Witch Hunt [IC]

[Ecalsneerg]

"Yeah," said Equinox to Vigourie pointedly. "I know I'm not putting up with bigots." She turned to the sheriff after he had walked away from them. "Sorry about that, but from all I know of that man, it was either force him to leave now, or end up with another murder on your hands. I'm not going to hide my faith from members of the damn investigation. If it helps solve the crime, I will, but from him? Never." The white light in her eyes was flickering from dim to bright repeatedly and noticeably in her anger.

[GranspearZX]

"We don't always have the luxury of choosing our friends."

Otherwise quiet, Marcus's comment almost seemed out of place. Not that he liked Vigourie any more than the rest of the group, but it was a fact that he couldn't help but point out. Still, he didn't look directly at Equinox when she said it... she was sort of scary when she was mad--and she was obviously mad. He glanced at Vigorie as he made his exit. "I'm sure we'll manage one way or another."

He folded his arms across his chest, standing relatively near his 'employer'. "Now that that's over... ...it is over, isn't it?"

[Quinn]

Quinn shrugged, still holding the door to the conference room opened, and nodded at Arcturus.

"Pretty much. Sorry you had to see that, guys like him bring out the worst in me."

Worst. Right. Can't believe I actually tried using AEGIS like that. Christ, they chase me for two years, and now I'm using them like a club. I was better off before they caught me.

His face twisted slightly with disgust under his scarf as he thought that, and he shook his head self-depreciatingly. He turned from Arcturus back to the Sheriff, shrugging.

"Sorry about pulling rank like that, first time I've actually handled a case for AEGIS instead of a...uh...private client. Still, I've seen his type before. Maybe he'll find something, but I'll bet big money you'll see quite a few complaints about his conduct before he actually digs something up."

Letting himself trail off at that, he held up his envelope and looked in turn at each of them.

"Either way, shorty there is right. Don't always have the luxury of choosing who we have to work with. Let's just get down to buisness before we have any more distractions, alright? I'll even pay for the donuts."

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox looked at Arcturus and Push incredulously. "You don't get this at all, do you? I don't do magic because it's a job or a vocation. I do it because it's my faith. I don't wear a cross, or a star of David, I wear a pentacle. But to him, I'm a Satanist, trying to chow down on babies. And, frankly... if I have to solve this entire case on my own, rather than deal with the idea of someone sitting there next to me, thinking all that..." Equinox struggled with the words for a second.

"I will. I do have the luxury of choosing who I work with. And I will not have any person in this room insinuating that I am wrong to have done so. Now, I'm going to keep my magic low-key and hidden, and my pentacle, as the townspeople are admittedly unlikely to react well. But he?" She sighed and shook her head, then resumed speaking in clipped, teacherish tones. "He's meant to be an expert, like us. And, in the words of a Mr Oliver Wendell Holmes, 'The mind of a bigot is like the pupil of the eye; the more light you pour upon it, the more it will contract.'" Her voice sped up, gaining more passion and less scholarly disinterest. "I'm not letting some so-called damn occult expert walk around spreading filthy lies and misapprehensions, when a physicist can sum up this situation so much better. And I'm not running this investigation, nor do I have the authority to, but if you think I'm in the wrong... leave."

[Quinn]

Push looked at her, then at the others, and simply sighed under his scarf.

"Right. Lovely speech, and you made your point quite clearly. I'm not going to bother debating, because there's a murderer out there, and he's possibly connected with a scumbag warlock I've spent two years of my life hunting."

The kineticist's own voice threatened to rise there, and a very subtle crackling and pressure filled the air as he tried to rein it in, smaller objects near him vibrating seemingly without a cause. Everyone surrounding him had a sudden feeling akin to being pushed away from "Stone", by an invisible force.

"Christ on a crutch, this arguing's getting us nowhere. Right now, I'm going into that room, and I'm going to wait for all of you. If any of you want to help find a murderer, then bring what evidence you can, and let's get down to work. But I refuse to stand here and argue when I can get this case solved, find the sonofabitch who did it and maybe, just maybe bring the nightmare my life has been the past few years to an end! And if it's any consolation, you can rub that into that bigot's face yourself if we do it before he does!"

