Episode 1 / Scene 1
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

The evening air was still warm from the summer when Connor Johnson arrived in a small park who was just on the other side of the street from the orphanage he grew up. It was not big but was in good shape compared to the rest of Harris District, the poorest of the five neighbourhood of the city.

The young man made his way toward the centre where several benches were surrounding a statue of Perseus. Only one of them was occupied by an older man in clothes nicer than common in Harris. Connor knew the man well: Tobias Elser, one of counsellor of the orphanage and one of the rare adult Connor liked.

-Hello young man, he said when he saw his pupil. I am happy you could come so quickly.

He gestured for Connor seat at his side.

-I am sorry to call you like that, he explained. But I fear we have a favour to ask from you.

Connor instantly knew that the ‘we’ referred to the Elysium Gardener, a local charity association that was the front for a cult of Persephone.

-We know of your less than savoury activities with the local gangs and we think that make you the perfect person for the job, in addition of your blood of course.

He showed the picture of a cadaveric man with black hair and eye.

-This is Alexios Agnelis, a known murderer and a foul human being. He is wanted by several of our likeminded group for trying to perverse the cycle of life and death. And he is in Tegea and has allied with the Green Hounds.

Connor recognized the name; the Hounds were a local gang mainly of Irish descends, who deal in illegal fighting club and protection racket. They were not a large gang but could be truly vicious. He had worked for them several time.

-We want you to find him and stop his activities.

Tobias let a sight and gazed toward the sky.

-I should tell you I have mixed felling about it. I know that this man needs to die but sending you is not something I can condone. You know my sentiment when it come to your criminal activities.

He paused for a second.

-But in the end, I will let you choose. Like I always did.

[Momentum: 0 / Tension: 2]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:16, Sat 16 July 2022.

Connor approached the man on the park bench with almost a swagger, although this wasn't intentional. It just simply was. And as he made his way through the park, he occasionally stopped to smell the roses. Literally. Like, there was an actual rosebush near the path to where the old man was waiting for him and he generally liked to smell it and check it out on his walks there. For while his feelings about the orphanage were mixed (although certainly more positive since his visitation when things that had happened in the past began to click together now that he knew about the cult of his mother), he had always loved the park across the way from it. It was one of the few things he never had the urge to destroy or oppose, even pre-visitation. And post-visitation, due to the awakening of his dual-blooded fertility affinity, he more than ever loved to marvel now and then at the majesty and simple beauty of plants. Even the green grass with occasional rose bushes like this one.

At his side was a dog that appeared to be some sort of Shepherd-Collie mix. He had it on a leash but that was mainly for show, although now and then he did give it a knowing tug for training purposes but the dog was by far intelligent enough to not need to too much. It was more for appearances, and to get the dog physically acclimated to such things. The dog was keenly observing its surroundings but remained fairly calm otherwise. Although once when a squirrel rushed down a nearby tree suddenly the dog suddenly tugged against the leash as it wanted to lunge at the animal. Connor gave the leash a quick yank and held firm.

"Don't you dare, boy. If I'm behaving right now, you gotta behave too. Or the old man will start nagging. And if that happens, not even Final Hour can cut it short." he muttered aloud with a grin.

As Connor came close to the old man, he realized he probably spoke loud enough for the old man to possibly hear but didn't care. However, despite his words he only had a fond look on his face as he faced the old man.

"Ah Mister Elser, of course I'd come quickly. You never call me if there isn't a good reason." Connor replied as he took a seat next to the man.

Tobias Elser. He was one of the few people Connor still always called "Mister" rather than their first name, out of a sort of respect. He wasn't broadly a respectful person, but this man had earned his respect years ago and even as an adult he was still 'Mister Elser' to him despite the old man's many attempts to get Connor to call him Tobias. Not out of forced distancing or sarcasm, but genuine respect for an elder. He was a good man who actually gave a damn about Connor. He didn't need judge knacks to know this either.

The dog that was following Connor silently laid down on the other side of Connor, after the scion had himself sat down on the bench.  The dog looked firmly and boldly at Tobias in a firm, knowing way mixed with a hint of challenge. But the dog didn't growl or otherwise make anything else of it as he knew Tobias was a "safe" person. But the dog still watched anyway, even if he was at peace.

