# Burned Circle - ThirdWizard's Dresden Files Game



## ThirdWizard (Jul 5, 2012)

This is the In Character (IC) thread for the Dresden Files RPG "Burned Circle" taking place in the city of Atlanta. 



Campaign Page | Rogues Gallery | OOC Thread​


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jul 5, 2012)

*Chapter 1*

Most people avoid changelings. It's not that they're bad people, usually, its just that they're dangerous. Physically, sure. Magically, sometimes. But, when you deal with changelings, you're dealing with faeries, and that is where the true danger comes from. They're half faerie, and anyone who's clued in on the supernatural world knows to stay away from faeries whenever possible and to never _ever_ make a deal with one. But, changelings aren't half faerie because they want to be, and they get swept into the politics of their dangerous parentage without warning and without consent, oftentimes making them the victims of their own birthright. And, sometimes when these problems arise for one of their kind, others, changelings and human alike, jump into the fray with eyes wide open. That's where you come in.

You're in Sylvan Hills in a big house owned by the changeling Michelle, Logan's adoptive mother for lack of a better term. She's getting along in years, but she still somehow has the energy to care for those children nobody else wants. Several young changelings have been running around excitedly asking why so many people are visiting, but she's been subtly shoeing them away. Now you're finally alone in the living room sipping on tea as the woman tries to put her thoughts together. You know she asked you all here because of a missing girl, though she didn't want to talk about the particulars until everyone had arrived. Now that everyone is here, and the kids aren't within hearing distance, she seems apprehensive, sitting on a big easy chair and looking down at her hands in her lap.

Finally, she takes a deep breath and looks up at each of you. You can see the worry behind her eyes, a quiet helplessness that only a parent can have for their own child. "Thank you all for coming. I hope you're all well..." She looks down at her hands then back up again. "I'm worried about one of the young ladies who used to live her, a girl named Sandra. I think she may be in trouble, and I can't get in touch with her."


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jul 5, 2012)

Logan is sitting on a plain three-legged stool he made a couple of years ago, drinking a bottle of root beer. "Sandra? And you're sure she isn't just keeping to herself, like usual? Nah, nah, I know," he says, raising a hand before his adopted mother can say what he knows is coming. "Mother's intuition."

He takes another drink from the soda bottle, making it look dainty in his massive hands. He looks at the other three people around the room -- the Warden, the shapeshifter, and the undead-fighting cop -- and gives them a half-hearted smile. "Shouldn't be too hard to find my little sister, right?"


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 6, 2012)

Juno scratched her cheek, playing for time as she decided what to say. The fact was that Atlanta, like most major cities, had quite a few disappearances of kids in that age range...and most of the cases didn't have happy endings.

Instead of saying so, she pulled a little flip-book notepad from her back pocket and a pen as well. 

"Few things to get out of the way," she said, "Information-wise. When's the last time you saw or spoke with Sandra, and where was she at that time? Also, we'll need her current address, or as near current as you can get."


----------



## Bluedevil (Jul 6, 2012)

Malcom leaned back into the couch he was resting on, listening to Michelle talk about the missing girl and the trouble that she must be in. He felt out of place in this house of changlings; his long leather coat and unshaven face looked completely out of place with its walls without even going into Malcom's occupation. Wizards were rarely a welcome sight to the faey touched, meaning this request must have been a desperate one.

His British accent was heavy as he spoke, "I assume she was touched, do you know by what kind of creature?"


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jul 11, 2012)

Michelle nods. "Of course... I can tell you a little bit about her. She was left on the doorstep here about twenty years ago. We don't know exactly who her faerie parent was, but I've always suspected it was sidhe with the way she took to faerie magic, and because of her beauty." Her head moves side to side once. "She always had the attention of the young men... made me worry so much..." She looks up and blushes a bit, meeting everyone's eyes in turn. "I think of her, just like everyone who comes to live here, as my own, you know." 

She looks at Juno. "And, I can tell you where she lives. She's a very private young lady, but she knows I'd worry myself to death about her if I didn't know where she was keeping herself. She lives in Kirkwood, on Deleno Drive right across from the Rec in a duplex. I've been there a few times." Her lips purse. "You can try calling her, too, but I haven't had any luck there. Her number is 404-891-2328."

Pausing, her eyes wander downward. You can hear the sound of children playing in the next room,  of feet hitting the floor and some young body running into something - perhaps a desk or chair. It's quiet for a moment, then the sound of footfalls continues, amidst quiet laughter.

Looking at Logan she continues. "I wish it were just mother's intuition..." She sits up. "As you know, representatives of Summer and Winter show up every once in a while trying to... conscript... us. Sandra had many callers, both Summer, Winter, and even changelings. All trying to use her." Michelle frowns thinking about those unwelcome visitors. "Sandra was very popular due to her talents with magic. But, when she moved out, they stopped coming around, I would guess to show up at her place in Kirkwood." 

She sighs and leans back again. "A Winter sylph, Settias, came by looking for her two days ago. She was wearing a glamor, but I knew who she was. Since then I've tried calling Sandra. When I couldn't get in touch with her, I asked local pixies if they had seen her in Kirkwood." She shakes her head. "She hasn't been home in days. Something is wrong."


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 11, 2012)

Juno nodded to herself as she jotted down notes from Michelle's account, then circled something and looked up.

"I know this is hard," she said with some genuine empathy that softened the obviously-well-rehearsed nature of the words. "We'll do everything we can. You said she had the attention of young men...was there anyone she was seeing that you remember specifically? Especially around the time she disappeared?"


----------



## Bluedevil (Jul 11, 2012)

Malcom was not happy to hear that the young girl they were looking for had the gift of magic, that was going to turn this from a cake walk into a struggle. Many of the things that Malcom could do to follow her could be easily countered with enough fay magic.

To make matters worse, if Winter really was involved it was going to involve biting off quite a struggle if they needed to get her back. Michelle was nice, but that was a big bear to pick a fight with.

"Can you tell us where to find this sylph? Just in case we need to ask her some questions." Malcom kept the smile on his face despite his concern.


----------



## Thanee (Jul 13, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Sidhe...”_ Keira says, almost sighing. _“My mother has warned me about them. For good reason. They rarely have good intentions.”_

The young woman leans back in her chair, watching the others with her keen eyes.

_“That young girl could be in deep trouble. We should find her soon.”_


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jul 16, 2012)

Michelle shakes her head at Juno's question. "Dear, she has never introduced me to a boyfriend the entire time she was living here, much less after she moved out. I'm afraid I can't really help you with anything about her friends." She thinks for a moment, then adds, "She's very friendly, however. You might check her neighbors."

"As for Settias..." She frowns. "The sylph wouldn't have a home the way you or I think of it. But, Winter isn't very strong here, and there are limited places she could cross back and forth without going through Summer territory. Most likely she would monitor or have a connection with those Ways. If you find one, it might attract her attention. I have the suspicion she's up to something. Poke around for a while and she might just find you. Faeries of her status don't come all the way out to this little place for no reason." Her eyes wander off and her look grows distant.

"I... I don't know what's going to happen to Sandra. I don't know why she's missing or what's going on here. I just feel so helpless. I encourage my children to stay out of the affairs of faeries if they can. I'm sorry I'm throwing this problem at you all."


----------



## Bluedevil (Jul 20, 2012)

Malcom slowly rose from his seat, there was little else that could be done here and time was of the essence. The girl could be many different places and the easiest place to start was her apartment. The Winter Court member however, was going to be in fewer but more dangerous places. 

Malcom knew that their best chance was to check out her apartment for clues and possibly something she had a close connection with that could be used to find her. Until they had something like that it was going to be difficult to track her down.

At worst case, they could go after the Fay who obviously was tied to the disappearance and ask a few questions but depending on how the fay reacted, it could pit the group against the forces of winter for an unknown period of time.

"Thank you for your time Michelle, I wouldn't worry about Sandra, we will find out where she is and make sure she is ok."


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 20, 2012)

Juno flips the notepad shut and nods. As she stands up she offers Michelle one of the cards from her wallet. 

"That's got my cell number on the back," she explains, then smiles as she adds, "Don't call the desk number on the front about this particular case."

"If you learn anything, or remember anything, give me a call. Otherwise we'll let you know when we need anything more, and when we learn anything."


----------



## Thanee (Jul 22, 2012)

*Keira*

Chiming in with the others, Keira also lets the woman know, that they care and will take care of this.

_“Yes, we will do what we can to find her.”_

Then she turns to the others.

_“So, what do you think? Where should we start with the investigations?”_


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jul 22, 2012)

"I can talk to more of the Little Folk. Maybe they haven't seen Sandra, but they may well be able to point us toward Settias. A sylph with power like hers would not go without notice."


----------



## Bluedevil (Jul 23, 2012)

"Well I wouldnt go running after winter before we have an idea of what they have done, might spark a war over nothing or give them an edge we dont want. " Malcom smiled lightly as he headed towards the door to the old place, "Right now we should check her place and her neighbors, see if we can get an idea about what happened."


As they got outside, Malcom pulled out one of his hand rolled cigarettes and placed it in his mouth. "And at worst case, once we check her place we can use magic to get a general idea of where she is." Malcom's hands searched his pockets one by one for his lighter absentmindedly.


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 23, 2012)

Juno nodded and added good-naturedly, "Or just police work. I haven't heard much to make me think this isn't a pretty normal missing persons case yet. Sure, she's not entirely human, and has fey sniffing at her heels, but...mysterious money, kept her personal life from her family, 'popular with the guys...' This is not the first time I've heard those words."

She takes a deep breath and stuffs her hands in her pockets.

"Unfortunately."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jul 24, 2012)

Michelle walks you out the front door, nodding thoughtfully. It's a hot and humid summer evening just like most days around this time of year. It was raining a few days ago, and its supposed to rain again in a couple of days, but for now the sky is clear letting the sun beat down on you unhindered. Soon it will set and the temperature will drop to a slightly less unbearable heat. The mosquitoes are already out. "Thank you all. I trust you'll find her. I just hope-" she stops there, biting her lip. "If I hear anything I'll let you know," she says holding up Juno's card. "Just take care of yourselves. Don't do anything unnecessary." She looks directly at Logan on that last bit, her eyes firm, then back to everyone again. "I figure you know how step lightly in these kinds of situations."


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 27, 2012)

"Oh we're the soul of discretion," Juno said with a grin. The grin faded though as she assured the worried woman, "Don't worry. We'll find her."

When Michelle had withdrawn Juno looked at the others and said, "I'm heading to her place. Anyone need a ride?"


----------



## Dragonwriter (Aug 3, 2012)

Logan chuckles at Malcom's response. "You seem to forget I'm a free-agent half-breed who already has stirred up trouble with Winter."

The half-ogre gives an overdone look of shock and pain as his foster mother gives him the warning and significant look.

He nods at Juno. "I'll take you up on that."


----------



## Thanee (Aug 3, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Ok, we need to start somewhere and her place seems obvious enough,”_ Keira agrees.

_“I'm with my own ride, let's meet up there!”_


----------



## Bluedevil (Aug 8, 2012)

Malcom was not surprised by Logan's response, "Well I wasnt sure if you wanted to avoid More trouble with them."

Malcom smiled politely at the young police officer, "yeah I will take a ride, mine is in the shop again."


----------



## Shayuri (Aug 12, 2012)

Juno gave Keira a nod and gestured at her car. "Malcolm, take shotgun. Logan, I think you'll just about fit in the back. If you don't mind ducking a little."

Despite the ever-present irrational urge to do the 'slide over the hood' move, she once again conquered instinct with reason, and walked around to the driver's side.

She scanned the street automatically as she drove, not because she really believed anything would happen, but because it was her job...and she couldn't just flick it on and off like a light switch.

"Malcolm, read off the directions, wouldja?"

They were on their way.

(OOC - Didn't feel empowered to just narrate us to the house, but since we're not all in the car I suggest a quick edit, unless something specific is planned. )


----------



## ThirdWizard (Aug 15, 2012)

You pull up to the duplex Sandra lives in, a little house on Deleno Drive in Kirkwood, about twenty minutes later. The street lights are already turning on, though there is another good thirty minutes of evening light left in the day. People are already home, and there isn't much traffic; most driveways are full at this point in the day, and several cars are parked in the street among scattered no parking signs. At the end of the other side of the street, just as Michelle said, is the Bessie Branham Recreation Center. There are some kids playing basketball on a well kept court lit by bright lights and some others loitering around in the grass. You can hear a lawnmower in the distance running steadily, and an ambulance siren in the far distance. This is suburbia nestled in the city.

