“Thanks for coming in,” Detective Reese Johnson gave Lysette a crooked smile and rolled a shoulder in a shrug. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’d appreciate you sitting in and helping me keep an ear to the ground.”

The two walked side by side through the police department, on their way to a room where Reese had informed Lysette that others were waiting. Others who had been on the scene of the explosion at Abe’s store. It was an unexpected turn of events, that. It was concerning that something had gone amiss that couldn’t be explained as a gas leak or anything similar. Abe was a professional and extremely good at what he did. His entire career centered around identifying antiquities. If there was something in his inventory that could cause destruction of this magnitude, he would’ve known it and taken proper precautions. But, Reese had already spoken with the shop’s elderly owner who was just as surprised by it as everyone else.

Stopping before a door, Reese stepped forward to open it for Lysette, holding it politely as she stepped through. The room itself was… well… uninviting would be the kindest thing that could be said. In the middle of the room were two white tables that had probably once lived in an interrogation room. Here, they were pushed together to create a larger seating arrangement. Despite their probable origin, these  had various coffee stains on the top that suggested they were used on a regular basis in a more casual way. Other than that, and the chairs around them, the room was bare. The walls were most likely a stark white, at one point, but were now a more muddled grey from time and dirt. Smudges could be clearly seen around the light switch and around the door knobs. Either no one took the time to clean this place or the janitorial crew needed to be fired.

Around the table were seated four men: three humans and one who was clearly fae.

OOC: I'm pausing here in case anyone wants to react or introduce themselves. Lysette is a vampire and George is a werewolf. I'll let you two decide on whether you sense that about each other and how you would react.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:03, Fri 26 Feb 2021.

Solstice was legitimately trembling in his seat as he watched the two enter. The fae was about a hairs breath from a full blown panic attack. His wings were down and he was digging his nails into the chair he was in and his breathing was coming in short bursts.

Lysette kept her game face in place as she nodded at George. He had a way of showing up in her life these days and she wasn't yet quite sure how she felt about that. And the fae? What was he doing here, all shaky terrified? Had he been attacked? Had he done something wrong? No point in jumping to conclusions before she heard why the detective had asked her to join the party. She moved to one side as Reese followed her into the room, which was starting to feel cramped.

It smelled too. Of ancient despair and vomit and cheap booze, all swirled through with the stench of tobacco, steeped in the walls and furniture. Luckily she did not need to breathe. She shuddered instead and found a section of wall to stand by. She might have leaned against the wall but decided that the less contact she had with the interior of this room the happier the rest of her day would be.

"Happy to help, Detective Johnson," she spoke formally with a faint Latina lisp to her voice. "What's this all about?"

Dalion was in the room with a bored look in his eyes, and his hands cuffed behind his back, completely silent.

Ryan is both discomfited and relieved at the scene. If this version of Bellhollow was being run by the Proctors and the Hunters, most of the others would not be here. The Proctors didn't bother with niceties or 'interviews;' they'd strap you to a chair and begin torturing you.

Reese looked around the room, his eyes flitting across everyone briefly. After Lysette had moved past him, he continued to hold the door. Using a toe, he caught a small wedge that was near the doorjamb and slipped it under the door so that it remained open.

Unlike most of the cops they had passed on the way here, Reese was not wearing the usual uniform. Instead, he was sporting a dark blue T-shirt with Godzilla and Mothra towering above a city skyline, the words 'Kaiju-A-Go-Go' emblazoned above their heads. He wore jeans and comfortable looking sneakers, and his shield was clipped to his belt. With a smile, he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a sucker, unwrapped it and popped into his mouth. The wrapper that he tossed on the table read 'strawberry.'

"So, uh... I wanted to thank you all for agreeing to come in and talk with me," Reese leaned back against a wall, leaving the last chair for Lysette if she felt so inclined to sit. "What we got here is a real head scratcher. You all were at the scene early, from what I hear. I just want to know if you saw anything weird. Out of place. Odd."

"Ahem!" Dalion fake cleared his throat to drawn attention momentarily towards the handcuffs around his wrists, he had to move into an uncomfortable position in the chair to show his wrists that were behind his back to the side of his body, while looking at Reese with one raised eyebrow.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:26, Fri 26 Feb 2021.

Ryan gives the drab walls an up-and-down look. There doesn't appear to be any protective wards set on the room, and the ... detective? ... propping the door open established, for the moment, an open atmosphere.

"I agreed because I'm from out of town," Ryan said. "Don't really want to be the odd man out when police are looking for weirdness. It sure wasn't for the free tour of the police department. But, anyway, no. I was a short distance away when the explosion happened."

George takes a seat next to Dalion, with a nod at Lysette.

Interesting. She's here. Wonder what her angle is? Best to not press her buttons right now..the Cops on the other hand...

Looking Reese steadily in the eyes,otherwize expressionless, he reaches over, pulls on his wolf nature to bring some strength to his hands, and quietly breaks the chain between the two cuffs.

When the chain breaks,his stone cold look of silent challenge drops.  Sheepishly he grins awkwardly at the room,in general, and almost stutters as he speaks..  "Uh...I..just dont like sitting with someone chained up like a stray d.dog.If he does something ...uh ..crazy..its on me, alright?"
This message was last edited by the player at 12:46, Sat 27 Feb 2021.

Reese chuckles at Ryan's answer, "Yeah. Can't argue with that logic. Place isn't exactly barrel o' laughs, most days. Every once in awhile, Steve tries to crack a joke but... no. He just... he's not... he isn't good at it. Can't fault him for trying to lighten the mood, though."

When George catches his eye and challenges Reese, breaking the handcuffs, the detective just raises an eyebrow and gives the werewolf a crooked grin around his pop, which he has pushed into one cheek. He seems wholly unconcerned by the act. Reese pushes himself off of the wall and walks over to Dalion, fishing in his pocket for a key. He gestures for the beggar to lift his hands so that he can remove the bracelets. Once they are off, he tosses the broken restraints on the table, leaving them there for the time being. Once everyone is gone, they can be taken down to repairs to be fixed. After all, in s world with supernaturals, broken cuffs aren't an uncommon occurrence.

"Oh, hey. No, I get it. It's cool. Hell, I don't even know the story about why he's cuffed," Reese shrugged and sauntered back over to the wall, retaking his place diligently holding it up. "Medics told me you all helped a guy caught in the rubble. Did you happen to, uhh.. see anyone else around? Anyone who looked out of place?"