And on that note, he spun on his heel and walked into the room, slamming the door behind him. The pressure dissipated the second the door shut.

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox breathed in deeply, stopping her hand from flying to the wand hidden in her waist band, stopping her from blowing the door to splinters, then going after Vigourie, and hitting him with a small hurricane. Then she went and leaned on the wall to the side of the door. "I'll be in in a second, But I very much doubt you want me alone in a room with him right now."

She bowed her head and looked at the floor. To anyone who looked hard enough, her lips moved nigh-imperceptibly, and to those who listened hard enough to hear, she was saying, "One... two... three... four... five... six... " Where her hands were planted flat against the wall behind her, her knuckles were visibly white from pushing against the wall.

[trollthumper]

Durand looked to the others, her eyes furrowing even further. By this point, Vigourie had stalked off out of the office on the excuse of getting coffee. "So, let me get this straight," she said. "Vigourie doesn't know his ass from his elbow."

"He knows terms and symbolism," Eric said. "He just doesn't know what they mean in context, and seems to have issues with association. It's possible he could see an example of innocent behavior and wrap it up with something sinister."

"Like some kid wearing black and listening to Marilyn Manson."

Why do they always come to Manson? The Nineties were a long time ago... Eric kept the thought down. "Yeah," he said. "Something like that. He could see kids dealing with angst or experimenting in new things, and associate with the mind of a killer."

"Great," she said. "Go for an expert, get Don Quixote." She sighed. "He's on contract with the county for a minimum of three days. His terms. Don't know who signed off on it, but Alderman Harris's colleagues insisted. I'll keep him on runaround, and I'll be carrying a saltshaker around if he gives me any advice. But I need you to promise me you can help bring in whoever did this."

"We will," Eric said. "Now, about Mr. Stone..."

"Right," Durand said. "The case." She led the investigators into the back of the office, to a small office complex the size of two cubicles stuck next to the world's tiniest morgue. "We don't have much cause to use this place," she said. "Comes from state funding. Every so often there's an accident on the highway, and state police need to make use of it. But we've never really had to make use of it for... well, one of our own." She wheeled open one of the lockers, revealing a fit, lanky young man with his eyes closed.

"William Harris," she said. "Sophomore at Stratford High School. Found Tuesday morning by a jogger in a clearing in the woods. He was in his undies when we found him; bruises on his arms and legs indicated a struggle. The killer... slit open the wrists and femoral arteries, let him bleed out." She pulled back the drape covering the corpse's chest. "And used it to make... this."

On Harris's chest was what looked like a small arrow... if you squinted at it. The "feathers" consisted of a pentagon with two triangles attached to the top ends, reaching towards his collarbones. At the base of the pentagon was the "shaft," an inverted cross. "What do you make of that?"

[GranspearZX]

Marcus sighed. He wasn't going to say so, but there was a reason that he didn't want much to do with religion. Vigourie was one side of the coin... and Equinox was the other. Still, he sympathized with her more than she realized. He was certain that this part was where he was supposed to say something profound and consoling; the best he could come with was muttering, "It's not like I agree with the guy..."

He was actually a little more concerned with 'Mr. Stone'. This warlock of his was surely going to cloud his judgment, not that he would have minded clubbing him over the head to get him to think clearly. Especially not after being called 'shorty'. The subtle reactions about the room--the same ones that dissipated when he left--caught Marcus's attention too. He knew enough about anger to know what it looked like. His just wasn't as obvious outside his own body. At worst, someone might notice his pupils going red or his teeth getting a little bigger; past that it was just too late to catch it and he'd have some real explaining to do once he'd calmed down. He winced a little bit as Push slammed the door shut and his palm found his forehead. Sheriff Durand and Eric back to the morgue.

It was rather unexpected; he half expected a trip to a hospital somewhere. As tough as he was, or pretended to be, the sight of the body caused a very physical reaction in the artificer, forcing a muted grunt from him. "...that's about what Officer Malloy said it looked like. Reminds me of... somethin'. I can't remember what exactly though... I'd need to look it up to be sure."