Sandra's driveway itself is empty, and the shutters are closed. It seems lonely compared to the houses nearby full of cars with lights and shadows coming through the windows. Even its front porch light is off. On the lawn are several days worth of newspapers, haphazardly tossed toward the driveway with little regard for aim.


----------



## Shayuri (Aug 19, 2012)

Juno pulls into the empty driveway and hops out of the car. Just a moment's attention tells her that either no one's home, or someone's trying very hard to make it look like no one's home.

She goes over to the porch, letting her eyes drift lazily around the yard, the bushes and shrubs, the grass...looking for anything out of place or out of the ordinary. The newspapers she actually takes a moment with, sorting them out by date, to see how old the oldest one is. That didn't prove anything; people don't always take the papers in first thing...but it might still be useful.

Standing up from that, she investigates the mailbox.

Finally she eyes the door, pursing her lips. Break in, or not? After a second she says, "Lets go around back. See if there's a door or window open. Rather not bust the place up if we don't have to."


----------



## Thanee (Aug 20, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Doesn't exactly look like there is someone at home...”_ Keira remarks once she has parked her bike and headed to the rest of the small group.

_“Yeah, let's have a look around. Maybe there is something amiss, that might give us a clue.”_


----------



## ThirdWizard (Aug 23, 2012)

The grass on the lawn is perhaps a bit overdue to be cut, but overall looks well maintained, as does the rest of the house itself. As you get closer to the house, you can hear muffled music coming from the other side of the duplex, some kind of punk/gypsy fusion. The porch is a small slab of concrete without any kind of covering. It looks like Sandra took the time to decorate the front door with a mat that says "Not You Again" and an empty flower pot.

Both sides of the duplex have a chain link fence extending behind the back yards, although you can only see a little to the side of the house itself, a partially rusted gate closed with a simple latch being the entrance around back. 









*OOC:*



There are five days worth of newspapers on the lawn. The oldest newspaper is from Friday June 8th, and the newest is today's, Tuesday June 12th.

The mailbox is full, with a note from the USPS informing the resident that they must go to the post office to pick up the rest of their mail. It is dated from yesterday.


----------



## Shayuri (Aug 26, 2012)

Juno thumbs through the mail to get an idea of the stuff that's being delivered, then takes the note from the Post Office. Assuming nothing in the box was particularly noteworthy, there might still be something being held that would shed light on the case.

"Alright, lets split up. We need to talk to whoever lives in the other side and see if they know anything. We also need to snoop around the sides and back."

She glances at Malcolm. "I'm thinking you'd probably be better at snooping." Then Logan, "And you'd be a good choice to go talk to the neighbor."

"Keira, what would you rather do? I'll join whoever you don't."


----------



## Thanee (Aug 26, 2012)

*Keira*

_“I'm generally pretty good with people, so I will join Logan and talk to the neighbors,”_ Keira replies to the question.

Shooting a side glance towards Logan, the cat-girl adds: _“If that's ok with you, of course.”_


----------



## Dragonwriter (Aug 27, 2012)

Logan nods. "Sure, chatting with the neighbors. Assuming they actually open the door after getting sight of me," he says with a wry smile. The big man knew his usual effect on people was one of inciting fear, simply due to his size and build.


----------



## Bluedevil (Aug 28, 2012)

Malcom smiles on the porch as his eyes drift down to the "Not You Again" mat. He didn't even know this girl, but her sense of humor was endearing her to him.

Malcom casually picked up the pile of mail, looking for anything besides a bill or junkmail that might be important as Juno 'suggested' a couple of actions.

Malcom's accent was thick as he spoke, "Are you saying all wizards are snooping...." Malcom trailed off for a second, "Yeah I guess you have us there."

Malcom started wandering, mail in hand towards the chain fence leading to the back. Still trying to engage in the conversation as he makes his way there.

"Logan, A pretty young woman at your side will do much to make people think your the gentle kind of giant."


----------



## Shayuri (Sep 3, 2012)

Juno gives Malcolm a wry look as he goes through the mail she just went through, but courteously doesn't mention anything about the 'nosiness' of wizards that he was so aptly demonstrating.

She gives Logan and Keira a nod. "I suggest Keira knocks with Logan keeping to one side. When they look out the peephole it's just her. Anyway...you know what you're doing. Sorry. Hard not to try to manage things like this sometimes."

With a sigh, Juno goes over to Malcolm. "Alright, lets check this place out. Same rules as before though...I'm not flashing my badge on this, and don't mention anything about me being a cop. This is off the books."


----------



## Thanee (Sep 3, 2012)

*Keira*

_“I'm pretty sure we can handle that. Let's give it a try!”_ Keira says.

The young woman then takes a look around to figure out where to start.


----------



## Bluedevil (Sep 4, 2012)

Malcom continued to check through the mail as Juno reminded him for the tenth time that she wasn't a cop of the supernatural world. He smiled as she finished, trying to add a bit of levity to the situation.

"Well I somehow doubt that screaming that your a police officer is going to help us on this one. This part of town, I think it would cause people to clam up, run, or shoot us."

"And if we run into this Fay she might decide to laugh at us, and neither of our egos needs that at the moment."

Malcom openned the small gate and held it open for Juno, "Ladies first, find it removes the criminal liability when I tell the officers that I was following a woman into traspassing."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Sep 6, 2012)

The exterior of the other side of the duplex is much the same as Sandra's: vinyl siding, small old windows, and gutters overflowing with pine needles. The car parked in the driveway is a beat up old Yugo from the '90s, full of dents and missing paint in several places. The front porch is a slab of concrete with no canopy over the doorway, however there is a collection of wind chimes of various sizes and shapes all hanging from metal hooks attached to the side of the house, a menagerie of disparate images, and probably sounds, just waiting for a gust of wind to blow through. 

In front of the doorstep is a circular mat of fake grass. There's an old crusted doorbell by the door, but also an elaborate door knocker in the shape of a nude woman. A peephole looks out at you as you approach, a pinpoint of light emanating from within. You can still hear the sounds of loud music coming from inside, a strange fusion of old and new.

==========================================

The back is fully enclosed by the chain link fence, extending around both attached homes, and full of pine trees. If there is any grass back there, you can't see it, the fallen pine needles covering the entirety of the yard. Luckily enough, the trees will keep anyone in the other houses from getting a clear view of you. 

The two sides of the duplex aren't separated, and you can get a clear view of both sides. Sandra's side is minimally decorated with a single lawn chair and a small round table. By contrast, the opposite end has an entire patio set laid out on the ground complete with giant umbrella. There are also several lit tiki lanterns, and the back sliding glass door is wide open, loud music pouring out from within.

The back of Sandra's side also has its own sliding glass door, this one closed, although there's no curtain to block the view inside, and it appears to lead into a living room or den. There is also a dirty, and slightly cracked, window that looks like it leads into a bedroom and a thin door with scuff marks all over its base.


----------



## Shayuri (Sep 11, 2012)

"Neighbors," Juno mutters as she peeks in the windows. "Complicates things. Wonder who owns the place though. They could let us in legit...assuming they're not involved."

She gives Sandra's humble little patio table a once-over for leads. Then she tries the expedient solution and just pulls on the sliding glass door to see if it's even locked.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Sep 12, 2012)

*OOC:*


Unfortunately, the door stays firm.


----------



## Thanee (Sep 12, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Well, let's see if someone is inclined to talk to us here,”_ Keira mentions as she steps towards the door. Pressing the doorbell, she tries to hear the sound of it over the loud music. Then she waits for a moment, and if nothing happens, she tries the knocker as well.


----------



## Bluedevil (Sep 12, 2012)

"Well a locked door is going to make things a bit more difficult. threshold could be significant so I worry about slinging magic at it. She seems nice, so I don't want to break her door." Malcom looked over the back of the house, checking the windows to see if anyone had left an opening that might allow access.


----------



## Shayuri (Sep 24, 2012)

(OOC - Apologies for long delay! Got a suggestion, but I'll put it in OOC. Why post here too? To bump. )


----------



## Dragonwriter (Sep 24, 2012)

Logan stands a bit behind Keira and to the side. The looming half-ogre tries to look a bit less imposing, but the results are less than stellar. He just nods to Keira and waits to see if someone answers the door.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Sep 24, 2012)

A few seconds after you hear the sound of the doorbell, the music playing inside quiets. A few seconds after that the door opens a bit, and you can see a chain latch stretch across the tiny gap. A sliver of a woman's face is visible from the other side, her dark eyes looking you up and down. You hear a short gasp, then the door slams shut. Just as the two of you are expecting this to be a very short visit, the door swings open to reveal a very shapley tanned woman wearing a lacey bodice and long skirt, both of bright blues and greens. Her head is wrapped in a blue cloth from which long brown curls unfurl to drape over her shoulders. The ensamble is completed with four inch heel black boots. She's only smiling slightly, but her eyes are twinkling.

"I'll be! It's Logan!"


----------



## Thanee (Sep 24, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Looks like you are no stranger to this woman, Logan,”_ Keira says to the big fella.

Then she turns back to the woman in the door: _“Hi! I hope we do not disturb you. We would like to talk, if you can spare a moment?”_


----------



## Shayuri (Sep 28, 2012)

While Malcolm checks the window, Juno narrows her eyes. Nice neighborhood. Neighbors next door. No fences or bars on the windows. Locks in a place like this were probably not taken too seriously.

She nudges at the faded, weathered old welcome mat with her toe until she gets it peeled back a bit, then kicks it over. When that reveals nothing, she feels the top of the doorjamb, and peers at the rocks in the ground just in front of the patio to see if one is a fake plastic keyholder rock.

(Declaration: One is a fake plastic keyholder rock.  Using Investigation.)


----------



## Dragonwriter (Oct 1, 2012)

Logan's eyebrow raises sharply as the woman identifies him by name. "Uh, yeah," he responds, ever so eloquently. "I'm going to guess Sandra mentioned me..."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 1, 2012)

Her face turns a little bit red, but she doesn't break eye contact with the two of you. "You look just like she described. She's always talking about her family, and I was wondering when I would get to meet any of you." She nods to herself. She doesn't have much of an accent, or perhaps its just that she sounds like she's lived a little bit of everywhere. It's hard to nail down which. "You aren't disturbing me at all. I just got off work and was winding down. I still haven't changed, so give me a few minutes. Come-" Then she stops and bites her upper lip hesitantly. "Would the two of you be offended if I didn't invite you in? You can never be sure if people are who you think they are, after all, and better safe than sorry, Sandra says." She steps back, giving the two of you room to enter if you wish, but doing so will require you to step across the threshold without an invitation.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Oct 1, 2012)

"Understandable," Logan says with a nod. He steps over the threshold with a slight wince and frown as he feels the resistance and minor drain on him. "I take it Sandra explained some of the more... unusual things in life to you," the big man says casually. He takes a quick glance around the interior of the place as he stands facing the young woman. "Oh, and your name would be...?"


----------



## Thanee (Oct 2, 2012)

*Keira*

Keira continues to talk to the woman to gain her trust.

_“You have nothing to worry from us, we are friends. I would much prefer an invitation, because ‘breaking in’ is a quite unsettling experience. It just feels wrong.”_


OOC: Using Rapport (d6: 1-2 = - / 5-6 = +) to convince her of our motives. Edit: Total result would be +3 (next time I will use the actual Fate dice).


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 2, 2012)

Malcom casually looked at each one of the windows, looking for a possible way in without much luck. It was unlikely that she had left any windows open, the few nights before she had left had been cold and apparently there were prowlers around this neighborhood as of about two minutes ago.

Malcom glanced back at Juno, cracking a mischevious smile as he took her in. Juno looked so out of place in the yard, police officers were rarely trained in being subtle and Juno seemed more out of place then usual breaking into someone's house.

Malcom turned to walk back towards her when he noticed one of the second floor windows was open just a crack. He quickly moved to the side of the house and grabbed the trashcan, dragging it under the window. His smile widened as he balanced himself on the can gave the window a little yank and with a creak began to open.

"Hey mate, I think I found something."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 2, 2012)

The woman lightly touches her forehead. "Sorry sorry. I'm Mara." She scrunches her face a bit in thought, then nods. "I guess there isn't much of a chance of mistaken identity..." She takes a deep breath. "Okay, well, Sandra would lay into me, but come in come in, both of you. And have a seat." She motions to the couch, a cushy flowery thing pushed against the adjoining wall.

