IC: Extassis, Les Etrangers Beaux Options

[Nikoli]

Over comm
"Immortal, take a look above you on the bupport seams. There is some rope up there. Maybe someone cashed out and left us a clue."

[Buddha72]

Paladin

You voice echoes out into the space. You hear movement and can see most of the forms retreating deeper into the structure except for one slim figure. It looks be a young boy, he stumbles several times as he works his way to the front of the building. His steps are uncertain and his whole body shakes. Looks like he's coming off of something and hard. His eyes are unfocussed and blood shot. He has on a sweat shirt 2 sizes too big and a ripped up pair of jeans. His feet are bare, cracked and caked over with blood. His hair is shoulder length and falls around his face, hiding his features. As he gets closer, some of the light from the few working lamps on the street hits his skin. You see a breath taking wash of colors spring up. His skin seems to refract the light out in a dazzling display of hues. He looks to be 12 or 13 and an elf.

"Izzy's my name." His voice tries to sound tough but you can hear the fear and defeat behind it. "I may have saw something." You adjust your body, covering the exchange of nuyen with him. He quickly shoves the money into the front of his pants. "There's a some sort of party there about once a month. The last one was just the other night. It's a group of people but they all look weird." His voice takes on a thread of urgency. "They just walk around like they own the street, No one gives them any grief and they laugh. I watch them from upstairs, coming and going all night. The people who squat there get money to go somewhere else for the night and to keep their mouths shut, if they don't they end up dead." His need is naked in his voice. As your eyes adjust to the light show, you can see several sets of bruises all over his face. Some new, some a few days old. This kid is someone's punching bag. "But the other night some other people came, normal looking, in a van. It dropped them off and they went upstairs. Then nothing for a long time. The party people came and then later there was gunshots and screaming. It went on and on then stopped. I didn't poke my head out until all the noise had stopped for awhile. When I looked I saw some lady stumble down the fire escape and take off on a scooter."

[Grey]

"Hey kid. I can see you are in a rough place. I see a chance for us to help eachother out. I've got a lot of friends and I'd like you to come with me to talk to some of them. I need to get as many details about the people in that van as I can get. They are bad folks and I mean to make sure they don't do anymore bad stuff. Can you help me? In return, I'll do everything I can to make sure you are taken care of. Wha'do'ya say?"

[Buddha72]

Paladin

His body continues to spasm as he listens. You watch a war of need and distrust wage across his face at you offer. It suddenly seems to snap. "Yah I'll go, can't be worse than this." His voice comes out dead and broken. "I'd rather get beat by you then anyone who comes along." He moves to follow you.

[Grey]

Paladin smiles, trying to be as friendly as he can. "Thanks kid. Sorry. Thanks Izzy. Come on, I've got some friends outside, we're gunna go some place where we can talk and get you something to eat. And Izzy, I promise I won't hurt you, I'll do what I can to help you out, you have my word."

Paladin leads the boy out to the van and waits for the group there.

over the comm

"Bingo! I found an eye-witness. He saw a van pull up to the building before the rave and a bunch of people went in. He also says that they weren't SURGE'd. Lets get everyone together and get out of here. I need to take the kid someplace were we can get more details from him. Meet up back at the van. Murrey, you got any food in the van I can give the kid?"

[Nikoli]

Over Comm
"I'm on my day wown. Don't let the kid go past the first floor."

Setting the MK-6 to be still as though off, but recording, Murrey refocuses on the world with his own senses and stand up. Shuddering as he pockets teh memory chip he makes his way downstairs through the inside of the building. On the second floor, Murrey moves the spider to a good vantage point to watch the room without it being obvious; he pauses briefly to se tthe spider to recording and tehn continues on downstairs.

[Buddha72]

All

Iblis stops checking corpses and watches Murrey heading out. "Hey! Wait up. What's going on?" She follows in his wake.

[Nikoli]

Over Comm
"Sorry, no chow in the pan, but I do have a cat to vet."

Directly to Iblis
"Just checking a lead downstairs. There bay me people still in the area that want to finish the job. It'd be best if you stay here and away from the windows."

[Buddha72]

Murrey

Her face takes on a decidely unpleasant cast. "Screw that. I am siging the checks here so I'll go where I damn well please." She takes the fire escape down to the street below.

[Nikoli]

Over Comm
"Iblis is deading hown the fire escape. Try not to let the kid bolt."

[Fenris]

Forcing his fingers to uncurl from around the staff, he collapses it back down, tucking it under the Actioneer jacket as he walks towards the van.

"Murrey, if we're going to be using the van as our main form of transportation for a few days, I'd like to take some time to ward it. It will take a length of time, I know, but I don't think our targets are currently fleeing the city, and with Moria's help, we could set up something that should stop the Nomad's from getting into the van, and give us a bit of a safe haven. If this is what untrained civilians do, I'd hate to see the cargane spread by an experienced runner possesed by one of these things."

[Nikoli]

Over Comm
I have no issue with that, I'd state to have what happened uphairs happen in my van, or my house."

