"I've met her," Bogie said. "She's actually been one of my customers." He picked up one of the bottles of ink and, after opening it, sniffed the contents. "I suppose, technically, the scurvy-grass and Lacewing flies she's purchased from me could be called natural ingredients. However, they're more likely to be used in a magic potion than somebody's health drink."

"But... I thought she hated magic as much as I do." Paul said quietly. "I can't believe she mislead me. That she's been lying to me all this time."

Bogie set the bottle back down and leaned against the counter. "I can't tell you if any of that stuff goes into making Lix. For that, you'd need to ask an alchemist." A look of horror crossed his face "What if I've been supplying a... serial killer?"

Now we are getting somewhere, Jack thought.  He jotted some notes onto his pad.  "Let me see if I got this straight.  Your sister Karen, the doctor who treats Lix abusers pro bono at Cabrini Green, gave you these inks."  Jack pointed to the tray of supplies with the button of his pen.  "And you, Paul, were told by Karen that they were specially formulated with 'natural ingredients' to ease the pain while being tattooed, and promoted healing.  Which is why you agreed to use them."

Jack turned toward Bogie.  "You have been selling Dr. Karen at least some of the ingredients that she may have been using in these inks.  And you Bogie, are an 'exotic elements' broker, specializing in items that can be used in both magical and alchemy concoctions.  Does that sum up what we know to be the facts thus far?"

Jack turned back to Paul.  "So, some of the questions that remain are, how many people have you tattooed with these inks?  Will all of those people end up like the girls or did they have bad reactions?  What does she gain by getting you to use the inks on random people?  And where can we find your sister?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:29, Wed 26 Nov 2014.

"Geez, Jack, you make it sound like I was her accomplice," Bogie exclaimed. "I didn't know she was some psycho killer."

Paul narrowed his eyes and glared at Bogie.

"But still a really nice lady," Bogie stammered when he caught Paul's look. "Seriously, there was never anything the least bit sinister about the Doc."

Paul turned from Bogie and faced Jack with the same, stony expression. "I'm not going to send you to my sister's so you can attack her like an angry mob. I still don't believe she would intentionally hurt anyone."

Bogie shrugged. "That's not a problem, I know how to find the doc." When he saw the anger in Paul's eyes, Bogie stepped closer to Jack. "We can go now, right? I really think we should go."

"Yeah, you should," Paul's voice was cold. "We're done here."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 15:03, Wed 26 Nov 2014.

Tom raised his hands hand placatingly: "Paul... I really don't want to believe that your sister did this on purpose. She may have been less than straightforward with you, but maybe she really did just want to help. If I could take some ink to examine it, perhaps it would turn out that it really is what she claimed it to be, even if it is magic-based rather than herbs-based. To be honest, my faith in humanity could use a bit of a boost, right now."

"I don't know you people," Paul snapped at Tom. "How do I know you won't take my sister's healing concoction and spike it with something deadly? You could just be looking for a convenient scapegoat to frame." He shook his head. "I have no reason to trust any of you."

Jack offered a compromise.  "How about half of a bottle of ink.  That way, you have assurances that we will not muck with the contents and we have something to analyze.  We are not on a witch-hunt here.  We just want to get to the bottom of this.  If it is harmless, you and your sister have nothing to fear.  Nothing goes to print until I have the whole story and all the facts.  What do you say to that, Paul?"

Paul fixed Jack with an icy glare. "No."

The bald guy with a beard poked his head into the room. "Petrov, your next appointment is here." Noting the tension in the assembled group, he frowned and asked, "Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," Paul answered in a stiff voice. "They were just leaving."

The bald guy was big and built like a professional bouncer. His eyes passed over the group like he was studying them.

"Am I the only one feeling like a mouse, and the cat just came home?" Bogie asked. He didn't wait for an answer as he started making his way toward the door.

Paul watched the trio in silence as they filed out of the room.

They ran into Krystal in the hallway as she was leaving the bathroom. "I think my breakfast burrito is fighting back, with a vengeance. I hate to bail on you guys but, I think I should just go home. I already called a cab."

"Are you going to be alright," Bogie asked with obvious concern. "Do you need somebody to go with you to, you know, look after you?"

She shook her head. "Nope, I'm just gonna go home, down some meds and lie down. I should be ok after I get some rest."

The group left the shop and, after Tom helped Krystal into a cab, they piled into Jack's car and headed to the doctor's place.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:47, Tue 02 Dec 2014.