"Of course I know that you know about my...side gigs. I'm a part of the gig economy now, you know. I just found something more exciting and with better tips than uber or Doordash. But you'll be pleased to know I do take jobs more on the upside sometimes too. Just last week I tracked down an old lady's lost husband. She thought he was cheating, but turns out he had taken a week-long part time job to save up to buy her a ring for their 50th anniversary that required him to stay at the next town over and he didn't want to ruin the surprise. Guess not all men are pigs after all, eh?" Connor replied to Tobias.

"Alexios Agnelis? Haven't heard of the man but I know the Hounds Well. They are a mean bunch - meaner than me fore sure. But we have an understanding; they know to keep things cool with me and in return I try not to drop kick them. But you know I have to take this job for you guys, Mister Elser. Dealing with those guys is no place for mom's people. They are too soft and could get seriously hurt if they deal with them the wrong way. I'm going to choose to take the job, but not because I want to or like it but because it needs to get done and I'm willing to get my hands dirty when others are not or can not."
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:16, Sat 16 July 2022.

Episode 1 / Scene 1
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

Tobias had a simple smile when Connor accepted the job.

-I know you try to take a better path now. I just found ironic that when you make efforts, it’s us who ask you to go back with the gangs.

He shook his head and rose up.

-You have all information I have; I will not bother you any longer. Maybe your acquaintance in Hounds will know more.

The old man stroked the head of Connor’s dog before taking the way to the orphanage.

-Good luck and be careful.

[Momentum: 0 / Tension: 2]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:17, Sat 16 July 2022.

The German Shepherd allowed the old man to pat him on the head, while Connor responded to the old man.

"Mister Elser...you're right I have been trying to turn over a new leaf. In some ways, literally." he said as he rolled the Pomegranate Amulet that was hanging from his neck in his fingers a moment, thoughtfully, before letting it go again.

"I know I'm not perfect by any means, but Mother's revelation has helped me me put some things into perspective better than they've ever been before. Like...I know I'll never be straight and narrow, nor do I really want to be, but like...finding meaning in what I do is more important to me than ever before. Even my bad side was feeling a bit pointless recently, but now I feel like I can focus all that energy a lot better and a lot more constructively." Connor responded.

He frowned a bit.

"The irony of you guys asking me to deal with Alexios Agnelis when you've all been trying to get me to calm down has not escaped me. But like I said...someone has to do the dirty work sometimes, and right now that someone is me. And I'm still my own person, despite Mom being in the picture now. I make my own decisions. So don't feel bad about it...it just is what it is, and I don't think mom or the cult would ask me a favor like this lightly." he said with solemn acceptance.

He offered an arm if Tobias needed it to stand up, and said goodbyes as the man walked back to the orphanage. He turned to Fluffy.

"Good boy. I know you debated on either biting him or letting him pet you and you let your better side win out. Maybe I can learn something from you and not just the other way around?" Connor said to the Shepherd with a chuckle while patting the dog on the head once.

Connor then pulled a cellphone out of his pocket, and dialed a number in his contact list for someone named "T-Bone." T-Bone, also known as Terry Miller, was a friend of Connor's from the Hounds who he knew for several years now. While Connor was Lukewarm with the Hounds, he was still on friendly terms with the man himself. Connor liked T-Bone's loyalty and sense of humor, while T-Bone admired Connor's grit and bad-ass nature. They had worked together on some jobs before but mainly were more like contacts to one another now.

OOC: I would like to invoke Connor's Role Path to generate a contacts: T-Bone (1 points, Loyal, Informant).

Connor called up T-Bone, and put the phone to his ear...
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:17, Sat 16 July 2022.

Episode 1 / Scene 1
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

It took only second for T-Bone to pick up his phone.

-Hey partner, Connor heard. How are you doing?

[Momentum: 0 / Tension: 2]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:18, Sat 16 July 2022.

"Hey brother..." Connor replied though the phone. "I wanted to know how things are going with the Hounds. I heard they got mixed up with someone real nasty. Worse than the Hounds and even me I hear." he continued.

"I wanted to know what you knew about this person. Because he's stepped on one too many toes and now, those toes are starting to step back."
This message was last updated by the GM at 20:18, Sat 16 July 2022.

Episode 1 / Scene 1
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

A silence greeted Connor for several seconds before T-Bone answered.

-Listen, I shouldn’t tell you anything, but something is not right with the gang. I only know a few things.

