Mammoth Apostate vs the World 1: "Lost in the Mist"

Crime scene investigation 2 Adams Point Crossing, Savannah Ga.

Savannah Law Enforcement are on the scene in force, and their attempts to live up to their new career choice are amazing considering time since their formation.

A fully staffed team, knowledgeable in proper forensic methodologies has been fielded. The risk of the scene being contaminated early on is extremely low.

Initial reports were from untrained enforcement officers responding to missing persons report for the husband and wife duo. They were carefully to only provide a cursory search to render aid before closing the scene and awaiting the C.S.I. units arrival.

To a trained eye there is an abundance of physical evidence, what at first might be taken for piles of unkempt laundry scattered throughout the home are in actuality clothing as it would have been worn by a person; socks inside shoes, underwear inside pants, bra inside shirt with the hooks hooked as when worn. Collars are found and the RFID tracking chips that when scanned prove the identity of the k9 guards and hint towards a strange fate suffered by the dogs.

When disturbed a fine grained grayish red powder sifts out of the clothing (collars were lying in piles of such dust). Later chemical analysis of the dust reveals it to be the exact composition if you were to break a person/dog down from organic material into its inorganic building blocks.

The clothing retrieved once it is analysed provide evidence that their former occupants were in extreme duress. (Multiple urine stains, one incident of defecation, and copious amounts of sweat saturate the fabric.)

Several weapons were fired, but the low caliber and the size of the estate contributed to no witnesses hearing the shots. The shots indicate tight groupings that struck nothing before they sank into the houses walls, floors, or ceilings. Tasers were also discharged, these seem to have been marginally effective as they result in the first sign the assailants were actually present, a viscous translucent goo covers both darts and left a gallon sized puddle of primordial soup. Lab reports are conflicted as there are both a high incidence of inorganic compounds and some primitive RNA chains from a previously unknown source.

Another discrepancy is noted, there are less cloths piles than people missing. In fact the tally indicates the identities of the missing: 1 security officer, and the three children.

Building records indicate the existence of a hidden panic room in the palatial estate, one that is currently in lockdown mode. When forces approach the hidden entry, and bang on the door childlike voices can be heards indistinctly from within. It takes over an hour to circumvent the locks and gain access.
Within the guard is withdrawn, in shock bordering catatonic. When addressed by name he raises his empty pistol to his own head and repeatedly dry fires the weapon. "I won't go out like that, I won't..." When the pistol is wrestled away he goes stiff and unresponsive.

The children are tearful, babbling one over the other about the monsters that swim in the air, and how they can only see you if you look at them first. ****

Last good video feed detailed the Powell's in their 4 car garage (apparently now serving as a mini warehouse for goods the Powell deemed to possess the potential to be extremely profitable from the commodity exchange, IE purchases they made from the exchange at acceptable purchase price that they were speculating upon.)

Evidence suggest something occurred there that resulted in a running battle leading from the garage to the safe room with casualties occuring quite quickly on the way. Something that knocked out the CCTV feed.

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**** Please roll me a 1d10 perception test to see if something clicks, there are clues buried in the Quest that -are- relevant. The roll is to see if you gain some QM help retrieving them.

Also feel free to step in if you want a particular point looked at closer, it is after all your investigation.

Edit: it was never explicitly stated is Glass on the scene?

Edit-edit: Additional AKP's are on site as requested, near at hand but outside the crime scene proper.
 
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We are also hovering at 3 votes for the latest iteration of Highwind's plan. @Highwind , @BadKatt85 , & @KnightDisciple in support.

@Nixeu had voted yes to a previous version, but I will not blindly commit him to this version without his assent. Need only the 1 additional vote to reach consensus needed.
 
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**** Please roll me a 1d10 perception test to see if something clicks, there are clues buried in the Quest that -are- relevant. The roll is to see if you gain some QM help retrieving them.
I'll roll this.
We are also hovering at 3 votes for the latest iteration of Highwind's plan. @Highwind , @BadKatt85 , & @KnightDisciple in support.

@Nixeu had voted yes to a previous version, but I will not blindly commit him to this version without his assent. Need only the 1 additional vote to reach consensus needed.
Yeah, put me in for supporting it.

