Looking closely at Trickster, Biletnikoff looked genuinely surprised.

"Wow! That's a coyote! A tame one, I see.

"The Horror has been active for seven years. It first struck during the full moon, three victims in a row. Teller (a storyteller with occult knowledge) and a posse tracked down a bloodwolf and killed it, at great cost. That was something something that was thought to only be in the movies, a myth from before the war. A vampire-werewolf. They killed it and that seemed to end the killings.

"But then they started up again, a few years ago. Same wounds, again, on the night of the full moon. Not every month but every few months. there has been thirteen more victims. It seemed to stop last year for no reason I can determine.

"Then it started again last month. My reading on serial killers suggests that "fallow" periods indicate maybe the killer is incarcerated or has moved. Sometimes they just lie low. But I have no answer, people drift in and out of Boise all the time, my records show nothing significant about the periods of activity or dormancy."

In reply to Fred Biletnikoff (msg # 74):

"Okay so how do you track one of these creatures" asks Rowan

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 75):

Biletnikoff sighed and started boiling water for tea.

"A bloodwolf is a physical creature, much like the vampire or werewolf it comes from. So it will leave a track. That's what's so baffling! As of now, I'm stymied. Tea, anyone? I don't think I'm getting back to sleep tonight."

Outside, the sky became brighter as dawn neared. It looked like it was going to be a clear mid-spring day.

Peter grumbled a bit quietly and yawned. He wanted to go back to sleep but he doubted he be able to. He shook his head. He wasn't sure what this creature was, or even what a bloodwolf was for that matter.

"What's a bloodwolf?"

Fred gave a tired smile, while pouring tea for anyone who wanted it.

"It's a cross between a vampire and werewolf, that is, someone infected with both conditions. Used to be people didn't think either existed, but since then we know that the supernatural has existed for a long time, but was just covered up by governments. There was even a series of horror movies about bloodwolves before the war. Either way, someone who's both a vampire and a werewolf would hunt at night and be active during the full moon, but it's not known if a bloodwolf has the weaknesses and strengths of both vampires and werewolves or a partial combination."

In reply to Fred Biletnikoff (msg # 79):

Jane yawned as she listened to what was said.  She wouldn't have believed in a Blood Wolf before but she has seen many things that she once thought were just figments of somebody's drunken imagination.  She shuddered at the possibility of some...thing...like a Blood Wolf being able to function in daylight.

"Yeah, some tea would be good.  Thanks."

Smiling tiredly, Fred poured a cup for Jane.

"Once you finish up, I guess all we can do at this point is go for breakfast. One more mystery, I suppose."

<grey>"Bloodwolves were around before the War, but not like this. They moved around so it took longer to find them. If this is a BW then we have our work cut out for us."</grey>

Rowan looks interested.
"you and I need to talk some time" she says softly.
"Mean time how do we track this thing down and deal with it"

Dawn broke and a tired and edgy Boise downtown came to life. Not just last night's slaughter by the Horror, but the "downtowners" were still reeling from the savagery of the day before when Modeen's Destroyers were fought off.

The sun was a greenish blob, as seen through the surrounding wall of the Ghost Storm. Breakfast was served at the canteen tent about a half-block away. Biletnikoff checked in on Simon again (still not conscious, but the Templar said he hadn't left his sight the entire night) then headed out for some chow.

"Care to join me?"

"is it okay if I check Simon over with my skills" Rowan asks
"I will stay and keep watch some one bring me some thing to eat please

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg # 85):

"It's really up to Simon! I can't think he'd object."

He leaning in close. "We have to be careful, you understand. If people think it's really serious, it'll be devastating. We've had the best surviving medical minds examine him, and the Templars are well acquainted with the occult. The bad news is no one's found anything, but that's good in a way, too. As long as he doesn't get worse."