He paused and took a breath.

-We take contract for one guy. Don’t know who, only the boss and Brian know him. I am not sure of what we do for him, the boss said it’s strictly ‘need to know’ and only the boys doing the actual lifting are brought in the loops.

His voice was a little shacky.

-Some began to critics the boss, said it was not our classic business. The ones who didn’t stop after the first warning are not seen anymore. One of the boys doing a work for our new client, began to talk to me and the next days he was gone too. He told me that the point of contact with the client was a warehouse near the dock, but something here spooked him badly.

A message appeared on Connor’s phone.

-Here the address, finished T-Bone. This conversation never happened, and I will not answer to anything more. Understand?


[Momentum: 0 / Tension: 2]
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:19, Sat 16 July 2022.

Connor nodded to himself.

"T-Bone? This is exactly what I feared and why I wanted to call you. Not only to exchange info like usual, but to warn you and check in on you." Connor replied.

"The new guy your boss is playing with is Alexios Agnelis I believe, and your boss is seriously playing with fire with that guy. I can't promise what's gonna happen in the future but I know if I do nothing, the rest of your Hound buddies are gonna get picked off one by one for 'learning too much' and all that bullshit." he continued.

"I'm gonna warn you now, brother. Stay away from that warehouse and from Alexios Agnelis. They are doing dark, dark stuff and don't even bother asking just trust me on this one. I'm gonna put a stop to this madness before the rest of the Hounds get taken to the pound, if you catch my drift. But don't make yourself a target to him and your boss. They are doing some real dark shit there and you don't wanna be anywhere near it. Especially when I'm getting involved. But I won't sit by idly and let them kill off our buddies." he said.

And of course, Connor also knew he had to do something about Alexios Agnelis not just to protect the Hounds, but also to protect a bunch of other innocent people. He was wavering lately on his own lifestyle, but since his visitation things had never been clearer on what he needed to do. The urge to hunt down this transgressor against both the gods and humanity (and perhaps the dead) boiled in his blood now. It was a feeling beyond his usual impulses, but it was intense and it put things into clear perspective.

"I got your text and won't respond there. Keep your head down. I'm heading over to the docks tonight. Tell any Hounds you trust to stay away from the area. I will take care of this before he wipes you all out."

And with the, Connor hung up. He didn't want to give T-Bone any chance to question anything.  But he also knew T-Bone would know to take him seriously at a time like this, despite how weird everything was. Connor never messed around about stuff like this.

He turned to Fluffy.

"Looks like you and I get to do some hands-on training tonight, boy. Like attack and release and other fun stuff." he said to the Shepherd offhandedly before tapping some things into his cellphone, and pulling up the warehouse on Google and google maps. He wanted to get some up-front info about it before he headed over to scout things out.
This message was last updated by the GM at 20:19, Sat 16 July 2022.

Episode 1 / Scene 2
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

The warehouse was perfectly normal on the outside except for one detail a side door was not closed. A glance inside was showing only an empty storage place devoid of anything.

But one thing attracted Connor’s attention, a black smear near a water evacuation at the centre of the warehouse.


[Momentum: 0 / Tension: 2]
OOC: It's a procedural scene, I let you try to find clues or go directly after the lead.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:20, Sat 16 July 2022.

OOC: I'd love to make this procedural! Haven't really had a chance to sink my teeth into those rules yet and Connor is supposed to be as good as this stuff as he is in a direct fight, so will be interesting seeing his mixed-heritage approach to procedural scenes!

Connor was at the warehouse, and was scoping the place out. But he wasn't quite ready to go inside yet - although that was coming for sure! He wanted to check the whole scene out and gather as many clues as possible, to help him better hunt his prey. He intended to scope out both the outside and inside. And for now, he's start outside and work his way in.

"Fluffy? Let's stay outside for now and look for clues. We'll go inside in a bit but let's sniff around - literally in your case - for anything interesting out here first." he said at the Shepherd as he let the dog off its leash.

"You are not to leave this area, do you understand? If you do and I have to hunt you down, I'm gonna be pissed and you're gonna have a REALLY bad day boy. Capice? Now let's see the results of your training." he said to the Shepherd firmly while looking directly in the dog's eyes. It was an alpha challenge type stare and the dog would know Connor meant business.