"He said there was a windstorm that day too... Ten bucks says it wasn't a normal weather pattern either. I would've checked around the woods a little more, but... y'know. Procedure." He took a step back, pretty much done with staring at a dead body.

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel watched the exchange between Eric and Vigourie with slightly narrowed eyes. When the sheriff broke it up, he shook his head.

"You're right, Sheriff. The victim is what's important right now. That, and finding justice."

At her expression of hope, Gabriel just gave her a solemn nod.

"We will do everything in our power not to let you down."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel frowned at Equinox's increasingly heated words.

"Please calm down. I understand all too well how important faith is to someone, but you're not helping matters. If you really feel like yelling at someone, we can go debate theology later or something."

There was just the tiniest hint of humor in his voice, and a bit of a sparkle in his eye.

At Push's exclamation of "Christ on a crutch", Gabriel turned to look sharply at him.

"Don't take His name in vain like that, at least not when I'm around."

Chalk it up to already-induced irritability, but he clearly didn't appreciate that figure of speech.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The hero in white almost stayed to try helping Equinox calm down, but thought better of it. Instead, he followed the others into the room. He allowed Eric to help clarify things for Durand, simply nodding his agreement where appropriate.

Then, they were shown the body.

Intellectually, Gabriel had known the victim was young. But he hadn't committed the facts to memory, and the last few minutes had wiped all but the most basic of details away. But now, it was shoved in his face.

"So young?"

There was deep sadness in his voice as he stepped forward, standing to one side of the slab. A single tear leaked out as he viewed a life cut short. He closed his eyes and bowed his head, his lips moving but inaudible until the last few sentences, which were still barely above a whisper.

"may they rejoice in Your kingdom,

where all our tears are wiped away.

Unite us together again in one family,

to sing Your praise forever and ever.

Amen."

At some point, he'd extracted a rosary from his shirt, one he now tucked back away. He stepped back, letting the others get a closer look. This was one area he was sorely lacking in, truth be told. Perhaps he could make an effort to change that soon...

[Quinn]

Push stepped up to the body, his face a mask equivalent to his alias. As of stone. This wasn't the first corpse he'd ever seen, and likely wouldn't be the last. Still...it was never easy to look at the results of some...madman's attempt at immortality. And what made it worse is that half the time the rituals requiring such sacrifices either didn't work, thereby wasting the poor victim's life, or worked too well, causing even more destruction. The parade of faces in Push's mind's eye, people he knew he'd either been too late or too foolish to save, only reinforced that thinking. He remained silent for a moment, along with Gabriel and the rest, respecting the man's prayer.

"Chalk another one up for the catalogue of nightmares..." He muttered under his breath. "Too damn young...they always are. I'm...sorry I couldn't save you, kid. Go to whatever maker you believe in...we'll handle things on this end."

Blinking, he turned his head and reached into the envelope, taking out a small form and looking at it critically, his eyes avoiding the corpse.

"The experts back in...wherever they keep their headquarters took a look at the rune, drew some comparisons with the Ars Goetia. Problem is that it's missing some details, anyone who didn't know what they were looking for might draw a connection with anything from..."

He took another quick look at the sheet, then shrugged, passing it around for them to see.

"Futhark runes to a veve of the loa. Thing about the Ars Goetia is that it's the first chapter of a book, called the Lesser Key of Solomon. This section contains a very detailed analysis of seventy-two demons that Solomon, that's the Solomon from the bible, is said to have stuffed into a brass jug with a crapton of magic symbols. The next part of the chapter also explains how to make a similar brass container...and the right magic key to break the lock."

Push pointed at the relevant information on the sheet, a brief blurb about it along with some relevant runes.

"Now here's the fun part. According to the squints, this sigil here possibly corresponds to one of the demons locked away, but it's missing a lot of details."

He shrugged, stepping back from the corpse.

"My guess is, someone's trying to call up something nasty from Old Night. Any thoughts?"