The living room looks big for the home, probably taking up half of her total square footage all by itself. All the furniture is pushed to the walls, leaving a large open space in the center. She has no television, no computer, and her phone is an old rotary style beast. On the walls are colorful paintings of open landscapes and far away cities.

She goes into the kitchen, an open concept more by necessity than style, and calls back "Sandra's been taking me under her wing a bit. We share a certain knack if you understand me, although she is like an Einstein to my somebody you've never heard of." She emerges with a brass tray with an old fashion porcelain tea set and Ritz crackers still in the package sitting on it. "I was just about to have a snack if you would like something. I don't have much I'm afraid."


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 2, 2012)

Juno felt more than a little awkward there in the yard. It wasn't the first time her 'jobs' had conflicting imperatives, but it never got easier. She had to break into the house to help someone, but she was paid to protect people from having them break into their houses. She knew this was the lesser evil in this case, but it still rankled.

Even so, the key helped. At least they wouldn't be wriggling in through a window, or breaking glass.

She scooped up the fake rock, twisted it open, and fished out the key.

"Me too. What've you got?"


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 2, 2012)

Malcom hopped off the garbage can, landing with a thud, "Well I found an upstairs window. We can climb up and into the house though it might be a bit of a pain. You?"


----------



## Dragonwriter (Oct 2, 2012)

Logan sits down on the couch, taking up the vast majority of it and making it creak a little under his mass. "Well Mara, you know I'm Logan. This is Keira. We're here looking for Sandra. You see, she hasn't called Mom in a while and is usually pretty attentive. That puts Michelle a bit on edge, especially with a recruiter sniffing around for Sandra. So, how much has Sandra told you, and have you noticed anything strange going on with her or around here recently? Cold snaps in the neighborhood? A weird and unsettling woman coming around for Sandra? Anything?"


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 2, 2012)

Juno holds up the little piece of bronze so it glints into Malcolm's face.

"Key."

She put the rock back where she'd found it and unlocks the door. Before opening it though, she pauses and looks back at Malcolm.

"You think she has any faerie mojo going on here?"


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 2, 2012)

"Oh, well... where to start..." Mara puts the tray on a little coffee table and pours three cups of tea, then pulls up a chair that was in one of the corners and sits down a little in front of Logan. "I met Sandra about a year ago working around Little Five Points. I've got a small amount of talent with magic and do palm readings, tell the future, look into my crystal ball, that kind of thing, and sometimes I'm right. She's helping me figure that side of things out. I know what changelings are. I know that there's some kind of group of wizards to keep a low profile from." She leans back, running her hand through her hair and scratching the back of her head a bit, looking a little bit embarrassed. "I'm still just learning about what's out there, though."

She rips open the little bag of crackers and pours them onto a plate, then takes a sip from her cup. She frowns a little. "Sandra isn't a real party goer, you know? Not out at all hours, kind of a home body really. But I haven't seen her in days. I figured she was visiting home or something, but if you don't know where she is..." She trails off, slowly realizing the seriousness of the visit. The happy look from getting visitors is gone from her face. "Last I saw her here was Friday. I went to see her, but she said she had a headache and I left. Didn't really think much about it." She looks up at both of you. "She did look terrible, though, like she hadn't slept for days. Saturday morning when I got up for work, that's about six in the morning, she was gone."


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 2, 2012)

"Well you just have to show off your detective skills dontcha?" Malcom said with a smile as his eyes caught the glint of the key.

As the pair wandered up to the back door, Juno reaches up to put the key in the door and Malcom's hand moves out to block her own.

"Well I think we should assume she did until proven otherwise. If she did, we could get spattered all over the back yard or seriously hurt. If she didnt, we only waste a minute checking."

Malcom took a step back from the door and put his hands at his sides. He hadn't really liked using the sight and would have preferred to avoid it in this case, but there weren't too many other ways to do this quickly.

Wizards couldn't forget what they saw with it, and if the young lady had in fact been killed in her house, he was on his way to more then a few bad nightmares over the next few weeks.

Malcom took a deep breath, and opened his third eye.


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 2, 2012)

Malcom's smile shifted to concern as his eyes traced the ward lines throughout the house, "Well I got good news and bad news. The good news is that the ward is minor but well put together. The bad news is that its well put together. Going to need to use a little bit of force to get through, and if I fail its going to slap me harder then my last date."

Malcom signaled his compatriot to stand back for a moment and pulled out his blasting rod from under his jacket and pointed it at the center of the ward's power. He watched for a moment as the beautiful magical energy drifting lazily between the various points on the house. One good shot was all he needed.

The magic began to course through his body as it gathered, flowing into the blasting rod with a sudden rush.

"Fortis!" 

Spirit magic was Malcom magic of choice, he had always been a stuborn boy and throwing his will at a object just seemed to mesh well with that attitude. The force lashed out of the end of the blasting Rod and slammed into the ward with the full weight of Malcom's will pressed against it.

The fatigue hit him a moment later, not much but every use of magic took a little out of Malcom despite his best efforts.


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 5, 2012)

Juno winced and looked around. Magic was nice and all, but not always subtle.

"You okay there?" she asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Did it work?"


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 6, 2012)

Malcom casually flipped the blasting rod around his finger and put it back into the side of his coat.

"All Good Kimosabe, way should be safe now."

Malcom held his hand out towards the door, "After you."


----------



## Thanee (Oct 6, 2012)

*Keira*

Keira listens to what Mara has to say. She nods every now and then, and generally looks sympathetically towards her.

_“You two have been training together, then? That's nice. But you have no idea where she might be now, or do you? Anything? Any clue what she is into? It is really crucial that we find her. She might be in trouble, I won't lie to you, it could be quite serious. And we are trying to help her get through it. But we cannot do much, unless we find her.”_


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 9, 2012)

Mara nods. rubbing her right cheek with her fingertips. Half a minute passes before she says anything. "Last week..." she starts, thinks a moment counting up to three with her fingers, then starts back, "Monday. Last Monday she got a call for work. I don't know the particulars, though. She went out and didn't come back until Wednesday. That's not too uncommon, though, so I didn't think anything of it. She always tells me before she goes off, you know, just in case. I figure it was pretty uneventful. She didn't go anywhere Thursday or Friday. That was unusual; she rarely spends that much time at home without going out somewhere. Nobody came by, though, that I saw. She spent the whole time by herself."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 10, 2012)

Sandra's house is dark. There's some light coming in through the windows so that you can walk around without bumping into things, but if you want to make out any details, you'll probably need some light. Overall the place looks cluttered but clean. There are clothes strewn across chairs, books, magazines, and opened mail piled up haphazardly, and various sized boxes situated in most corners. However, there seems to be little dust or cobwebs in the home.

The back door entered straight into the living room. There are little to no electronics in here. No TV, no stereo system, no computer. The clock on the wall looks like a windup and the land line is an old rotary. There are several unlit candles situated about the room.

From this vantage point, you can see a door to a closed off kitchen and a hallway that leads to three closed doors.


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 10, 2012)

Juno looked around, taking in the details. 

"Looks like she's no stranger to not having electricity," she comments. "Because she's poor though, or because she doesn't want it?"

She nods at the kitchen door.

"I'm gonna check the kitchen."


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 10, 2012)

Malcom looked around the house, taking in the surroundings in the dim light, "Practitioners have problems with electronics, we get along like oil and water. Guess this means we are in the right place and explains the ward, weak but well crafted."

Malcom nodded at Juno's movement towards the kitchen, "I will take the hall then, might want to light a couple of candles so that you don't trip over anything."

Malcom moved down the hall, looking for the bedroom the obvious place to start any investigation about a young lady. People probably would have been surprised, but you could find out more about a person by what they left around their bedroom then what most people could find in the rest of the house. It was a nesting instinct that practitioners tended to have. You always wanted to sit in bed reading books or doing something before you went to sleep.

Malcom was a little surprised that the bedroom appeared neat and orderly unlike his own. It was simply decorated and smaller then he might have expected. A nice floral wallpaper lined the wall with a small number of older pieces of furniture including a single bed.  Perhaps this girl had less in common with him then he thought, clean and doesn't need a lot of bed space.

Books were scattered around the room like he expected and Malcom pulled his lighter out of his pocket after checking a few of the jacket pockets and finally locating it and its small blue flame ignited a couple of well placed candles on the dresser and side tables.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 12, 2012)

Juno steps into the kitchen, a small simple affair. There isn't even a microwave in there, just a tiny fridge, a gas oven and stove top, and a double sink. On the far side of the room is a doorway leading to a laundry room, and by that a small wooden writing desk that looks quite old but somehow still holds together.

This room is similarly kept to the rest of the house, disorderly but fairly clean. There are no dirty dishes in the sink, but opened junk mail and bills are piled on the counters. Clean dishes are piled haphazardly onto a rack by the sink, and the writing desk is covered with loose papers and received letters. It looks like she kept regular correspondence with others through snail-mail, a thing to do when one can't treat email or even a cell phone with any trust.

Opening the fridge, the light flickers on and off, irregularly illuminating the inside. It contains mostly soft drinks and quickly prepared meals like hotdogs, coldcuts, and frozen dinners. Over by the desk, the failing light from outside as the sun sets isn't enough illumination to read any of the letters. However, you can tell that she has kept in regular contact with several different people, and there are some unfinished works of hers still laying about. 

Meanwhile in the bedroom, Malcom uses a lighter to look over the various books in Sandra's room. There are several books on spell casting, from beginner's books to books that would give Malcom a run for his money in understanding the concepts within. Most of these more advanced books are on glamours and veils. The beginner books vary in topic from quick elemental based evocations to intricate thaumaturgies.

The room seems fairly plainly decorated. It's hard to tell what reflects her taste and what came with the house or was bought because it was a functional adornment to the room. There is nothing for reading for pleasure, save a few travel-oriented magazines dated back at least a year and a few books of riddles, heavily paged through.

Malcom also finds, in an undecorated leather bound book, what looks to be a personal and research journal in one. Flipping through pages and skimming a few entries, she writes about home and friends, her displeasure with both the Summer and Winter Courts, her distrust of the White Council, and some philosophy into the nature of magic. It also appears that she's been researching magics of her own. The research is fairly intricate in nature - no beginner's work here - and it will take some time to read over to gain any insights.


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 13, 2012)

Malcom looked over the material with a small look of surprise on his face. He understood she was a practitioner of some kind, but this was advanced stuff the kid was looking into and some of it was even beyond his gifts. 

Her knowledge of spirit appeared to be equal if not better than his own, and combined with her heritage seemed could easily combine to be quite a potent combination.

Well potent and dangerous. With her natural gifts either court would benefit from her recruitment or see her as a potential danger. To make matters worse, any number of demons, neutral Faye, or other creatures might have been attracted by her work. There didn't seem to be any indication she was breaking the laws of magic, but there was also much of her texts that were beyond a simple 'once over' from a wizard's eyes.

He flipped through the last few pages of the small leather tome containing her personal notes. If she had left of her own volition, she wouldn't have left this.

Malcom closed the book and slid it into his jacket pocket. It still might contain clues with a bit of research and he was unwilling to simply discard it.

Malcom's heavy bootsteps echoed through the house as he left her bedroom and decided to see what was behind the other doors. He tried the second door and found it firmly locked. A locked room in an abandoned house? Intriguing.

Malcom called down the hall to Juno, "Cleared the bedroom but got another locked door here. I could use magic, but perhaps you have something more useful?"
 
Malcom left the door and wandered into the bathroom. Medicine cabinet might tell him a bit about their quarry.


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 14, 2012)

"Maybe," she replies. "She keeps her mail in here."

Juno glanced at the answering machine, thumbing the 'Play' button if it's blinking or indicating there's messages. As it plays she fishes out her keys. There's a little LED flashlight fob on the keychain. It's meant to help find the car lock in the dark, but held up close it sheds a little light on those letters.

She looks for dates on them, looking for something close to the time of her disappearance.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 17, 2012)

Malcom looks through the bathroom. Tub and toilet are both clean. Sink is also clean, but piled up next to it are mounds of makeup and facial cleansers. Apparently changeling natural beauty has its limits. The medicine cabinet opens with a groan, and inside are only over the counter medicines: NyQuil and DayQuil, and other various usual suspects. Malcom leans over and checks the trash can, a tiny bucket lined with a plastic bag from the local Wal-Mart. The only thing in there are two boxes of Extra Strength Tylenol and the accompanying empty plastic bottles. Looking back through the medicine closet, there is a lack of any pain killers in there.