Rowan Smiles, "I am witch."
"It is given that we heal."
"But before that I was a Paramedic"
"I promise to take no action, with out the permission of the Templars"

Peter gave a shrug and then nodded. "Sure. I suppose breakfast could not hurt." He trudged sleepily after Biletnikoff.

Smoker yawns widely.

"If we cannot go back to sleep, a smoke and some hot food will have to do!"

In reply to The Marshall (msg # 84):

Jane was torn on whether or not to get some chow.  She new she should but sometimes it just seemed too much of an effort for her.  Today was verging on the "too much effort" side.  She didn't want to faint later from lack of nourishment or anything so went to get food.  She only took a little and then found something that she could pull out later to eat.  After she got her food, she went to a corner and sat down, eating quietly.

  "We talk whenever you feel the need Rowan. I won't tell you anything that I consider dangerous info, but you might find it informative." Jason says as he heads towards the mess tent/chow hall. "There are things that even now I dare not discuss with anyone except a fellow Ranger, a certain machete wielding Mexican, and a very few members of the former Agency. The knowledge of certain manitous or cults can cause trouble. I believe that even speaking of it can have problems. Ask me about sykers, Harrowed, and "safe" subjects and we can talk for a bit."

The posse filed into the mess hall.

They saw Trejo, coming off shift after a failed night of guarding against the Horror smiled tiredly at them.

"Hey. I traded to get extra rations for you all. It's not much, but you've done a lot to help us."

Barb, the Doomie that they helped (and later joined them for the fight) was serving and she waved them over. Sure enough, there is bacon and eggs with toast available if they want it, along with the more modest fare of cereal and oatmeal. "Your buddy traded around for this grub, rare as all get out these days."

As well, Daphne (Roadkill's old friend) was waiting at table, holding spaces for them.

"Thank you," said Smoker, yawning. He hoped he was awake enough to relish such bounty!

In reply to Smoker Nix (msg # 93):

Goddamn! They actually had coffee!
This message was last updated by the GM at 02:59, Fri 07 June 2013.

As the group leave Rowan turns to Shaefer, "love would you ask Barb to come and speak to me please"

Barb wiped her hands and made sure there was someone to replace her on the chow line.

"Sure thing, hon, what's on your mind?"

The ageing punk rocker was dressed in a dirty T-shirt with the Doomsayer logo on it, under a heavily studded leather vest. Her hair was now cut in a short Mohawk, uncoloured.

Rowan smiles as she sits there studying Simon.
"Thank you for coming"
"Barb I am reminded that with ghost rock you can speak with the dead, how complete does the body have to be"?
"The Templars have some ghost rock they might let us have, I have a few ounces"

Barb nodded.

"Sure! To use the miracle of "Deathspeak", all I need is something important to the victim. Aaron's body was important to him so that worked, but his sword or something personal would be fine."

With Trejo's help, they soon located a sufficient chunk of Ghost Rock and the suitcase belonging to "Harmon Mullins", the unfortunate victim of the night before.

There wasn't any reason to perform the miracle in a particular place, so the items were brought to the mess tent. Barb set up the chunk of Ghost Rock on a scarred plastic tray and used her abilities to set it on fire. It burned with an eerie green glow, dancing as if a spirit was trapped within.

"I'm trying to summon a Manitou, an evil spirit. If I can bind it to my will, It'll go to the Happy Hunting Grounds and find Harmon for us and bring him back, at least to speak to us. I can't compel Harmon to cooperate, but I can't imagine why he wouldn't want us to find his killer! If all goes well, this should take a minute."

It looked like nothing was happening. Barb stared intently into the ghostly green flame. Then her expression became more and more fierce. Then, finally, she broke off.

"Sorry, I tried. For some reason, I couldn't get the Manitou to comply. It was useless, I had to break contact."

The whole process took about a half hour, 45 minutes. Eveyone else was finished breakfast by then, but several had gathered around the table to watch. There was disappointment when it looked like they failed in whatever they were doing.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:25, Fri 07 June 2013.