[GranspearZX]

Marcus had moved further from the body by the time Push showed up. Frankly, the young wizard looked a little ill, trying to shake off having seen someone his own age in that state. He didn't even look at the agent as he passed, more concerned with not embarrassing himself. After taking a second to compose himself, he turned around to face the rest of the group--still keeping to the back and out of direct visual view of the body. As the sheet came to him, he stared quietly at it, reading... and his eyes narrowed a bit.

"I knew that sounded familiar. And that crime scene definitely looked like someone was trying to summon something... Crap."

At that point, Marcus was mostly talking to himself. "...to summon something like that, you'd need a lot more than just some random circle and a little blood; if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it. And from what I heard and saw, there should have been more blood at the scene than there was. I can't really speak on what this.... this murderer was trying to do, but whatever it is, I don't think they're anywhere close to being done."

He paused for a moment in thought; for a second, he seemed... stuck. "I'd need to actually look up that book. But I wonder if anyone else in this town already has..."

[trollthumper]

"It... doesn't exactly sound like the thing you'd find in a library," Durand said. "But with Amazon and everything..." Her eyes had widened considerably at this point, and she looked rather pale. "You really think someone... brought a demon to this town? Is it gone? Can it go? Or is it still here?"

"It depends on the contract with the person who called it up," Eric said. He took a closer look with the symbol. "I don't know about Goetic summoning, but... there are elements here that are familiar." He pointed to the lower end of the "arrow." "Inverted cross. Associations with Satanism in pop culture. You mostly see it with black metal bands, which could point to someone who's murderous, but not quite knowledgeable. An occult poser, really. The part up here, though..." He pointed to the "fletching." "Lower end of a pentacle. Pentacles are usually associated with the five elements -- air, earth, fire, water, and spirit. In an inverted pentacle, the lower points -- fire and earth -- are given priority over the pinnacle -- spirit. Many Satanists adopt it as a symbol, representing the material and power over spiritual enlightenment."

"So it's not a summoning?" Durand asked. "It's just... tagging?"

"I'm not sure," Eric said. "I've got a working knowledge of the ways of the Goetia, but it's not like I can remember every summoning glyph off hand. I can see elements of one, though. Can I get a look of some photos of the crime scene?"

"I could take you there myself," she said. "Unless you want some more time with the evidence..."

[Quinn]

"You really think someone... brought a demon to this town? Is it gone? Can it go? Or is it still here?"

Push's eyes warmed a bit as he walked to the Sheriff's side, and he thumped her on the shoulder in a comradely manner.

"Don't worry. Even if it is a demon, most of us have tackled it's like before. And if one really had been called, the situation would be a hell of a lot worse than it is now. Most of the ones from my experience are talkative, loud, and showy, as well as highly flammable, though they tend to be the low-class thug type demons called up by third-rate hacks. You can generally keep them talking and distracted long enough to move into an advantageous position, and bullets will work, though you'd probably want a lot of them. No fooling, I have arrived a couple of times at similar situations to find the local officers've already downed the supernatural beastie. Those things, they're too used to everything being afraid of them, so standing tall and spitting them in the eye always gives you an edge."

He stepped away, looking back at the corpse and tapping his hand to his forelock in a silent gesture of respect, before turning to the others.

"I reviewed most of what was known on my way here, so I'm ready to see the crime scene if you guys are."

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel, who had been silent up until this point, allowing those who actually knew what all these symbols meant, spoke up.

"Please don't worry, Sheriff. I myself have encountered demons multiple times. I am obviously still alive. Furthermore, at worst, each of those encounters ended with the demon fleeing the scene, its goals unmet. Best case, it was banished back to the place where they await Final Judgment. There are several of us here; I have full confidence we could handle such an event if it occurred."

His words were calm, soothing even. They sang with confidence, with assurance of ability.

Gabriel uncrossed his arms and stepped to the side a bit, to better allow others to move around.

"Would it be possible for me to perhaps ask some questions around town, instead? All of you seem to be getting along fairly well, and I readily admit my own inadequacy when it comes to interpreting crime scenes in general, and ones of this nature in particular. I hope to rectify that with what I learn here and elsewhere, but sadly not fast enough for today. Who knows? Perhaps I can find out some small detail that will help us discern the truth."