Juno flicks the flashlight on and flips through the piles of letters. The newest stamped envelope, close to the top of the pile, comes from an address on Atlanta's Alabama Street in Downtown. It looks like it arrived sometime late last week. There isn't a name on it, but there is a return address. Looking through the pile a bit more, it looks like whoever sent the letter has been in contact with her quite a bit over the last few months. There are also several letters from Michelle and someone by the name of Robert Mills, although nothing postmarked less than two weeks ago. It seems Mr. Mills's correspondence was sporadic, though. Other than those, there is little contact with anyone else for more than one or two letters, though it does seem that she received several one offs from about a dozen or so people.


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 17, 2012)

Malcom turned one of the pill bottles over in his hand before dropping it back in the waste basket. Magic had its costs, one of which was mental strain. He could still slightly feel fatigue creeping on the back of his mind from the spell he worked earlier.

He shook the feeling lose, empathy with this young lady wasn't going to make his job any easier, and life as a warden had trained him to keep a distance from the mages that he was investigating. It was much harder to go after someone for breaking the laws when you liked them.

Malcom felt his jaw tighten at the though and he found it hard to stand. He leaned forward over the sink, his eyes drifting up to the mirror which clearly displayed the man before him. Disgust washed over him for an instant, at the idea of what he might have to do and what his presence represented to much of the magical community. She might have run just at the sight of him. Warden was probably a curse in her vocabulary, not a word of comfort.

He turned the tap on with a quick motion, letting the water run over his hand before splashing it across his face. The Cool splash brought him back to the moment.

"Cant assume she broke the law, only that she had some skill. This is a friends case, not a warden assignment. Get a grip and get it done." Malcom's words came out in a whisper as he spoke to himself in the mirror and took a moment to compose himself.


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 23, 2012)

ThirdWizard said:


> Juno flicks the flashlight on and flips through the piles of letters. The newest stamped envelope, close to the top of the pile, comes from an address on Atlanta's Alabama Street in Downtown. It looks like it arrived sometime late last week. There isn't a name on it, but there is a return address. Looking through the pile a bit more, it looks like whoever sent the letter has been in contact with her quite a bit over the last few months. There are also several letters from Michelle and someone by the name of Robert Mills, although nothing postmarked less than two weeks ago. It seems Mr. Mills's correspondence was sporadic, though. Other than those, there is little contact with anyone else for more than one or two letters, though it does seem that she received several one offs from about a dozen or so people.




Juno fishes out her phone and puts the return address from that top letter into it. She puts a little note entry in about Robert Mills, and the date of his last missive, in as well. Lots of letters...but what else did you do when you couldn't email and even phones were unreliable. 

No wonder magicians usually had 'old world' attitudes. They were quite literally stuck in the past.

"Okay," she called as she gave the kitchen one last once-over, looking for anything that seemed out of place. "I think we've got what we're going to get for now. Anything useful in the bedroom?"

She came out of the kitchen and looked over towards the hall. "Malcolm?"


----------



## Bluedevil (Oct 23, 2012)

Malcom quickly pulled himself together and exited the bathroom, "Found a couple of things: Journal and Pain meds." 

Malcom moved down the hall smoothly towards the locked door, "Though I still think you should take a look at the locked room before we head out." He smiled boyishly, "Cause locked doors usually beg to be opened by investigators."


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 26, 2012)

Juno shrugged. It WAS a little odd for someone to keep a room of the house locked if no one was in it...but even a little time on the police force had taught her that people did odd things sometimes, for perfectly innocent reasons, or no reason at all. Her first partner had told her that 'if everything that looked like a clue was a clue, we'd all be in jail.'

Still, this was no ordinary house, and their quarry was no ordinary girl. And the leads they'd found so far were rice-paper thin. 

"Just to warn you," Juno explained as she went down the hall to the locked door, "if this thing doesn't open with the front door key, and isn't the cheapass kind of lock you can pop open with a pin, chances are we're not getting in. I don't want to break the door down until we're desperate."

She fished the house key out of her pocket and tried it on the little keyhole in the doorknob, wiggling it gently.


----------



## Thanee (Oct 27, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Thank you, Mara. So, except for that little encounter on friday, when she told you about her headaches, you didn't see her or talk to her? Looks like we will have to figure out what that call for work you mentioned was all about. Can you tell us anything about her work, what does she do, and how does she get her jobs usually?”_


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 30, 2012)

Mara scrunches her nose. "I'm not really sure exactly what she does. She doesn't really talk about it. I was hoping that you'd know more than me, to be honest. I do know that she says she helps others with magic talents. And, I know it's dangerous, because a few times when she's gone out she's told me that if she isn't back in a week to tell her mom. But, she doesn't like to talk about it. I think she thinks it'll keep me safer the less I know. There was a name she mentioned once, by accident... what was his name?" 

She leans back in her chair holding up her index finger finger to you, putting it over her mouth, then folding her arms. Her eyes drift to a far off place. The scent of herbal tea wafts through the room. From a small stereo you can hear some music build to a muted crescendo. She must have turned it down instead of completely off. While the music fades back down to inaudibility, she sways back and forth, her movements as subdued as the music she follows. Taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and holds completely still. Under her breath, she mutters _"Retine"_ and then takes a sharp breath. She opens her eyes with a flutter and shudders.

Looking up, she blushes. "Something I've been working on. I don't have a photographic memory, but I can fake it." Then she looks at you seriously, nodding while she talks. "Moretti was his name. She was going to meet him Downtown. It slipped out and she told me to forget the name." She pauses a moment. "I think he's her contact in whatever it is she does. It pays well, I can tell you that, although you wouldn't be able to tell by looking at her clothes or her decorating habits. But she buys a lot of expensive books and replaces a lot of electronics. She used to carry a disposable cell phone around with her and replace it every day, but gave up on that a couple of months after I met her."

"Have you talked to her boyfriend? He might know more." Looking at you, she gets a sudden realization. "You don't know about him do you? Jesus, Sandra!" She cuts off your obvious next question, holding up her hands in surrender. "His name is Robert Mills and he lives somewhere around Midtown. I met him a few times. He's big, rough around the edges, short tempered, and likes hard liquor. That's all I know." She sighs exasperatedly. "Does she tell her family anything at all about her life? What a woman."


----------



## Dragonwriter (Oct 30, 2012)

Logan gives a half-smile. "Sandra was always pretty close-mouthed, even before she moved out of the house. So a boyfriend who's rough and hard-drinking, and a possible employer she kept as concealed as possible... Interesting." He leans back and taps one finger against his knee, seemingly lost in thought.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Oct 31, 2012)

Juno slides in the key and it turns with a soft _click_, allowing the door to swing open. 

This room looks like it might once have been a bedroom, but it has long since been converted. The only light comes from Juno's flashlight and Malcom's lighter. Peering in the two light sources cast dancing shadows about the room as much as they reveal what is inside. The far window has a long heavy tapestry hanging over it, darkening the room considerably. The carpet and flooring have been ripped out, leaving the concrete slab exposed. Tall candelabras stand amidst the room, unlit for the moment. As each new item comes into focus in the darkness, it looks like this room has been turned into a full wizard's laboratory. 

In the center of the room is an intricately complex magic circle, carved into the very concrete of the floor. Various metals glint in the illumination, and patterns emerge from the engravings on the layers of rings that make up the circle, which must be somewhere around a five foot diameter on the inside, a foot more if you measure from the outside of the rings. On the far side of the room is a chalk board covered with arcane formulas describing various magic energies. The writing looks quick and hurried, the magic patterns complex enough that their purpose doesn't jump out as readily apparent.

The left side of the room is a bookshelf. The entire left wall. A myriad of differently sized, shaped, and colored books line the oak shelves, which themselves look hand crafted. It could take years to pore over these tomes in detail to learn their secrets. Nestled between books are bookends just as unique as the books they hold up. It looks like she was a collector. You see everything from demon-like carvings to Disney princesses. Beside the books is a dark brown La-Z-Boy that looks very used. 

The right side of the room is full of familiar looking Ikea brand cabinets. Each shelf is crammed with various items: jars of liquids, candy, leaves and seeds, organs in formaldehyde next to tiny bones, toy soldiers and figurines, drinking glasses of all shapes and sizes, a harmonica, triangle, and tiny harp, tape and glue, stained glass, feathers - the list goes on and on. Beyond what is sitting out, there are tiny drawers most likely filled with other items. Beside them is a neatly arranged table with a book stand beside it, currently empty of any particular tome.

Stepping inside, there is a sense that there is a purpose here, that Sandra wasn't just toying with the magical arts, but that she was a serious practitioner.


----------



## Shayuri (Oct 31, 2012)

"Well hell," Juno breathes, flicking the flashlight from place to place...and there were so many places of interest in that room. "There goes the deposit."

She steps back to get Malcolm access.

"This is all you."


----------



## Thanee (Nov 1, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Mara, that's really helpful. Now, at least, we have some trails to follow and some more people to talk to. Hopefully, someone knows a little more about what is going on right now. We will see about finding them tomorrow, right away.”_


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 1, 2012)

Malcom let out a small whistle from between his lips as he looked over the room, "Well apparently despite my modest income, this girl has me beat out for collection. Practitioner doesn't cover it, this is a full wizard's set up."

Malcom entered the room slowly walking around the edge of the carved circle on the floor examining first the bookshelves, trying to get an idea of her specialty.

"This room is a definite indication that something is very off. How does a young lady get access to all of this without help? Without a sponsor or a teacher."

Malcom's fingers glided against the book spines. The room looked like something he would expect from an older wizard, not a girl of twenty.

Malcom knew where he had to go, but in some ways he wasnt sure he wanted to see what she was working on when she vanished. There were too many bad possibilities. Malcom turned his eyes to the chalk board and started trying to decode the quick scrawls.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 1, 2012)

Mara seems to perk up a bit. "I'm glad I could be some help to you. I hope you find her soon. I wish I knew more, but just like you say she's not one to talk about herself so much. When she comes back, I'm going to try to get her to open up more. She must hide a lot in her heart." She takes a deep breath thinking quietly to herself. When she speaks again, her voice quivers slightly, but she looks both of you in the eyes, back and forth quickly, as she talks her voice getting softer as she continues the sentence. "If you find anything... no matter what you find... I'd like..." at that her voice fades away into inaudibility.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Nov 2, 2012)

Logan nods, understanding the unspoken words. "Whatever happens," is all the big man says.


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 2, 2012)

Malcom paused after looking at the formula on the board for several moments. There was no evidence of violations of the laws in the room, but he couldn't help but shake the feeling that the evocation written here was an indication that she had tangled with something big and lost.

He pulled out the diary and scribbled the formula onto the back of the diary for future reference. He would need to figure out what she was attempting to do eventually.

"Hand writing is quick and she was hurried. Something got her scared and breaking her usual patterns." Malcom held his hand out to the wall of books, "Its pretty apparent that she wasn't an ordinary young woman and She had the ability to research countless spells, but she needed to do a quick and dirty spell."

Malcom turned back to Juno, "Which to me says she was in danger, needed to get someone off her or some sort of spell. Didn't have time to look through the library and had to wing it."

Mason walked towards the center of the room, looking at the circle to see if there were any minor breaks in its otherwise well crafted exterior. "She came back to her center of power, to the place she could harness the most power but why."


----------



## Shayuri (Nov 2, 2012)

Juno pursed her lips and shook her head. You had to be careful with clues. They told stories in your head. After awhile, you were following the story instead of the evidence. It was hard to come back after that.

"Okay, lets hook up with the others and see what they found. We can come back if we need to. Good work."

She locked the door again behind her. Didn't feel right, leaving the place other than how they'd found it. As if the occupant might come strolling back in any time now, and wonder who'd been in her things.

From there back to the back door; she checked out the window before heading out though. Part habit, partly from sheer not knowing what this girl was into, who else was involved, and what they might do. Wizards made her nervy. Spirits and demons she could handle.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 2, 2012)

As Juno and Malcom walk toward the back door, they notice a shadowy but muscular figure standing just outside the doorway holding what appears to be a baseball bat firmly in his right hand. He is sans jersey, so one would assume he is not here to play ball. The sun is closer to setting than not, so the darkness makes it difficult to make out his features.

"Hey." He calls out, his voice low and rough, like that of a heavy smoker. As he calls out, he taps the bat against the glass doorway, not hard enough to break it but hard enough that you know he easily could. "I think we need to have a little talk. What're you guys doin' here?" He slings the bat over his shoulder and rolls his head back a little, awaiting your response.









