Derek recoils as he realizes the man is, in fact, dead. The posture and expression confuse him, but the briefcase makes him curious. He tries to look around, figure out more of what happened, but doesn't want to get too close, since he rationalizes that cops are likely on their way, or will be soon.
"What happened here?" Derek mutters to himself.
It's certainly odd that he would be frozen in this position. It almost looks like he died in the midst of some sort of seizure, but it's definitely not normal for anyone's face to look like that. The way his arms are outstretched kind of makes it look like he was struggling against something. Did something do this to him?
Derek thinks it through..
If this guy was struggling against something, if someone or something attacked and killed him (and since Derek has just turned into some kind of bat-winged monstrosity, he's not discounting anything), he wonders..
What sort of creature is it?
His functional experience with pop-culture monsters is pretty basic, little-green-men aliens and various romantic vampires, and this doesn't exactly conform to either of those, in theory. He'll have to think a little more critically.
There are no visible wounds on the body, so it seems unlikely to be anything that kills with claws or teeth, or even a weapon. You suppose a vampire bite might be possible; you’d have to get a closer look to see his neck in detail. He does seem a bit drained somehow, though you’ve never heard of a vampire story where they did this to somebody. It’s possible there are internal wounds you can’t see. The expression seems to indicate that he died in a state of intense pleasure, or perhaps hysteria. You figure if a creature did this, it must have had some way of assaulting the man’s mind or senses—but with your limited knowledge, you don’t really have any solid guesses.
Phil is about to argue with the sergeant when Arianne cuts in. He relaxes and puts his badge away. "Thank you, sergeant. This is your jurisdiction, I promise I'll only step in if I think I see something related to my case." He motions for Pulaski to take the lead.
When the officers are ahead of them, Phil whispers a silent "Thank you" to Arianne.
Spotting the body and dark form, I steel myself and head towards them, sliding my car keys between my fingers to make an improvised weapon. I look down at the body, trying to see who it is.
Phil and Arianne
Pulaski and a female police officer begin to lead you into the woods. Pulaski keeps a hand ready on his gun. "The couple who found 'im said that it's a pretty ugly scene. And one of them says they saw..." He trails off. "Eh. People have pretty wild imaginations around here."
Magnus
As you get closer, you get a better look at the body; it matches the description you were given of Walter (minus the horrifying grin). A black leather briefcase lies next to him.
Unfortunately, you don't have time to examine the scene too closely. You can hear several people beginning to approach from the direction of the festival.
Derek
You observe the large man as he examines the body. You can also hear a small group of people heading towards the area.
Panicking slightly, I grab the suitcase and attempt to flee without being spotted.
Whats my best way out?
Magnus is able to find a route further into the woods with plenty of cover from the police and their associates. From here, it should be relatively simple to exit the woods without being seen.
From his vantage point in the tree, Derek sees Magnus grab the briefcase and dash further into the woods.
Derek follows Magnus, spreading his wings and flying between the trees.
After they get a fair distance away (hopefully far enough to not be noticed by the other party), he overtakes Magnus, landing on a branch just overhead, our of the tall man's reach, in front of him. "Drop the case."
Magnus glares at Derek, flashes of memories of the horrible events that took his love and damaged his body force themselves upon him. Within, a fire ignited by revenge begins to rise like a fever.
Magnus let out a low predatory growl as his eyes burned with rage. "We meet again, demon. Ive been tracking you since our last meeting across the country."
Glancing down at the case then back to Derek, "The case belongs to another and ive been tasked to take it to him. Clearly you already saw fit to take that man's life before he could give it to me. Tell me... Demon... Does life mean so little to you?"
While he'd originally intended to pull a Batman-level growling intimidation, Derek instead listens to Magnus's speech with growing confusion. "Umm.. What? I've never seen you, or that guy back there, before tonight, in my life."
"And what do you mean, demon? I'm not.." he pauses, glances down at himself, and grimaces in self-reflection. "Okay, I admit I look REALLY weird right now, but I swear, this is all new to me. I'm human... or at least, I was, earlier tonight."
Phil looks at the sergeant quizzically. "They said they saw something?" He glances around as they walk forward. "Probably just a wild animal in woods like these. What did they claim to have seen?"
Phil and Arianne
Pulaski waves his hand dismissively. "He said he saw something covered in white fur that disappeared into thin air." He snorts. "Like I said. Imagination. Musta been a deer or something that ran away."
Seeing Derek closer, I realize that he is not the creature that I have been searching for.
"I don't believe that you are human, demon. While I'm not sure how you killed that man, but I suggest you flee before the pitchforks and firearms arrive. The police are on their way."