[Blitz]

:: Moira carefully looks over the seperate bits a remnants of the ritual work. Crouching down, she gently begins to collect each piece of ritual material she finds and wraps them in individual sheets of paper from her writing journal. It's really no more than a spiral bound notebook, but she takes care to tear it along the perforation to avoid the little dangly bits that invariably tear off. She also fashions an envelope of sorts to collect a bit of the different ashs as well as whatever blood sample she can get. If possible, she'll just take any bit of trash or debris with blood on it. ::

"A shamanic work embodies the totem. It represents all the aspects of the totem's power and personality that would be necessary for whatever they were conjuring or casting. This place smells of arrogance and of darkness and sinister motives. Unfortunately, there are all too many totems that feed on dark or sinister energies, but arrogance makes me think of the Advasary. I once knew a mage that followed that particular totem. He was an.....unpleasant man."

"I'll take these items to my talismonger and perhaps we can wring a bit more information from them. By the by...does anyone here have any connections with law enforcement well enough that we might get some lab work done on the ash here?"

[Grey]

over the comm

"I have a good friend on the inside. What would the lab work tell us though?"

[Nikoli]

over the comm
"Folks, I hate to tell you this, but I seriously doubt that Iblis is a civilian. How many schmoes walk the streets packing twin pistols and back them up with the fill to take out a room skull of madmen and come out smiling without a scratch?"

[Grey]

over the comm

"I hate to sound unprofessional, but... DUH!"

[Nikoli]

over the comm
"My point is this, whatever those things are, they know who she is, the person who didn't pay us in advance is basically alone against them. I fon't dancy our chances of getting paid at this point."

[Blitz]

over the comms

"What makes you think they know she even survived, let alone anything more unusual about her nature or abilities. This is the barrens boys. A girl packing heat and knowing how to use them is nothing more than a girl who maintains her life and her virtue. Well...as much virtue as she's interested in keeping."

[Buddha72]

All

As you gather around the van you can see Paladin with a young street kid in his wake. He seems to shimmer with colors all along his exposed skin. His attitude seems to mirror the area around you, beaten down and rolled over by life. His eyes dart from each of you and tries to keep you in his field of vision at all times. His limbs shake uncontrollably.

[Blitz]

:: Moira's eyes soften and she steps forward, assensing him as she goes looking for any need of healing as well as trying to detect the causation of his wonderful skin. ::

[Buddha72]

Moira

You can see his entire body has been beaten over and over again. He has addiction to Novacoke, that is currently working it's way out of his system. He is terrified of the entire group but physically attracted to Paladin. He seems torn between running and staying.

[Blitz]

:: Moira smiles with an almost divine serenity as she steps forward and gently takes his hands. Her have glows with a pale soft light as she channels the power of the moon through her body and into his, letting its healing touch reknit his damaged flesh. ::

"What is your name child?"

:: Her soothing voice is smooth and quiet, calming and encouraging in it's sincerity. ::

on comms:

Get Iblis over here. I think this poor young kid is one of her kind. I think it would help her to have someone to protect after her failure last night.

[Fenris]

He quirks a small smile at the comments about Iblis.

"The card did say Action Decker. Since she's funding the job, I'd suggesting keeping her close. She is a witness, and whether she's paying for a bodyguard or not, if she's slain, we don't get paid."

He takes a long moment to assense the boy, climbing into the van and releasing the elementals back into the metaplanes, tension visibly leaving him.

over comms

"Looks like you've made a friend, Paladin. Can you get him in the van so that we can get going? I already feel like I need a bath..."

[Buddha72]

Moira

As you get closer and takes his trembling hands. You can see his skin refract the light around him in a wash of colors. His eyes light up as you weave the mana through his body and heal the injured flesh. His eyes clear as some of the effects of the toxins in his blood are lessened. He stumbles to his knees.

All

Iblis pushes her way forward through the group to kneel next to the boy. A liquid langauge pours from her lips, it moves like silk over your ears. Sperethiel, and spoken by woman who has mastered the tongue completely. Sweet One, where have you been? You are so beautiful, you shine like the stars and take my breath away, Dear One. As she speaks you all become acutely aware of her presence. You feel drawn to her in a way you can't explain. Her smell seems to draw you into the sound of her voice. Even those who don't understand the language feel her voice tugging at the edges of your breath, drawing at you. The young man begins to cry with long ragged breaths and folds in on himself. Iblis gently rubs his back and continues to speak into his ear. It's over now, no more hiding and no more pain. You have a family, brothers and sisters who love you like you are. That will clap when enter the room and smile at your passing.

[Blitz]

:: Crouching down and speaking softly in that same enchanting tongue as her newest employer, the slight imperfections in her pronounciation at least partially hidden by the gift of voice bestowed upon her. ::

"It is a blessing that has brought him to us, but this place is not the safest. Whatever viscious brute was abusing him might come looking soon for his playmate. I have no doubts that such would end in bloody violence on his part or parts as they were, but right now we have much larger devils to hunt. Let us take him to eat and clean up while we begin working on the information we've collected thus far. The living must take precedent over the dead."