OOC: Solstice and Ryan, you guys would definitely sense magic around Reese, if you were to try to detect it. He's pretty much eat up with it, though he's not a fae. He seems perfectly human.

You guys did not see anyone else on the scene other than the rescue crews.

Dalion, Michael would've told you about a weird tapping sound that he heard. But, he didn't think anything about it. He didn't know what it was, but it wasn't an alarming sound.

George barks out a laugh.

"Out of place? In this town? Hardly."

Then he rubs at his jaw...mmmmmm...maybe ...
Shooting a look at Dalion, he turns back to Reese.
"buuuutttt...as for strange, And weird for Bellhollow...I heard tell of mechanical crustations roaming the street..."

Sure Dalion will probably mention that, but, honestly...if George were Reese, he wouldn't take anything Dalion said that seriously. Yet...IF there Are giant metal crabs,then mentioning them first will surely give credence to the bums crazy story.  Cant hurt. If it is just a crazy hallucination, no harm done. If it isnt, then best get the cops taking it a little seriously.

"I appreciate that" said Dalion after the detective removed the metal bracelets, but intently looking at George while saying it.

"About the handcuffs, well I may have had a few critiques about one of your officers Mr. detective, particularly about their demeanor towards other people when they are having a private conversation... I may have said something about his work ethic too... and his intelligence, and his face, and his mother... It seems to me that he has very thin skin, maybe you should have a talk with him, I think I can still hear him sobbing ALL THE WAY BACK THERE!"

"As for what happened last night, well I'm guessing we're about to get some medal or something for rescuing Mr. bad timing from all that rubble, it took all of us to get him out... wait... except her" Dalion was pointing at Lysette "Ms. Despasito wasn't there, but you probably knew that already."

Dalion took a moment to look at the room's door, he wanted to see if the officer that handcuffed him was close but it didn't seem like it. "This morning I was having a nice conversation with Mr. living-under-the-rocks and he told me that he heard some tapping before the building decided to big spoon him, who knows what that noise could have been, that's when WHEN MR. SENSITIVE INTERRUPTED ME!."

"Oh and about the crabs thing, I don't know what to say, the city should be more careful who she hangs out with, It's going to need some type of super lice-killing lotion to get rid of that, I hear that piperonyl butoxide can work wonders"

Solstice was left dumbfounded by Dalion for the billionth time. He kept his mouth shut but the man irritated him. Panic or no he wouldn't help but the soft snort that escaped him after all this.

"Did I see anyone around?" Ryan asks. "No. I could try a spell to reconstruct the scene based on our memories. It's possible we saw something but didn't take notice of it."


(OOC: This would be like crowd-sourcing cell phone photos to recreate a scene, only using our conscious and subconscious memories. It's an opportunity for the Narrator to 'retcon' things that weren't necessarily on the table when the scene was originally written.)

Tilting his head to look at Ryan a little more closely, George thinks on the idea.

"If you do that...do you see what else in in our heads?"

Ryan looks at George. "No, we shouldn't. It would be a very narrow type of scrying, and we would only see a composite of our memories for the moment in question. So, no, I won't see the PIN for your ATM card or find out about your secret crush."

"Well..if you Do see the pin..let me know. I forgot it."

Looking at the room of people then. "So....uh..you all good with the idea?"
Squinting a little at the fae, yeah, he looks a bit..a Lot scared.. he continues. "You, you look as little worried. You ok with it? We can probably leave you out if its too much?"

Solstice took a deep breath. "I will do as I must... But I won't pretend to like it..." He told the other man.

Lysette glances over at Ryan and gives him the once over. She's always been a bit fascinated with magic, and here's a chance to witness a spell first hand. She's pretty confident of her own mental ability to resist anything that would be dangerous or even inconvenient to her.

"Sure," she shrugs. "Why not?"

"All right, then," Ryan said. "Detective ... Reese, is it? I'll need a medium-sized bowl of water, and I imagine someone in the department has some sage?"

As the requested supplies are gathered, Ryan explains what he intends to do.

"This will be like scrying - seeing something from afar," he says. "But, in our case, we're going to see the past. After I set the spell, I'll ask each of you to dip your forefinger - doesn't matter which hand - into the bowl of water as the spell is cast. There is no danger, no matter what we see, but if you feel uncomfortable at any point, just take your finger out of the water."

[OOC: I am picturing a large glass mixing bowl or a stainless steel serving bowl, the kind you'd see at a salad bar. Sage will hopefully be a bundle of dried sage, that you often see at new age/pagan stores. Lit, the smoke is used to 'clear' an area of negative influences, a process called 'smudging.' (Not pagan, but have pagan friends and have been to several rituals/circles.)]

Ryan sets the bowl upon the center of the table. He lights the bundle of dried sage, blowing out the initial flame so that it's like a stick of incense. In turn, he smudges each participant and Detective Reese by tracing a pentacle over them, then draws another pentacle over the table and bowl. He directs each person to dip a forefinger into the water.

Lord and Lady we call on thee
Our sight combined to share
May this, our vision, be true and clear
To see who, why, how, and where

[Ryan Blake rolled 2 using 1d6. Scrying] (Ick. I defer to the Narrator.)

Solstice felt by virtue of being present for this that he had no choice but to participate. So he put the forefinger of his left hand into the water.

Since he'd been encouraging everyone to give it a go, he really couldnt not participate..

and that Pin might turn up...

A finger, nail discoloured with persistent grim, dips into the water.

"In I go!" Says Dalion as he puts a finger in the bowl.

Lysette steps forward into the circle around the bowl and dips an elegant finger into the water as well.

The dingy meeting room fell away from the group, seeming to dissolve and change around them. What swirled into being was a recreation of the explosion from the night before, rubble and fire, chaos and smoke. The group was again in the alleyway between the demolished antiques store and the office building beside it, the area filled with debris. However, it was oddly presented, almost like a photograph that had been double exposed.

In the middle of the alleyway was the pile of brick and broken furniture where Michael had been trapped. However, it was presented twice. In one representation, Michael was still there, battered and bloodied. However, he was also not there. The wardrobe and bricks where he had been cast aside, as it had been after he had been pulled free.

There were other small differences that made the image seem slightly disorienting, as it was all pulled  together from slightly different perspectives. Here and there, the height of a wall seemed too tall… or too short. The shadows were doubled and overlapping, somewhat askew. On the ground, broken glass glinted in the light cast by fires, reflecting the scene around them, like a million tiny mirrors. If one blinked, they seemed like they might gravitate to one another, but they did not. They remained inert and unmoving. Just more bits of destruction.