What if I wanted to fight
Beg for the rest of my life
What would you do?
You say you wanted more
What are you waiting for?
I'm not running from you

Come break me down
Bury me, bury me
I am finished with you
Look in my eyes
You're killing me, killing me

The Kill ~ 30 Seconds To Mars

On the drive to Karen Rowe's, Jack got a phone call from Ben. He told Jack that they had another victim and he was able to confirm the tattoos were tainted with the new version of Lix. Ben speculated that there might be even more victims that the medical examiner had missed. He could go through old records and try looking for similar cases but, it would probably be hard to prove at this point. He had found two things that linked the victims, in addition to them having tattoos. All the victims were organ donors and a Dr. Rowe was the transplant surgeon of record. Also, it appeared that all of them were born addicted to Lix. Ben was still working on analyzing the new Lix but, since he wasn't an alchemist, there would be a limit to what he could learn.

The doctor lived in a brick house with a one-car garage and well-kept lawn. The name on the mailbox read K. Rowe. The cherry red Lexus in the driveway was a good indication that she might be home.

"What if her brother called and warned her," Bogie asked. "She could be waiting for us with an ax or a magic missiles spell, or whatever serial killers are using these days."

After telling the others what Ben had said, Jack fumed in silence for a bit, till Bogie broke the silence.  Jack muttered his thoughts aloud.  "I just knew there would be more. How far does this madness go?"

He faced the undead companion he could see.  "Magic missiles?  Have you been playing D&D again?  You know it can give you nightmares.  Besides, she can't worsen your condition.  Your good looks she could trash, but some of us have a bit more on the line here Bogie."

"I can't wrap my head around that other connection that Ben found.  That all were organ donors and Doctor K Rowe was the surgeon in the known cases.  What the hell is she up to?"  He shrugged suggesting he did not have that answer.

Tom morphed back to human form before replying: "Wouldn't surprise me if she had the best intentions. That's usually the quickest road to Hell. I'll go first, I may or may not be ablt to match her spell-wise, but I am better protected than you guys. Also, I can come back from the dead."

Then, as he noticed the mailbox, he frowned: "K. Rowe. I hadn't thought about this before, but lately Krystal has been having a recurrent dream of a butterfly being chased by a crow. I wonder if they are related."

"Yeah, and some of us have absolutely nothing on the line anymore, Jack." Zoey said with an annoyed tone. She shook her head as if trying to shake off the bad feelings, "Y'know, I've been so focused on my own death that I kinda forgot there are other people dying here. Have they all been women?" She looked at Tom, "So would that make all of us butterflies? Has Krystal ever had relevant dreams before? I'd be a lot more skeptical except...well here I am. Speaking of, Tom, if I'm here...is it possible the other victims are too? How would I find them? I mean if we could talk to them like you talk to me, maybe they know something we don't. I guess, it's a long shot but I'm just trying to find a way to be helpful, the less I think about it the more stable I feel here."

"There are fates worse than death," Bogie countered. "Imagine spending eternity as a decapitated head or dismembered body. I'd rather be dead. Besides, in my experience, there's always a way to make something stay deceased." He shot a curious look at the transforming Tom. "I'll bet even your part-time feline friend could be permanently taken out. Just because something is hard to do or unlikely, doesn't mean it can't happen."

"It probably does relate,"  Jack said to Tom.  "Krystal does seem to be sensitive to the ebb and flow of the cosmos and I have run into a person or two that is like that in my line of work.  The 'signs' or 'visions' usually do mean something.  The problem is reading them correctly and in time to do something about it."

Jack responded to the Bast's auto-broadcast of Zoey's comments.  "Ben said the latest victim was a man, so that kills that commonality.  Interestingly though, all were born addicted to Lix.  That has got to play into the reasons strongly."

Jack was repulsed slightly at the visions Zed created in his mind.  "Eww, that would be a fate worse than death.  Can you imagine being Thing from that old show The Munsters for real?  Although, everything you did would be on a 5-finger discount," Jack quipped.

Tom smiled at Bogey and addressed his comment first: "It's not easy, truly killing a Bast: it's about as hard as truly destroying a spirit - which is to say, almost impossible." While that was, strictly speaking, true, Tom conveniently neglected to mention that taking a spirit (or a Bast) out of commission for a few millennia was, on the other hand, much easier, and usually worked out to the same thing for all parties involved.