This was because the first time they met the dog tested him once - and only once - and learned what it felt like to be roughed up by a bare-handed Connor who was a hell of a lot stronger than he looked, and somehow knew the dog's every weak point and was painfully exploited by those weak points. The dog quickly got the hint and ever since then, the "pack hierarchy" was established which culminated with the fatebinding between them snapping into place during the end of his visitation.

The dog whimpered once and the resolutely trotted off slowly around the premises, sniffing the ground as it did. Despite Connor's words, the dog had absolutely no intention of letting Connor get out of his general sight or vicinity. Since acknowledging the scion as his master, Fluffy's instinct to protect his master was his driving urge (per Fenris Pup template).

Fluffy uses his secondary pool of 7 dice (as "sniffing around" is pretty close to tracking) to sniff around the outside of the warehouse and search for clues.

23:12, Today: Connor Johnson rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((6,1,3,5,8,8,9)).

OOC: Using nWoD system in roller as it uses the diff 8 10-again rules we need for Scion 2e. Fluffy gets 3 successes.

While the dog was out and about trying ot literally and figuratively sniff something up, Connor himself because to inspect the scene on the outside of the warehouse. He began casing the scene (per On the Case Judge knack) and his half-divine blood began to take in details at a level far greater than he ever was able to before, as his mother's ichor heightened his awareness. However, Connor was by no means perfect, especially when he was worried about what Fluffy was doing.

23:22, Today: Connor Johnson failed (no successes) using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1,1,5,1,7,5,3)).

Connor's approach was intelligence+subterfuge to look for signs of criminal activity. Incidentially if something was disguised connor would get a +1 enhancement from his specialty, but not now as he has no base successes.

So Connor technically gets +1 enhancement to look for clues and case a scene, but this does NOT help him this roll as he needs 1 base success for enhancements to kick in if I'm not mistaken, so he technically fails this roll and instead gains a consolation (if I'm understanding that all correctly?).

If so what is unclear is do I the player choose the consolation, or do you as the GM? Or do we choose it together? If I have any input, I'd like Fateful encounter UNLESS Fluffy beat the base difficulty in which case I'd take the momentum and follow Fluffy's nose to further clues.

GM: Please confirm the base difficulty for finding clues in the scene. The default is 1 if I'm reading the rules right but technically I need to ask you first about the static or opposed difficulty before I can allocate successes to stunts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:20, Sat 16 July 2022.

OOC: Okay, so we established the base difficulty is 1.

This means Fluffy has 3 successes. He spends them as follows:

*Spends 1 success to buy off the difficulty, which allows him a basic success of finding a clue.
*He spends another 1 success on the extra clue stunt, to reveal a second clue.
*He spends his last success on a basic Enhancement stunt, which allows him to grant himself or Connor +1 enhancement on a future roll this scene that's related to the clues he uncovers.

So that means you have to reveal 2 clues!
This message was last updated by the GM at 20:20, Sat 16 July 2022.

Episode 1 / Scene 2
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

Connor searched the empty warehouse but with the exception of the black stain nothing else caught his eye. Fluffy was far more successful and attracted the attention of his master with a quiet bark.

On the ground near a pillar, the hellhound had found some sort of tag.
Connor remembered to see that sort of tag in police show to identify corpse in morgue, often attached to a toe. On it was noted the name of the city hospital, a name, a file number and other data.

While the scion of Persephone was puzzling on it, Fluffy barked again. This time he was near a broken window, standing over a discarded phone. When Connor took, he saw that the phone was still on but locked. It was running on the same OS that this own phone, so Connor knew it was possible to open the camera apps even when locked and access the last picture taken.

By chance it was a video. Connor watched the feed showing the warehouse from the window, at the centre was two group of people talking. The sound was not good enough to hear them, but the first group was obviously from the Hounds with a van visible behind them, while the second was a trio composed of someone in dark robe, accompanied by two bodyguards.

The video zoomed on the second group and Connor could see that the bodyguard were extremely pale and had strangely mechanical movements. But the phone taking the video was suddenly dropped, probably falling were the scion found it, and several shoots followed before the video ended.

[Momentum: 1 / Tension: 2]
OOC: Here two clues, the tag and the video, and you gain an enhancement to track were the people who had the tags had gone. In addition you gain a point of momentum for failling your investigation roll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:21, Sat 16 July 2022.