Just a bit to the side, a memory of Solstice stood with Dr. Orrus. The doctor’s face was concerned and stern, focused on the trapped man before them. Already he was beginning to move towards the man, ready to lend aid as best he could to this unfortunate stranger. Just behind him, the worried fae reached out tentatively, as though to take the doctor’s hand. However, the good doctor was too focused, too swift in his motion, and the gesture went unnoticed.

A silent wind blew down the alley, clearing the smoke for a moment. Back out towards the front of the building, rescue workers could be seen diligently working to put out the fire and clear the area of bystanders. Bright, yellow coats… red fire engines… the glint of equipment and badges. All working to try to contain this, to keep it from causing further harm.

More lights blinked into view along the wall of the office building. They twinkled delightfully, beautiful and bright, like small stars. Plink! Plink! Plink! They popped into view one after another, forming patterns on the wall. Orion… Taurus… Gemini… Auriga. Ah! Araneus. Araneus. What a beautiful part of the sky, especially to be found here among all this dreary dirt and dust.

At the very back of the alley, near the back parking lot that Michael had been trying to reach, there was a wire. It ran across the background, presumably between two electrical poles that were out of view. And, sitting there, watching the scene was a bird. Unlike everything else, it was still. Dark. Silent. Intent…. Unnatural in its quiet.

Focusing on the bird and the stars, Lysette sifted her long memory for any association. Other than the legends of far Carcosa being on a world in the Hyades within the constellation of Taurus, nothing sprang to mind. That and the fact that the entire caelregio they were being shown was named for a spider -- Araneus.

But the bird. That indeed looked odd. So focused. Watching, with unnatural interest.

Bird!

Be Still.

wait ...will it blink?
Watch

On closer inspection, the bird resembles something like a raven, large and imposing. Yet, it's feathers are not black. Instead, they are greys and browns that blend into background easily. It's no wonder that the creature was missed during their initial visit to the alleyway. The creature was nearly invisible, and their attention had been quite focused on rescuing Michael, at the time.

As Lysette and George watch it, it blinks. And, when it does... there is a faint 'click' that human ears would not pick up. And, there was the glint of metal.


OOC: This bird doesn't look like any bird in real life, that I know of. It might resemble a species that I don't know about, though.

Solstice hears the click and his head snaps towards the bird creature.

[OOC Lazerbeak is that you??]

"A mechanical bird?" suggests Lysette. "A drone of some kind sent to spy on the events? But by whom?

"Tell me again of the circumstances of this explosion and the people involved. Who stands to benefit the most or who might have a grudge in play?"

"The bird could be someone else's eyes," Ryan said. "It depends on where you learned your magic, I suppose there are still traditions where you work with a familiar."

"If there'd been an explosion, most animals would flee. This one's watching."

Surrounding the memoryspace conversation, musky dark thoughts sift through the visions of the bird.Its clear that the bird feels disturbing and wrong to the wolf in the groups hallucinated shadows..

"Enemy. Hunt it."

Vision shifts around, searching.
"Crabs."

Memory space is filled with a rush of strong scents.
Concrete. Blood. Books. Dust. Dirt. Rats. People. Panic. Fear. Pain.
Aromas not normally experienced by most in the group fill the space in a heady, intoxicating brew of information.

"What is that... Smell...? It's making it hard to focus..." Solstice mumbled

A shift of attention focuses on Solstice, and the scent of Cinnamon and Faerie fills the memoryspace for a brief moment, then all the aromas fade back to something less intrusive again.

"...sorry...hard ..to go half 'blind'." George growls through the memory web.

The attention remains. Then shifts to include Ryan, and a question is asked of both.

Can..you show magic..scents..?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:23, Thu 04 Mar 2021.

What does magic smell like? Ryan considered. It would begin with ritual scents: sage, beeswax, herbs. The smells of nature. Tokens of what one wishes to bring into being, but also human emotions, not always good ones. You're at peace with yourself and the environment ... or you're working from greed, lust, envy, anger. If magic had a smell, that would be a part of it.

"D-do you mean sensing magic? Yes I'm sure I can do that." The fae man assured and focused his own energy to the magic in the air.

The result of Solstice's effort was an interesting sensation. Much like the scene before you seemed to be layered, so too was the fae's sense of magic.

On one layer, there was the memory of the alleyway. Once again, Solstice was able to feel the rapidly fading touch of a strong evocation magic, most likely what had caused the antique store to explode. Below that was a faint hint of psychopomp, that magic that allowed travel in many different forms. And, from the bird... oh, that bird! It made Solstice shudder with how wrong it felt. There was magic about it, to be certain, but it was perverted, somehow. Where fae magic was like sunlight, and human magic felt of earth, this... this had a sharp tang to it. Metal and blood.

Solstice's senses were also tuned in to the police station, since they were not actually in the alleyway. No matter what they saw in their mind's eye, they were still physically sitting in that drab, starkly utilitarian room.

The fae healer could easily sense the integral magic in George and Lysette, that which made them what they were. Divination magic rolled off of Ryan, as was expected as he was the magician who had cast the memory spell. Surprisingly, Solstice could sense hefty amounts of magic coming from Detective Johnson. From the officer, he sensed... alteration and protection.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:29, Fri 05 Mar 2021.

Woooooh
George had tried mushrooms once..sort of by accident, with some buddies..Outdoor food experiments.

That was the closest thing to the current kaleidoscopic experience happening now.

               Colours perceived through taste. Splintering vision through different eyes, while also blurred with different angles and memory.

      Blood and metal. Aversion. Fear.

The Wolf can smell fear and confusion,            both in memory and room. And, he can ..taste smell the magic       woven through it too.
ColdfireLysett
    ShadowcrystalRyan
         UltrvioletSolstace
                MaelstromeDalion
                    Stonesolidcop

Its beautiful

Solstice wasn't liking the way the influences of the other's was melding with his magic and it was starting to make him feel a little nauseated. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up.

Walking unsteadily through the dream rubble, through the heady mix of scents, taste, and sight all interweaving and slightly transposing over each other, George somehow hunts.

Find the prey. the thing that's hiding, wolf instinct screams.

 he follows the spore revealed by Ultraviolets magic. Hoping to memorize the taste, if they come across it again.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Sat 06 Mar 2021.

It takes Ryan a moment to process the collective memory. He'd intended the spell to be a melding of different points of view, but finds he's also experiencing the others' sensory input. There's a primal, wild feeling to George's perceptions; and an intimate (but not inherently erotic) shading to Lysette's, an awareness of heartbeats/lifebeats that is both craving and majestic passion.