[trollthumper]

Durand looked a little bit more relieved, though still cautious. "All right," she said. "I just don't feel comfortable with one of those... things around." She turned to Gabriel. "I think everyone here would be a little be reassured if they saw a hero on the streets," she said. "Just... don't bring up the demon thing, will you? Last thing we need is a panic."

She then turned back to the others. "We should probably get going."

----

The gathered investigators, minus Gabriel, proceeded to the woods in the sheriff's squad car. Save for Push; he trailed behind on his motorcycle, carrying his hammer in one hand. It seemed to draw the attention of a few passing townsfolk. The car pulled over at the side of the road, soon joined by the motorcycle. Durand led the group into the woods to a small clearing roped off by yellow police tape. Barren trees loomed over head, dead leaves coated the ground, and a smooth, sloping rock lay in the center.

"This is where they found him," she said. She handed out plastic booties and hair nets to the investigators. "Just to make sure the scene doesn't get contaminated."

Eric slipped his on over his boots and ducked under the tape. He approached the rock, and quickly began scanning the ground. In time, he found a leaf with a few dots of blood on it. It'll have to do, he said. If I use the Banshee Wail here, it'll carry... and I'll have to explain to Durand just why I'm screaming. I'm sure that'd go well...

[Ecalsneerg]

Equinox slipped on the plastic covers and then crouched low on the ground beside the crime scene. "You all might need to step back a little," she murmured, as her hands began tracing quick, intricate patterns in the air. White light swirled and twisted around them as the white light in her eyes suddenly flared into a near-blinding glow. She began chanting in a expressionless voice, not booming, nor whispering, but just completely at an average volume, brooking no change in tone:

"Terra Mater, guide my hand,

Through the earth, and mud, and sand,

Those who've walked, I wish to sense,

Grant me this with benevolence."

Then, with one final finger movement, she placed her hands flat onto the top of the soil. Instantly, she could feel those standing near her atop the soil, pressing down like a weight upon her. But she marshaled her will, forcing all distractions aside to plunge deeper in. A barrage of perfume hit her, the rough molecules oozing over her hands and dissipating into a wet, smelly mass.

She began coughing as she felt brimstone, cloying, and acrid, and blackened, managing to choke out, "Brimstone," before the hacking cough wracked at her again. Equinox shuddered as she felt gangrenous flesh sliding over her hands, clammy and pus-filled, oozing disgust and bile upon her. And then crawling east towards the town like a crawling tapeworm.

"It headed back towards the town. Gangrene and pus, brimstone and viscera. I can feel it," she whispered harshly, her throat dry and sore. "It's on my hands."

[trollthumper]

Durand's eyes widened as she saw Equinox work the spell. "Magic," she whispered. "That's... you're not just investigators, are you? You're..."

"Wizards," Eric said. Well, cat's out of the bag. Time to see if it claws our eyes out. "Magicians, practitioners, whatever term you want to use. We do magic, yeah."

"And you didn't see fit to tell me --" She paused. "Okay, I can see why you didn't see fit to tell me. Doesn't mean I'm not pissed off about it. What do you have for me?"

"Well," he said, "I think my colleague over there's got a bead on the demon. Now let's see what this is about..." He pulled the bloody leaf out of his jacket, placed it in his hands, and attuned himself to the flow of death. But despite the murder that had taken place there, he could not get a good enough grasp on the reins of fate. "Okay, that's not working. Strange..."

[GranspearZX]

"...hm." Marcus grinned faintly, though he was certainly not going to confirm or deny anything. Instead, after putting on the plastic boot covers again, he simply watched. Watching Equinox's magic at work, he raised an eyebrow. It really was rather impressive--not just from the pretty lights and what not, though that was nice too, but because for once he could actually grasp the mechanics of what she was doing... vaguely.

