Shaw Farms, like most farms in the area, has a small sign facing the road which says "A proud supplier to Tyson."

The dirt driveway is partially blocked by a police cruiser. Its lights are not on, but an officer is sitting in the driver's seat, kicked back with his hat over his face.

Well. If he's sleeping, I can look around. In any case, I'm authorised to be here...

It's a good thing having a PhD and a MD (along with many other qualifications) gives you a sense of confidence (okay, maybe that's just Adele), since she just parks, gets out of the car, and walks in (well, around the car) like she owns the place.

Hopefully he doesn't wake up.

But she's not making any attempt to be silent, and the car makes enough sound...(couldn't they afford something better?)

The officer doesn't budge as you pass him by.

You follow the road a short distance and soon see the tell-tale sign that you have found the right place: yellow crime scene tape.

As you approach you realize that the body is still at the scene, covered by a sheet. Trails of blood lead up to the body and the area is covered in footprints.

A cow from one of the nearby enclosures lets out a bored-sounding "mooooo", which resonates across the open plains.

Is he sleeping or dead? The sort of help they get these days...

Adele pulls on the traditional Medical Gloves and attempts to uncover the body. It's such a good thing she's used to this. (Usually they're alive and in pain. Or on painkillers, though. She doesn't normally do the autopsies...)

You pull the sheet and whitness a very gruesome scene: on the ground lies the mangled remains of a strong young man. A gash runs from the right side of his chest diagonally to the lower portion of his torso. His entrails and internal organs have spilled out onto the dusty ground, and his left leg has been almost entirely chewed off.

...ew. Okay. Very ew.

Eh.

She's seen worse pictures.

(But just pictures. Most people she has to fix up...not this bad.)

But now it's time for what gets her paid. Time to snap a few pictures and inspect the gash and the leg...

The damage seems to have come from an animal, but you can't tell what type.

Checks made on your behalf:
21:31, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Dr. Adele Sienkiewicz, rolled 9 using 1d20+4. spot.
21:30, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Dr. Adele Sienkiewicz, rolled 15 using 1d20+13. know (earth/life sciences).

Well. That wasn't very helpful.

Though it wasn't a case of attacking-for-food, apparently...

Adele takes a closer look at the distribution of wounds and the possible sequence of events. Hopefully she can get some idea of why he was attacked, from that.

You notice abrasions on his hands and dirt marks at the knees of his jeans; it's possible that whatever attacked him got him from behind and knocked him over. Once the animal got him on his back, it must have slashed at the man's chest with a claw. The gnawing at the leg was slower and deliberate, so it must have been last -- you only hope that the man was dead or passed out at the time, but there's no way to tell for sure.

15:47, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Dr. Adele Sienkiewicz, rolled 16 using 1d20+13. search.

Tobias parked next to Adele's car and got out. "Hey, where's..." he called out, cutting himself off sharply when he noticed the answer to his question sleeping in the patrol car.

Silently, he headed to Adele and the corpse. "What'd you find?"

"A useless cop. Is this what we pay our taxes for, I ask you?"

Adele stripped off very bloodstained (and other-stained) gloves. "Looks like it could have attacked without provocation, and obviously it wasn't planning to eat. If it's natural, it's very odd. If it's unnatural...very aggressive. I hope you've been practicing on the range."

She hadn't, but.

Oops.

PM

[Private to Tobias Byrne: You notice a set of feline foot prints leading away from the body. Next to them is a pair of boot prints.

12:35, Today: Facilitator, on behalf of Tobias Byrne, rolled 21 using 1d20+6. spot.]

"Not a heap, I'll admit." Tobias replied, crouching down near the body. "What I found in the fields wasn't... hello."

Tobias pointed out the tracks, feline and booted, heading away from the body. "Whose are those?"

"Neither have I. Think we should call for one of the heavy-weapons experts? This looks fairly...unpleasant, I'm not sure it's stoppable by the peashooter I'm carrying. Ooh. Hm."

Interesting tracks. "The next clue. Shall we give Frank a call?"

"Not yet." Tobias shook his head. "It could just be some sort of summons, in which case we need to take down the one controlling it. But Frank is a good idea."

He pulls out his cell phone and dials.

After Frank picks up, Tobias fills him in on what they found, and that they'll wait for him to arrive.

Frank replies that as they have both the cars, it might be a better idea if they come and fetch him in one of them, or he can take a look and see if the town has a taxi rank.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:36, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

Tobias agrees, gets Frank's position, then hangs up. "You wanna go get him, or should I?"

"You may be able to find more stuff here. You know, those things you do which I've never been able to figure out."

His Strange and Mysterious Powers, that is.

"I'll pick him up. Couldn't they afford three cars?" Or does he not drive?

Either way.

"Right then. I'll make with the voodoo."

Tobias kneels on the dirt and begins to murmur.

[Private to GM: Casting detect magical aura, see what's what.]

PM

[Private to Tobias Byrne: Sorry, I meant to do this yesterday but I guess I missed it. You don't detect any magical auras.]

Grr.

He didn't want to follow the tracks until Adele and Frank got here. What to do, what to do... House.

Heading for the farmstead, he tried the door.