*OOC:*


Calling for some rolls. See the OOC thread.


----------



## Thanee (Nov 3, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Of course, Mara. It is obvious that she means a lot to you. We will stay in touch.”_

Thinking about her last words for a second, Keira then adds:

_“Do you have a phone number, where we can reach you? Might be better than just appearing on your doorstep, like tonight. We can give you ours, too, just in case something happens that we might need to know about, or where we could help out.”_


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 5, 2012)

"Of course." Mara nods and gets up, going over to a small table in the living room where she keeps Post-It notes and pens. She quickly jots down a number for you. "Here you go. Please call, okay? Even if you don't find anything, I don't want to be left just wondering."


----------



## Shayuri (Nov 8, 2012)

Goosebumps pebbled Juno's arms as she looked over at the door that had nothing to do with the rush of panic that sped her heart. The atavistic response to being caught in someone else's territory. Fight or flight.

But no, there was something else at work here. The man's proportions were subtly off, and his features weren't just shadowy because of the backlighting. Juno sniffed; the stench of _xibalba_ hung around him like a shroud.

"Yeah," she said with deceptive softness. Her knuckles cracked as she balled her fists tightly. "Lets _talk_."

She crossed to the door in three strides and threw it open, then immediately grabbed for his right arm and pivoted her hips to yank him in through the door while leaving a leg out to try to trip him on his way in!

(so basically, opening the door and attacking, though the aim of this attack is to get him inside and off the back porch so we can deal with him more private-like. )


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 8, 2012)

Malcom's accent flared up he saw Juno make for a run at the cloaked figure at the back door with a baseball bat. If he was a regular burglar, he would have not have been concerned with the trained police officer moving to engage in hand to hand with him.

Unfortunately, this was not your every day burglar, the movements of the man concealed  his true nature: A ghoul. 

Quickly everything he knew about ghouls flashed through Malcom's mind. Ghouls were incredibly strong and fast monsters who eat meat, often human. They can briefly pass for human without much effort, but that illusion vanished as they engaged in hand to hand.They have long claws and  sharp teeth to tear into human flesh and usually involved close combat with anything short of a full wizard.

Malcom moved forward, his hand drifting down to his sword but not drawing it yet and instead shouting out, "Juno, he is going to be top heavy, watch the claws and the teeth."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 9, 2012)

"You-" the ghoul yells out in surprise as Juno grabs him. He wasn't expecting to be physically assaulted from the looks of it, but that was nothing comparatively. As he is dragged across the threshold, his eyes widen and his voice cuts out mid curse into a dull howl of anger and perhaps pain. Juno can feel the arm's flesh she's holding onto almost seem to bubble in her hands as the ghoul's seeming changes from man to monster.

His back grows more hunched and his hair begins to fall out. His eyes fell backwards in the sockets, muscles turn sinewy while razor sharp claws and sharper teeth drive their way onto his hands and mouth. With the transformation complete, he looks at Juno with gold eyes, a hateful expression you have rarely seen the likes of before.


----------



## Shayuri (Nov 9, 2012)

She kicks the door shut behind her, never taking her eyes off the creature. Though her own face is far less fearsome, the anger and hate in her eyes is no less as she stares it down.

"That's better, isn't it?" she asks, almost growls. "Game faces on. Everything on the table. Now normally I'd start out by telling you to put down the bat and tell me why you're here and who hired you...but since I get the feeling I'll have to beat it out of you anyway, I'm just gonna skip straight to that step."


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 9, 2012)

Malcom wanders forward as the ghoul is dragged into the building. His hand moved slowly down to the edge of his jacket, pushing his long leather coat aside and revealing the hilt of his warden's blade.

"If you recognize this blade, I recommend you comply with the officer."


----------



## Thanee (Nov 9, 2012)

*Keira*

_“I will. Promise.”_

Then Keira turns to Logan:

_“Did you see that, too? Guess it's best we go take a look, right?”_

While she speaks, the young woman is already on her way to the door.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Nov 11, 2012)

Logan nods to Mara, then focuses on the glass door as he spots the shadow. He grunts at Keira's question and levers his large frame up from his seat. "Mara, get somewhere safe. I've got a bad feeling all of a sudden." Maybe he was overreacting, but it never hurt to be too safe. He follows Keira to the door, eyes and ears on high alert.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 12, 2012)

The ghoul snarls, throwing the bat across the room where it strikes the wall and clatters to the floor. He curls his claws in front of him. "As you humans say, It is the hard way," is his response.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 14, 2012)

Without another word and in an instant ghoul barrels forward at Juno. Ghouls are supernaturally fast, and this guy is no slouch. Whatever the effect of the threshold is on the creature, its barely slowing it down as its claws slice through the air toward Juno, who barely has time to duck underneath, catching the ghoul's bony wrist against the top of her head. It isn't enough to inflict any real damage, but it knocks her back a bit and stings like Hell. As she manages to straighten herself up, the ghoul is so close she can smell it's breath - a putrid smell of spoiled meat. It stares her straight into her eyes as it prepares another onslaught, nothing but rage and hunger behind its own eyes.









*OOC:*


Hit: 4 stress inflicted on Juno


----------



## Shayuri (Nov 14, 2012)

There was still a little corner of Juno's mind that panicked with disbelief when something like this happened. Since her blood had awakened, she'd fought more than one terror from beyond...some more successfully than others...but she hadn't quite gotten _used_ to it. The confidence she projected was still partially swagger.

But she'd learned, fast. Most critters from the nightside had one big exploitable weakness, and that was overconfidence. With her it usually lasted exactly one punch. So she tried to make that one punch count.

Heat flowed out from her heart through her veins like molten gold; a faint echo of the legacy of the warrior-kings of old. Her gift was still young within her. Even so, her uncle had helped focus it in conjunction with her athletic pursuits. It was very much a power of the body.

Even with her head still ringing a bit from the blow, Juno moved with the precision of long practice, shoving the ghoul's oversized arm up and out of the way with her left forearm, then driving her right hand, palm-forward, into its center of mass with all the strength at her command. For an instant as the blow landed, there was a suggestion of a light around her, like an aura. The impression of a jaguar overlaid over her, its spots dotting her arms and face. Blink and you'd miss it. 

The force of the strike knocked the ghoul backwards and air came rushing out of its lungs. It staggered for a moment, then recovered. The hate in its glare had somehow magnified, but was tempered now by something else. Not fear, exactly, but a reassessing.

Juno locked eyes with it and put her hands out to guard again.

"I dunno...doesn't seem too hard so far."


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 14, 2012)

Malcom was surprised by the surging speed of the Ghoul and couldn't help but feel he had understimated the creature. the blade in his hand moved quickly, slashing down at the creature on the ground after its claws grazed Juno across the top of her head.

The sudden movement had thrown off Malcom's aim, and his blade cut nothing but air as it sailed harmlessly past the Ghoul. Malcom cursed under his breath. The threshold that was grounding some of his magic either wasn't effecting the ghoul or not slowing him down fast enough for a conventional fight.

He could remember his father's words ringing through his head as he brought his sword back around. Malcom's face stiffened with resolve as he brought the blade back to a defensive position.

_Rule one: Wizards Cheat.


_


----------



## Thanee (Nov 14, 2012)

*Keira*

_“I guess I don't need to tell you to be careful...”_ Keira remarks, as she opens the sliding glass door and heads outside.

Stopping just a few steps after, her keen eyes scan the dark street for whatever dangers lie ahead.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Nov 15, 2012)

"Nope. But reinforcement never hurt." The half-ogre heads out the door with Keira, keeping an eye out, but he's definitely more focused on what's going on next door...


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 15, 2012)

The second ghoul hid himself outside among the pine trees, watching and waiting. He had just patrolled the back yard for any more investigators, but it looked like there were only four total. That wouldn't be a problem. He licked his lips. Perhaps after they learned all they could from the humans they would eat them. There was no harm in that. He was hungry after all.


As the two others come out of the back door of Mara's house there is the scream of the ghoul's partner, his facade ripped away by the threshold of the mortal. A fight is on. With a seething anger, the ghoul rushes forward at the man in the rear, attempting to take him by surprise. Just as the ghoul is about to rip into his head, however, Logan's ears prick up and he turns around at the last moment. Eyes wide he almost subconsciously thrusts his hammer between himself and the ghoul, enough to save him. 

While Logan is shielded from the full force of the blow, he can feel the power of the stroke through the haft of the weapon reverberate through his arms to his body and knock him back several feet. The ghoul jumps back a half step, crouching down and ready to pounce again. He expected shorter work than this. Interesting. "Perhaps this prey will be more fun than expected," he addresses the two more as food than sentient beings. A smile spreads along his face, teeth exposed.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Nov 15, 2012)

Logan grunts as the strength of the blow drives him back. "Oh, yeah, Ugly. We'll be tons of fun." He lifts the sledgehammer and steps forward with a heavy strike coming for the ghoul, but is a bit too slow to catch the monster.


----------



## Thanee (Nov 17, 2012)

*Keira*

_“Perhaps this *prey* is a bit more than you can handle...”_ Keira teases, as she slips out of her clothes to free her form for the upcoming transformation.

A moment later, she sinks to the ground on all fours, growing dark fur and sharp claws. Hissing at the ghoul, the large cat pounces their assailant easily clearing the distance between them in a single leap.

The ghoul, however, is no stranger to physical violence and reacts quickly to the leap attack by blocking Keira's claws with his own and taking a step back to avoid the large cat pouncing right into him.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Nov 20, 2012)

The rebutted ghoul inside with Juno and Malcom looks a bit more hesitant now, but the fire is still in his eyes as he looks Juno straight in the eyes. Slowly, he puts his back to the wall and starts to move to where he can see both Juno and Malcom. He spits on the ground in front of him and flexes his fingers, saying nothing now, his lips curled in a look of contempt on his naturally disfigured face. With a quick move, he darts suddenly toward Juno, but she's ready for it, and his reaching claw makes no contact. Growling, he spins around, trying not to lose track of the two opponents.


Outside, this ghoul is more confident. Untouched, he smiles at the two combatants. Even when the woman changes form, he stays unfazed. Deciding to continue his attack against the large burly one, his fists fly forward, sweeping at Logna's chest. Logan is barely able to escape the razor sharp arcs of the claws, but the blunt force of the creature's fists make contact, knocking the wind out of the changeling. 

"What's going on? What's-" Mara's voice is cut off as she stares at the monster before her. It's obvious that while she might have had some kind of introduction to the supernatural world from Sandra beyond her own meager abilities, she's never seen any non-human of this nature before. Her voice just stops mid stride and she becomes completely still in an instant. Then after a half a second, she starts trembling uncontrollably. 

Taking a leap back to regain his footing, the ghoul smiles broadly at Mara, a ghastly sight, its eyes narrowing, and licking its lips.


----------



## Bluedevil (Nov 21, 2012)

Malcom smiled at Juno's quip, looks were always deceiving in the world of the supernatural. Juno was a stunning female form, but no mere mortal could throw punches like that into a super speed Ghoul. It had given the creature a moments pause.

The Ghoul had as a result of the blow, brought his full attention onto the young lady that was hitting like a mac truck and reduced his attention on the guy with the sword that was approaching from behind.

Malcom's blade darted through the air as the Ghoul moved on Juno with deadly purpose. Much as before however, the Ghoul seemed to underestimate the Jaguar warrior.

Malcom aimed for the creature's head, hoping for a death blow as his blade approached the creature from behind, but the Ghoul was just too fast.  The Ghoul moved to avoid Malcom's blade, and its sudden movement caused the blade to miss its  intended target and instead rake across its shoulder. Slick red blood coated the edge of the blade as Malcom withdrew it back to a defensive position. 

_Damnit, this thing is so fast I can barely draw a bead on it._


----------



## Shayuri (Nov 21, 2012)

Juno was in the moment. It was always like that in a fight, and never more than when fighting something that went bump. When the claws came, she swatted the ghoul's wrist aside and stepped not back, but forward...inside it's guard. 

It was still gasping, so she worked the body. A quick flurry of jabs, forcing it to move, to work, making that short breath hurt it. It came after her, hissing and panting, and she rewarded it with a big right cross when it was too tired to use that speed it had. All the speed in the world meant nothing if you didn't have the breath to use it.

It rocked back, and Malcolm jumped into the opening with that completely illegal to carry sword of his, opening up a big gash on it's shoulder the way not  even Juno's punches could. Made her think about looking into practicing more with weapons, because that was a fight-ender. Or would have been on a human.