Then he addressed Zoey's question, in a more somber tone: "Finding another victim is... Very unlikely. Most people move on immediately when they die, they either reincarnate or transfer to the Death Realms. And that isn't bad, really, at least not for them, but it does make it very hard to... Keep in touch."

"Now then." He continued: "Shields up!" Tom muttered a brief incantation and made a gesture, and the air around him shimmered briefly.

"Let's go see the doctor."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:01, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

Tom led the way to the front door. Before he had a chance to knock, the group heard the sound of something crashing and breaking inside the house, followed by a terrified scream.

Instead of freezing with his hand raised, Tom continued the movement and brought up a leg as well, then kicked hard on the door. That didn't quite knock it down but he felt it give a little. Another kick or two, and the door would go down; the noise probably alerted whoever was in the house, but it was just as well.

Tom gave the door another solid kick.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Fri 05 Dec 2014.

The door jam broke under the force of Tom's foot and the door swung open. It was a modest home with comfortable furnishings, including a chair that had been toppled onto its side and a lamp that laid smashed on the floor. The two women in the room were too focused on each other to notice the group coming in the front.

One woman was crouched behind a sofa. She had short brown hair and was screaming. She was bleeding from small cuts on her face and deeper gashes on her leg. The other woman had long blonde hair and was hovering in the middle of the room. Large, white wings stretched out from her back. She looked almost angelic, except for the blood that dripped from her talon-like feet.

"Holy crap!  What is that?" Jack exclaimed. "Or should I say 'unholy'."  He moved to the side of the room, but not too far from the door in case he needed a quick exit.  He kept an eye on the harpy-looking woman while searching for anything that could become a makeshift club.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Mon 08 Dec 2014.

"That would be a harpy... Thought they were all extinct." He pointed at the creature and addressed her sternly: "Stop right there! We can talk or we can fight, and believe me, you don't want to fight. Not me, not today."

Zoey stood there with widened eyes. "A harpy?! So uhh you've dealt with these before then? You know what to do?" Zoey asked as her voice shook, she was about to also search for a useful item before she realized she wouldn't be able to lift one.

Tom replied telepathically only to Zoey, Jack, and Bogey: {I thought they were extinct, but she's a bird, I'm a cat... It's not rocket surgery.}

The harpy was dressed in white leggings and a silver halter top that was open in the back to expose her wings. "Tell me where she is!" she yelled at the cowering woman.

"I DON'T KNOW!" the human woman screamed while clutching her bleeding leg.



When Tom spoke, both women seemed to finally notice the group by the broken door. "Help me, they're crazy!" The brown-haired human yelled, as she ran toward Tom in a state of panic.

"They?" Bogie asked. "PLURAL?"

The harpy wore a bandolier across her chest with several daggers in it. She retrieved one of the shiny knives and hurled it at Tom.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:49, Tue 09 Dec 2014.

Wrong choice. Tom made a gesture as if he wes swatting a fly, and the dagger was thrown off course, falling harmlessly out of the air. A moment later, a panicked woman flew into his arms. She didn't appear to notice that Tom had suddenly grown fangs, claws, and vertical pupils.

My turn. Since he couldn't very well charge the bird with a woman in his arms, he just poked at the harpy from a distance, and the creature seemed to flinch.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Wed 10 Dec 2014.

Zoey unfroze as the harpy attacked. "Jack get out of here! Jack! JACK!" Zoey started visibly panicking as she got no response. She looked frantically around the room and reached for a nearby heavy book. Without thinking she threw it across the room and managed to graze side of the harpy's head. She stopped and stared for a moment looking down at her hands, "How did I--" she smiled and decided to think about it later as she quickly looked about the room for another option.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:48, Wed 10 Dec 2014.

JAck scanned the room to choose a weapon.  The chair on the floor was too awkward to swing.  The lamp was already broken and would not last long in a fight.  A shelf of Hummel figurines was both handy and they could easily be thrown, but Jack wanted something heavy and would last.  Quickly, he grabbed the fireplace poker and swung it at the harpy like a baseball bat.   "Take that, you oversized sea-GULL!"  Jack miss-stepped on the slick hearth and nearly fell into the fireplace.  He slammed his shoulder into the mantle upsetting a glass egg-shaped decorative thingy and it smashed on the floor.  Standing upright, he regained his bearings.