Edit: Looks like Scooby found a clue.
Nixeu threw 1 10-faced dice. Reason: Find any clues, Scooby? Total: 7
7 7
 
Plan is now Locked.
----------------------------
Indeed Scooby found some:

The science resistant flecks are harvested in great abundance (nearly 50 grams of glitter sized flecks), and in the process a strong insight into their nature is revealed.

They are a substance that defies easy categorization, they exhibit behaviors as if they are simultaneously matter AND energy or more accurately the potential to become either.

As lab workers are exposed over protracted periods it is apparent that the flecks are psychoreactive, they alter brain chemistry particularly in the portion containing the pineal gland and temporarily awaken dormant neural pathways. Side effects include mild hallucination (worm like creatures swimming in air, reports of seeing auras around other individuals,etc.)

Alarmed all workers have CAT scans ran, but there is no ill effects to be found. Affected individuals are held in the infirmary for ongoing observation. Once separated from proximity with the flecks the awakened pathways slowly and measurably begin to quiet and go dormant in 95% of the patients. (Of the 20 exposed techs, ones system remains active but at a slightly reduced from full exposure level.)

Edit: The hallucinations might have been a tiny glimpse into a reality you're unfamiliar with...
 
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The children say the creatures swim in the air, and they can only see you if you see them first. Those are huge clues by themselves, because there aren't many creatures that fly without wings or with such a curious sensory quirk.

The fact they "swim in the air" allows us to discard Nightgaunts, Shantaks, Byakhees and almost every other winged creatures from the Mythos. Since they fly at all, we can also discard just about everything that crawls or walks as well. The final list is very limited even before we take into account the second clue, with the biggest contenders being the Star Vampires, the Flying Polyps, and the Desh.

Star Vampires are invisible until the moment after they feast and as far as I know they leave corpses behind, so those are out, thankfully. I don't know much about the Desh other than their short description on Wikipedia and I'll admit I'm not very familiar with anything from Hyperborea, but they're the second most likely of the three if only because they're apparently made of solid matter.

The Flying Polyps, on the other hand, fit just about every clue. They fly without wings because they can control the winds, they cannot see and instead use other, stranger senses, and finally, they're only partly material and as such they sometimes fade in and out of sight and are very resistant to physical damage, but energy can harm it much more easily.

The shots indicate tight groupings that struck nothing before they sank into the houses walls, floors, or ceilings. Tasers were also discharged, these seem to have been marginally effective as they result in the first sign the assailants were actually present, a viscous translucent goo covers both darts and left a gallon sized puddle of primordial soup.
So we have at least one contender.

Edit: it was never explicitly stated is Glass on the scene?
That depends on how long it has been since the battle was over. As far as Richard is concerned, she should spend at least two days under observation to make sure she isn't suffering any side effects from her latest stunt.

Edit: The hallucinations might have been a tiny glimpse into a reality you're unfamiliar with...
Well, that doesn't rule out the Polyps, but it does make the Desh more likely.
 
That depends on how long it has been since the battle was over. As far as Richard is concerned, she should spend at least two days under observation to make sure she isn't suffering any side effects from her latest stunt.

It is approximately 1 day after the battle (time to notice two very active traders are missing and seeing as how they are people of importance to a prime industry they got priority attn.) So no Glass atm.

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Need some rolls done for "the plan"

Make a public announcement to all in our area of influence, requesting that anyone with useful information or artifacts relating to the Charleston cultists, Magic, the Mist creatures or anything else they believe important, to come forward and inform us. Anything that is verified to be true or useful will be rewarded. (The Casting Call)

Roll 1d10 +3 (Savannah comms stat bonus)

Jaeger Tech Research: Quick release clamps that can endure Jaeger combat. (Fyrstorm's pet project)

Roll 1d10 + 4 (Research bonus)

High Energy Lab: Complete the Plasma Jet Intake research (utilizing Jail research note token as well as its only relevant to this line of research)

Roll 2x 1d10 +4 (Research bonus) bonus only applied to the first of the d10's

Kaiju Sciences Lab: Research Kaiju Blue and how it reacts with various things. Like Rare Earth elements.

Roll 1d10 + 4 (Research bonus)

=================
We'll knock these out before we begin Toughness rolls for Whitecap.
 