"Now," she said to the reeling, bleeding ghoul. "About who hired you."


----------



## Dragonwriter (Nov 28, 2012)

Logan takes a deep breath and rolls his shoulders, facing the ghoul calmly. But his eyes widen as Mara comes out of the house. "Mara, back in the house!" he bellows as he starts to rush toward her. He takes a wide swing near the ghoul, simply to force it to back off, and closes the distance to the young woman in rapid order. The half-ogre picks her up bodily and runs her back into the house. Inside, he sets her back down (if a little roughly) and growls, "What part of 'get somewhere safe' did you not understand," as he turns to face the backdoor. He hefts his sledgehammer again, ready to defend Mara from the ghoul if it dared to come inside.


----------



## Thanee (Dec 16, 2012)

Outside, Keira circles around the ghoul, drawing its attention in order to have him turn his back to the house, where Logan just vanished. This way, Mara will be safer, and once Logan comes back they will have the ghoul in the middle between them, and at a disadvantage. If her face would still be human, one could see a smile forming on Keira's lips, this kind of cat-and-mouse play was definitely to her liking.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Dec 19, 2012)

Bloody and bludgeoned, the ghoul inside with Juno and Malcom grabs its shoulder wound, dark and thick blood oozing between its clenched fingers. The look on its face isn't quite the pure malice that it was a few seconds ago. Now there's something else there, fear underneath the grimacing mask of its malformed face? It quickly glances toward the back door, licks its lips, and makes a dash for it. 

The thing is _fast_, and its opponents have no time to react before the ghoul reaches the door frame. As their heads whip around to follow it, the two can see it stumble for a moment. As fast as its initial movements, it looks like the wounds it took are slowing it down. It pauses at the door, for only a moment but long enough to matter, looking left and right and squeezing its shoulder a second time. A few moments later, it takes off again  - away from where Keira and the other ghoul are - and into the falling darkness of sunset.

It's companion outside isn't about to be left behind. The one fighting Logan and Kiera isn't hurt, but it is now cornered in by Keira, who is now in full were-form. This isn't quite what it thought it was getting itself into, and the sight of a bloodied ally fleeing a scene is enough to make anyone question the need of sticking around. Even a ghoul. It darts right then left to try to escape, and as fast as it is, Keria in her were form is just as fast. Precious seconds pass, and it takes all the ghoul has to just get out from against the wall. By the time it manages to break free, the other is just turning the opposite corner, and it turns the other way, running around the side of the house, but twisting its head around behind it to keep an eye on the cat as it runs toward the street.


----------



## Shayuri (Dec 24, 2012)

"Mother..." Juno muttered a curse as the ghoul made a break for it. It wasn't FAIR that something that huge and strong would ALSO be that fast. That was the trouble with fighting spooks. They were _spooky_. There was always something about them that bent the world's pinky back, laws of nature-wise.

...not that she was much better, truth be told. But at least she wasn't so obvious about it.

Fortunately, if there was one thing that both of Juno's jobs called for, in abundance, it was chasing perps down. She'd had plenty of experience at it, and she'd gotten very good at it.

She was already pelting to the door when the ghoul paused to look back, and she almost had it then. But it whipped out and around the corner almost too fast to see, leaving her to dash after it, vaulting over the low hedge to cut the next corner and get a little ground back. 

Her gun wasn't out. The last thing she needed was to have to explain shots fired in this neighborhood. Bullets were accounted for. You couldn't just show up with an empty chamber. Sooner or later she'd have to get a gun for her 'other' duties, but she wasn't made of money...a good handgun was expensive...

There it was...it and a friend. The one she was after had made the front yard and was heading away. The other one had gotten pinned down by...a panther? No, Keira. With that stupid speed, it had pulled free, but hadn't gotten far. Juno left that one to the others. She was focused on the one she'd been fighting. And truth was, now that it was a straight up footrace, it wasn't pulling ahead anymore. It could handle corners without lip service to inertia, but running flat out...especially with its injuries...was giving Juno an edge. She was going to get it!

Then...she stopped, blood draining from her face. She scuffed to a stop on the edge of the lawn and reversed course, jumping behind that big old tree in the front yard. "Keira! Malcolm! Logan! Heads down! Under cover!" Now her gun came out, but she stayed behind that tree...for some reason.


----------



## Bluedevil (Dec 27, 2012)

Malcom was less surprised that the Ghoul turned and run, he had been expecting it from the moment it went toe to toe with Juno. Ghouls were never bright enough to pick their targets well and the smaller framed Police officer was deceptively strong for her size.

Malcom was however, completely unprepared for the Ghoul to choose that moment to flee. Malcom bolted out the back door, following the speedy ghoul around the corner of the house. Malcom was not nearly fast enough to keep pace with the the creature, years of cigarettes injuring his lungs and a lack of superspeed built into his body's functions gave the ghoul a significant advantage. 

Problem is, wizards cheat. 

Malcom concentrated for a moment as he rounded the corner, gathering his will and focusing it into his blasting rod. He quickly raised it like a cowboy whipping his pistol up during a draw and aimed it square at the back of the ghoul, sending a wave of invisible energy in a single focused pulse more powerful then most bullets.

The pulse cut along the ghouls side as it threw itself out of the way, barely dodging the knock out blow. *"Damnit."* Malcom was about to fire again, when Juno's warning finally clicked in his head, Malcom's attention shifting from the fleeing ghoul to the coming car.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jan 14, 2013)

Logan sees the ghoul dash past Keira and make a break for it around the side of the house. He growls, then looks at Mara. "Please listen this time when I say stay here." The half-ogre turns and rushes for the front door, tossing it open (and nearly yanking it off the hinges) and running out to the front yard.


----------



## Thanee (Jan 16, 2013)

As Logan comes back out of the house, the ghoul is already fleeing, even though he didn't get far. Keira easily keeps up with him and positions herself between the ghoul and the direction in which he is running, obviously not intent of letting him escape that easily. The large panther swiftly paces back and forth in front of the prey, making it hard to find a way out of the trap.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jan 17, 2013)

The ghoul with Kiera moves left, then right, only to be blocked as it tries to make its escape. A ghoul isn't a particularly resourceful creature, but it also isn't a particularly courageous one either, and its eyes widen as it watches its companion on the other side of the lawn, with Juno bearing down on it. Seeing its companion bloody, beaten, and leaving it behind, its eyes suddenly dart from the ghoul to Keira to the street finally seeing something its been waiting for - the thing Juno spotted when she came running into the front yard. It's buddy in what has now become a get away car coming his way. This its its only chance. It doesn't have any speed advantage over Kiera, and it doesn't have any clever tricks to get by. Instead, it just has the instinct to run when things get hard. It pushes itself, fear and need driving it, and it barely squeezes by the defense, a swipe of Keira's claws half an inch too late to catch it as it barrels by.

And that get away car? A dark Cadillac circa the 1970s, its headlights off, slowly rolls its way down the street toward the house. Both front and back passenger door are slightly ajar, ready for its companions to hop in. And, that's exactly what they do. The ghoul fleeing Malcom and Juno arrives at the car first, pulling open the back door and diving in head first to lay on the back seat. There are visible blood stains left on the door from the monster's oozing shoulder wound down its arm. The door is pulled closed from the inside loudly. The other ghoul is right behind it, this one pulling open the front passenger door and climbing inside.

As it sits down in the passenger seat, the window opens. The ghoul slides down in its seat to reveal the driver, by its looks another ghoul in human guise, pointing an SMG in one hand out the window over its fleeing companion's head. That's when things get really loud. The gun lets loose several short bursts of bullets, spraying the lawn, and laying down fire against everyone in the front yard. Dirt and grass are kicked up as Juno ducks behind the tree. Kiera goes flat in her were-form, making herself a difficult target, and bullets fly above her. Logan drops hard on the concrete, getting a few scrapes, but that's better than taking a bullet, even when you're a changeling. The house and lawn take some bullet fire, leaving holes all over the place. Malcom, thankfully, is in the back yard and wasn't in the area of the spray.

As soon as the bullets subside, the engine of the Cadillac roars to life, its headlights turning on, and the car starts to accelerate down the small residential street.

Lights start to turn on in surrounding houses, and you can see peeking from behind closed curtains. It's doubtful that this neighborhood is accustomed to gun fire in any way, especially automatic fire.


----------



## Thanee (Jan 18, 2013)

An unsatisfied growl can be heard from Keira, as the ghouls jump into the car to escape their grasp. But they were not gone, yet. Thinking quickly, she figures that while fast in her beastform, the bike is faster still. With the speed of lightning, her shadowy form rushes back to the backyard, where Keira had dropped her clothes earlier.

A moment later, the young woman runs towards her bike, yelling to her companions.

_“Come on! We can still catch them and get some answers!”_

Then she kicks in the gear and zips off after them, not waiting for a response.


----------



## Shayuri (Jan 18, 2013)

Juno leaned out just a little from behind the tree as the car started to speed away, her heart hammering as she focused on the license tag to try to read it before it got too far off. A stab of resentment flared as Keira ran to her motorcycle. The werecat could afford to be brave...she had a lot less to fear from a face full of bullets.

Her gun was in her hand now, as was her cellphone. The words to put an APB out were already on her lips when she stopped herself. If the police started chasing that car, those ghouls would have less than no concern about bystanders. And God help the cops who stopped them. 

She muttered some colorful language and shouted, "Logan, Mal, get back to the car NOW!" She practiced what she preached too, running out from cover to the driver's side of her old beater and wiggling the key expertly to get the door open in the minimum amount of time.


----------



## Bluedevil (Jan 20, 2013)

Malcom nodded to Juno as the order came in, he wasn't in the mood for arguing with someone who could drive better then he could. Hell, half the city could do a better job driving then he could. Malcom's license had nearly been suspended a year prior when he got in a major accident on the highway and he couldnt convince the police that he was in a high speed pursuit.

They never believe you till the monsters come out of the woodwork. 

Malcom yanked the car door open and threw himself into the passenger seat, *"I dont recommend I use the boomstick too much, might shut down your car. You calling for back up?"*


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jan 21, 2013)

Logan looks over his shoulder at the bullet holes in the duplex. He almost runs back in to make sure Mara is unharmed, but he knows that the burst of gunfire will be getting attention very soon. He grits his teeth and runs for the car, squeezing his bulky frame into the backseat.


----------



## Shayuri (Jan 21, 2013)

Juno grimaces at Malcolm's innocent and entirely sensible question.

"These things aren't human. Even a desperate criminal usually won't act with complete disregard for the public. He won't just go plowing through a crowded sidewalk for example. I'm a little worried these things might, if we push them too hard. I'm also worried that if the police pull them over, they will not be prepared for a car full of angry, scared ghouls armed with submachine guns."

"It's just...since when do spooks carry guns? That's really not playing by the rules. I thought magic messed things like guns up. I'm not happy about keeping all this quiet, but if that's how the game's played...fine. But if they're going to cheat..." She shakes her head angrily, puts her car in gear and sets off in pursuit!


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jan 24, 2013)

As Kiera and Juno race down the street to keep up with the fleeing Cadillac, the two passengers look out to see the neighborhood ablaze with activity. Cameras and cell phones can be seen held up by people in windows, others talking on the phone as they peer out, eyes wide at the commotion. A few brave souls have even stepped outside their doors to get a full view, idiotic as it may be to go outside when one hears gunfire. Mara is among them, staring blankly as you plow down the street away.

A hard right in pursuit leads you north, and out of sight of the neighborhood. You can see the Cadillac just ahead, having had trouble pulling away down the suburban road, clipping a trash can someone had forgotten to pick up earlier tonight. The two pursuing vehicles start closing the initial gap quickly.

[sblock]
Keira: +5 this round, total +5
Juno: +3 this round, total +3
Ghouls: -1 this round, total -1
[/sblock]


----------



## Shayuri (Feb 10, 2013)

Juno shifted gears and kept her car not just in the race but gaining as they tore around a corner and thundered down the streets. It wasn't that she was a super good driver...though she was in rare form that day; grooving to the blood music of adrenalin and stress hormones...it was that the ghouls were pretty bad ones. More than once they clipped obstacles trying to take corners too fast, and they kept skidding around and wasting speed.

