Searching for Clues at the Park (Ghoster & Logos)

Ghoster declines Val's offer of a ride; he needed to bring Logos up to speed during the journey back to the park on everything Ollie had already discovered about the killings and the Sleepwalker, Ryan, and he didn't feel it necessary or prudent to share the morbid details with who he found himself referring to as 'Ollie's Kids.' Hell, he thought, I wish I didn't have to share the morbid details with myself.

They arrive back at Granite Park a couple of hours after leaving the museum. Ghoster pauses for a moment to consider the visible stars dancing in the vast, dark ocean above them, and exhales. "Let's head back down to the south end of the park, Logos; maybe we'll find something."

(I'm assuming Logos learned what you pm'd me during the care ride)

"Ok, which building was the sniper on?"

"Damn," he says, "I never got a chance to find out. Hold on, I'll call him while we walk that way." Ghoster dials Ollie and puts the phone to his ear and starts walking.
"Ollie, Ghoster, what's up. Listen, I know we were gonna come down to the park tomorrow, but I had an idea that works better with fewer people around anyway, so can you tell me how to recognize the building the sniper was on?" They have a short conversation.

"Ok, thanks, man," he says, hanging up. He turns to Logos. "I've got an idea. I can show you which building it is, then you head up and check it out by yourself. I'm about the same age as the victims, so I'm going to stay down here alone and see if I can lure him out. Keep an eye out for me."

Ghoster reaches into his coat pocket and shows Logos his Glock. "If I see him first, you'll hear this. Sound like a plan?"

"Ya. Just make sure its running and shooting. That way there is less chance of getting hit by the guy." He looks to the building. "Would jumping off of that definitely break my legs or only possibly?"

(( It's four stories ))

"I don't know," he says, grinning, "Let's hope you don't have to find out. Alright, call me if you find anything up there, I'm going to pretend to be distracted by my phone anyway."

He focuses his will for a moment and dismisses his Mage Sight. Then he focuses his will on a new Imago, blue, translucent eyelids sleepily blooming all around the crown of his head, and releases it.

Ghoster walks off alone, careful to stay within view of the building. Once Logos is in place, he'll put his phone to his ear and fake half of a conversation, his voice loud, his words slurred, as though he were alone and drunk.

"I need your phone number"

"Check your pocket," Ghoster says without turning around, though you can hear the smile in his voice. Ghoster had slipped Logos a business card while he was looking up at the building. He had to keep his sleight-of-hand skills sharp somehow.

Logos pulls the card out. "Haha nice. Please don't do that again either, well don't take anything at least." He turns and heads towards the building.

Ghoster sits at a bench a fair distance from the building and begins talking into his phone, describing his favorite scenes from his favorite movies in a conversational tone, laughing and adding single syllable affirmations intermittently. He'd done this before.

All the while, he waited for Logos' call that he had made it up to the roof, not daring to actually look up. He reasoned that if they hadn't been made entering the park, they didn't want to let on they were working together.

As Logos works his way to the top of the building he casts Supernal Vision on himself.

Spoiler:

"I need to get more Prime, got distracted at the citadel..."

He makes it to the roof and pulls out his cellphone. "I'm on the roof, nothing yet." After the call he looks around the roof for anything out of place or obviously magical in nature.

~~Narration~~

The sun is setting, and the last rays slice across the horizon like reddish orange sheets of glass. The local skaters and parkour gangs are starting to head home, and what few municipal light still work come on.

(( Wits + Comp -3 from each, please ))

Logos watches the sun set, it was comforting on a level that he hadn't felt in a while.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

Logos gets the distinct feeling he's being watched, as the wind buffets him. The last rays of sun remind him that he doesn't even have a flashlight with him.

Getting back down the fire escape is going to be a bitch.

Ghoster, sitting on the bench, sees shadows forming in unusual patterns, here and there. Whispers of soil and rock moving reach his ears, every now and then. In the fading light, if he were to look at the roof, he wouldn't be able to see Logos' silhouette against the night sky anymore.

Splitting up at night never works in the movies, does it?

Ready or not, Ghoster thinks to himself, something's coming.

He trades the phone off from his right hand to this left, so that he holds the phone to his right ear across his body. His right hand deftly maneuvers the Glock out of his pocket and flips off the safety, but he doesn't draw his hand out of his jacket. He continues to chat away to his phone, seemingly oblivious.

C'mon out, you bastard.

Logos's head tilts to the side in disappointment. "Always forget what I need" He forms the imago in his mind and releases it. His vision lightens a bit letting him see better in the dark.

