Each of you, regardless of your individual backgrounds, has felt lately that something is not as it seems in Arzata. You’ve been been listening to a local podcast, “Arzata Abnormal”. The host, a young woman who goes by Stacy Know, seems to have an in on the occult happenings around here.
“Hello, Abnorms,” Stacy says, as she always begins her show. “Tonight’s show will discuss the recent rash of arsons in the Big Cactus. In and of itself, this trend is disturbing. But, as always, there’s something deeper. What they don’t want you to know is that each of these arsons claimed one life, and exactly one. The life of the person who combusted to start the fire in the first place. Yes, that’s right listeners. We’ve got a spontaneous human combustion epidemic happening in Arzata. The question is, of course, why? Some people I’ve talked to suggest radiation in Gila lake, pretty much our only source of water, as the cause. Is someone in Old City dumping illegally? Scary thought. My guess, however, is that whatever it is, the cause is something far more sinister. And far less...normal.”
Dave was sitting in his care, duteously wiping off his blade with a piece of cloth. He didn't need worry about any dents or scratches, the sword always seemed to fix those over time. Just another oddity left behind by his elder brother, but at least it was a useful one.
He paused though, upon hearing Stacy over the podcast. It wasn't something he often payed attention too, most of it seemed like hooky anyway. But something about what she said just now struck a cord.
Sheathing the now cleaned blade, and placing the rag in a plastic bag to be burnt later, he turned the volume up on his phone.
Sitting in his office suite, Investigator Joseph Adams sat listening to one of his favourite stations as he waited for his latest alchemic brew to boil.
"Spontaneous combustion epidemic, eh," he thought aloud in between sips of his glass of brandy. "I wonder how much of it has to do with the occult, or if it's just some sick bastard wanting attention."
With his feet lifted onto an ottoman, he allowed himself to sink back into the loveseat and let out a slow sigh as his thoughts drifted.
"Of course this is paranormal, Stacy - it's quite unusual for people to be burned in such an almost ritualistic pattern for any reason," he told his radio as he placed his hands on his head.
Let's hear how much more she's learned about these incidents, he thought to himself as he listened on.
Listening in, Stacy is pretty light on the details, but she does indicate the names of several property owners and city officials who were rather tight-lipped on the subject.
Please feel free to make knowledge/local checks to see if you have any personal experience with any of the mentioned individuals, or any other knowledge checks that you feel might be useful regarding the information you do have.
*pausing here to give people a chance to respond*
Local to see if my character has had interactions with the individuals before
You don't remember every actually meeting any of them or having their names come across your desk in the line of business.
Culture and Events to see what they are known for.
David Lee was recently appointed fire chief of the third district (covering Midlands, Uptown, Pueblo Norte, and Mesa Rojo). He came in from Mississippi.
Harish Goyal is an Indian American (as opposed to Native American) who was recently in the news for employing illegals at several local hotels.
Susan Matthews was a police officer who was recently moved to desk duty after a questionable shooting vs. a suspected Pueblo Posse gang member. She's a detective in the Uptown precinct.
Half-awake and gazing at the nearby mountainscape, Starsoul tunes in and out to "Arzata Abnormal" as his Greyhound approaches the podcast's eponymous city. Though he yawns from the long day of travel, he's excited to finally get to visit Arzata, the last destination on his road trip from one supernatural location in North America to the next. Though his time in Sedona was underwhelming, he has high hopes for his time in Arzata; listening to Stacy Know always got his third eye chakra spinning. That has to be a good sign, right?
Starsoul grabs his canvas duffle bag and dumbek from the overhead bin as the Greyhound pulls to a stop at the Azarta transportation hub, but staggers for a moment as he steps off the bus. There's something unsettling about the city that he can't quite place. Maybe the recent string of arson had something to do with it.
Still listening to the podcast, Starsoul walks barefoot towards the city center, Googling "Arzata vegan food" on his smartphone as he goes.
Hearing the names, Joseph ponders for a bit as to why these people are being so hush-hush about the topic.
"They must want to avoid causing a public panic; the fact that they're avoiding comment means that they know more than they're letting on," he thinks as he records they're names in a small notepad before returning it and the pen to his shirt's pocket.