In the garage are boxes, barrels, and crates ranging the gamut of trade goods from chemical compounds to bleeding edge electronics. Known pieces of artwork once housed in museums lean now haphazardly against the heavily laden tables.

On a table by itself is a device that is as distinctive as it is unknown, a cursory glance at the accompanying literature promotes it as the next big recreational craze, a totally legal, non-drug draw for strip clubs, massage parlors, dance clubs, hourly hotels, etc.

The machine is a stand cabinet of electronics bisected mid-cabinet by a reinforced plexiglass fish bowl dome of purplish hue, its upper reaches are an array of tuning forks of various sizes and compositions, it appears to have been hooked to a small lawn mower battery for its power supply (a battery that is currently stone dead) . In stark opposition to the precautions of the literature, the power is NOT on the suggested lowest settings, it was instead completely maxed out. Reading the bronze nameplate attached to the machines base out loud draws a chuckle from several of the investigators.

The Pretorious Psychosexual Resonator.

It 'supposedly' acts on long dormant areas in the pineal gland enhancing sexual thoughts (or acts) or in extremes if no outside tactile stimulus exists the machine can provide an 'orgasmic experience of the mind' by its emanations alone.

There are various medical studies cited showing the correlation between ultra low frequency vibrations and changes in the bodies electrical fields. The Pretorius Resonator is a targeted example of this technology being used to induce a very specific bodily stimuli.

In some attached correspondence, a Dr. Crawford Tillinghast offers this equipment for sale after the recent disappearance of his Senior partner (Dr. Edward Pretorius). Who apparently ran out leaving Tillinghast financial responsible for a large debt from their former shared research.

Tillinghast voices his wish to divorce himself from his former mentors work on morale grounds, he was unaware of Pretorius BDSM sexually deviance until this device was fully operational and the doctor became more and more obsessed with detailing exposures that he himself participated in. Almost an addictive behavior.

There is mention of several unprofessional orgyastic revels, filmed as 'proof of concept' before Tillinghast grew disgusted enough to walk away. A few weeks later Pretorius is missing and debt collectors are harassing Tillinghast to pay the missing doctors debt.

It was assumed Pretorius had built a smaller handheld version from some incomplete schematics found in the lab before he took his coven of sexual groupies and ran abandoning science for more hedonistic pursuits..
 
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Damn you, Netflix! Damn you for having so few movies older than 1995 in your catalog! And damn streaming services for killing video rental stores!

I can never find those cool old movies anymore.:(

How do you wish to proceed with further investigation of the site Councillors?
The fact the battery is dead is interesting. Either device was sent over with its battery already dead and knobs maxed out, and it activated on its own somehow, or someone deliberately turned it on and left it running until the battery died.

Look for signs of entry that happened between now and the day of the incident, as well as signs the resonator was manipulated recently. If it spent a while in storage before the incident, the should be a layer of dust over it, and there should also be more dust on whatever the dials' original positions were.

In any case, once the investigation is done the device should be retrieved and sent to the BPDR for examination, and we should look for Dr. Tillinghast and Dr. Pretorius to ask them how exactly this device works and what the hell happened here.

In the worst case scenario we'll have to test this thing ourselves and be on the lookout for a new group of cultists.
 
Burn it. Burn it all.

More seriously, this strikes me as Doctor McMeltFaceToBe setting this gizmo off and testing its maximum effects. I suspect he's not dead. Which is bad.
Alternatively, someone who knew what it could do set it up to do exactly what it seems to have done: summon beings from some other dimension to dissolve people. Said person may then have fled. It may also have been an attempted prank, or a curiosity-driven experiment.

@Smithsguild: Any data from Tillinghast on the device's power draw? Particular on how it scales with increased settings? Because we can probably estimate the amount of time a battery like that would power the device on max for, with that data, then see if it matches the amount of time the cameras were knocked out. This would then tell us if the camera systems were more or less likely to have been deactivated by the device itself, or deliberately by someone else.

Whatever the case may be, this device seems to have some magical function of summoning entities from other realms, in addition to whatever odd biological effects it supposedly can produce. That alone is of interest, both for the knowledge it might give us, and possibly for weaponization and other uses. Not just by summoning these beings, but also the possibility of unsummoning entities, or interfering he summoning of similar beings.
 