Glancing back towards the carnival for a minute, "I will not give you the case. I will take my leave now. If you try to stop me, we will be enemies, but know this... I don't have time to end you. I have other prey."
I turn to exit the forest.
"Wait!" Derek yells.
He jumps down to the ground, half-crouched, suddenly conscious of how Magnus still stands a head or two taller than him. "Fine, keep the case, if you want. But you obviously know something about what is going on here, which is more than I can say."
Derek closes his eyes for a second, and concentrates, trying to think about becoming human again. He's not sure it will work, but his eyes pop open in relief as he feels his monstrous features recede. He looks down, and finds himself looking entirely human again, albeit now a teenage boy in ragged jeans and little else, barefoot and shirtless in the chill evening. He straightens up, and self-consciously wraps one arm across his chest, holding his other elbow.
Derek takes a step towards Magnus, looking up at him. "Help me figure this out. Whatever did that to your buddy is still out there, and it might do it again." He turns, walking around and past Magnus back towards the location of the body. He focuses again, and his wings and other features re-emerge.
"You asked if I valued life. I don't want anybody else to get hurt."
Phil and Arianne
You enter the area with the body, frozen into a grotesque rictus.
"Jesus." Pulaski stands agape, unmoving for several moments.
Derek heads back towards the location of the body, hoping Magnus follows.
As he gets closer, he tries to stay hidden from anyone who might already be there or anyone approaching.
Derek: With a 9 on the Act Under Pressure check, you can remain hidden from the police and their new associates, but to assuredly avoid being noticed, you'll have to position yourself where you won't be able to see what's going on. You will, however, be able to hear their conversation.
Derek keeps out of view of the people at the site, but listens into what they're saying.
Arianne: The body does not appear to have any visible physical wounds. You notice a faint imprint in the grass and dirt next to it; it looks as though a rectangular object of some kind may have been here recently. This area is fairly well travelled so it’s hard to make out distinguishable footprints, but you do notice one belonging to a creature you don’t recognize—something big, with long toes. You also find several long white hairs.
"We will see if you are right." I mutter quietly as I leave. This strange boy seems to be trying to get caught. This is not the place to talk.
I head quickly to my car, tossing the case in the passenger seat. I start the engine and leave, heading to the night club with the hope that the boss is there.
When I arrive, I switch out my hook hand for the gloved metal fist. "At least with this I can fight," I think to myself. Parking in the employee section of the parking lot, i turn to the case.
Is it locked?
The case is not locked.
Resisting the temptation, I grab it and head inside.
Magnus
You enter Jonah's club, "The Horny Owl," located in the seedier area of town. With the festival going on, not many patrons are lingering here. A bouncer nods to you and leads you to a back room.
Jonah is not at all the type of person you'd expect to run a place like this. He's meticulous, slightly older and looks almost professorial, with a tweed jacket and a small pair of spectacles. His office is dingy but contains an odd mix of interesting objects—among them a world map poster on the wall, a hookah, and a small collection of snowglobes.
Jonah looks up from a laptop as you enter. "Ah. Excellent. Was there any trouble?"
"Depends on your definition of trouble. Walter is dead, but not by my hand. I found him in the woods after he missed the meeting time, just before the authorities arrived."
I glare at him, trying to read his reaction as I sat the briefcase on the table besides his laptop.
"The case is yours, although I do not know if it is intact. The killer could have taken what was in it. I do not know, you did not tell me what was in it and I did not look inside."
Magnus
Jonah’s eyes widen in brief shock, though he quickly composes himself. “Well. That is unexpected. But I believe you. You don’t strike me as a man who would needlessly escalate an exchange such as this. This will require some assuaging on my part. Walter’s people are... slow to trust.”
He opens the briefcase and smiles slightly. “Fortunately, whoever killed him didn’t seem to have any interest in what he was carrying. Perhaps he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
You manage to get a glimpse of the briefcase’s contents before he closes it again. It’s heavily padded, and in the center is a stone tablet, inscribed with a series of unrecognizable runes.
“Nonetheless, well done. Eddie will provide your payment on the way out.” He pauses. “Walter. How did he die?”
Derek, Phil and Arianne
Frowning, Pulaski turns to the other officer. "Let's get the coroner down here. And... we should cordon this area off."
Phil shakes his head as he looks at the horrifying corpse. "I've never seen anything like this," he replies.
Phil: In the shadows, you notice one footprint that Arianne did not see, similar to the long-toed bestial mark she found, but morphically blended into the footprint of what seems to be the boot of a large human. It's possible you have a shapeshifter on your hands. Unusually, the toes of the bestial footprint seem to be extending from the area that would be the boot's heel, not its toe.