And then there's the quiet, measured perspective of Solstice, providing the grounding influence for the others.

The memory continues to unfold ....

"That constellation over there is Araneus". Said Dalion in an uncharacteristic low and calm tone. "It's named in honor of a tragic monster, Araneus was a human hero who felt compassion for Arachne and wanted to lift the curse imposed on her by Athena, he tried to steal Hecate's secrets of transformation but his lack of cunning made him transform himself into a spider, Arachne saw his failure and felt both delighted and frustrated, so delighted that she laid with him in return, impregnating her, and so frustrated that she ate him afterward. Sailors in the past would try to avoid starting a new voyage or business during the days that Araneus constellation could be seen clearly, because they believed Araneus would interfere and make them lose their way, guiding them to a deadly end".  Dalion said this, closed his eyes, and removed his finger from the bowl, sitting straight on his chair and breathing deeply.

Not surprisingly, as Dalion withdraws his fingertip from the bowl, the sparkles stop resembling the night sky and become mundane in appearance ...

Having taken note of whatever scents and sights he can, George takes his finger from the bowl, and sits a bit, adjusting back to one set of senses.

When George withdraws from the bowl, the scene for those still within becomes much calmer, more akin to what they are used to. The strong scents die away, replaced with less robust and varied smells. Now, primarily, there is only the smell of smoke and a bit of fresh air, as a breeze flows down the alley.

Reese makes a thoughtful humming sound. There is a faint click-click-crunch as he gently gnaws at the pop that is tucked in one cheek, his eyes narrowed as he eyes the rubble. Ever so gently, he turns the scene so that it is focused inside the store. It's still a bit odd, because the Ryan and Solstice remember the scene with fire, while Reese remembers the aftermath. So, there is overlap where clearly sopping wet objects are merrily burning. But, it's still possible to make sense of it all.

The interior of the building is a ruined mess. What was once lovely, old furniture is now nothing but charred ruins. Any vintage clothing that survived the explosion is soaked and destroyed, covered in ash and stained. Toys and books are scattered. Shards of glass from windows, vases, and figurines twinkle in the ashes.

Most notable, though, is the fact that the floor is sunken. It dips in the middle, sagging like a wet paper towel. Pointing to the back of the building, Reese says, "Back there is where stairs led down to the basement. It's completely blocked. And, I didn't trust the floor to try and get to it for a better look."

"Is there any way to get there from around the back?" Ryan asks.

"I could go in... My wings mean I'm in no danger of falling..." Solstice offered, still keeping his finger in the bowl just in case everyone else wasn't done looking. Despite his still lingering nausea he wanted to be helpful.

Lysette removes her finger from the bowl and stands back to consider what they have observed.

"The bird was clearly there to observe," she muses. "Some kind of technomagical construct. This would indicate that the explosion was expected and that we are up against a very sophisticated villain.

"As to learning what was in the basement, might there be another entrance? A loading hatch or something from the street?"

She looks over at the policeman.

"Has the fire team finished with the site?" she asks. "Did they have any conclusions about the cause?"

"What Col..Miss Vargas?"

Shaken out of the last of the residual memory-scape, George focuses on Lysette, and what she just said.

"Yeah...And I think theres other things as well." He glaces at Dalion.
"And I reckon I might be able to smell them if we come across spore, at least, now we maybe know what they are." He sits up, getting excited at the idea.

He twists in his chair to wink at her.

"So....Up for a Monster Hunt Lysette?"
Then coughs. "Ah..Everybody?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:17, Wed 10 Mar 2021.

Still within the memory-scape, Reese runs a hand through his hair and peers thoughtfully at the rubble, "Well, I don't know that you flying over there would do any good. I couldn't see it and, since this is a memory... I suppose it would just show up as a blank spot? Or blurry? Or something."

Looking to Ryan, he answers, "No. I think the stairs were the only way down. He did have a set of wider doors in the back for bringing in the big furniture, but it opened into a back room. And the stairs were at an angle from there that I couldn't really see."

The officer turns oddly blind eyes towards Lysette when she asks her question, his eyes still seeing the alley and not the room around them, "They're done, for the most part. The investigation is still ongoing, though. Last I heard, they had ruled out a gas leak and mundane arson. But, they're still poking around the magical side of things."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:17, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

"I-I meant of the real building..." Solstice mumbled softly.

"Oh! Oh, sorry. My mistake. I just misunderstood. I was too focused on now and wasn't thinking about later," Reese chuckled at himself. "Sure! We could go back after we're done here and you could take a look, that way. I'd certainly appreciate you doing that. I doubt the floor is very structurally sound, anymore."

"If it wasn't arson or a gas leak, then it was to cover up something else," Ryan said. "Perhaps someone took something from the shop and blew it up to hide the theft?"

"I don't think anyone would destroy a building to cover up a theft...A bit like using a sledge hammer to crack a Peanut..." The fae mumbled.

Thinking on that, George turns to the still memory blind Solstice.

"Yeah. Definitely not just a theft...but...maybe also a message? Or retrieval? You took my thing, and now revenge explosion?"

"Perhaps... But what beast could be so vengeful...?" He muttered, starting to feel a bit drained now.

George gets up, and digs a bottle of water out of his rucksack. He puts it in front of Solstices hands.

"Hey..theres some water in front of you in the real room." He takes off the lid and pushes it to touch the small mans hands.

"Vengeance, yeah, maybe a bit over the top.I reckon its more about the message to other people. Warning rather."

"The point of misdirection is so you're not looking at what actually happened, your attention is on the misdirection: the waving hand, the bright flash, the loud noise," Ryan said. "Consider that the police are looking at the explosion and what caused it, and that the floor may be so damaged as to be unsafe. If it weren't for Master Solstice offering to take a look, we wouldn't be seeing much of anything."

"So, yes, perhaps a bit over the top, but it's doing a good job."

"Yes, I'm familiar of how humans use lies to pretend to use magic... Rather boring actually,once you figure out how they do it..." The fae mumbled, mostly to himself. He was starting to feel exceptionally light headed but didn't dare move to take the water in case he broke the spell. He remained still and stiff as a dead tree.

Ryan notices the offered and refused (?) bottle of water, as well as Solstice's distant demeanor.

"Detective, have you seen everything you wanted?" he asks, while keeping an eye on the fae.

Reese nodded, "Yeah, I think that's all we're going to get from this. But, we got a lot. Thank you all for the assist. You've given me more insight into the scene and I think I have a new lead to chase."