"It makes sense for the police and fire department to keep details about the investigation under lock-and-key, and I suppose the employer doesn't want to risk saying anything that'll jeopardize his reputation even more.. Something just doesn't seem right though."
With a furrowed brow, Joseph lit a cigarette and grumbled, frustrated by his lack of knowledge.
Gonna need some more information before I can connect any dots..
As expected, nothing said about the persons involved seemed overly familiar too him. He's only been in the city for a couple years now anyway, still havn't been all that attached to what's what. Though he did at least know someone that was.
He considered going to see his... acquaintance, he felt was the best word, in the alchemical arts. Nice guy, really.
Starsoul doesn't have ranks in either of those Knowledge skills. :(
If you want to retcon a rank into Know/Religion, you could make a check there. You may not want to do that, it won't hurt anything if you don't, but it could tell you something useful (or not, depending on the roll).
EDIT:
EDIT2:
Gonna need some more information before I can connect any dots..
You consider that you might be able to tell if any "unusual" excelerants were used if you could see any of the scenes, or the remains, long enough to perform some tests.
** spoiler omitted **
Let's instead say that you are unable to find a specifically religious relation to the situation. That doesn't mean it's not unusual, there's plenty more it could be. (and because the roll was so low, that doesn't mean no one else should try, either).
He considered going to see his... acquaintance, he felt was the best word, in the alchemical arts. Nice guy, really.
Probably wouldn't hurt to call him now, since he MIGHT decide to go investigate something on foot soon (not trying to railroad, just hoping to start pulling the PCs together).
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Isagoras sat in the bus not because he had anywhere to go, but because it was the Time. A man passed him, and though his hands never appeared to come anywhere near him, a moment later he checked his pocket and found a note. It was an address to a church. A nice touch from the Order.
Entering the church Isagoras choose the second one down. Because of the date.
"Forgive me father for I have sinned--"
"Your personal life is of little concern to Us," said the shadowed voice from the other half of the confessional. "Still, it seems some penance is called for. Do 17 Hail Marys and mean it this time. Now go in peace my son,"
Isagoras (that was his only name, for names were meaningless, but not his true name, because names were power) exited the church and walked to his car, parked some blocks down. He entered and tuned to the radio signal given. Hail Marys, today, meant the radio. The numbers, once put through the right code, meant a station. He adjusted the dial.
"...and water from the sprinkler. It also left a man's decapitated body laying on the floor next to his own severed head. A head which at this time has no name--"
Oops, he forgot to carry the two. Isagoras adjusted the dial to the right station.
Ah, Stacy. Yes, ever the clever one. She was the modern day Cassandra: Always right, never believed.
Isagoras mused on the meaning of this. An Event of this magnitude might require additional aid to be sought. Perhaps a private Investigator would believe him long enough to find something useful....
Calling ol' J did seem like a good idea, after all. He took his phone, cutting off Stacy's voice in the middle of something else. Shuffling through the contacts, he located the one marked " J - D I Z Z L E ", which was surrounded by maraca and sombrero emoticons. They didn't really mean anything, but he felt like they made him seem more normal.
He sent a text, since talking was for losers.
"yo man, hear all that junk stacys going on about"
"seems p hardcore"
"know anything about it man"
The podcast suddenly ended abruptly and Joseph began hearing his Adele ring tone playing instead. Rising from his seat, he sang along with the song until he removed the cellphone from its dock in the radio.
"Helloooo from the other siiiiide!"
With a swipe of his finger, he unlocked the phone and checked his text messages, though he was sure he knew who it would be.
"yo man, hear all that junk stacys going on about"
"seems p hardcore"
"know anything about it man"
Reading over the messages Dave sent him only helped to fuel his own curiosity. Even Dave is worked up about it. Something just doesn't seem right about all this, he thought as he began typing a reply to his friend.
"Yeah, I heard it too - something about it is giving me a bad feeling. I'm going to try and inspect the locations and the bodies to see if I can determine what caused the fires - or who. I have a feeling it's more foul-play than it is supernatural. Interested in joining?"
As he sent the message to his contact "D-$KI," he ran a hand through his hair and sighed before setting his phone down on the desk before him, waiting for a reply.
