Bakatare steps in from outside, fatigue obvious in his features. He wipes his face once with his hand, smoothing his hair back into place for the most part, and collapsing the staff back down to be tucked away under his coat. He glances around the room once, and then finds space in the living room to sit.

Murrey perks up at the mention of food, saying
"I stood canned a bite to eat."
then walks into the kitchen.

All

Iblis gives Moira a raised eyebrow. "Problem solved." She reaches into a side compartment of her bag and fishes out 5 certified cred sticks. She tosses one to each of you. "Here's the 10k promised plus the 5k to cover the first 24 hours. I can afford to pay for every 48 hours. I was going to set the clock at 12 pm midnight. I called my employer and found out the drone is company property. Think of it as loss prevention on their part. I need to know what you are all doing next. You're welcome to use this place as HQ and payroll for the time being. I've cleared it with my roomie. So what do you know about this so far?"

"Well, we're about to get some answers. Izzy? You ready to let Moira do what is needed?"

All

Izzy looks up from the bean bag. His face looks open for the first time. You see the boy he might have been before whatever drove him to the streets of Redmond. His eyes still have a slightly unfocussed look of just waking up. He is finishing up the breakfast burrito that Paladin made for him. "I think I am." He looks earnest but still a little reserved. Iblis's face goes soft at his voice, her concern for him is evident. "What do I need to do?"

:: Moira moves to Izzy and pulls up a large square pillow with pink fuzzy dots on each side like pips on a pair of dice. Settling behind him in the bean bag, she reaches each hand out to either side of his head. ::

"Just relax. You will feel my mind probing in your thoughts, don't fight it. Let me steer your brain for a bit and I'll see if I can find the memory of that night."

:: Closing her eyes, she softly sings a soothing lullabye as she begins to weave invisible threads of mana about his head, trying very hard to gently draw out the his memories. rewinding his thoughts like a video tape in reverse looking for that violent night. ::

As the magic begins, Murrey sets the Felix drone to record the room.

Paladin shifts his gaze to the Astral, watching Moira's magic work and checking on the emotional state of Izzy.

Moira

You begin the spell and delicately weave the flows of mana between your minds, creating a bridge. You feel your awareness drop away as you enter the mental landscape of Izzy's mind. You find yourself in a small apartment, a one room studio by the looks of it. A woman comes through the door on the studio, her face a mass of bruises on one side. She sees you and her face twists tightly and she lashes out with her fist, knocking you of your feet. "What are you looking at freak." She's on top of you and begins to rain blows down around your face. You push away from this memory and move further along through the day. You see yourself sold for a few hits of Novacoke to a man. You do your best to slide past that moment as quickly as possible. You see the building that the rave happened at and begin to play out the memories slower. With a snap you arrive at the moment you sought.

The van pulls up. The exterior is a grey with paint splotches on it. It seems to fit right in with the rest of the vehicles in Redmond. The back opens and you see 4 people step out. All human. One woman and three men. The woman is in her mid-twenties and has shoulder length brown hair. Her build is slim and athletic. The 1st man has short cropped dirty blonde hair with a broad husky body. He appears to be in his late teens. The 2nd man is bald and has a slim build. He looks to be in his forties. The last man has short black hair and of average build. He looks to be in his thirties. You see them unload some small 1' by 1' by 1' boxes, 3 in total from the back. You can feel the haze of drugs pulling at Izzy's mind but you are able to set it aside. You think he would have very little conscious memory of these events or they would be sketchy at best. The last thing you see is the men unloading what looks to be a body. It's wrapped up in some sort of cloth that appears to be covered with mystic symbols. They appear to treat it with great care. As you watched them interact they seem to be deferring to the youngest man, the one with the short cropped hair. You see the woman shut the back of the van up and pound on the door hard twice and the van pulls away.

You pull back and into your own mind. You hold the spell but shift your attention to the real world. You open your eyes and see the others waiting for your assessment.

Paladin

Izzy still seems relaxed since Moira told him he was safe here. He stiffens slightly as the spell begins and you sense his discomfort at having someone moving through his thoughts. His anxiety spikes almost immediately but seems to quickly slack off. His body looks clear of whatever toxin he had in his system last night. You can see that most of the physical damage has been healed.

Murrey not wanting to interrupt the magic in progress sends a silent message via the Battle-tac system to Paladin:
This company that Iblis works for, they planted a special tracking device to photograph people getting into my pan and overate as an AOD tracker, possibly sending the images back to the receiver. Whoever made the damaged drone, made the tracker as well, I'm sure of it. I moved the tracker to a civilian car at a park an ride, not knowing who placed the device at the time. Whoever planted it was good, real good. I found the device shortly after I got the call to come to the nightclub in teh first place.