They didn't seem to have been in a getaway attempt very often before. While that appealed to the hunter in Juno, it worried the cop a great deal. When this chase migrated to areas where there were pedestrians and a lot of other traffic, the ghouls were going to do damage and hurt people even if they didn't mean to. Most human beings, even fleeing for their lives, would at least try to avoid other people in their haste.

Juno doubted the ghouls would feel that compunction.

"We have to finish this fast," she mutters to Logan and Malcolm. "If they head downtown, driving like this..."

She's interrupted though by a most unwelcome noise.

The wail of police sirens.

"...they're going have the police after them," Juno finishes with a scowl. "And probably us."

"Malcolm, I need you to get my cellphone out of my pocket. I'm going to give you the number for dispatch."

She shifted her hip as much as she could to give him access to her front right pocket, and thanked her lucky stars that she kept her wallet in back, phone in front, rather than the other way around.


----------



## Thanee (Feb 15, 2013)

Keira, on her bike, weaves through the traffic, racing past a few cars while giving chase to the ghouls. She had reacted quickly, and therefore she was able to catch up to them quite well, but her mediocre driving skills are showing now as she puts in the wrong gear, letting her engine screech and she loses a bit of ground due to having to slow down a bit.

Of course, she had no idea, yet, what would happen, if she actually caught them. There were three of them, and they had automatic guns. But that was something to worry about later.

Pushes the thought aside, Keira presses on. Her instincts were those of a hunter, and at this point, the ghouls were her prey.


----------



## Shayuri (Feb 19, 2013)

(OOC - Apologies to Malcolm's player, I'm just going to assume he does what Juno asks, so we can keep the scene moving)

Malcolm dials the numbers Juno gives him, then holds the phone up to her ear as she tries to keep on the ghouls' tail while also talking to dispatch.

"This is Reyes, Juno Reyes. Badge 275984. You've got a cruiser in pursuit of a black Cadillac sedan. I know, just listen a second. Be advised the driver and passengers of that car are armed and extremely dangerous. If they pull that car over, tell them NOT to approach. Keep them pinned inside until SWAT gets there. Got that? Don't try to apprehend them without SWAT support. Yeah, I'm the other car...yeah, that's me. Look, it's complicated, and I'm driving right now so I can't get into it. Just make damn sure no officers get close to that car, and for God's sake try to keep civilians clear too. They're heavily armed. Oh shi..."

She slammed the brakes on and twisted the wheel as a car pulling out of a parking lot didn't look beforehand, forcing her to try to get around it. There was no collision, but she lost speed. Immediately she waved the phone away and scanned the road ahead, trying to find that Caddy again to pick up the chase.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Feb 20, 2013)

The ghouls' Cadillac careens down the suburban street, running a red light and coming within inches of T-boning an oncoming green Mazda. The hapless driver screeches to a halt getting slammed in its rear by a pickup. The Cadillac, slamming on its own breaks, starts fishtailing, almost slamming against another car waiting on the other side of the intersection. A quick rev of the engine, and the Cadillac makes a quick left and is accelerating down another road, leaving fender benders and anger in its wake.

The ghouls don't appear to be heading out of residential areas. In fact, they appear to be headed further into them. These roads are poorly lit, making it difficult to see what's coming, and high in population.

[sblock]
Round: 2
Keira: -1 this round, total +4
Juno: -1 this round, total +2
Ghouls: +1 this round, total 0
[/sblock]


----------



## Shayuri (Feb 20, 2013)

"Hell," Juno muttered as she accelerated after the ghoulcar, trying to make up for lost time. "They're going to kill someone."

"Malcolm...Logan...either of you, can you do anything about that car? Mess with their engine or do some kind of...God, I don't know, whatever you do...to blow their tires or stop the plugs from firing or something to end this now? We can't let them rampage around out here!"


----------



## Dragonwriter (Feb 21, 2013)

"If he starts any magic in here, it will kill your car just as fast as theirs. And I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you don't want me leaning out the window and trying to shoot their tires. Too many civilians, too many chances for me to miss and injure a bystander." Logan rumbles. After a second, he adds, "A point I'd agree with, by the way."


----------



## Shayuri (Feb 21, 2013)

"As long as it kills BOTH our cars, I'm fine with that," Juno replies hotly, tires screeching a little as she takes that corner a little too fast. "We have to stop them...and God no, don't start shooting. It's bad enough I'm doing this off-duty...if I have civilians shooting out of my car in a residential neighborhood they'll stick my badge on a spike out in front of the station."


----------



## Bluedevil (Feb 22, 2013)

Malcom had been trying to keep his cool throughout the entire encounter, riding in a modern car with a modern cell phone in his hand was not in a wizard's usual wheelhouse. His concentration lapsed for only a moment as the ghouls car smashed into another and started to head off in another direction.

They were headed right onto residential streets, where people would no longer be ready for speeding cars ripping down their streets. _Ghouls had no value for lives beyond their own_. The thought boiled in the back of his mind as Malcom listened to Juno desperately try to come up with a plan.

The cell phone's small battery began to flicker and die, the first sign that something was wrong.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Mar 7, 2013)

As everyone involved barrels onto McLendon Avenue from College, the sound of sirens blare as a police car weaves through traffic to join the chase in earnest, lights flashing, following about half a block now behind Juno's car. This residential side street is just a few hundred feet from the large DeKalb Avenue, but you'd never know it with the thick layer of trees blocking its sound and light. There are no streetlamps here, and cars are parked down the road, forcing the chase to make a zig zag pattern through the area.

The ghouls don't appear too concerned by either the lack of light or the possible casualties they might inflict. The Cadillac weaves through the street, slamming against an old banged up silver minivan on one side and a nice looking truck on the other, not bothering to slow down as it hurls itself against anything that it can't easily avoid. The bright lights of an oncoming car quickly flash and the sound of brakes and metal screeching on metal crashes as an oncoming car quickly turns to the side, totaling itself on a freshly painted blue truck, the Cadillac barely making it through the narrowed path.

As the cars bore down the neighborhood, Juno's car sputters for a moment, coughing up a black pitch from its exhaust pipe as the engine rumbles grumpily before unceremoniously dying.

[sblock]
Round: 3
Keira: -1 this round, total +3
Juno: -2 this round, total +0
Ghouls: +2 this round, total +2

Map of Chase
[/sblock]


----------



## Thanee (Mar 13, 2013)

Keira certainly isn't the best driver in the world, but she constantly reminds herself, that she really isn't _that_ bad.

However, between the hectic of the moment and her anxiety she simply doesn't have her bike under control as well as she would normally.

She is still going fast, but the ghoul car is going faster at the moment. Gritting her teeth, Keira tries to remain calm and keep her focus.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Mar 21, 2013)

The Cadillac comes to a stop with squeal of tires and a twist of the wheels, black streaks in the road as it barrages through the gates of Oakland Cemetery, ramming its rear end into one of the brick columns that make up the wall surrounding the large complex of graves, mausoleums, and occasional gift shop. Coming to a screeching halt inside, the doors of the car fly open and ghouls jump out, eyes behind them. The ghoul in the passenger seat leaps over the body of the car, his injuries already almost healed, to join his companions, a blur disappearing into interior of the ancient burial grounds.

[sblock]
The *end totals* come out to:
*Keira:* +1 this round, total *+4*
*Juno: *-1 this round, total *-1*
*Ghouls:* +0 this round, total *+2*
[/sblock]


----------



## Thanee (Mar 21, 2013)

Keira arrives only shortly after the ghouls. Stopping her bike a bit more gracefully than they did with their car. As she jumps down to continue the pursuit on foot, she looks over her shoulder. Where are the others?

Engaging one ghoul was one thing, but three, with weapons, and who- or whatever else was here, might be a bit much.

Keira grabs her phone and sends a quick message to the others.

*<< Oakland Cemetery >>*

Then she slowly follows them, keeping in the shadows for now, intent of figuring out where they are headed at least, while she waits for the cavalry to arrive, or an opportunity to surprise them.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Mar 27, 2013)

At this point, the sun has fallen behind the horizon and the cemetery is layered in shadow. For people who aren't keen on the supernatural, it can be a spooky place. For people who know that sometimes spooks are real, it's a really spooky place. This is the oldest cemetery in Atlanta, dating back to 1850. And its got some room to move around and hide in, coming out at 48 acres right in downtown Atlanta. There is more, and possibly worse here, than just ghouls.

Passing by tombstones and trees, the ghouls avoid the internal roads, favoring a direct route north through the sections. As the group passes by the old Confederate area, the ghouls' speed decreases gradually and they look over their shoulders less. Keira can see that one of the ghouls, the one that had the deep sword cut on its shoulder, just has a scar left over from the encounter that was now less than an hour ago.


----------



## Thanee (May 4, 2013)

Keira continues to keep her distance for now, intended to figure out where they are headed.

Of course, it bothers her a bit, that the wounds they have caused them are closing. If they were to fight them again, they would be better prepared - at least they would know now what they are up to - and unwounded once more. But they could sent them fleeing once, so they can beat them again.


----------



## Dragonwriter (May 4, 2013)

Logan feels his cell phone buzz as Juno's car comes to a stop. He quickly grabs at it and backs as far away from Malcom as possible in the car, holding up a hand palm-out in the classic "stay back" gesture. As he flips the cheap phone open and presses a few buttons, he breathes out a grumble. "Keira texted. Oakland Cemetery." He looks out the window and sees the police car stopping and the officers within approaching. "And how do you want to explain," he waves a meaty hand around, "all this?"


----------



## Shayuri (May 4, 2013)

"Just let me do the talking," Juno sighed as she fished her badge out. This was going to get her at the very least an unfun bawlout. _Possibly_, depending on how bad the mood was downtown, a little suspension. She hadn't really done anything _wrong_, but the story she had to give was a little flimsy.

The air was thick with the sound of horns. Two intersections up, a car had veered to avoid the barreling Cadillac and hit another one going the other way. From what she could see, the crash wasn't bad, but it had traffic tied up. Assuming she could turn the car back on after Malcolm's little Catastrophe Man act, she still wasn't going anywhere for a little while.

And neither was the other police car that had been in pursuit. They pulled up behind Juno and got out. She held the badge up to the window so they could see it, then rolled down her window.

Officer Emmanuel, "Manny" to his friends, Francis stooped over a bit and looked into the car. He took in Juno's passengers, then focused on her as she put her badge away.

"So...what the hell's this about?" he asked, after considering and discarding a few other methods of inquiry. "We've got shots fired...high speed chases...right in the middle of a public school zone."

Juno rubbed her forehead. It wasn't a nervous habit in this case, it was controlling the urge to punch him for being a twit. "I know what we've got," she replied tersely. "I was checking out a house, following up on a report the occupant was missing. There were a couple of tough customers in there. They ran into that Caddy, sprayed gunfire to keep me down, and drove off. I have no idea who they are, or what they were doing there."

Officer Francis frowned. "And...you're off duty?"

"Yeah. It wasn't official business, I'm doing it for a friend. Hasn't been long enough to make a missing persons case yet."

He glanced over the others in the car again. He seemed particularly preoccupied with Logan. "And these are...?"

Juno kept her face straight, even as she grimaced inwardly. Yeah, if Logan didn't scream 'I'm the Muscle' with his face, then she was Tinkerbell. "Also friends. They're helping me out."

Manny didn't say anything, and he didn't have to. Juno knew exactly how it looked. _So you were checking out a supposedly empty house for a 'friend,' minding your own business when two guys shot at you and dived into a car to make a getaway? Why'd you bring two tough-looking guys with you to check an empty house? What did you think was going to be there? Why didn't you get us involved if you thought there was going to be trouble? And who's the girl on the motorcycle? Another friend?_

"Look," she said more quietly, "it'll all be in the report. Short form: I had no reason to think anything like this would happen. I figured it was an angry boyfriend or something. If I'd had even...an inkling that guns and black cars were involved, I'd have taken it straight to the front desk."

Manny nodded after a second, though he still had his 'cop face' on, so he didn't let it slip whether he believed her or not. He surveyed the jammed up intersection ahead and shook his head.

"I hope this was for a good friend," he remarked. He didn't add, _because this is going to cost you._ It was clearly implied.


----------



## ThirdWizard (May 6, 2013)

As Officer Manny starts to direct traffic around the wrecks, more sirens are heard coming closer. Pretty soon an ambulance and a tow truck arrive, allowing traffic to start moving, although a few daring individuals took a shortcut through some poor family's petunia garden while the officer's back is turned. 

Juno just knows, though, that this isn't going to be the last time she sees Manny. He'll file a report, and that will be cross-referenced with her report, then some desk-bound ex-beat cop with delusions of being a detective will come around asking questions... But, that's a problem for another day.