If what Pulaski said about the creature disappearing into thin air is to be believed, it would also appear that it can either turn invisible, teleport, or somehow wink out of existence entirely. At this point, it could be anywhere or, quite literally, nowhere.
Based on the condition of the corpse, the creature can apparently induce some sort of severe paralysis or seizure that eventually leads to death, and it can do so without inflicting a physical wound.
While Pulaski is distracted talking to the coroner, Phil talks quietly to Arianne. "See that footprint there? How it sort of blends from the print of some kind of creature into a bootprint? If whatever did this can change its shape..."
He trails off, grimacing at the implications.
Arianne: As you’re searching the area, you catch a glimpse of Derek hiding in the trees above you. Nothing else of particular note is visible.
Phil nods. "Yes, it certainly seems that way." While Arianne inspects the woods, he walks over to Pulaski and the other officer. "Do you know who the victim is, Sergeant?" he asks.
Pulaski shakes his head. "Don't recognize him. Out-of-towner, maybe."
Cautious not to draw others' attention, Derek hears Arianne in the forest below, and tries to shift his position to catch a look at her, as someone he's familiar with. He can overhear her and Phil talking, though he can't hear the lower-toned conversation, but it sounds like they're investigating the body. He can also hear other voices that sound like police, who he figures he needs to keep himself hidden from.
Derek wonders what he can do to help, and looks for any opportunity to get her alone to talk to.
It looked like a sort of fit. He was twisted as if he was in pain in the final moments, but showed no signs of injury that I could tell. I didn't have time or the will to inspect him thoroughly; the police were coming..." I paused, " his people... do I need fear of them? who are they?"
Derek, Phil and Arianne
Pulaski looks over the body wincingly, then shrugs. "Can't make heads or tails of this until the coroner gets here. Lemme do a quick sweep of the area, see if anyone else is around. Keep an eye on things here, would ya? Make sure nobody... touches anything." He starts to walk further into the woods, a furtive expression on his face. Unless anyone stops him, the three of you will soon have a few minutes of privacy.
Magnus
Jonah shakes his head. "Just some associates who owed me a favor." He sighs. "And now it appears I will owe them one. But you needn't worry. I'll see to it that you don't get caught up in any of this."
"As for Walter, though..." He puts a pensive finger to his lips. "I'm curious to learn more about the manner of his death. Your part here is done if you so choose, but if you happen to learn any more information you'd be willing to share, I'd be appreciative. Monetarily speaking."
Phil nods. "We'll keep watch. Be careful, sergeant." He chooses his words carefully. "However this may have happened, the cause could still be out there."
Phil walks back over to the body and Arianne, noticing her looking around the woods. "See anything suspicious?"
"id be willing to learn more, but i dont know how to go about it. Im not familiar with the people in town and i dont wish to be too involved with the police."
Magnus
"The police here are rarely the best source of information." Jonah seems to think for a moment. "There's a woman in town. Arianne Edwards. My contacts tell me she's quite resourceful. She may be able to help. Just... don't tell her I'm the one who referred you. I have some history with her affiliates and I'd prefer to stay off their radar."
Derek comes down from the trees, and approaches with caution. He gives Phil a worried look, then shrugs to Arianne, with an expression that says "What now?"
Derek explains, "There was another guy here, he seemed to know who this guy was or something about him. He took a briefcase that he claimed he was supposed to get from the guy. He ran off a few minutes ago. Big guy, missing one arm. I know he didn't kill the guy, but he seemed a little more in-the-know. Seeing me didn't faze him, he called me a 'demon' at first."
"I will look for this Arianne Edwards", I say as I head towards the door, pausing for a moment to await a response. "If this concludes our business for now, I'll take my leave and try to find her... Where can I find her?"
Phil instinctively starts to reach for his weapon when he sees the creature in front of him, but quickly stops himself. As Arianne introduces them, he gives the monster an awkward nod of hello.
"There was another guy here, he seemed to know who this guy was or something about him. He took a briefcase that he claimed he was supposed to get from the guy. He ran off a few minutes ago. Big guy, missing one arm. I know he didn't kill the guy, but he seemed a little more in-the-know. Seeing me didn't faze him, he called me a 'demon' at first."
"Do you have any indication as to where this 'other guy' went?" Phil interrupts.
Magnus
Jonah smiles, a bit condescendingly. “Try Google.”
Derek flinches at Phil's sudden interruption. He stammers out a response, "Umm, ahh, not exactly. He went off in the woods that way," gesturing off in the direction Magnus went, "but I think that's where they parked everybody for the festival, so he could be anywhere, if he had a car."