:: Moira keeps the connections between herself and Izzy alive as she turns her attention to Iblis. Briefly, she describes the individuals as well as the vehicle in as much detail as possible. ::

"Let me know what further details you think we need...I'll see if I can wiggle anything else out. This is the kind of stuff he never would have been able to tell us on his own."

:: She looks down at the beautiful boy with eyes full of deep sorrow and sympathy, but also a healthy helping of respect. ::

"You've had a tough life Izzy...the kind nobody should have to endure. I don't think I could have survived as you have."

:: Turning her eyes up to Iblis, she holds her gaze a moment. ::

"He's become quite adept at surpressing his memories. While unlucky for him, it's lucky for us that his subconscious doesn't forget anything.

All

Iblis listens and nothing seems to register on her face. "None of those people ring a bell for me. My crowd has a little more flair than most."

"Moira, how are you with illusions? Can you throw up one to give us something we can take a picture of? Or did you see the plate number on that van? I want something I can take to my Lone Star connection."

:: Moira shakes her head. ::

"Im afraid I don't have the appropriate illusion magic to cast such a thing. Im sorry."

"Did you get the plate ID off the van?"

Saving the model of the site, Murrey bring up on the trideo set a series of common van bodies, all uniform plastic model grey.
"Do any of these look like the bight rody shape?

He waits patiently as they review the details the child has been able to provide, and then address the group in a formal voice, somewhat stiff and tight with his obvious fatigue.

"The spirits that were called and loosed, and yes, I'm sure there was more then one of them, are called Nomads. They appear in the normal world, when they appear, as dark grey clouds, about a meter and a half across. The only attack they have is possession, but when they possess someone, they drive the host into a homocidal rage. They also bolster the hosts physical form ten-fold, making them more then capable of killing most mudanes, and probably capable of slugging it out toe-to-toe with a troll. As the host kills people, the spirit feeds off the dying essences, growing stronger. When the creature grows strong enough, it splits into two creatures, who repeat the process. Only having no hosts gives the creatures a reason to leave. Mana and spirit based spells, especially those targeted from the astral, are our best bet for taking out the spirit. If the host is killed, the spirit simply moves on. Wards are the best defense, but they can't be put up quickly, so we can't trap it behind one. The more important question, and the one we're being paid to find, is the men behind this. Unfotunately,without some trace of the men...hair, blood, something, I cannot trace them. The job is left to those of you who use more mundane means."

Selecting the Leyland Rover transport. Murrey calls up a pallette selection,
"Fleas, pind a close color."

"It looks like mostly primer grey with slotches of other colors. Some rust, some blue, some black."

"Sounds like the physical description of ve than won't be useful, that color setup sounds like photovoltaic camouflage. What about the small details, like were there any strange after market antennas, hidden gun ports, etc?"

"I don't think we're gunna get any clues from the van, so lets focus on some of our other leads.

I can take that blood sample to my Lone Star buddy and see if anything comes up. Maybe they dumped the body someplace and it's already been picked up. It ain't much, but it could be something. I'd also like to have that syringe checked out too.

What about things from the mojo side? Do you guys have any way of tracking those spirits? Or is there some sort of ritual you can do to track the people involved in the ritual used at the site?

Anyone else got any bright ideas?"

"I can analyse the saterial in the myringe, but I need the right tools."

"It really depends on the samples we have and their quality. Unfortunately, if a sample isn't prepared immediately, it significantly reduces the chances of tracking ability."

"I need to speak with my talismonger. She may have some ideas as to where these materials came from and what type of shaman might be using them. That's the best I can offer at the moment. I'm afraid I don't have many contacts that would useful in information gathering."

:: Her hands drop to Izzy's shoulders comfortingly as she releases the mana web she had built around his memories. ::

"Can I take some of the blood to my friend in the Star and see what comes up?"

"Hold off on handing the items over to Lonestar, I think we have a few other leads that could make use of a fresher sample. Let me get in touch with a few people and see if we can give the sample over to them first. Whatever they find, the sample can be turned over later for scientific investigation."

He turns away from the group, stepping outside and drawing a deep breath to center himself before he dials his phone. Staying up for a day and a half and creating a ward of significant power are not exactly the two most compatible actions one can take.

"Onna, this is Bakatare. If you get a chance, give me a call. I have some questions for Great Grandfather."

"John, this is Michael. I need to know if you can put me in touch with someone with Psychometry or some of the more advanced Divining techniques. I've got a few items I need some information about."