Something about this has got me on edge..
Putting his cigarette out and leaving the rest of it in the ashtray, Joseph began gathering his things and preparing to head out.
'That didn't take long,' he thought to himself. It's not like he had anywhere to go right now anyhow, his business here was done. Cleanup was done. Al, he had left was a bag that needed roasted, and that shouldn't be a tough fix if he drove through a ghetto, homeless people this time of year tended to have one going, he sure they wouldn't mind adding fuel to the fire.
He types out a quick reply.
"sounds good to me"
"which one you wanna check out first"
"i can meet you there"
Grabbing his phone as it begins to go off again, he reads the messages and smiles before typing out his response.
"We'll check out the most recent victim's location first - maybe catch a fresh trail. If nothing turns up there, we'll try and see which morgue is holding the body and check it out. I'll send you the address when I get it here in a sec. Hope you aren't freaked out by dead people. :p"
Sending the text, he then opens up his Chrome app and googles, "Arzata new mexico arsons," hoping to find the most recent incident listed on a news site or some public records ".gov" site.
Nevertheless, it will get you in the right place at the right time.
You gather the following:
(same as Joey):
David Lee was recently appointed fire chief of the third district (covering Midlands, Uptown, Pueblo Norte, and Mesa Rojo). He came in from Mississippi.
Harish Goyal is an Indian American (as opposed to Native American) who was recently in the news for employing illegals at several local hotels.
Susan Matthews was a police officer who was recently moved to desk duty after a questionable shooting vs. a suspected Pueblo Posse gang member. She's a detective in the Uptown precinct.
Know/Religion: There are cultish offshoots of Hinduism and a few other religions that worship fire, or the divine creators thereof. Isn't Harish Goyal an Indian name?
Knowledge/Local: You think David Lee was involved in some arson-related issues down south, before he moved here.
...hoping to find the most recent incident listed on a news site or some public records ".gov" site.
The most recent arson was in Midlands, on the north side of Lake Gila. Isagoras is able to determine this as well (if he and Joey know each other beforehand, that's fine, otherwise I'll just have you arrive on the scene, with Dave, at approximately the same time.
Still listening to the podcast, Starsoul walks barefoot towards the city center, Googling "Arzata vegan food" on his smartphone as he goes.
As it happens, the best Vegan restaurant, perhaps the ONLY one, is along Gila Parkway in Midlands, about two miles from the bus stop in Uptown. It's a quick bus which departs every 10 minutes, so you have no problem catching one. The guy driver looks a little oddly at your attire, but lets you on as you have the fare.
'Understatement of the century there J.'
Once he has the location sent over, he puts his phone away. and starts up the car, leaving the scene of a place he'll soon choose to forget. He does make the time to dispose of the bag, rolling down his windshield and just tossing it into a trash fire.
With that taken care off, he's off again.
Sitting on the saddle of her bike, listening to the podcast and munching her way through a burger, Valda frowned. Spontaneous human combustion? As in, being set on fire from the inside out? That sounds...different. She knew there were strange things out in the world, and she knew that sometimes they did off things to people. Being set on fire wasn't exactly a common one, but she suspected people would prefer to think of something moderately weird, like people bursting into flames all on there own, than something or someone being able to do it to them from across the room. Which seemed more likely to her. Unless they were possessed or something, anyway.
This left two questions - where would the next one more likely happen, and why or what could be causing it? She wracked her brain to try and spot any pattern to the killings, or any arcane reasoning behind them.
Walking into the restaurant, Starsoul breathes in the familiar scent of roti and baingan bhurta. He stretches his toes out along the laminate flooring, taking in the cleanliness of the eatery through his feet. He does whatever he needs to get seated and order his dinner.
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Isagoras has made up his mind about bringing in additional resources, and he flips through is contacts list. His falls on one individual that has been, tangentially, conected to the Order on a few occasions. While not quite an Initiated, he has been listed as having an open mind, and seems to have already been exposed to things beyond the Veil already. It seemed as good a choice as any.
He decided to text, simply because he was still getting the hand of it, and sent a quick note to this Investigator 'Joey': 'Heard you were a good guy about Orders. Wat you no about Fire?'