Spoiler:

(( Need a Wits + Comp from both, Ghoster is at -3, Logos is at -1 ))

Oh shit, here we go, Ghoster says to himself as his enhanced senses reveal several shadows swirling up around him. I better move. Ghoster stands and yawns over the sound of his thumb hitting the Call button twice to dial the last caller, Logos. He moves his right hand into his right pocket and points the gun forward in classic gas-station robber fashion.

Ghoster wills himself to walk, instead of run, toward the building, so that he could invite the thing to follow him. He keeps his distance from the unnatural shades. He keeps his voice happy and enthusiastic when Logos answers. "Hey, LG! You should come to my party, dude! Hold on, I might be able to give you directions..."

Since he can't see whatever's responsible, he lets his Omnivision fade away. Then he performs the subtle hand signal of his Sense Consciousness rote, straining to empower his Imago as much as possible. A bead of sweat forms on his brow and he exhales heavily as the spell activates, and he begins to search...

"Nah, I can't tell you how to get there, but get down to the party now, bro," Ghoster says, his Supernal senses unable to penetrate the creature's defenses. He tightened his grip on the pistol's handle, his palms sweating.

Logos looked around in the dark. His phone rang and he picked it up. After hearing what Ghoster was saying "Ok, I'll be there soon." He moves towards the fire escape he used to get up to the top of the building and starts to go down them. He gets to the bottom and looks around.

~~Narration~~

As Logos begins to mount the fire escape to get down, he feels it shaking slightly. When he looks down, he can barely make out large shadows that seem to be coming up the fire escape.

Logos sees the shadows and his eyes go wide. "What the ****"" He gets off of the fire escape and backs up a several feet from it.

As Ghoster approaches the building, he looks around for Logos. He doesn't see him, so he looks to the fire escape to see if he is on his way down. He sees large shadows racing up it instead. He pauses for a moment, unsure of whether he should give chase, and looks for Supernal guidance using Momentary Flux.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

Ghoster can hear the dull clang of footfalls on metal as he watches the shadowy figures move up the fire escapes.

The scraping of shuffling feet on gravel approaching behind him is mildly distracting, though.

He gets the feeling from his spell that going up the fire escape, and being sandwiched, may not be a great idea. On the other hand, encountering whatever it is behind him, alone, may not be any better.

Logos continues to watch the rhythmic shaking of the fire escape.

It's really dark, now.

Good thing Logos has Nightsight.

Logos lets go of Superval Vision, he feels the magic bleed away into the Tapestry. He pulls out his steel pendant and focuses his will into it. He fades from sight and falls into a defensive crouch briefly seen as a blur before the spell makes him invisible again. His eyes settle onto the fire escape, watching it shake as something comes up to say hi.

Spoiler:

The spell confirmed what Ghoster feared; he and Logos were in trouble no matter which position they tried to defend. He had already warned the Monk trouble was on the way and he was confident the Arrow could take care of himself. Ghoster turns around to face his pursuers, smiling to himself as he pulls his sidearm from his pocket and holds it out in front of him just like his drill sergeants had taught him.

I can barely see out here, thinks Ghoster, just whose lame-ass plan was this, anyway? He needs to know where his targets are, so he creates an Imago of a radar signal emanating from him and returning with their precise locations.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

Ghoster turns, and releases his spell. About the same time as the locations are 'returned' to him of four shambling figures, a breeze wafts a noxious odor to him. The smell of death and decay makes him want to gag.

"Arms...," he barely hears a distorted, guttural voice whisper.

~

Logos watches the ladder shake grow more pronounced as hands finally appear. The buffeting winds at this height carry a soft word to his ears. "Legs...."

Two figures finally crest the rooftop and extricate themselves from the ladder. In the clarity of his Nightsight, he sees the two suit-covered men look around, hollow faces and bloodshot eyes searching for him.

Zombies, Ghoster thinks to himself. Whoever's controlling them isn't going to show himself until his damn minions have worn us down. And I don't sense 'him' at all; he must be hiding in Twilight.

Ghoster feels a hot desert breeze blow through him as he burns Mana to fuel his Perfect Timing rote, then fires at the closest zombie.

Spoiler:

(( Ghoster needs to roll Initiative before firing. Distance to targets: 23M ))

Spoiler:

Logos stays low to the ground and moves slowly to the right. Planning on edging his way around the things before they can find him. So he can get to the ground and find Ghoster and get out or so they are close to each other when the fighting starts.