"I'm not 'handing it over to Lonestar'. The guy I'd give it to is a buddy of mine and he'd keep stuff under the radar for me. Let's split up the sample and both of us can check it out. Does that work for you?"

Paladin puts a call through to Lt. Ralph Dickens, "Hey, it me. I need to meet with you, I'm dealing with some ugly things and could use a little help. Meet me at Mama's Pizza, I'm buying."

Paladin heads for the door, then looks back at Immortal. "Keep everyone alive for me while I'm gone."

With that, he is out the door and roaring his ATV through the streets of Seattle.

Paladin

You arrive at the pizzeria and see Ralph in a booth. He makes eye contact. The booth he's in is set away from the lunch crowd. He waits for you to take a seat. As soon as you settle in he speaks. "So what have you got?"

Paladin reaches under the table and hands the Lt. a brown paper bag.

"Inside are two samples. One blood. The other is an unknown taken from a syringe from the scene. We got a group of crazies loose in the city again man. And they're some mean fraggers. Caused a group of about 50 people to go ape shit and kill eachother. They summon up some nasty spirit that makes people go insane or something. It all happened out in the worst parts of the barrens, so I doubt Star will catch wind of it, but me and my team are gunna deal with it. I just need to know what you can find out about the samples. Who's blood was it, where can I find their family, anything. I know the victim is dead, they were used as a sacrifice in some sort of ritual. And find out what you can about the other substance, though I don't know what questions to ask about it. Sorry to dump this on you man, but its an ugly scene and needs to get delt with as soon as possible. And like always, keep it under the radar."

That said, the seriousness drains out of him and Paladin leans back and picks up a slice of pizza. He smiles, as if there is nothing going on in the dark corners of the world and asks, "So how's the wife?"

Paladin

"Jesus, can't you just call with a parking ticket you need to go away." He takes the small bag. "I have a friend down in the lab I can get to do this free of paperwork." He takes a bite and speaks around the food. "She's fine and you? Anything new?"

Paladin shrugs, "Eh. I was seein' a chick not long ago, but I found out she was fraggin' Joey, one of the guys that runs security on the south side of the Underground, so I dropped her. No biggy, all good things come to those with the patience to wait for em. Frag it. Chicks take too much upkeep anyway."

Moira & Bakatare & Immortal & Murrey

With Paladin's departure, Iblis stands up and gives a stretch. "Ok kiddies, I need some sleep. Keep me in the loop and feel free to crash here. Izzy, you should have a place to go to by tonight. I have people working on getting him an apartment with some other Changlings to show him the ropes. Ta." With that she stumbles down the hall to her room.

Paladin

"Whatever you need to tell yourself." Ralph finishes off his slice and begins to go. "I'll get this in today and put a rush on it. I should have something by 5 or so this evening."

Paladin gulps down his last slice and gives Ralph a nod. "Thanks bud."

He stands up, leaving a 20 bill on the table, shakes Ralphs hand and says goodbye.

Thirty minutes later Paladin walks back through the door at Iblis' place.

"Alright, I'll have lab results sometime around five. How are things going here?"

"Ib just went to crash, I've got my cap keeting an eye out for prowlers, did I miss anything anyone?"

"Bakatare, anything come up on your end yet?"

:: Moira listens to the discussion and feels her eyes drooping. She leans against the bean bag as her head falls slightly. She's asleep almost instantly, unconsciously curling up against the vinyl material and using one of it's lumps as a pillow. ::

He stands, uncoiling in a somewhat serpentine manner.

"I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything back from my contacts. In the meantime, I'll be sleeping in the warded van."

Bakatare

You find yourself startled awake by something brushing against your ward around the van. It wasn't an attack but rather like someone knocking politely.

Eyes snap open, already slightly out of focus and peering into the astral space around him as he tightened the grip on the staff in his hand. He sits up, shifting over to one window to get a look at what was tapping on the wards.

Bakatare

As you vision shifts into the astral you are startled to see a small Eastern dragon coiled around the van. Its head is easily the size of car tire. It snaps its head twice from side to side, a small astral form in its jaws is consumed. It locks eyes with you. My mistress sends greetings. She awaits you at the cherry blossoms and gentle water. Its voice is heavy with satisfaction.

Paladin

Your phone rings, a quick glance tells you that its Ralph calling from his desk in the Star.

Bakatare's voice is curt as he steps back into the house, tugging the sleeves on the suit jacket straight.

"I'm going to meet a contact that may have some information for us, and take a shower. I'll be back before midnight."