Connor responded immediately to Fluffy's quick bark, and was at the dog's side in moments. He patted the dog on the head and scratched his neck a bit. Fluffy loved getting his neck scratched, just like any dog. Despite him being a creature of myth, some things seemed to be constants and this was one of them.

"Good boy, Fluff! You really are the best dog a man could ever ask for, aren't you boy? Let's see what you found..." Connor said as he looked at the tag and the phone.

He picked up the tag and phone with his gloved hands, and inspected them. Connor often wore thin black leather gloves, since it helped him not leave finger prints and such and was a trick he learned earlier on in his life. They also helped enhance his bad-boy image as well - a fact he always quietly appreciated.

"Well fluff...these were great finds. It's almost time to check the obvious possibly-bloody smear over there, but it pays to look for peripheral clues instead of just jumping to the obvious leads." he said.

"A tag from a corpse at a morgue. And the ashen bodyguards by the cloaked figure, who is most likely our quarry by the way." he said as he showed Fluffy the video. He wasn't sure if the dog would fully make heads and tails of a phone video yet, as he was technically a pup still. But he was no dog but a sentient creature of myth and exposure to these things was part of his training too.

"And my death spider senses are tingling. When you take what the old man (he meant Tobias of course) told us before about Alexios messing with life and death, does this not just scream zombies? It makes sense given what we know. But we still need to track down our prey." he continued.

"And I suspect one of the Hounds - one of T's buddies who went missing - took that video on his phone and saw stuff he wasn't mean to see. Let's go take a look at the dark smear a bit..." connor said to his dog as he stopped for a moment to withdraw Final Hour from its case on his back. Just in case, although he wasn't expecting much right now during the day. He then walked over to that central part of the warehouse by the water evacuation where the smear was, and took a look. He took a plastic grocery bag he kept in a pocket for times like this and put the tag and phone into it, and pocketed them both for now as they were important clues.

Connor is casing again, and is inspecting the dark smear. He suspects it is blood, but technically isn't sure yet. He is hoping to try and learn more about the smear if possible, as well as see if any other clues and findings can be found.

He is taking a different approach, and using his knowledge of combat and violence to see if he can confirm if the dark smear is really blood or something else like the aftermath of something that went down there, as well as try and dig up more information.

16:02, Today: Connor Johnson rolled 2 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,10(+2),5,1,4,5,8.  Int+Close

He is casing, so gains +1 enhancement. So that's 3 successes.

Connor spends them as follows:

*1 success to buy off difficulty 1 (presumably he can identify or get some sort of forward progress with the smear).
*1 success on interpretation - this is to help you add more info or give you legit license to elaborate on whatever he discovers with the basic success.
*1 success on Q&A: "Where did the water evacuation go?" My thoughts are because maybe something went down the drain that could be good to know about. Or a corpse is somewhere, etc. If this is a red herring or unimportant, you can substitute this with a tidbit of your choosing.

Fluffy, in the meantime, trotted over to the dark smear and sniffed around again to see if he could find anything interesting. And he was curious about the dark smear as well.

16:02, Today: Connor Johnson rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 8,7,3,8,9,3,5.  Secondary Pool.Combat.

Fluffy spends as follows:

*1 success to buy off base difficulty. (How fluffy reacts to the smear is of course up to your interpretation but it's forward movement)
*1 success on an enhancement stunt (probably to help track something related to the smear I'm thinking?)
*1 success to reveal another clue.

Episode 1 / Scene 2
Saturday, 2 July 2022 / New Tegea, Mississippi, USA

When Connor inspected the smear, he became sure it was dried blood, dating from today morning. The spread pattern told him it was a body who had been dragged toward the drain.

The drain itself was large enough for a man to pass and beyond the protection grid, Connor could see a large space. Too large to be sewer, it was probably a storm drain who disgorged water from rain into the lake.

At the same time, Fluffy was inspecting the smear too. With a quiet bark he showed his master a bunch of hairs caught in the grid. They didn’t come from a human, judged Connor, but an animal.

The Hellhound gave another bark and pawned the grid of the drain to show his master that whatever caused the smear was dragged bellow, in the storm drain.


[Momentum: 1 / Tension: 2]
OOC: The grid is not locked and can be open without difficulty. If you go, you need to roll to track the scent, difficulty 3 and you can use the enhancements from the tag and the smear (so 2).