Mission 6c - The blood of the arcane

A search of terms pulls up plenty about skeletons, death and the grim reaper. Locally known as shinigami (死神), they are believed to carry the spirits of the recently deceased to the land of the dead. Their name literally means 'death god' and how they are viewed depends on who you talk to. Some see them as monsters who feed on death. Others see them as ambivalent or possibly even helpful beings who serve a vital role in the spiritual universe. Without them it is believed that souls would become trapped between the land of the living and the afterlife, slowly going mad as they are unable to move on. Images of shinigami vary from gaunt, skeletal beings in dark robes, to monstrous winged beings with claws and sharp teeth, to simple humans dressed in formal mourning attire. They are typically invisible to the naked eye, though those capable of astral perception have reported witnessing such beings.

While there are a great number of articles about shinigami, none mention anything about paralysis.

Kin calls Iya, as suggested by Emiko.

"Hello, This is Kin Tanaka. We just spoke with you and I forgot to ask if you could provide any of the names and perhaps a brief description of the participants in Iza, ummm, your father's group that performed the rituals."

"Iya, do you remember what color hair the human had?"

Kin makes a mental note to call the precinct after speaking with Iya to check on the progress of the search warrant for the security footage he requested. (He will call once she answers the question and he hangs up.)

Kin puts a call into the precinct to check on the status of the search warrant for the security footage. His next call is to Nanase Kuba to get as much information as he can on the group of mages that gather at her house for the rituals.

He then recommends to Emiko and Edison that they continue to take looks at the murders scenes, suggesting the next location should be the location of the murder of Isei Takata in the Denkicho District.

As it's only been a few hours since the request has been made, Kin is told it will still take a couple of days to acquire the warrant and subsequent footage. When he asks Nanase about her father's friends, she looks up their names in her father's address book and provides names and addresses for each of them. Their names are Matsuo Watanabe (dwarf), Kenshin Dokite (human) and Shachi Doumeki (ork).

Kin relays the information to Emiko, telling her that the group included two people that were also murdered, she immediately realizes the importance of finding the ork.  "This Shachi Doumeki, he may be the next victim! We have to talk to him and warn him."

Before she says another word, Emiko quickly jumps on a computer and searches all Shachi Doumekis that are orks and are really old to find his commlink information.

Computers: 7 hits

Emiko calls Shachi Doumeki's commlink.

Emiko angles her commlink so all three are in vision. "Hello Mr. Doumeki, I am Emiko, this is Kin and Edison."

Emiko pauses for a moment to brace for her next part of her message.

"Mr. Doumeki, I apologize in advance for this call and, I don't know if you are aware, but your group of Izo Kuba, Matsuo Watanabe, and Kenshin Dokite have all been murdered and we have reason to believe you will be targeted next."

Emiko continues, "Sir, there are more deaths and the killer is someone with serious power. We want to meet with you, somewhere very public, and as soon as possible. Time is of the essence."

Negotiation: 6 hits

Kin prepares for the meeting with the orc by stopping by the Community Center to grab his predator, which he deposits in his holster and his Raiden, which he hides in the concealed storage space of his car. With Emiko in the passenger seat, they head over to pick up whatever gear she needs and then proceed to Good Manas to meet with the orc.

The magic shop, much like most of the Majoukoya disitrict, is a dark and spooky old looking building that you'd almost think was abandoned were it not for the fact that you can see lights and living people through the window. The old man Emiko spoke to on the phone is inside, speaking with a pair of ork girls, one of whom is dressed in colorful Lolita style clothing.

On the way over to the magic shop Edison stops at a pharmacy to grab some earplugs for himself and the others. "A terrible scream" followed by paralysis was the harbinger of the killer. Perhaps we could provide a bit more of a fight than the others when the time comes to confront this... Skeleton? What a bizarre city. Edison ponders over who could possibly be behind this?

3 hits knowledge check

Edison knows that Majoukoya is known for it's high concentration of magic users who call themselves "witches", which is actually how the area got it's name as Majoukoya literally means "witch's hut". While they have a reputation for various types of dark magic, this is mostly just an image that the locals maintain to scare tourists and sell magical goods both genuine and not. It also tends to keep the wrong sorts out of the area as most people are afraid of being cursed by a witch when they visit. As far as Edison knows, there is no truth to that, but it never hurts to avoid pissing off a mage.

Back home, Emiko quickly changes into clean clothing and freshens up the best she can with the limited time she has.  She holsters her taser, pockets her gloves, and grabs her beloved deck.  "Did you miss me as much as I missed you," she thinks to herself as she gives gives the deck a quick hug and places it in her carrying case.

On the way to the meeting, Emiko takes the opportunity to get to know Kin better.  She asks him questions about his favorite foods, things to do when not doing jobs, and other non-current project related topics.

At the magic shop, Emiko enters and looks for Shachi.  She sees the two other orks and thinks about the one with the bright colors.  She thinks, "Could that be the girl Kitaro went on a date with?"

She bows deeply and says, "Mr. Doumeki, thank you for meeting us."  While looking at the ladies, she says, "hello, I am Emiko.  It is a pleasure to meet you."  Back to the old ork, she asks, "would you like to speak in private or would you prefer we talk openly?"[/b]

Edison enters the magic store and passes along the earplugs for the others. Nodding and introducing himself and Little Brother to the elder orc.

Emiko, not wanting to get involved with a family matter, tries to bring focus to why she is here.  "Very well, it's probably for the best I share everything in the open."  She assenses the three orks and looks around for any exotic pets.

Emiko palms the earplugs and hopes, if it's necessary to plug her ears, she'll have the reaction time to use them.  Unfortunately, she needs to leave them out so she can speak and hear herself.  

"A few weeks ago, a girl our age" Emiko looks to Madouka to accentuate the point, "was murdered.  Without going into the gory details her throat was cut and her blood was drained.  Then, two days later, your associate, Matsuo Watabe, was murdered. He too had his throat slit and blood drained.  Three days passed and another person from the group you perform rituals had the same experience, his throat slit and blood drained."

Emiko looks at each of the orks before continuing.  "Who ever is doing this does not discriminate.  They don't care if you're an ork, a dwarf, a human.. they don't care if you're male, female, young, old... they don't care if you're rich or poor.  What they seem to care about is that you're a hermetic mage."

"This is the part I hope you take seriously... there is never sign of forced entry.  The killer enters the room.  Kills with little to no resistance, drains the blood, and leaves without a trace."

Emiko intentionally leaves out the important detail about the pets to see how Shachi reacts to this.  While she does not think he is the killer, she has not ruled out that possibility.

"Sir, we asked to meet you because we feel your life may be in danger.  I'm glad you have surrounded yourself with your granddaughters, but, for your safety, we would like you to know what is going on so you can be prepared.  Also, if there is something about this case you can help us with, it would be greatly appreciated."

Before Emiko continues the conversation, she is assensing to gauge everyone's reaction.

Assensing: 4 hits

Kin feels a shiver on the back of his neck. Maybe it's nothing, but he's learned to trust these instincts. He reaches into his pocket, pulls out the earplugs and places them into his ears as inconspicuously as possible. He'll let Emiko take the lead on the questioning.

Emiko bows her head slightly and says, "If you did not know about the deaths then I am truly sorry for being the harbinger of such bad news."

She makes a move to turn around, as if she was about to leave, and turns back to Shachi. Emiko places her right pointer finger to her lower lip and makes a face as if she's in deep thought. "Mr Shachi," she starts and then pauses, "do you have a pet by any chance? Your friends, for example, each housed a pretty exotic creature each."