The cab is already pulling up to the curb as he strides down the walk. He climbs in, giving the driver a nod and an address, and settles back for the ride.

Bakatare

Freshly showered and a new change of clothes, you slip into the back seat of a cab. Looking out the window as the cab drives into downtown. You watch the signs abruptly change to Japanese and Korean. The International District, the area is filled with small shops and packed with over a dozen different asian dialects. The cab pulls up to the front of the Naishin no Hikari sanctuary. Inner light. You find yourself translating it without effort. You feel the pressure lift from your thoughts. You no longer have to pause to switch from English to Japanese and back again. The cab pulls in front. The tall walls flank out from the main structure of the temple.

You climb up the stairs and pass into the main body of the temple. The distant chants of the priests washes over you. You wind your way through to the meditation gardens in the back. You approach the wooden gate that leads to Onna's house. You hear the sounds of a figure moving rapidly, breathing out in a rhythmic bursts with the sounds of a blade or blades biting into something like wood. As you move through the gate you feel the gentle brush of an alarm ward, it pulses with recognition, allowing you to pass undisturbed. As you clear the low sweeping branches of the cherry blossom trees, you are greeted by Onna's smiling face. Her joy at seeing you is pure and unabashed. She bows deeply. "You honor me and my home. My heart fills with unbound joy that you would gift me with your presence." Once again you are struck by the sharp contrast between her speech in Japanese and her stumbling English.

Paladin picks up his phone, "Hey man, whatcha got for me?"

"Kouyuu, the honor is mine, as always." He bows, just the right amount, relieved at settling back into the familiar and comfortable arms of formality.

"I humbly beg your assistance with this matter. I know you have placed the responsibility in my hands, but we were brought in so late that my normal means are inadequate. I apologize for the abrupt manner in which I've arrived, but time works against us in these situations."

As they talk, he offers over the blood sample and the syringe, explaining the origin of the items.

"If I may beg a favor of both you and Sosofu, it would greatly expadite the conclusion of this attrocity if we had his assistance in gathering any information possible from the items. Technological means are being explored, but frankly, I place more faith in our power then I do theirs."

Paladin

His voice is low and urgent as he speaks. "Where the frag did you get those samples from? I just got a call from the lab and they're tied to a dump job they found early today. The vic is a well-to-do kid of a suit in one of the triple A's and everyone is trying to solve this one and get promoted."

Bakatare

Onna motions with a sweeping bow towards her home. "Let me change and I will take you to Sosofu. I have asked him to allows us to see him this very day." You walk up to the porch and she slides a door open, stepping aside to allow you to enter first. She follows behind you and quickly opens a small concealed compartment. She kneels as she draws the katana from her back. You hear a whispered prayer. "Hito Shiboru, once again you have served me well. May I always be worthy of the honor you carry." She places it gently on the stand and reseals the secret panel. She rises quickly. "Forgive me, I must change. I will return quickly. Be at ease in my home." She quickly passes through another door. About 10 minutes go by when she returns. Once again she sports her homeless shelter attire. An oversized sweat shirt, a ratty pair of jeans, and grubby sneakers in her hands. Her hair is braided in a single mass down her back. She steps out after allowing Bakatare to exit and puts her shoes on.

You leave the temple and move through the streets of the district. She stops briefly at an herbalist shop and buys several thousand nuyen worth of rare teas and dried leaves. With a nod she tells you "For Sosofu." You once again take to the streets. She leads through a baffling series of alleyways and side streets. You arrive at a small door set in the back of an alley off of a market. She pulls a small cord and you hear a distant chime sound. A moment passes then the door is opened by an older asian woman. She steps aside allowing you both to enter. You pass through a long hallway to an open room. An old Japanese dwarf is resting on a large cushion. Onna kneels and presses her head to the floor.

Bakatare kneels and bows as well. He'd heard about Sosofu before, but never met the elder himself. He stays quiet, allowing Onna to present the gift and waiting to present his request, as was appropriate.

Bakatare

Onna rises after a minute or so. She removes her shoes and steps into the room and places the bag of rare plants and teas at his feet. "Thank you for seeing us on such short notice. The one I spoke of is here and wishes to seek your wisdom in the spirit realms of what may be and has passed." Onna motions to Bakatare to come forward and make his request.

"Hang on."

Paladin steps outside where he can be alone.

"Like I told ya, there was a ritual done out in the barrens. It summoned up some evil drek man. I don't know why they used this kid, but for whatever reason, he was their sacrifice. If I figure it out, I'll let you know, maybe you can get the scoop out of it. What about the other sample?"