Exalted 3rd: Nexus

[Blackadder]

Gaspar Daskin


This man seemed mad, but he clearly had something that could be learned, at least, that was what Gaspar hoped. Patiently, he tried to clarify. "Only to myself. What things, and who? I won't touch them if I shouldn't."

 

[Esbilon]

Twice-Blooming Flower


After gazing into the man's empty sockets for rather longer than is entirely appropriate for an otherwise nice young lady, Flower suddenly turns around to face her two companions, "was this man named Silat?"

 

[Skrakes]

Arashi


Arashi sighs at the woman's footfalls. "Why are you still here?"


He drifts through the crimescene. The nose tells it all: right down to the carved faces of the mannequins, the stick of rotten food. He stalks around them, circling the bodies. His senses extend around him, down to the currents in the air. He scowls, focuses, and then his mind unfolds. The map of the room appears in his mind.

Spoiler

Activating Crafty Observation Method. This modifies my Case Scene action, granting 1 bonus success and double 9s. I'll further spend 5m on Investigation Excellency.


[dice]21638[/dice]

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman


The few guards who were part of the outside cordon shrug, not knowing the name. But the wounded man twitches at the name and the other two grey in the light of the Sun. "I don't think you'll be getting much out of him, friend." All good humor ceases. Peppered Snake nods up at the open window. "Even for a man of medicine, I don't think you want to see what your...friend...had happen to him."

 

[Vanman]

The Doctor





The Doctor's teeth grind and his fists clench in frustration. He was so close! Whatever happened to Silat The Doctor could care less, really. He just wished it happened after he'd had a chance to...speak...with the man. But. His flat may have some clue, some telling of further...trade. And these Executioners - men not given to weak stomachs - seem unsettled by what happened to the man. Something of this magnitude could mean larger troubles for Nexus, and he couldn't just let it roam. Could he? The large man shakes his head then looks at the Executioners.


"Am I to assume, then," The Doctor says, "that Silat's passing is the reason you are here?" Now The Doctor's voice takes on a vehement edge. "That man was no friend of mine. But if he's dead, I understand that it is now your problem." There is a pause as the grizzled man considers his next words. "Perhaps I can be of assistance? I am a trained medical doctor, and I can often see clues missed by those not trained in the medical arts. Not that I'm denigrating your skills, good sirs, but I will be able to give you medical insights into cause of death and perhaps other clues only a medical doctor can provide. I understand gruesome. But if there's a monster on the loose, the faster it's caught, the safer the city. What say you?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Blackadder


He simply points into the murky room beyond. Poorly lit by the clouded windows, only a few spears of light to mark the way. There's something there in the dark. "Fine calfskin... Fine, fine calfskin," the man mutters. "Gives me all that I could need. Like sealskin..." A sound like clopping hooves fills the air with each unseen gust from outside. "It was all he left me..." The man stares at his closed fist.


There, in the dark, hangs two dozen men along the old drying line track. Shining hooks, rusted wheels. The old man jerks a curtain from one of the windows. Light spills in. All is revealed. The room turns from a morgue to a disturbed man's diorama of some past obscenity.


Giant carved dolls; their backs to the scene in the center. Each the likeness of the last. Hanging, creaking in the soft breeze. Their hands are obscenely delicate and well shorn, brass wires at each knuckle. Burnblack caked eyes. The scent of incense lingers amongst the staleness.


In the center of the dolls, a velvet-lined basket, now empty.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Esbilon


Ferro quirks a brow. "Yes. Smalltime skin trader. Runs the stage at Coffleblock from time to time. You knew him?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman


"Keep the temper in check and we'll see about it. Headsman Ferro took up some local specialists to scope the scene. Heiko and Marko can take you up. Peppered Snake is now Marko, it seems. They all look at one another, nonplussed.


"Contract was to secure building and wait for Council regards."


"Well, he's already up there with the other weirdo. Seems contract is fulfilled."


