place so much. He searches around for Marcus, avoiding other workers through mundane stealth. When he finds him, he'll lean nonchalantly against the nearest wall, and say, "Hi, Marcus, I'm Jack, as I think you already know," Jack grins, "Anyway, you interested in ID'ing a boogeyman for me? Real interesting guy, his ears move around like this." Jack waves his hands around his ears in a fairly indecipherable manner.

Spoiler:  

Metal-land is not Jack's friend XD

I'm operating on the assumption that they haven't spoken in person before, but that Jack has enough general knowledge of Marcus' ability to sense monsters (from observing him in action, or just from what he's heard around town) to guess that he'd recognize him.

[Ransom]

Originally Posted by ericthered

"Sure, I can play the game. Better than sitting here."

"I saw the green car again, on the way to school. I thought you'd never come. Today was boring as <explicative>. I skipped school, then realized I was safer there, so I had to hide next to it all day. It was bad man. Sitting all day, you can't leave -- <explicative> awful."

"Yes, I can imagine. Have you been in any unusual trouble lately? Done anything to make someone angry?"

[the_matrix_walker]

Originally Posted by Talosian

"Hi, Marcus, I'm Jack, as I think you already know," Jack grins, "Anyway, you interested in ID'ing a boogeyman for me? Real interesting guy, his ears move around like this." Jack waves his hands around his ears in a fairly indecipherable manner.

"Ah, it's Jack is it? Nice to meet you. It's about time you introduced yourself. You've left me a few little notes in the past, haven't you? When I sat down to read that last one, I found all the screws were missing from my chair..."

Marcus shakes his head with an expression that's begrudgingly gracious but with a slight undertone of remembered annoyance at falling ass over teakettle...

"I could feel you outside having your fun watching me, and I have to admit I was a little ******... but what was in that note saved a girl's life, so thank you."

Marcus climbs down from the pile of junk he's sorting and extends his hand in a handshake.

"I can give you a hand with this critter, but it's not like I'm an encyclopedia. I can sense certain things, but sometimes a little more research is required to get all the details. Let's go get a coffee for the road and you can tell me about the case on the way."

[Talosian]

"Ah, it's Jack is it? Nice to meet you. It's about time you introduced yourself. You've left me a few little notes in the past, haven't you? When I sat down to read that last one, I found all the screws were missing from my chair..."

Jack's grin turns sly, "I may have left you some mail... as for the chair," he shrugs theatrically, "I suppose that's one of the many mysteries of life." He seems pleased by what he sees in Marcus' reaction.

"I could feel you outside having your fun watching me, and I have to admit I was a little ******... but what was in that note saved a girl's life, so thank you."

Jack frowns, almost sulkily. "You can't imagine how distressing it is to be invisible, and know that someone still knows where you are." He doesn't respond to the thanks, or even acknowledge his role, almost conspicuously moving around the subject. "It's really a terrible thing."

"I can give you a hand with this critter, but it's not like I'm an encyclopedia. I can sense certain things, but sometimes a little more research is required to get all the details. Let's go get a coffee for the road and you can tell me about the case on the way."

A flicker of concern flashes across Jack's face, but it is quickly replaced by a relatively polite smile as Jack reaches out to shake his hand. Oh, hells, I hope he doesn't have rust on his hand. Brown winces mentally.

Spoiler:  

Based on the end of your post, I took the opportunity to advance them to having coffee, and being en route. I assumed that they took Marcus' car. If either Eric or Matrix wants to interrupt somewhere in here, go ahead (I can re-purpose most of the dialogue anyway).

Also for convenience (and amusing dialogue), I took the opportunity to use this as a classic movie scene change where time has passed, but the conversation apparently hasn't progressed (besides Jack having given Marcus directions). What did they talk about on the way to coffee? Nobody knows. It's entirely possible that Jack spent much of it in nauseating pain if Marcus had rust or metal dust on his hand.

Jack huddled uncomfortably inside the car, eyes flickering around the inside of the vehicle. You couldn't tell it just from looking, but his apparently shifty gaze was tracking all the visible metal as if it might attack him. He sipped his coffee; he'd actually paid for it, as a gesture of goodwill to Marcus. It hadn't occurred to him that no-one else could possibly have recognized it as such. His now gloved hands brushed away a jagged strand of hair, and he focused his attention on Marcus. Without preamble, he began, "So, I was invisible, and I got trapped in a bathroom by this plumber, and he knew I was there, like, immediately. I tried to distract him by moving my voice," Jack demonstrates mid-conversation, thoughtlessly throwing his voice to the other side of Marcus, "but he knew something was up, and his ears started moving around, like they were trying to find me. Nobody normal could do that." Jack grimaces, and shudders slightly for effect. Get to the point already, Brown whispered in his head, "Shut up, I know," Jack muttered quietly. "So, anyway, I punched him in the face with a taser, but he just kinda twitched for a second. I ran out the door, down the hall, and jumped off the balcony, and he was out a few seconds later, and he just stood there, twitching his ears and nose, so I booked it." Jack pauses for breath.

Spoiler:  

And yes, Jack's description is spotty, spastic, and twitchy by design. I'm also still working on how he talks. I want him to sound very informal, but he also spends much of his time acting to some degree, so it's a mixed bag.

[the_matrix_walker]

"So, I was invisible, and I got trapped in a bathroom by this plumber, and he knew I was there, like, immediately. I tried to distract him by moving my voice,"

Marcus' eyebrows furrow slightly, with incredulity. "So you're hunting a plumber?"

"but he knew something was up, and his ears started moving around, like they were trying to find me. Nobody normal could do that."

"Human looking ears, but shifting around like an animal locating a noise..."

"Shut up, I know...So, anyway, I punched him in the face with a taser, but he just kinda twitched for a second. I ran out the door, down the hall, and jumped off the balcony, and he was out a few seconds later, and he just stood there, twitching his ears and nose, so I booked it."[/I]

Marcus smiles a crooked little grin at the thought of the prankster's wild flight from the plumber. He could tell Jack's feathers were ruffled.

"What put you on to this plumber? Are we talking ritual killings, weird magic, or what?"

Equipped with their coffee, Marcus drives the two to the area Jack directs him while trying to get the details of the 'operation', assuming they are off to punish the guilty or protect the innocent or something... He misses a little of what Jack is saying, trying to come up with a good pun to use after taking out a diabolical plumber...

('I had to plunge my sword into him.' no... to obvious...maybe something like 'sorry plumber, it's time for you to go down the drain' and consume his chi...draining him, yeah, that's pretty good....)

"Wait... What was that last bit again?"

[Talosian]

"What put you on to this plumber? Are we talking ritual killings, weird magic, or what?"

Jack hesitates for an instant before responding, "Uh, I was just visiting when he cornered me, and... I make a habit of not sticking around when people might be able to actually hit me." He frowns slightly, "I really don't have much to go on right now, but..." Jack fidgets slightly, and starts tapping out a jig on his knee as he stares out the window. "Did I mention that the lady was running for the senate? Wait, it might've been congress... Anyway, there's something wrong about her just happening to have called in an inhuman plumber. I mean, there can't be that many of those, right?"

"Wait... What was that last bit again?"

"Oh, uh, the lady's running for congress, so I figure she's probably a target or something. Oh! I think she's a witch, too."

Spoiler:  

Jack's gonna be so taken aback if those puns see the light of day XD