Fifteen minutes, and you're on your way to the cemetery to meet up with Keira.

... who has finally found their apparent destination. At this point, all three of the ghouls she's tagging along after look fully healed, and they've now put on their human-esque masks. Arriving at a dilapidated old granite mausoleum in the area near the old Bell Tower, they stop and talk before going in, looking around nervously but not catching sight of their stalker. And, while two of the ghouls head into one of them, they leave the last to stand guard outside.


----------



## Thanee (May 6, 2013)

Sending a new text message to her allies, Keira lets them know, where the ghouls have arrived.

_They are at the old Bell Tower. Old mausoleum. One is outside, standing guard, the other two inside. Approach with care._


----------



## Dragonwriter (May 7, 2013)

Logan holds up another hand to Malcom as he holds up his cell to check the new text. "Keira again. Ghouls are at the Bell Tower in the cemetery." He flips the phone closed and stuffs it back into a pocket as far away from Malcom as possible. "We're not going to be able to stand watch over them, even in shifts. We'll get spotted at some point." He pauses and grins. "So let's stop for some pizza. My little cousins might be bargained with to lend a hand."


----------



## ThirdWizard (May 14, 2013)

The closest nearby pizzeria is a small mom and pop shop on the edge of downtown. It's getting late, and ask you walk in the kid at the register gives you a pair of finely rolled eyes, as you've arrived about five minutes before closing. Tough luck for him. The inside is dimly lit, with pictures on the wall of past patrons, though you're the only people inside at the moment. As you approach the counter, the guy lets out a slight sigh at your approach, "What can we get for you?"


----------



## Shayuri (May 14, 2013)

Juno gives Logan a raised eyebrow. She was skeptical about the 'little cousins' idea, as she had some idea of what Logan might call by that name.

"You know your cousins," she says. "Your call."

The cop then drifted a little ways over for some privacy and sent Keira a text in return.

_sit tite, logan getng help. b rite there._

...she wasn't much of a texter. She didn't even have a Facebook page. Tweeting was something birds did. Maybe a wizard's anachronism wasn't so foreign to her after all.


----------



## Dragonwriter (May 14, 2013)

Logan reaches into a pocket as he says, "Two extra large Supremes, the Works, whatever you guys call it here." He pulls out the payment from a worn leather wallet and hands it over. As the pizza-making gets started up, Logan steps to the door, quietly saying to Juno, "If I'm not back before the pizza is done, just come around behind the building. But slowly, and announce yourself." The big changeling heads around back and begins whistling a peculiar tune while beating out an equally peculiar rhythm on the wall beside him. It's a signal he's used in the past to call up some of the Wee Folk around the city, an old sign for any nearby friends to come out and chat.


----------



## ThirdWizard (May 25, 2013)

The back lot of the pizzeria connects to several other shops, an insurance agency, a bakery, and a thrift store, all nestled into a little corner together. They share a dumpster that smells like the city sanitation workers must have forgotten about it a couple of months back. But, it's solitary and dark, which is the typical setting for those not looking to draw too much attention to faeries and other supernatural goings ons. Nobody ever said being a hero was glamorous. Well, somebody might have, but they had no idea what they were talking about.

Rather quickly, Logan gets his visitor. From seemingly out of nowhere, even to his changeling eyes, a two foot and some change tall little humanoid figure with glittering wings comes flying straight into view. His skin is a cool shade of pale cerulean, his hair white with streaks of light greens, and his eyes a deep gray hue approaching black. Even in the darkness he seems almost illuminated, flitting out of shadows for a brief moment every few seconds even though there isn't an obvious light source to do so. It's not his Name, but he's called Fizzy, a real character of a faerie who always seems to pop up everywhere. If you need information, he's got the goods, and its pretty easy to get whatever you want out of him - a double edged sword sometimes. He looks to Logan with hungry eyes... for pizza.


----------



## Dragonwriter (May 25, 2013)

Logan cracks a small smile. Ah, Fizzy. Little guy had reach and knowledge, and Logan had known him for years. Like with any of his "cousins" (except ones who went down Winter way and harassed him or his family), Logan maintained a fairly good relationship with him. "Fizzy, good to see you. You've grown a bit since last time, very impressive." Logan gives a nod of his head, a little gesture of respect. It tended to help out when dealing with Little Folk, who usually got the really short end of the stick. 

"Listen, I've got a job for you and some buddies you trust. You'll have to be real stealthy, which I know you are just top-notch at. Payment in pizza. Got two extra large supremes cooking up as we speak, with a few more after the job. Interested?"


----------



## ThirdWizard (May 29, 2013)

*"Pizza!"* The little guy's wings speed up a notch and he rises a bit, his eyes level with Logan's. He licks his lips and a little bit of drool escapes from the side of his mouth, which he ignores, or maybe doesn't even notice.  *"Yes yes yes. I always liked you, you know. No matter what those malk say about you."* He spits on the ground, probably an affectation he learned from watching humans. The idea of malk having an opinion of oneself is not one most people would be grateful for, but Fizzy seems oblivious to the relative danger of other faeries as he smiles, revealing two rows of sharp shark-like teeth. Like the spitting, the grin is unnatural - uneven and quivering - and probably something has seen humans do when they're happy. His copying needs work. If it is meant to put others at ease, it is not doing its job.

*"What do you need? Maybe if I do it myself I get both pizzas? Do you think?"*


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jun 3, 2013)

Logan chuckles about the malk's opinions and Fizzy's imitations. "While you're one of the best, Fizzy, I was really looking for a team on this job. I need a small crew, no more than six, to watch a ghoul hideout for a while, maybe a few days, and maybe get close and listen in without being spotted. Figure with your many talents and busy schedule, you wouldn't be able to watch it the whole time I need, hence the group gig. But tell you what -- after the job, I'll get you an extra-large all to yourself for putting together a stakeout crew. Got us a deal?"


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jun 4, 2013)

Fizzy licks his lips at the thought of a large pizza all to himself, his eyes growing to saucers. The little guy starts pacing back and forth. Well, buzzing and hovering back and forth about four feet off the ground. *"Ghouls, huh? No problem, no problem. I've got some guys for that..."* He strokes claws against his chin, nodding thoughtfully, counting up with his other hand, which only has four fingers. After going through all the fingers on that hand and pausing for a moment, he turns it over looking at the back of his hand, and then his eyes trail off to the left. Logan isn't quite sure what he's looking at, and then both eyes snap back to Logan, squinting a bit. Then he slowly extends a hand. *"Tell me where to go, and I'll start rounding my men up. Just be sure to drop the payment here before you leave."* He holds his chin up with pride. It all may seem like a small gesture, but to a faerie it is a sacred bond.

Inside the restaurant, Juno is met with two piping hot fresh pizzas and a deep sigh from the pimple-faced kid behind the counter.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jun 4, 2013)

Logan nods and opens up his hand, offering the meathook to the little faerie (really more like one or two fingers) to shake. "Oakland Cemetery, northwest corner. I'll meet you there. The ghouls are hanging by the bell tower, but I want to see the crew first. And just so you know, other non-fae will be around with me, too, so don't get spooked by them." He gives Fizzy another nod of respect and heads back around front to check on the pizzas.


----------



## Shayuri (Jun 20, 2013)

(OOC - Oh dear god...I completely missed where Third brought Juno in. You guys need to throw a brick at my head when I do this!  )

Juno gives the kid a shrug and takes the pizzas. "Rough night?" she asks with a commiserating grin. "If it helps, no matter how bad it is, it's got nothing on mine."

She turns around and nearly walks smack into the wall of chest at head height that is Logan. The cardboard flexes before she manages to backpedal, sparing the fairy food a grisly fate.

"Uh...how's it going back there?" Juno asks as she offers up the pizzas like sacrifices to a pagan god.


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jun 20, 2013)

Logan gives a quick chuckle at Juno's minor stumbling. He takes the pizzas from her hands and quietly says, "Brokered a deal. We need to head to the northwest corner of the cemetery. The stakeout team will meet us there. But right now, they're hungry." The half-ogre takes the pizzas around back again and sets them out and open before heading back around front and getting into the car. "Ready when you are. I've already explained the situation to them. Remember, northwest corner."


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jun 28, 2013)

The trio driving up to the main gates of Oakland immediately takes note of the scene: the cadillac from before has smashed the front gates open, leaving little to the imagination that something is up here. It won't be long before somebody makes a call to the police, if someone hasn't already. Nearby, you can spot Kiera's motorcycle, parked with a bit more discretion. Seeing cemetery gates open is a bit disconcerting to anyone aware of the supernatural. Those walls, bars, and enclosures are meant to keep things in, after all. But, that isn't the only unexpected thing in view.

A man perhaps in his mid thirties, neatly bearded and wearing a tweed suite complete with vest and pocket watch in double albert style, stands on the far side of the street watching you approach. At his side, strapped to his leg, is a long bladed knife, and leaning against the wall behind him is a staff, intricately carved with patterns adorning its length, leaving little to the imagination on what business he practices.

As you pull into a parallel parking space, Malcom jumps out of the car and over to the stranger, conferring for several seconds. Coming back, he looks agitated.

"Warden business. I'll be back." He turns and is about to leave, but looks back hesitantly, "Can't talk about it much, but there's a warlock in town. He or she is doing some kind of summoning. Watch yourselves. I'll see you as soon as possible."

Without pausing for questions, he's gone with the other warden, leaving Juno and Logan in the car outside Oakland.


----------



## Shayuri (Jun 30, 2013)

"Yeah, we'll just face the submachinegun-wielding fast-healing superhuman monsters on our own. It's cool though," Juno mutters as Malcolm takes his ill-timed leave. "No, really. We'll be fine."

She shakes her head and gets out of the car.

"Alright, lets find Keira and do whatever has to be done _fast_. I'd really rather not be caught at _two_ crime scenes today."

As Logan follows suit, she texts Keira.

_@ the cemetary where r u?_


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jul 1, 2013)

Logan shrugs at Malcom's exit. "Good luck, then." After the wardens are gone, he rumbles to Juno, "Really can't blame him. A warlock is probably a much bigger threat, both short- and long-term, than this pack of ghouls. Let's go."

He knows the pixie squad should be finding their way quietly through the cemetery now and hopes the payment for them will be enough to keep the Little Folk focused on the job.


----------



## ThirdWizard (Jul 3, 2013)

As you get out of the car, Fizzy swings down between the two of you, giving Juno a wary glance before his eyes coming to focus on Logan. *"Big guy, we found your ghouls. They were not hiding very well. Also, there is someone touched by the Nevernever outside watching the ghouls."* He looks somewhat perturbed. *"Someone beat me here. But, we're ready to go in whenever you want. The ghouls are so stupid they'll never see us."*


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jul 3, 2013)

Logan grins lopsidedly. "Just what I want to hear, Fizzy. The person with that Nevernever aura should be one of ours. I want you and your crew to take up places around the ghoul hideout and watch them. If any leave, send one or two to follow them. If you can get close enough to listen in without being seeing, go ahead, but don't put yourselves in danger for this. If you can send a messenger to me every few hours, that would be good, too."

He looks at Juno. "And yeah, I'll be keeping you and Keira informed."


----------



## Thanee (Jul 6, 2013)

In the meantime, Keira waits in the shadows, watching the guard and the entrance.


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 12, 2013)

Juno frowns. "We don't have hours. Lets hook up with Keira, get a quick report from your little friends, and work out how to move in. Otherwise the police will get here before we can do anything."


----------



## Dragonwriter (Jul 12, 2013)

Logan looks at Juno with a frown. "Figured we were playing a bit more of a long game on these ghouls. Because running in there to try to bust them in their hideout without any recon, plans, or support is a really good way to get killed. Yeah, even for me. But we do need to get together with Keira."


----------



## Shayuri (Jul 17, 2013)

"The police will find them here," Juno stresses, "I'm not saying we have to be stupid, but we can't sit around either."

Her fingers mash buttons on her phone, and Keira's reply is mercifully quick. She scans the cemetary, then nods as she identifies the spot Keira's talking about.

"Okay, should be this way."

A few more texts are exchanged, but Juno and technology that in the absence of magic works, are sufficient to guide them to the spot the werepanther lurks, waiting.

"Keira...how goes it?"


----------



## Shayuri (Aug 28, 2013)

(I see both Thanee and ThirdWizard are still coming online...are we doing this game, or has the grand experiment died? )


----------