Ugh. He really should upgrade to one of those phones that text while you speak. It just seemed so...so...superfluous.
As Joey fumbled around his office, he checked his phone as it began singing again. Skimming the text, he tilted his head as he read it.
"Good guy about orders?.. Why is orders capitalized... Wait. A. Minute."
A sudden realization hit him about the hotel owner.
"Hindi fire cults.. Of course!" he spoke to himself as he quickly retrieved his pen and notepad. "It's always a possibility. Never leave any trails untraveled." Scribbling his note of a possible direct connection with the arsons, the Investigator sets out to rejoin with his comrades at the Midlands, taking care to turn off the lights and lock his door behind him before texting the number back and silencing his phone.
Dave and Joey meet around the corner from 308 Walker street, the site of the most recent suspected arson, one of the ones specifically mentioned by Stacy Know on her podcast. As they walk around the corner of the building, they are confronted by Isagoras.
From inside the Chakra Eggplant, Starsoul watches the meeting.
This left two questions - where would the next one more likely happen, and why or what could be causing it? She wracked her brain to try and spot any pattern to the killings, or any arcane reasoning behind them.
Valda can't figure out a reason; she feels like she's missing some pieces to the puzzle. The last two arsons/combustions have been in the Midlands neighborhood, along the north side of the lake. It's a safe bet that a 3rd one would be either there or in Dos Rios just west of there, based on the order the others happened in. That said, it's a really small sample set, so the order could be coincidence.
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To the newcomers, Isagoras appears as an unassuming old man; He wears common khaki pants with a white button-down shirt, and the whole ensemble is brought together by a brown tweed jacket. He appears perhaps as a professor of philosophy, though the clothing is too threadbare to actually be worn by a public servant.
He nods to the two gentlemen. "Good day, lads. A fine days for a walk, or to take a look at the Order of things."
Isagoras pulls out his notebook in which are written the names of the three victims: David Lee (FC), Harish Goyal (emp), and Susan Matthews(cop), and begins looking around.
Dave is pale fellow, with long black hair kept in a pony. His eyes are currently obscured by a pare of square sunglasses. He seems to have fine taste, wearing a white suit overtop a red button-up, with a black tie and loafers as well.
"'Sup." He says, rather plainly. "Names' Dave." He offers, towards the elder.
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Isagoras nods at the newcomer. "I am Isagoras, also called The Light." The wizard is uneasy that a new face has been entered into the mix, but he accompanies a trusted face. Though, in truth, the pressure of the matter is too great to be overly-cautious now. "Be assured my presence here means that that path before you will be neither kind nor easy. You will most likely see things that can be neither believed nor explained. If you are of a delicate nature, you would do best to turn away now. But if you think your mettle to be of stronger stuff, then you have chosen your companions well. With that said, what do you think of this matter?"
He nods slowly, mouth impassive, as Isagoras speaks. He stares for a moment after the speech is finished, before shuffling his feat and looking to Joe. "This guy for real? He is isn't he. I really just heard all that– And no no. I don't mean about the weird 'unexplained' stuff. I mean the fact he really just went out and said all that like he's some grand mystic sage."
Dave shakes his head, pushing his sunglasses back up his nose. "Right, whatever. We're here anyway. Unless there's anyone else coming to the party, we should get moving."
Starsoul watches the convention of the three odd gentlemen as he greedily chows down on the Chakra Eggplant house special: braised eggplant with black bean sauce served on a scallion pancake. Between the Russian lit professor and the skinny Steven Seagal, it's clear to the young yogi that these guys had no business being together. No normal business anyway.
The most recent arson was around this part of town, wasn't it? Starsoul muses. Maybe these guys were somehow involved and have returned to the scene of the crime...? Or they're back to strike again!
Starsoul waits for the group to move before following stealthily behind.
Finishing her food and carefully tossing the wrapper in the bin, Valda zipped up her bike jacket and pulled the heavy black bike helmet over her head to protect herself. Heavily modified or not, her biker gear offered no protection if someone or something hit her and sent her flying. With a brief rev of the engine she headed the Midlands neighbourhood, hoping to get a feel for the place and seeing if luck was on her side before tring more esoteric methods.