(Half speed move of 4)

~~Narration~~

There's a dull thud that reminds Ghoster of his mother spooning out Jell-O as his bullet strikes one of the forms. It staggers a bit, but keeps trudging forward.

So does it's three buddies.

(( 15M, Ghoster's turn again ))

As Logos begins to move, his two party crashers briefly scan the nearly empty rooftop, and begin the laborious process of re-mounting the fire escape to head back down.

Make this one count, Ghoster thinks as he tries to time another shot perfectly at the wounded zombie.

Spoiler:

He squeezes the trigger again, right on time.

Spoiler:

As the things start to remount the escape ladder he runs forward and tries to kick one of the things off the roof.

(I'm not really sure what to roll for this honesty, Str 3, Dex 3, Athletics 3)

Ghoster's Glock breaks the silence of the night again, and a large gobbet of flesh falls from the figure.

Damn, it smells bad now.

They continue to move forward (7M), encircling him against the building, and Ghoster knows that they'll be close enough to do whatever it is they do after he shoots again.

(( Logos rolls STR + Brawl -or- Athletics, whichever is higher ))

Ghoster feels the urge to lose his lunch as the smell of the creatures is overwhelming. Can't let 'em box me in, but they're too close to run from now. Gotta' wait until they close ranks.

Ghoster twitches the middle and ring fingers on his left hand again, feels that arid wind again, sees himself running and ducking through a gap between his undead assailants in slow-motion...

Spoiler:

Ghoster HOLDS ACTION.

Logos runs forward, kicking one of the ghoulish men in the chest. He hears bones snap and feels his foot sink in, almost like stepping in mud. Although it's thrown backward, it manages to keep it's grip.

The kick, though, breaks Logos' concentration on his Invisibility spell, and both zombies react with feral smiles at that suddenly visible Mage.

~

Ghoster is surrounded by flailing arms, as they try to grab a hold of them. Their sluggish movements, and the fact that he is Untouchable, keeps him out of their grasp.

He's definitely surrounded, though.

His spell fading and the thing remaining on a roof elicit a grim look on Logos's face. Realizing that he wasn't going to be able to do this subtly he focuses his mind onto an imago of strength then pouring his will into it he focuses the imago through his pendant and then into the world.

Spoiler:

He grins a grin only one used to violence can as he feel his strength grow.

Ghoster's enhanced sense of timing tells him exactly when the moment to edge his way through the zombie horde arrives.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

As Logos spell takes hold, his clothes tighten and strain against his growing flesh. The pair of dead, yellow eyes watch impassively as they re-ascend the ladder and start making their way toward him again.

(( Logos needs to roll Initiative. ))

As Ghoster darts through the mass of bodies, yellowed nails reach for him, trying to stop him. One of the assailents falls, trying to grab him, and tangles the others enough that Ghoster breaks free.

Logos grins feeling his clothes tighten around him.

Spoiler:

(( I'm not going ot bother to roll, lol, Logos beats both of them ))

(what are their defenses?)

(( DEF 1, sorry for not providing ))

Ghoster races to put distance between himself and the horde, his lungs anxiously drawing in fresh air. Stupid zombies, you can't catch the Ghost. He narrows his eyes and scans the park ahead of him for a place to hide, a tree to climb, anywhere he can snipe these things from...

~~Narration~~

Ghoster sees several opportunities ahead; the skate park, full of ramps and half-pipes, and another abandoned building with a stairwell that he's seen the local parkour club practice on. He also guesstimates he's running at four times the speed that they're shambling in pursuit.

Logos kicks the same one as he did before.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

Logos feels his foot sink into the sticky morass of the things chest, and more bones give way. He pulls his foot out of the spongy resistance, and sees his shoe covered in foul-smelling ichor. The thing collapses.

The other one reaches out, yellow, overgrown nails slashing at Logos face, and gouging a gash from his ear to his jawline.

(( 1L for Logos ))

Ghoster's running has brought him to the skate park, and the parkour building is nearby. His assailants are almost lost in the shadows, trying to make up the ground lost.

Logos growls in anger at the thing that attacked him. And kicks with as much force as he can.

Spoiler:

~~Narration~~

Again, the sickening crunch of solid contact, and gobbets and ribbons of decayed tissue cling to Logo's shoe as he pulls his leg back.

The yellowed nails reach out again, scratching deeply into his leg, slicing it open as it is pulled back against the embedded nails.

(( 2L for Logos ))

Logos kicks the thing again. Rather annoyed that his clothes now reek of gunk he wants this thing down so he can find Ghoster.

Spoiler: