Yelis looked the flesh over, shrugging. "Is there anybody you know who'd be able to identify the flesh? It seems like an important piece of the picture."
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Yelis leaned over, sticking his hand in Ammon's hair. A quick gesture and incantation, and it lit up with a bright light. "That should help a little, I think."
Yelis looked over to Devic, thinking for a moment. "Not to presume that your experience with chemistry means you can whip up anything on the spot, but would you be able to manage a dye that would work on his skin? I can magic it off later if we need to."
"All right then. But do we actually have anything to work with? I don't exactly carry around a kit for this sort of thing," Yelis said.
"Heh, uh, sure- I can try. But it's not really a specialty. My areas of expertise are 'myself', 'using specific magic', and 'as various humans'." Yelis cracked his knuckles. Or rather, he made motions as if to crack his knuckles, but nothing happened. "I'll give it a shot, though. Some of it's bound to carry over, right?"
Yelis shook his head decisively. "Bogeymen can kill with claws, but don't. We would be looking at heart failure- and it wouldn't be such similar victims. Similar victims makes people who don't fit the pattern feel safer."
Yelis paused as he moved between the bodies, taking pictures from multiple angles the most professional manner he could. He shook his head at Devic. "I'm not really one of those Occultists you see on CSI. Illusions 'n enchantments for the most part, so I work a lot better with the living."
Yelis considered for a bit. "Hmm. Were you able to determine how long the victims had been dead before their discovery? Long enough to make lingering auras unlikely, I presume."
Yelis managed to pull himself together, shaking his head in response to the offer of a bucket. "Sorry. Uh…" He paused, rubbing his temples for a moment in thought. "Any particular kinship seem to be the focus, or one that isn't represented? Just getting caught up on the basics." Truth be told, most of his knowledge about genies came from the '90s horror film, Aladdin.
Yelis held up a hand, and did his best to not-vomit in a dignified fashion while standing up.
"Eheh… uh, thanks," Yelis said nervously before resuming his disguise and following after the others. "Wouldn't something remotely controlled be more useful than a robot, though?"
Yelis sighed, holding up his hands. "Fine, it's true. It is to my great shame that I must admit that I am not at all charming. The only enchantments I know are minor compulsions. But in all honesty, I have caused enough fires cooking that explosive chemistry would be a short career for me." He smiled a little more slyly at Moment. "Oh, that's all right. I'm sure that when you do decide to show us, it will be… momentous."
Pheh, is easy. Anyone can learn. I could show you, even. It would take the ehh, effort of course. You may break nail. "Effort. Effort and I tend not to get along well. I'm happy to watch, though. Grace you with my charming presence," he said, flashing a grin.
Yelis shrugged. "I wouldn't really know." He waggled his fingers dramatically. "Magic's a lot easier and cheaper, so I usually just go with that. Lazy, sure, but it works for me. Last time I did anything in a lab was back in high school chemistry."
Yelis nodded. "You know, I'd actually managed to forget that the gold-leaf desserts were a thing. Heh… gold tends to find itself back in the earth, one way or another. If I'm going to have a warped status symbol, it's going to be a chauffeur or a butler or something like that."
Yelis waved a hand. "Oh, I'm not arguing the morality, just the economics. Human heart and liver are traditionally kumiho delicacies, but they eat pork and veal because it's cheaper, less risky, and you can hardly tell the difference. Or, if they're picky, they get the fancy stuff that's been fed and raised to taste more like the real deal."
"Zhulik?" Yelis asked in turn. "It's just not very straight forward. Like people paying a premium for human flesh. It's enough to make one want to be a criminal, just to go about it right. Of course, if I did, I would just mess up something else instead, however sound the practical details were." He shook his head in response to Remiel's question. "Waya, sit," he instructed in Sylvan.
Yelis nodded appreciatively at Tagg. "Glad to hear it, sir." It was nice to have a bit of an in with the cops. He just rolled his eyes at Devic's last question. "Well, I'll tag along, if you don't object. I'm interested in checking out the new digs- that, and Waya could use some patching up."
Properly back in human form by the time the authorities showed up, Yelis busied himself helping the others. "You know, we really should just get some streaming surveillance equipment. It'll be much easier to just set that up and find out what's going on."
Yelis looked puzzled for a moment. Those weren't the lyrics to Kashmir. What kind of guitar-person messed up Led Zeppelin? It was one of the staples of good ol' vrock 'n troll.
Waya's eyes blazed, her fur bristling menacingly as the fury of a hundred generic metal album cover wolves flowed through her. She snapped at the creature's feet, attempting to bring it down for the others to finish off.
Yelis, having heard nothing of police already stationed inside and distrusting anybody who grabbed him suddenly, had the spell half-way off his tongue before the thing had finished transforming. With this many people, a sleep spell would be too slow, so he opted for a less powerful daze. Regardless of the result, he pulled out his cold iron knife, moving into position to threaten the thing. "Waya, sic 'em!" Yelis ordered. Waya, distrusting anybody who grabbed Yelis suddenly, had Yelis pointing a knife at them, or who she was told to sic, leapt forward at the creature with a snarl. Actions: Yelis casts Daze on the creature, DC 15 including the +1 for enchantments. Yelis moves into a flanking position for Waya, pulling out his knife. Handle Animal as a free action; he succeeds even if he somehow rolled -3.
Waya attacks. If a charge is possible, she charges, taking only -1 AC thanks to Stable Gallop. Otherwise, move around behind him (40ft. move) + attack. vs. flat-footed, +2 if on a charge.
"Gasp," Yelis said, somewhat underwhelmed. "Look, nothing personal, but you could use some work on the reveal. You only get to do it once, so put a little effort into it!"
Yelis gestured at the blacked-out mirrors. "That should help. Listen, let's circle up. Waya and I will position ourselves in the center, to keep an eye on all your backs as an extra precaution. There's absolutely no point in setting up a code word in here, since it'd just be heard. Afterward, not a bad idea."
The man grabbed Yelis by the shirt. Yelis, as a rule, was not an individual well-equipped to handle sudden shirt grabbing. "Gah! Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!" he shouted, twisting a bit until he realized who it was. Waya was growling, hackles raised and ready to pounce. "Waya, down. Sir, you're going to let go of me. You're going to show some identification. Feel free to move to the center of the group where you'll be safer." Yelis spoke in a much calmer, measured tone. Frightened people, after all, are something he had first hand experience with.
"Gah! No need for firing. I got it," Yelis said, gesturing to the marked mirrors, covered in what looked like paint. "Just have to keep reapplying it every hour, but I'd rather not deal with the cleanup."
Yelis looked around nervously, holding up a hand emitting a soft light. "Huh? Oh, sure…" He looks down at Waya, checking to see if she's noticed anything. [roll=Yelis Perception]1d20[/roll]
Yelis sighed. "Then they wouldn't want to go into a hall of mirrors, because then they would be really obvious. And because it'd be really hard to navigate if you couldn't see yourself in the mirror. Let's not go jumping to conclusions." He returned his attention to the officer. "Other than showing up to a carnival late at night, were there any obvious patterns in the victims, or did it just seem opportunistic?"
A moment of consideration, and realization dawns on Yelis's face. "Moment… Ooooh! That's why you're dressed like a minute man. I get it."
Yelis waved his hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it- bit of a local reference. I was just saying that his outfit looks a little over two hundred years out of style."
I have settled on a naming convention for Yelis identities.
Yelis arrives, once again with the human appearance from before- although this time, his clothes are more casual, his hair less neat, and his face no longer set in a severe expression. He looked a little tired, largely as a result of staying up late double-checking the settings of his new phone. It was much harder to keep an identity secret these days, but it still didn't mean one should just give up and carry a device announcing who you were to every router it passed by. He gives the new member- presumably the coffee shop kid's contact- a questioning look. "That's, uh, that's some outfit you got there. Just remember, it's one if by land, two if by sea, and three if by teleportation circle." Yellow lights appeared by him as he counted off, then vanished. |