The detective withdrew his finger from the bowl and blinked as the memory-scape faded from his view. Once again, there was the distinct crackle-crack sound of him lightly biting on the pop in his mouth. His brow was furrowed, his gaze thoughtful and distant despite his apparent carefree personality.

After a moment, he smiled and looked to Solstice, "If your offer still stands, how about you get some rest and then we can revisit Abe's?"

Solstice removed his finger from the bowl and visibly slumped, wings dipping. "Yes... We can go now, if you like... I'll be alright." He mumbled, one hand going to cradle his aching dizzy skull and the other pawing for the water bottle.

"Very well," Ryan says. "First in, last out."

When everyone has withdrawn their participation in the scrying, he murmurs a brief thanks to Lord and Lady, and ends the spell. Then he looks again at Solstice.

"You look a bit unsettled," he says. "Perhaps Detective Reese can have someone drive you home?"

Glancing over at Solstice he sees how clearly wrung out he looks. And yet prepared to go digging around under rubble.

George stands, stretches, and announces to the room.

"Dunno about you lot, but I need a good feed and a nap before traipsing off after monster robots. Maybe after lunch?" Yawning, he continues blithely. "It was a late night after all."

Then, laughing and grabbing up his bag, he shoots a toothy grin directly at Solstice.
"Not to mention...if you look and smell Too tired...You might seem tasty, and I might forget what I'm supposed to be hunting."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:58, Mon 15 Mar 2021.

Reese chuckles and scratches at his stubble a bit, "Uh... well. I'd give you all a ride. But, I don't think the Lichmobile can carry all of us. We can try! But, it'll be a tight squeeze."

Lysette owns a car. A classic 1956 BMW 507 roadster.

"Anyone want to ride with me?" she asks. "I can take only one. I'm afraid."

"SHOTGUN!"

Broadly griming at her, as he remembers her ride.
"We can get drive through food burgers on the way."
All thoughts of sleep, and giving the fae a chance for rest, gone in the excitement of fast cars, a possible hunt, and lingering effects of the phase of the moon.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Tue 16 Mar 2021.

Solstice smiled politely but some of his resolve was slipping."Honestly whatever you want is fine. I'm more than prepared to go out now or tomorrow. Whatever works best for all of you." He half insisted.

"Looks like I'm riding with you, Detective," Ryan says.

"I would also like to ride with you... If it isn't to much trouble, sir..." The fae man spoke softly to the cop.

"Nobody eats in my car, hon," she frowns at him. "Or sheds, either."

She handles the manual shift with practiced ease and steers with lightning-fast reflexes. They are doing sixty as they leave the parking lot of the police station and she slots the little roadster into a narrow opening between a glossy pickup truck and a delivery van, with scant inches to spare fore and aft. The van jams on his brakes, but she is already down-shifting and accelerating past the jacked-up truck.

"No-neck," she mutters as the fat driver flips her the bird and honks his horn. "If he had a real dick, he wouldn't need a toy truck."

"How about you?" she smiles sweetly at George. "Got a truck?"

It's not very far to the scene of the fire, and she picks a parking spot quickly, swerving the little sports car into the space in a bootlegger's turn that brings the vehicle to a rocking stand hard against the kerb.

"Don't scratch the finish," she grins. "Or you'll have to buff it out by hand."

"Ahh man! Im starving." George mutters as he folds his frame into the passenger seat.

"Whoo yeah..Go Girl!" He just resists putting his head out the window....way too stereotype.

"A truck? Nah...hardly moving motorhome. I mo..LOOK OUT!!!" He yells as she just misses clipping an svu as she overtakes.
"..uh..I mostly walk."
Catching on, he laughs. "Guess thats a great sign huh?"

When they arrive, and with a smile that couldn't be wider, he hops out of the car.
"After that ride, I'm prepared to buff it in the nude, for more!"
He pats the cars hood, then trots off looking for the others. "Come on..mysterious mystery's to solve.."

Detective Reese takes his 'posse' round to the parking lot, and his car. Loading everyone in, they make their way to the crime scene. Its a much more sedate drive, not a single horn is sounded in anger. Reese makes small talk in the car. Nattering about the weather, the festival, and the like. Not wanting to prejudice his investigators possible insights he refuses to be drawn on any more information about the incident.

They arrive about 10 minutes after Lysette and George, and meet up with them.

"Lets see what we can see then shall we, Lady and Gents." And gestures them forwards.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:35, Thu 18 Mar 2021.

Solstice made sure to keep his wings out of everyone's way as he sat in the back row of the car. It would probably be easier for him to sit in the front but it wasn't that long of a drive and someone had already called it.

As he exited the vehicle he looked at the drenched building. "Hmm... I just hope it holds while I'm in there..." He mumbled, feeling nerves rise within him.

The debris has been picked and poked over by investigators. Whats been left is tatters of tape, puddles of dirty water, smells of ash, and a large circle of Intact Tape. It reads 'Incident scene. Keep Out.' along the banner.

A bored beat cop sits in a folding chair keeping lookie loos away. She stands up as detective Reese approaches with his attached Posse.

"Sir, Alls been good, except.." She looks over the street.."Those two. They tried to say you sent them and would be coming along soon. . But, I told them to wait then. No entry." She hopes he did the right thing. Lysette and George can be seen having words when they look. Meanwhile the cop pulls aside a section of tape to allow entry.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:13, Sat 20 Mar 2021.

"Oh, yeah," Reese chuckles and turns slightly so that he can briefly glance at the two across the street. "Sorry about that. My fault! I should've radioed ahead but my head was somewhere else and I didn't think about it. They are with me."

The detective lifted his hand and waved to George and Lysette as he called out, "Hey! We're here!"

Hearing Solstice's mumble of worry, he turns to the slightly drained appearing fae and says, "You don't have to do this. There are other ways that we can get this information. I don't want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable."

Stopping mid sentence, George turns his head from the Words being exchanged with Lysette.
"Oh hey..here we go..forget what I said...my bad."
And he trots over to the group entering the site.

"Alright, let's go!" Dalion rushed to the building remainings, jumped over the yellow security line perimeter set around what used to be the antique store. He looked around the crumbled and charred walls, decided to kick a couple of times a wall that was still standing, and yelled: "I'm no civil engineer nor architect, but at least a couple kicks won't make this place fall down on top of you Edward" He said this while looking at Solstice.

With a short amount of work, the area indicated in the memory-sharing is uncovered. Dragging aside splintered wooden display box remains and glass shards, a hatch is revealed, if you knew to look there. Its clear the recent investigators didnt.