"...are you okay?" he asked, frowning. He could just imagine if that had hit his bear senses how it would have smelled... better her than him, he supposed. He looked off towards the east, fingers tapping on the book still hanging at his right side. "Well, *I* definitely can't track it. Not like this." If the sheriff had reacted as she had from something as innocent-looking as Equinox's spell, his beast form would definitely jolt her if she wasn't prepared for it. He could probably cobble something together, he thought, but that would take time they likely didn't have.

[Quinn]

Push shrugged as he moved around the crime scene's edges, peering at the ground, checking bushes and trees. Basic grunt work, but the simple stuff had brought him leads before.

"Oh, are we confessing things now? If it's any consolation, I got my abilities through the wonders of some idiot's attempt at mad science. That, and I'm an agnostic."

He spoke idly, kneeling down and looking at a set of footprints with his head tilted. No giant three-toed prints yet, which was a bit of a relief. Then again, he had run into some fairly nasty pieces of work that could take the shape of a human being before. No obvious summoning circles, charred leaves, melted wax or anything. If he didn't know better, he'd say it was just a plain murder scene. Finally, he stood up and rubbed the back of his head, masking the fact that he was at a loss.

"Got nothing. Plenty of trails arriving and leaving, the bulk of them probably the officers who responded to the call. Who was the person who found the body, when was the body found, how long had it been here, and what were they doing before they found it?"

His questions were clipped and precise, ones he'd used many times before.

[trollthumper]

"Body was found by Mark Hollister," Durand said. "He works at a coffee shop on 3rd. He found the body around 6:30 AM; he was on his usual jog when he smelled the blood and found Harris in the clearing. The coroner said time of death was around 1 AM."

"Trails arriving and leaving?" Eric said. "None originating here?"

"That makes a difference, I take it," Durand said.

"it'd mean that the summoning didn't take place here," he said. "If we're assuming a Goetic summoning, it's really not one of those 'virgin sacrifice' deals. It usually resolves around the will of the sorcerer and a properly-prepared ritual space -- nothing more, nothing less. Blood can make some of the more violent demons willing to discuss terms, but it's not a necessary ingredient."

"Then this symbol on his chest, it really is --"

"Tagging," he said. "Just like you thought. But given my colleague's reaction to the crime scene, that doesn't mean something from Hell didn't do it." He turned to Durand. "I've gotta thank you for not freaking out at our methods thus far. You've taken the whole magic thing better than I expected. Which is why I'm gonna say in advance that this is gonna seem really weird."

He wrapped his hands around the leaf once more, and opened his mouth. This time, he got results, tapping right into the flow of death and memories lost. "The will and the way alone... signed in hope of black whispers... to the city of the pyramids..." The strange prophecy cut out, and Eric was left gasping for breath. He lifted his head to see Durand staring at him.

"What in the hell was that?"

"Well, it wasn't Hell," he said, "which I realize isn't the most reassuring of statements. It's speaking with the dead. Patricia Arquette probably did worse things on that series of hers."

[GranspearZX]

Marcus drifted around the edge of the crime scene, a bit further away but still facing east. Casting off whatever nervousness and apprehension he'd had up until that point, he glanced at Officer Durand. Curious as to what Equinox's spell had gleaned, he decided to see--or smell--for himself. He made doubly sure he was well away from where the body had been found. "Since we're all sharing... ah... well, I'm sure you've seen bears before." Marcus took his coat off and leaned forward, the entirety of his form engulfed in a warm, dull glow. For the brief second that it lasted, it obscured his features entirely and then grew at least two feet taller, leaving Marcus standing there in his bear form as the light faded, his nose in the air.

He'd gotten better at the transformation in recent months; his clothes and even his boots were still in tact--though he'd forgotten about the plastic boot covers and the one on his head, making him look far more comical than intended. Even his book, knapsack, and staff were all still there, though the staff was significantly larger than it had been in his human form. The second the smell hit his nose, he covered it as best he could with his huge hands. "...ugh. That's nasty! And somebody has crappy taste in perfume."

Still covering his nose, he watched Eric as he spoke, his cryptic words catching his attention. "Sir?"

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel nodded to the sheriff with a gentle smile.

"Trust me, I won't say anything to freak them out."