They all shrug. Marko nods at you, "Let's go, man." The two mercenaries take the steps two at a time, heading inside.


The third floor is a strange picture of urban warfare and antiquity. They're starting to drag the bodies out of whomever saw fit to resist this intrusion by Nexus' finest. Blood flecked brass fittings, barren walls where rich marble once hung. There, the room.


Inside the Headsman and two others. Sighted dead center of the room, in the warmth of the noon sun spilling through the window, the naked, mutilated corpse of Silat and a trio of mannequins. Each of them the picture of jollity and brotherhood.

 

[Esbilon]

Twice-Blooming Flower


"No," Flower says, looking oddly sad, "I did not. His name just came to me. At first, I thought the Raksha might have done this, but no more. There was an intent here, something more than merely painting a picture in the blood of humanity." She does not talk as random pretty young ladies off the street do most. There is a lack of passion in her voice that is easily mistaken for maturity, this is a woman who has seen far more than most, and can look dispassionately at horrors that would make others shake in the very foundations of their souls.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Skrakes


Within the ebb of air currents, the scent of iron and perfume--under a blood-crusted nail of his right hand, a minuscule piece of neatly folded paper. A spot of ink the size of a hummingbird's feather on his hairy wrist. The barest whiff of machine oil. The painting on the wall is upside down. He wasn't killed here.

 

[Vanman]

The Doctor





As the trio of men make their way toward their destination, The Doctor takes in the aftermath of the Executioner's breach of the building. "Looks like you boys came in hard and fast. Was Silat so dangerous as that? I mean, he's a dirty flakin' slaver but...."


The large man's eyes take in the scene, the grotesqueries, the corpse, the odd juxtaposition of the flesh and the wax. It's as if the world around The Doctor has dropped away, his eyes focused solely on the body in front of him. At first he just stands, not moving, drinking in the panoply laid before him. His main focus is Silat, the wounds, the mutilation, trying for a gestalt of the man before honing in on details. When he finishes the study as a whole, his attention narrows to those said details. He starts with the largest wounds, examining each, first from far away, then moving closer, closer again, once more, until he has his eyes centimeters from those wounds. Then he moves backwards, going to the next largest wounds, and so on down the line, until he's left with the little scratches and tears on the skin caused from the fall, or the brief contact with an abrasive surface. The Doctor examines each wound and hypothesizes about the instrument or tool used to cause said wound.


After that examination, he reconsiders the wounds and rules out those wounds he knows right away were not the cause of death. There are certainly wounds here designed for show, designed to highlight and accentuate the morbidity of the scene, and these, too, he can rule out. Next, he considers the remaining wounds and, using the details he can see - lividity, clotting, bruising - rules out still more wounds as the cause of death. Which tool - or weapon - was used in this amputation, which one in this mutilation, which one in this savage defacing? Finally, having whittled out most of the wounds as cause of death, The Doctor has it narrowed down to two possibilities. Out of those two possibilities, he considers, knowing the truth will show itself to him....

Spoiler

I'm using Medicine to try and determine both the cause of death and, if at all possible, the types of torture devices used in the mutilation. Let me know if I should use Perception or Intelligence for this (assuming I can at all) as well as any stunt dice you feel are appropriate.

 

[Blackadder]

Gaspar Daskin


Utterly macabre, Gaspar discerned in muted horror. Unfortunately, this gave him the sinking sense of distraction from the boy, and the deranged old man seemed to be of little help there. Drawing his focus away from the grim tableau, Gaspar set to searching about the place quickly for anything - anything that might get him to his target.

Spoiler

Ten Magistrate Eyes activated for 3m peripheral.


[dice]21957[/dice]

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Blackadder


Sooty bootprints near the rear doors, past rows of covered leatherwork saddles and machinery. Soot with a mixture of cracked yellow paint. A distinctive scent of rosemary-honey from the bakery near Dimau Street. Both items from Dimau Street, most of that neighborhood is called Sundrop for the yellow coloring. Nothing seems to have been hidden here, but the suspect left in a hurry... One of anticipation. There was a ritual committed here. The dolls facing away from the site of the offering and their eyes clapped with tar suggest something old and Eastern. A method of condemnation...?