Joey looked at Dave and laughed a bit before adding, "I'd believe he's a sage before I'd believe that I'll come across something that can't be explained." Turning to have Isagoras, he nodded and reached out a hand to shake, saying, "That being said, I'm happy to have you along. Extra eyes and ears are always welcome, especially when they're wise.
"Now - that being said - I was thinking that the fires may not have been spontaneous, but rather planned. I'm hoping to find some sort of chemical evidence to support this theory, but we'll see. If everyone's ready, I think Dave is right - we should get started."
"Murder arson? Interesting conclusion, but rather mundane. Almost disappointed it's not some a fire demon or something. Know anything about why anyone would do it J-man?" His hands find the pockets of his suit jacket, and he stands rather passive and seemingly unaware of his surroundings.
Wow, busy day indeed. Mazel tov on the new pad. No problems, btw. I anticipate having to pause things now and then. So far this board's been the most active I've run, so I'm certainly not complaining.
308 Walker is a mid-sized brick apartment building, built in the 1960s like most of Arzata.
Most of the building is still open; the section where the arson took place, on the top floor, is closed off. Getting into the building won't be a problem, but you will need to talk your way past the concierge.
From across the street, Starsoul watches as the trio prepares to enter the apartment.
"Ah, yes Dave - here's an interesting twist on the matter: there happens to exist fire-worshiping cults. The fun part is that they are offshoots of Hindi beliefs. Now, of the recent incidents, who just so happens to be from India?"
Pausing for a moment, Joey resumes before anyone can answer his question.
"Mr. Harish Goyal. Perhaps he knows more about what happened. It's certainly worth some investigation. Who knows - maybe these cultists have some sort of fire demon for you, Dave," he playfully slaps his friend on the arm as he concludes all that he currently suspects about the situation as they advance.
The motorbike roared along the road as Valda scanned the buildings, searching for signs of magic. Or burning people. Burning people would be an even bigger hint.
Valda (and Starsoul from across the street) sees three men entering an apartment building she believes, on seeing the address, is the latest in the line of mysterious arsons.
Starsoul, previously having stated his interest in following the gentlemen in, pays for his dinner and walks out the door. As he does, he notes that the proprietor, an older Indian woman, is on the phone. Since he didn't hear it ring, she must have dialed out.
As he moves into the street, a black woman dressed out in biker gear cruises by on her motorcycle.
Dave, Isag and Joey step into the lobby, which seems (thankfully) to have been redecorated from its original form, and looks up to date. A central desk sits in front of two elevators, one on each side, and an attractive native woman stands at the desk, organizing some things from her day's work.
"Can I help you?" she asks the gentlemen who've just entered.
Since they weren't really looking for you, the men don't notice you as they enter the building. You'll have to make another check to remain hidden when following them in, and since you have to go through a door, the DC is substantial.
You weren't looking, so you're not sure. If she was looking out the plate glass windows, though, she certainly could have.
Dave still tries to remain aware of his surroundings, even when they enter the building.
Of course though, he'll miss Starsoul coming in anyway. Not noticing the man, he'll let Joe do most the talking here. He seems like the personable type anyway. But, he'll ready to offer aid if Joe rolls either bluff or diplomacy.
Removing his fedora as they approach the lady, Joey smiled before responding to her question.
"Yes, actually. My name is Joseph Adams - I'm a private investigator - and these are my two colleagues, Mr. Spades and Mr. Light," he says as he points to the others. "We're currently investigating the recent arsons across town - I was wondering if you or someone that works here would be able to answer some questions for us."
Replacing his hat to his head, the Investigator winks to the lady before retrieving his credentials and ID from his trench coat to assure her he is actually who he says he is and adds, "Don't worry, sweetie - any comment you might have on the incident will be confidential. We're not with the media either - we're just some detectives hoping to get to the bottom of this mess."
Smiling as he awaits her response, Joseph feels excited to finally be getting somewhere and is currently oblivious to their surroundings.
"I prefer the Diamonds to Spades personally, but either works for me. If you have any information you can offer us ma'am, please feel freed to offer. Like my Colleague Mr. Adams said, we'll keep your word in the strictest confidence."