Solstice just gave a polite smile to the detective before proceeding. "It's more than fine. I said I would do this so I will." He said and walked over to the building, taking flight a few inches above the ground as to not cause any more damage. He elected to ignore Dalion, wondering why a possible insane man was even trusted with this scene. He could pick up something heavy and start swinging at imaginary bandits for all the fae knew.

He flew to where the stairs were, tucking his legs up slightly higher as he did so, just to be safe. Reaching down, the man pulled on the hatch door with his admittedly feeble might.

There's a sudden burning ripping through Solstices fingers. The handle is cold iron.

Solstice reeled back with a cry of alarm and cradled his burned hands to his chest. He glanced over his shoulder at the others then back at the trap door.

"Oh?" Dalion saw Solstice reaction and got closer to see what happened. "Oooohhhh the iron thing...with the fairies and... right" He said as he looked at the hatch, then solstice and then the hatch again. He reached to open the hatch.

"So, Ms. Battory? do you ever use garlic on your food? And Jacob? do you ever use silvery bling?"   Dalion asked around as soon as he lost interest in the hatch.

Dalion remains unharmed when he uses the handle. There the simple resistance of age and weight, but, otherwise, the door to the space below opens easily.

A circle of light from the outside illuminate a couple of dusty steps, descending into umbric depths. Some dust has been disturbed, down the middle, showing it has been used, recently, but rarely.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, Mr. Sherlock? what do you think?" Dalion asked detective Reese. "It doesn't need to be a one-man mission, there are stairs, that looked used by a humanoid or human".

Stepping over, while Reese examines the scene, George smells the area, nose crinkling.

"I'm getting both oil and human..ish? Human enough for me. And the oil is from ..later...its fresher."

Reese, sighed and ran his hand through his already rather disheveled hair, "Considering how much damage this place took, I don't think I'd trust the stairs to hold anyone's weight. And I sure don't trust the whole thing to not just collapse on us as soon as we get down there."

He makes a humming sound in the back on his throat, considering for a moment, "I think I can cobble something together to magically brace structure, for a bit. If I do that, then maybe you guys can go look around. I'd want to concentrate on the spell... just in case."

"The floor was sturdy enough for you to stand on and wrench the trap door open," Lysette points out. "And the steps have been climbed fairly recently. I see no sign that the explosion has affected what is below. I think I'm ready to risk it as is."

She steps forward and prepares to climb down the steps, glancing back up at the others.

"If something dreadful happens to me, don't let them cremate me, OK? Most other things I will recover from."

Then she climbs down into the shadowy darkness.

"Maybe. Maybe not. But, I'm not taking chances with civilian's lives," Reese lowers himself down to the ground, sitting cross-legged on the charred and soaked wood. He places his hands palm down on the wood and closes his eyes, his entire demeanor slipping into a semblance of calm. He snorts softly through his nose and adds under his breath, "LT will have my badge... and probably a good chunk of my ass... if anything happens to any of you."

Solstice made his way down the stairs, still flying and now rubbing his burned hands.

Dalion felt incredibly tempted to mess with a focusing Reese, with a childish smile on his face he squatted in front of him, looked at him concentrating and breathing deeply, not long after, Dalion reached with his right hand and grabbed Reese's nose.

Lysette steps down into the gloomy chill. Confidently, she doesnt pause at the edge of normal visibility, her vampiric eyes made for this.

Lysette looked around as she moved down the stairs.

08:19, Today: Lysette Vargas rolled 2 using 1d6.  Descending stairs into cellar.

As she descends, looking all over, a small piece of metal embedded in the wall catches her eye. As she turns, her shoulder tunes a little as well. Unfortunately, just enough to lean into the preternaturally sharpened wire at neck level, for a shorter person.
Cutting through her blouse and into her flesh to bone.

Once Dalion clamped down on Reese's nose, one corner of his lip twitched upward. He then let out a loud and unmistakable, "HOOOOONK." He then opened one eye and frowned, unhappy with the result. "Well, that was sad. I can't get that throaty, goosey sound without being able to use my nose. Lame."

He lifted a hand and poked Dalion in the chest, "Get out of here. I can't concentrate with you latched onto my face." He didn't seem in the least bit perturbed by the beggar's actions, but it was clear that he needed Dalion  to leave him alone if he was going to safeguard everyone.

"Ay! Mierde!" Lysette releases a soft curse as the sharp wire slices her flesh. A faint ooze of pink blood stains her silk blouse, but it does not run red at all.

"Watch out!" she alerts the others. "This is sharp and positioned to cut."

She closes the wound with her fingers and holds it tight for a few moments, letting the viscous liquid that is not quite blood in her body stick the two flaps together, but it will not really heal until she drinks human blood again. She's more annoyed at ruining her clothing.

Glancing back up at the antics of Dalion and Reese, she shakes her head in disapproval.

"Atención, niños!" she growls. "This place has fangs!"

Solstice paused behind her, then moved to her. "I can heal that for you if you like..." He offered.

"Hahahahaha it was still good" Dalion laughed and then left Reese alone to concentrate.

His good humor evaporated quickly after seeing what happened to Lysette. "I am not going down there unless I know there's nothing that can instantly kill me, take this!" Dalion took out two plastic bottles of water from his backpack and threw it at Lysette. "Here, Ms. Queen of the Dammed, have these, you have a litter between the two bottles, put some in your mouth every few steps and spit it around, the water droplets should make the wires much easier to spot, that way you'll avoid turning into minced meat or destroy all your clothes, or becoming naked minced meat, good luck!".

Lysette gave Dalion a cold look.

"Thank you, but no thank you," she replied. "I do not spit. Such a thing . . . " her voice trails off, as if she has no words for how low such a thing might be.

"I have instead, an Arturo Fuentes cigar, just a small one. I love the flavor. And the smoke? I think it will do the trick. ¿No es así? Unless anyone objects?"

She looks around and if no one says no, she will light the small cigar with a butane lighter and blow out a plume of grey smoke into the dark space at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's perhaps not wise to light a fire in a already bur- never mind..." The fae mumbled but cut himself off.

Exhaling aromatic smoke, Lysette slowly descends. As each wire is revealed she points it out to those following her. Some the can step carefully around. Some need to be removed.

Pulling a multi tool from an oil rag in his rucksack, George removes those at her direction.

Getting to the foot of the stairs, a steel door faces them. Its old, about 20 years or so, but no where near as old as the basement its installed in.


anyone wishing to do stuff with the door, please roll a d6. {results will vary Depending on what you're doing}

Solstice backed away from the door, feeling uneasy.