...Shame. Shame. The impression in the velvet is of an amulet of station. Slave peddler. A rather grim heart-strike at of one of Man's oldest institutions. The ritual performed and off he went to Dimau...


@Vanman


"Silat? No, he was a windfall, if you want to sniff that canal-wind. The shitheads outside were the target. Silat had gotten the Civility locked down that keeps these shits out, but, well... We were called in to enforce. We stumbled in on this when Igo was chucked through the door. Why he kept screamin'." The guards shrug.


The wounds... Are five hours old. Killed at dawn, but there are no flies or any sort of the putrid life death spawns at all touching him. No ligature marks, no contusions. Just the blood pooling. He sat there letting this happen to him.

Spoiler

Give me Perception + Medicine, + 1 die and success. I'll edit this post once you roll.


@Esbilon


Headsman Ferro looks from the burly newcomer and guards back to you. "You think Fae did this? Did I hear you right?"

 

[Vanman]

The Doctor

Spoiler

I'm spending 3m for Excellent Solar Medicine.


[dice]22154[/dice]


So. Four successes, plus the one success you gave me, giving me a total of five successes. Unless you count my Sensory Acuity Prana, in which case I get double 9s, so it would be six successes. Let me know if you need me to post. I was going to but held off since you said you were going to edit the post. IN which case, I'll respond once you edit.

 

[Esbilon]

Twice-Blooming Flower


"No," Flower responds with a puzzled frown marring her pretty face, "I thought so at first, but these," she gestures at the corpses arrayed for dinner, "were placed as they are with an intent would be alien to any Fair Folk I know."

 

[Skrakes]

Arashi


Arashi rounds on the Doctor, just the latest interloper -- that is, stares over his left shoulder -- "And who are you? This is council business. First the woman, now you."

 

[Blackadder]

Gaspar Daskin


This... made no sense. The implication was that someone had... or would strike against the slave trader... and went... no, the detective weighed and decided. Intent to commit, then went to perform the task. But what did this have to do with the missing boy? He didn't know, and while a good mystery exercised the mind - he was for once less than enthused about not having the answers.


The best he could acknowledge to himself, was that Gaspar Daskin was suffering premonitions of great ill. While intuition had its place in his arsenal - this was just mindless. It Would Not Do.


Dimau Street then. And may Jupiter have kindness on him them! From the brief glimpses of his past life, she may have been less than charitable then.

 

[Vanman]

The Doctor





The large man doesn't seem to hear Arashi at first, his focus remaining on Silat and the scene before him. His craggy brow is furrowed in concentration, his eyes studying the deceased slaver. Then his head snaps up, as if realizing he'd been addressed, and his eyes sharpen on the man before him.


"Hmmmm? Oh!" he says in a booming voice. "You may call me The Doctor, my good man. No idea who the woman is." The medico takes a closer look at Arashi's vacant gaze. "Ah. Amaurosis. Is it total or part..." The hulking physician shakes his head, punching his skull lightly. "None of my business, of course. My apologies, Peepers. I am what my name implies - a doctor. I had some...passing interest in the centerpiece of this little montage, but I offered my services to the good gentlemen of the Hooded Executioners in possibly determining the cause of death for this..." and here, vehemence drips from the The Doctor's voice, "dung slug. If you know what killed him, you may have a better chance at tracking the miscreant who facilitated this scenario. Wasn't aware this was Council business." The Doctor looks around, noticing the Hooded Executioners and their downcast eyes. "I certainly don't want to infringe on Council business. If you don't want to hear what I have to say, I'll get out of your way. Just thought, y'know." A pause. "You'd want a professional opinion."


The Doctor stares for a moment then turns to leave.