With that, he gives a nod to the others and heads out the door.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was funny, really. Here he was, an Irish boy from a mid-sized town in a small town in Pennsylvania, USA, and yet he felt almost at home. Scared or no, old-fashioned or no, these were, by and large, good people. Men and women, working, loving, living, and laughing. So that's why it grieved him to see the horrible wound this death had caused the town. So many people talking about the boy, saying how they were praying for the parents, how it was so horrible...

He made sure to gently encourage people to not jump to assumptions, as well as assure them that he and several others were working hard with the Sheriff to solve the case.

The whole time, he was trying to get a feel for what had happened that fateful day. Where had the boy been? Who had he been near? What had he been doing?

And, somewhat more complicated...What strangers had rolled into town on that day, or in the last week or two? Especially ones that either stood out too much...or not enough.

[trollthumper]

Sheriff Durand took a step back, then regarded Marcus. "Next time, mind giving a little bit more of a warning?" she asked.

"You've got the trail, though?" Eric asked. "That carry over to your human form?"

"I thought he was your intern!" Durand yelled.

"Would you have rather I said, 'I'm Mr. Wizard, and this is my friend, Marcus the Talking Bear'?"

----

Meanwhile, back in town...

Gabriel had spent the past hour getting about. To the diner, the coffee shop near the high school, the post office, the library... so far, he hadn't heard anything about anyone strange entering town in the past few days. He noted a few people had stared right at him -- in his long flowing white robes -- right before saying so.

Looking into the victim had gotten something more. William Harris had been a promising kid, a great debater, and had a close circle of friends. One of the kids at the coffee shop, a reserved girl named Claire, told Gabriel there were rumors of William pursuing something with Jolene Simmons, the principal's daughter. She even said the cops came over to her house Tuesday night to ask questions, but it couldn't have been Jolene, as she was at a study session the night before.

[KnightDisciple]

Gabriel frowned a bit. This didn't seem like the sort of situation where another teenager performed the killing. Sad to say, but it didn't quite seem vicious enough. It was like it had been planned...He shook his head, and thanked Claire, noting her face. He might need to ask questions later.

His next goal was the Simmons household. Perhaps this Jolene girl could offer some fresh perspective?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He rang the doorbell on the quaint home and waited patiently for it to be answered.

Whenever someone did answer, he offered a smile and some gentle words of introduction.

"Yes, you may call me Gabriel. I'm working closely with Sheriff Durand on the Harris case. I realize I'm a bit of a shocking figure, but I'm here to help. If I could have a few minutes of Jolene's time, I just want to get a little better understanding of the last few days. She's not at all in trouble."

[Ecalsneerg]

He wrapped his hands around the leaf once more, and opened his mouth. This time, he got results, tapping right into the flow of death and memories lost. "The will and the way alone... signed in hope of black whispers... to the city of the pyramids..."

"Thelema," said Equinox, standing up from the ground. She still held on to the trail, feeling the slime and viscera over her feet and hands, sliding across her legs and torso. "It's Aleister Crowley's take on Hermetic philosophy, where a magus moves past little things like service, even to morality, and to personal identity, and becomes a 'power'. He uses the term "City or Pyramids" for where these transcended adepts reside. The layman'd probably know him as the man who popularised pretentious misspellings of the word magic."

He'd gotten better at the transformation in recent months; his clothes and even his boots were still in tact--though he'd forgotten about the plastic boot covers and the one on his head, making him look far more comical than intended. Even his book, knapsack, and staff were all still there, though the staff was significantly larger than it had been in his human form. The second the smell hit his nose, he covered it as best he could with his huge hands. "...ugh. That's nasty! And somebody has crappy taste in perfume."

Equinox barely made a second glance at the youth turning into a bear. While she was no good at bodily transfiguration, it was hardly unheard of. Instead, she merely remarked, "Don't look at me, I've got taste." A smile barely even crossed her lips, try as she might. "Now we have the problem, however, that to track the scent into town, we need to walk in as a talking bear and a glowing white witch. Frankly, picking up the trail in a less conspicuous manner back in town would probably be easier."