Lysette will look for a handle and if she sees one, she will try to open the door.

The door is unlocked, and ever so slightly ajar. Easy enough to open.
Inside its all cold and darkness. What small amount of light that came down the stairs is obliterated within.

The room is full of dark, cold shapes. Angular mostly. There is so little light that Lysette can make out no more than there is no living blood in the room.

Lysette will use her cigar lighter for a tiny source of illumination inside the room. Just holding it through the partially open doorway.

Solstice attempts to cast a small orb of light.

17:07, Today: Solstice Flames rolled 5 using 1d6.  Orb of Light.

As Laysette flicks on her lighter, a brilliant flair of light causes everyone to see coloured spots, swirling before their eyes.
Whirls of colour, some only seen in imagination, mix and swirl around, and coalesce into a softly glowing orb. The light is ever so slightly shimmering, and illuminated the scene.

Surrounding them, they see workbenches and cabinets in disarray. Smashed and rifled through. But thats not what immediately captures their attention.

That would be the corpse, mostly lying under a only oily sheet.

Solstice gasped in horror. "A dead body! M-mr- gh- Detective Reese! There's a dead body!" He yelled.

Hearing the fae cry out "dead body", George follows down carefully.
"Well....fuck. It IS."
Crouching down next to it, he lifts the rags.
"Huh...no wounds."
Looking up at Lysette. "Guess that's why we didn't smell blood."

The floating globe then takes his attention momentarily. "Thats cool. Can you float it about, bring it closer to our...friend here maybe? Without burning me? I'm not sure how fast the detective can be, given hes running a barrier spell or something. So...Lets peek a little more hey?"

Solstice was visibly shaking as he brought the orb closer. "P-perhaps they were poisoned- or had a heart attack from fright..." He offered, looking like he could also just about die of fright any second.

The corpse is that of an old man. Dressed in worn but well made night clothes, if from some decades ago.



He has a couple of small bruises on his face, on either side. Further investigation reveals a couple more at his wrists, as if he was held tight, or bound with something.

"Anybody recognize him?" asks Lysette. She will touch the bare flesh of his wrist to feel his temperature, but she fully expects him to be all the way cold. It will take a forensic examination to fully determine time and cause of death.

"Guess we will need the real police in here now," she adds moving aside to give the rest of the room a quick search. "No disrespect, lieutenant, but we're just the talented amateurs, right?"

The body is quite chilled, from having lain in the cool basement overnight.

Searching the room, she finds a number of old engravings in each wall. And embossed on an iron plate on the back of the door. They appear to be old wardings of some sort. Put here when he place was built. Except for the plate. Thats relatively new. Like the handle.

Searching the room revels it has been well tossed earlier. Most things seem of some sort of value, the ones not broken by careless searching.

In one corner though, there is a set of shelves. Dust marks reveal that a few objects here have been carelessly pushed aside, behind which a patch, clear of dust, shows where something has been picked up and removed, rather than just pushed.

Running a hand over one of the engravings, George muses.

"Well, If they are supposed to be wardings, they didn't affect us."

Then looks down sadly at the dead man.
"Nor whoever, or whatever,  killed him."

Seeing that nothing else seemed to be attacking the group Dalion decided to go down and look at the room from the door. From that position, he decided to look around, not risking touching anything at the beginning.

Seeing that there were some things that appeared valuable he decided to enter the room to check them out.

Solstice rubbed the burns on his hands. "Well I'm glad you're all fine..." He said with the slightest hint of bitterness.

Hearing the hint of pain in Solstices voice, George walks over.

"Here...let me look at that."
Spitting into his hands, he goes to rub saliva on the faes hands if he will let him.

"My pack mum showed me this. I mean, mum would have licked your hands, but I'm pretty sure thats not polite outside of wolf company."

Solstice reeled back in disgust. "No-!" He cleared his throat. "No thank you... I'm not sure werewolf... Ahem, drool has any properties that would heal a non-werewolf..." He said.

"Its not so much healing, as antiseptic I think...but.." And he wipes his hands on his jeans "..it Is a bit ick I guess..."

Then a thought occurs to him and he laughs.
"If you get that disgusted at spit on hands..how do you kiss anyone?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:49, Mon 05 Apr 2021.

Solstice turned bright red at that. "None of your business-!" He squeaked.

Shrugging. "Just asking.."
Enjoying Solstices embarrassment, as the were turns back to examine the markings, he  casually remarks "..and sex...well now..that's just down right Moist!"
This message was last updated by the player at 01:12, Tue 06 Apr 2021.

Solstice glared daggers. "I don't appreciate being made a fool of."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:49, Tue 06 Apr 2021.

"George!" Lysette admonished the hairy fellow. "I don't think you'd like it if I swiped a napkin through my privates and passed it to you, but I've no doubt you would enjoy a good snuffle at the real thing. A handful of spit is about as far from a real kiss as dung is from a donut. Leave the poor boy alone."

Taking out her phone, Lysette started taking detailed pictures of the various awards and sigils in the basement, careful not to touch the dead body or move any material evidence.

"How soon before the CSI team gets here?" she asked over her shoulder. "We'll want to be long gone by then. Too many awkward questions."

She wondered about her fingerprints on the door handle but did not want to wipe any underlying evidence away. She would have to trust the constabulary not to draw the wrong conclusions.

Admonished and embarrassed at himself for going overly wolfmind, George stops amusing himself at Solstices expense.
"Uh...yeah...fair point On All of that."

Huffing he turns back to the Fae man.
"Sorry...just, your cute when you blush...and my wolf just senses prey.."
 Suddenly scrabbling through his pocket he finds a half protein bar, he'd almost forgotten.

"Told you I needed burgers." At Lysette, as he devours the small snack.

Reese calls down that its probably time to leave soon. He's given them time to see if they can get anything from the memory share vrs reality, before the scene is disturbed.
"About 5 more minutes."

Solstice blushed more. "I am not cute." He was almost pouting as he angrily folded his arms.

Stashing the wrapper back in his pocket, and checking the corpses pockets for stuff, he replies over his shoulder.
"Yeah you are."
The search comes up empty except for some fishermans friends breath mints.

"Are you crazy?" Lysette snarls. "The cops will know someone went through his pockets after he was dead if they're any good. You're just contaminating their evidence trail.

"'Oh! Look at this, judge, we found a wad of wolf hair and spit in this pocket. He must have been killed by a dumb-ass werewolf.'

"We should just get out and touch as little as we can."

