You head out of your hotel and it you don't even make it all the way to the last crime scene before you find something going on. People are gathering about, muttering things like "Simply terrible..." and "When will it end!?!".
The guards attempt to keep them back.
Sledge taps one of the guards on the shoulder.
"Hey, mind if we look around? We have more than a bit of experience hunting the forces of evil. Plus, that nerd is an investigator by trade and the green guy is an inquisitor."
The guard hesitates for a moment, which is long enough for his superior to turn around and berate you.
"Oh, you think you can do our job better than us, huh? And I'm supposed to take you at your word that you and your friends are any more than slightly more creative rubberneckers or paparazzo? Get outta here."
"Hate to say it, but yeah, I do think we can do your job better than you. We've been hunting some necromancer cultist types for a while, and we think this might be related."
Jones elbows Sledge before he can say anything worse.
"What he means to say is that we are specialists, and this particular situation may fall within our expertise. We would be happy to help make your jobs easier, however we can."
"Forgive our companion, social interactions are not what suits him."
"My other companion is correct. We don't mean to intrude on your investigation, rather we are offering our services to you all free of charge. We have experience dealing in matters such as this. We don't mean to call your competence into question, rather we recognize the benefits of having an outsiders perspective on the matter that may prove useful to you all."
-Posted with Wayfinder
More to come when I get home.
The man mulls it over for a minute, then nods his head.
"All right, ya convinced me. Truth is, we've been beating our heads on this for a while. Tell you what, you can observe -but NOT TOUCH- and chime in if you notice anything, okay?"
Z bows her head, "Thank you for your understanding and cooperation."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Agreeable."
Jones does his Elixir of Vision combo.
Darius was dumbfounded by Zin's demeanor to chime in before it seemed the situation was over. To his part however, Orcius used his combination of Scent and Alignment Detection along with sensory perception to assist.
Z raises an eyebrow to Darius' look, "What?"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Darius gave a tusked grin, " Is there a problem with being pleasantly surprised? "
"What's there to be surprised about? That I can be a lady? I'm a charming woman, I've always said so."
-Posted with Wayfinder
There lies a headless corpse in the alley, stake driven through its heart, and two piles of ash on the rooftop, each with a stake lying in the middle of them. The constables conjecture the intact body fell from up there.
As the constables carry the corpse out of the alley on a stretcher, it too disintegrates.
Darius can smell nothing particularly unusual, given the time elapsed.
"Have you considered keeping the bodies out of sunlight? An intact one would do us a world of good. Have you managed to keep one preserved in the past?" she asks the captain.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"First damn one we'd found that wasn't ash already. Figured they'd been magically disposed of somehow before." he says and throws his helmet on the ground in anger.
Captain Hostler, sir, I think the rumors of these being dead vampires are-"
"COMPLETE HORSESHIT!" Hostler bellows.
"We haven't had vampires in Caliphas for centuries! Why would they come back and just let themselves get killed like this? And who'd go around killing f~&@ing vampires in the dead of night anyway?"
He shakes his head and blinks fr a minute before realizing your still here.
"Thanks for all your help." he says, bitingly
"We can take it from here. These murders are nothing to concern yourselves about."
Darius sighs, " Yes you were always a lady but recently that has been coming to the forefront much better. "
He looks at the stakes inspecting them, " Zin has a point. Perhaps you not move the bodies into the light. Can you introduce us to your superior? We are sure these bodies are.. otherworldly. Much like you have said. Vampires. "
"If you would please Captain," Z begins, "We would still very much like to offer our assistance. Whether these beings are vampires or not is neither here nor there."
"But whatever they are, I believe we must agree that either they are not human, or some persisting magic is affecting them."
"Perhaps you would allow one of our number to collect a sample of this ash? His is a skilled alchemist and may be able to derive some answers for you after some time to work."
-Posted with Wayfinder
" Not to mention the constant events will start to cause unrest among the city regardless of what the victims may be. My female companion makes quite the point once more. Our Alchemist is well versed in his field. "
"Yes, indeed. I won't interfere with your investigation, I assure you."
Hostler bites the inside of his lip thoughtfully, and then acquiesces.
"Fine, gods damn it. We could use the help. You know about all we know at this point, but consider yourself deputized for the duration of this case. ANY information you learn is to be shared with us, understand?"
"Yes, of course."
If I think you'll take it seriously, that is.
Z bows once more to the captain, "You've been very accommodating captain, we hope to return the kindness with information as soon as possible."
" Your trust is well placed in our capabilities. "
"Yeah yeah. Get to work."he says and waves you off, as his constables get to sweeping the remains into coffee tins.
Jones scoops some ash into a vial and quickly gets out of the constables' way.
"I won't promise that this will give any meaningful results, but I will do what I can."
Jones intently examines the ash as he gently turns and shakes the vial, occasionally mixing in a few drops of clear liquid from one of his many beakers.
Shockingly enough...this is a vampire.
Jones turns to the group with a somber look. "There's no questioning it. All of my tests confirm that these are the remains of a vampire."
"Well...? Case closed? I don't care about someone wandering around killing undead."
-Posted with Wayfinder
" An this is where you differ, ultimately it being without some knowledge of what this could mean. Someone is killing off undead, which I am normally all for. But the method and distribution of the bodies makes it nefarious in some aspects. Vampires come from people. What is to say someone isnt turning their victims into spawn and thus effectively disposing of them? Dust is much harder to distinguish and resurrection is all but impossible at that point. "
Darius sighs, " If anything we would want to make contact with the murderer to see if their mindset aligns with our own. "
"Ok, I didn't consider the possibility of first converting them just for the purposes of body disposal. Fair enough."
" There is also the possibility of rival Vampire Clans, which is a different issue altogether. This would mean such creatures have been among the populace for longer than they knew. Thus, with their usual mind capabilities, would not be out of the question. "
"But if the murderer wished to dispose of the victims' remains, why were they left here to be found by the guards? One of them remained intact nearly long enough to be identified. Why take that risk?"
Jones rubs his chin as he paces back and forth.
"There are too many variables to make a solid conclusion about any of this. As you say, we should try to determine the identity of the murderer before we make any more leaps in logic. Perhaps the Captain can be persuaded to let us inspect the murder weapons."
"Vampires, huh? I'll go make some wooden stakes."
" On the scene I couldn't find any scents to track or otherwise. We need some sort of lead. "
"Actually, I doubt we'll find anything else here. Our reputable allies in law enforcement have picked the area clean by now. I suggest we keep our ears open for more rumors about these murders, see if there's a pattern to their locations and times. Perhaps we can catch our prey in the act."
Jones tries to gather information about Order members in the area.
Sledge goes and buys 50 pounds of garlic, 5 wooden holy symbols of Kurgess, and a gold-plated iron chain. He also picks up a few more wooden stakes.
Darius looks around the noble areas with Zin simultaneously seeing if there are any places of note or important buildings. Especially those that react to the faint bluish light that comes from under the clothes.
Jones tries to gather information about Order members in the area.
[dice=Diplomacy]d20+d6+20
-Posted with Wayfinder
You manage to piece together that the order meets at the Haraday Theater, on Constance Street, which is owned by Edjureus Modd. He's not there every day, but you manage to learn where he lives as well.
The time spent to gather information was long but at least rewarding, there was a tidbit of information that helped their cause.
" So we have name and place. Now the question is now whether we go to this man's residence or the Theater first. I would err on the side of caution and move to the Theater. "
He brought this to the attention of the rest of the party.
"Agreed. We may find someone else who can help us if he isn't there."
Jones leads the way to the theater.