 

[Skrakes]

Arashi


For a moment he listens to the man's footsteps recede. Good help's hard to come by down here, and Arashi's senses, however good the voice made them, are not quite up to the task of autopsying the man. "...alright, I'll bite, if you're still offering. I already know the man wasn't killed here. If we know how he died, then we might just be able to find where." He rolls his shoulders, vertebrae popping. "And if you can tell me when he died, then we'll be cooking, won't we, Doctor?"

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Esbilon @Vanman @Skrakes





Ferro nods toward the woman. "Well, she's not Council mandated, either, I think. She's got an opinion on what's happened here, too. Perfect fucking day."

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Blackadder


Dimau. The Sun has just started to break from its zenith. A disturbing amount of Hooded Executioners clot the corners and doorways along the street, pensive. A violet-black line of them surround a middling tenement a few blocks down. Whispering gatherings of citizens on the roofs and in the courtyards. A glance and Joe's scathing language tells part of the tale: that is the hideaway the Black Eyes kept and its seething like a flyblown dog with one of Nexus' top mercenary bands. Something's off, though. There are wounded by the curb and a distinctive black paneled coach comes to a stop beside the cordon.


A meat wagon for the Sijanese embassy. Blood's been spilt.

 

[Vanman]

The Doctor





A rolling chuckle rumbles from The Doctor at Arashi's words. "Of course I'm still offering, Sensate. I don't speak to hear my own voice! Well," he says with another rueful chuckle, "maybe I do a little. But my offer still stands. As for Lady Mysteriosa here, I don't know her, as I said, but any opinions she might have as to the origin of this little tableau, I'm all ears."


The large man's eyes return to the corpse and his gaze is focused. "Now. The details. The wounds are very...odd. There are no signs of restraint. Which, considering the injuries, seems...unlikely. Yet the evidence says otherwise. It's like he sat quietly whilst this was done to him. The approximate time of death was dawn, five hours ago. Another strangeness...there are none of the usual inhabitants usually found on a dead body, particularly for one that has been dead this long. Particularly for one that has this much blood. No flies. No maggots. No carrion of any kind. It's almost as if he'd been attended by Sijan artisans. Here's another bit of mystery - you say you know he wasn't killed here. I can't say I disagree with you. But if he wasn't killed here...where'd all the blood come from? If we could locate the scene of the murder..." The Doctor's brows pull down and his eyes stare at something far away.


A shake of his head breaks the physician's reverie. "Well. Those are the medical facts I have to offer. I am curious to hear the Lady Mysteriosa's opinions, so that I may partake of Headsman Ferro's perfect fucking day." The Doctor turns to look at Twice-Blooming Flower. "My Lady?"

 

[Blackadder]

Gaspar Daskin


"Good grief," Gaspar sighed exasperatedly upon seeing the barricade around his objective. The mercenaries were not exactly the most cooperative sort in his experience, even with money thrown in. Often, he didn't even have that, since the potential to be construed by someone or other of interfering illegitimately in Council business was a fatal thing.


Well, best to get a closer inspection of the body collection bound to be passed to Siijan. At least he could answer whether or not his client would be a bereaved parent. Gaspar came in closer to the mercenary line and the wagon, though he kept several feet away to remain the image of a bystander wanting a good look.

 

[Esbilon]

Twice-Blooming Flower





"Others will come," she says, turning her deep, dark eyes fully on the Doctor, "whoever committed these murders will murder again, and in an equally gruesome manner." She returns her gaze on the corpse, "this was done with a cruel intent, but also for the murderer's enjoyment. This was fun for them." Twice-Blooming Flower lets her gaze rest on Silat's gruesome remains and she puts on a thoughtful expression, but says no more.

 

[Cthulhu_Wakes]

@Vanman @Esbilon


"That's what is believed downtown, too." Ferro speaks up. "There are a few other unsolved that carry this...this method cropping up over the past year or two. He, she, it, whatever, is getting much more refined at their work. The...the dolls are something new, however. Only this and the last scene have had mannequins."