"Uh...The Cops brought us here..so..I reckon that's Reese's problem."
And pops a breath mint in his mouth with a grin.

"Mmmmm Minty fresh."
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:06, Wed 07 Apr 2021.

Dalion was focused on trying to find something valuable but the group's shenanigans were amusing nevertheless.

"Mr. cute should take the compliment". He said without even looking at Solstice.

On one shelve something draws his attention, a golden astrolabe, it was old and needed a good rub but it seemed to be in a decent condition.

[Dalion attempts to take the item in his sweater front pocket without anyone else noticing, Rolled a 1d6, result: 6]
(fucking finally! a good rol)

"Mrs. Fatale should try to relax a little". He said, again without looking at the person he was referring to. "Oh?, these symbols on the walls are ideograms of a Celtic pre-Christian culture, look, there's Cúchulainn killing the Culain hound, weird... does Mr. Corpse look Irish to you?" He kept talking without looking at anybody. "Oh look! a pretty coin!" he said as he opened a metallic drawer that made a screeching sound"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:20, Wed 07 Apr 2021.

Solstice put his head in his hands. "I should never have agreed to come on this crazy adventure!" he lamented. Solstice glared over at Dalion once he proclaimed his find. "Don't steal things, you imbecile!" He shouted.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

Swallowing the mint, startled at the shout, and coughing, George sits back and recovers.

"Uh..yeah. Actually, lost something in the excitement of a hunt."
He kneels next to the corpse and puts his hand on the dead mans chest.

"Hey..Sorry my man. We've been disrespectful. I promise you, we will do our living.." coughs and adds.."..and unliving, best to find out who did this to you. And take care of them. Thanks for the mints, and rest peacefully."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

Outside a bird hops and pecks unnoticed in the rubble. Metallic iris shutters click as it records the comings and goings of people to the scene.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 00:24, Thu 08 Apr 2021.

Soon after Reese calls down and asks them to leave the scene, as the investigation forensics team were heading over.

"If you get us all cursed, I swear!" He threatened vaguely.

Dalion raises his hands showing his palms to Solstice while smirking. Then starts to walk up the stairs to check on Reese who seems to be mostly focused on the spell while the rest of the group makes it out.

Lysette, glad that the group has seen a little bit of sense at least, heads up the stairs to gather with the rest outside the crime scene tape.
They were idiots it seemed., but, it might be interesting to see where it all goes.
As long as she can keep her name out of any reports on shenanigans.
<small>
*Black* namee LYsette posts  are Gm run version, as per her post in OOC thread.*</small>
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:16, Mon 12 Apr 2021.

Eating another mint, George follows them all out, thinks about shutting the door. Then remembers Lysettes words on scene contamination.
About to walk away, he stops, looks at it, then pulls a marker out of a pocket and writes a big message on the door near the handle.

 "Handle is Cold Iron. Do Not touch if Fae." Nodding at the safety message, he trots up after the others.

Meeting them on the street he grins at them all.
"Hey..lets go eat..and talk shit about what we reckon went on?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:20, Mon 12 Apr 2021.

Lysette glares at George, wondering if he just does it to annoy.

"Food is not my thing," she allows. "But I'm happy to go somewhere I can smoke at the table and maybe ogle the waitresses."

OOC: Did any of us recognize the dead body?

He shoots her a toothy grin.
"Oh. yeah. I forgot. Sorry Oh Queen of Darkness. Well since the Pirate place is shut, outside table at Hooters it is then."


OOC answer:-from deduction, he is probably the owner/deceased. Reese will be able to confirm , as he would have pics of the owner as a missing person, wanted to help police with their inquiries.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:52, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

Solstice rolled his eyes at the mention of the breastaurant. "I think I'll have to pass on that one..." He muttered.

George throws his hands up in mock surrender. "Ayy..there's no pleasing you people. Unless Dalion or Reese here have a better idea..Uber eats in a park then?"

With a cough Inspector Reese breaks in. "I need to stay here to oversee the forensic team. Now heres the thing. Its not general police procedure to bring civilians into a crime investigation. But. the Bellhoollow Police department inst like general police departments." He pulls a notebook out of a pocket.
"We don't have enough officers experienced in all the permutations that policing a heavy magic community requires. So, with discretion, we bring in "outside Consultants." He passes the note book to George. "So, write your full legal names, addresses, and a contact number. Then you go on file."

George fills out the details, then holds it out to the next person. "We have police powers?"
"You can't arrest or phone book anyone."
"Phone book?"
"Heh..Police humour."

Solstice flashed a nasty glare at the "you people" comment but I was gone as soon as it appeared.

He took the offered book and wrote down his full name, address and phone number and passed it along. "So then what can we do? Just stand around and give advice...?" He asked.

"Well, the advice bit is part of it."
He nods in acceptance of the jib.
"There's more to it though."
Adjusting his cuffs fastidiously and not making eye contact with anyone he continues.
"We don't have the budget to spend a lot of time following down odd leads, and researching strange things properly. Too easy to dead end."

He blows a short breath of frustration then looks at them all. " I'll be frank. I'm a bit tired of the magic perpetrators getting away with it. And if I have to create an unofficial deputy posse, I will.."

"Well, you won't get more unofficial than this lot," shrugs Lysette, snapping her lighter open and directing the blue flame at another cheroot.

"How can we help?"

To Solstice, she offers an open hand.

"Honey, he's just a brute. Goes with the territory. I was thinking more we might check in at Parthenope's Rock, it's a little jazz club down a back alley in the old part of town. I spend more time there than I should. The music is great and the clientele is . . . unusual. They have food. Drinks. And they let me smoke. It's not like I'm going to get lung cancer."

Solstice seemed to mill it over before coming to an abrupt realization. "Strange people you say? Strange as in magic or strange as in shady? We could have our suspect. Or at least someone who knows something... People tell everything to the barman when they're drunk."

Reese brightens.
"Thats exactly the sort of thing. I cant send people out officially just to listen to rumors and the like."
He takes the note pad back when its all filled out.
"Some of my people would do it unpaid, if I asked, but...they have families and lives too. They cant be on the job 24/7. Even if they wanted to, I wont do that to my people."

The werewolf pouts."I'm not a brute..." He mumbles to himself.

Then thinks about it...uhhh...the whole spit thing, eating a dead mans mints, trying to flirt ...badly..over that same dead guy...

"....maybe a little..the moon..you know.."

Shoving hands in his pockets he slouches after them. Damn , he needed something proper to eat. Then absentmindedly eats another dead man mint.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:05, Tue 27 Apr 2021.