Alternatively, someone who knew what it could do set it up to do exactly what it seems to have done: summon beings from some other dimension to dissolve people. Said person may then have fled. It may also have been an attempted prank, or a curiosity-driven experiment.

@Smithsguild: Any data from Tillinghast on the device's power draw? Particular on how it scales with increased settings? Because we can probably estimate the amount of time a battery like that would power the device on max for, with that data, then see if it matches the amount of time the cameras were knocked out. This would then tell us if the camera systems were more or less likely to have been deactivated by the device itself, or deliberately by someone else.

Whatever the case may be, this device seems to have some magical function of summoning entities from other realms, in addition to whatever odd biological effects it supposedly can produce. That alone is of interest, both for the knowledge it might give us, and possibly for weaponization and other uses. Not just by summoning these beings, but also the possibility of unsummoning entities, or interfering he summoning of similar beings.
Hmmmmmmmmm.

Silly reactions aside, I'd agree. Especially the power draw/function information. That's pretty critical to work out from there; one of the main variables in the equation, as it were.

We should also try tracing recent purchases the family made to see if there's a pattern here, or if this was something of a bizzare one-off.
 
Whatever the case may be, this device seems to have some magical function of summoning entities from other realms, in addition to whatever odd biological effects it supposedly can produce. That alone is of interest, both for the knowledge it might give us, and possibly for weaponization and other uses. Not just by summoning these beings, but also the possibility of unsummoning entities, or interfering he summoning of similar beings.
I think it's less summoning the entities and more letting humans see the extradimensional things by stimulating those dormant regions in the pineal gland. The old "third eye" thing.

And going by what the surviving witnesses said, they can only see us once we see them. There might be a whole host of those worm creatures all around us, but we can't interact with each other due to biological and bioelectric quirks.
 
Any data from Tillinghast on the device's power draw? Particular on how it scales with increased settings? Because we can probably estimate the amount of time a battery like that would power the device on max for, with that data, then see if it matches the amount of time the cameras were knocked out. This would then tell us if the camera systems were more or less likely to have been deactivated by the device itself, or deliberately by someone else.

The only data from Tillinghast is a basic knowledge of what Pretorius 'claimed' it could do, of course the letters sent negotiating the items sale do have a return address located just outside of Atlanta... Tillinghast may have energy consumption estimates in the the lab where the machine originated but such data is missing from sales pitch and basic operational manual. I'm sure Atlanta would allow you access and a team of investigators could be there in a few hours by Little Bird (longer by newly functional train.)

I will state your analysis is particularly perceptive and well reasoned, unfortunately you are short on some critical data.
 
Hmmmmmmmmm.

Silly reactions aside, I'd agree. Especially the power draw/function information. That's pretty critical to work out from there; one of the main variables in the equation, as it were.

We should also try tracing recent purchases the family made to see if there's a pattern here, or if this was something of a bizzare one-off.
Checking their purchases, and the rest of the warehouse for anything of interest, in case they've been trading covertly (I.E. visiting black market sources), seems like a good thing to do. Seconded.
I think it's less summoning the entities and more letting humans see the extradimensional things by stimulating those dormant regions in the pineal gland. The old "third eye" thing.

And going by what the surviving witnesses said, they can only see us once we see them. There might be a whole host of those worm creatures all around us, but we can't interact with each other due to biological and bioelectric quirks.
Could equally be that they only "see you when you see them" because you can only see them while in two different worlds at once, ours and theirs. And, being present in both worlds, they can now affect you, too. The details of the mechanics are important, to be sure, but are also not available to us at this time. Not until we study this device in more depth, or possibly recover some notes from other studies of the device.
The only data from Tillinghast is a basic knowledge of what Pretorius 'claimed' it could do, of course the letters sent negotiating the items sale do have a return address located just outside of Atlanta... Tillinghast may have energy consumption estimates in the the lab where the machine originated but such data is missing from sales pitch and basic operational manual. I'm sure Atlanta would allow you access and a team of investigators could be there in a few hours by Little Bird (longer by newly functional train.)

I will state your analysis is particularly perceptive and well reasoned, unfortunately you are short on some critical data.
Oh, I'm well aware I'm shooting in the dark, and just positing a few possibilities. For all I know, they misread the damn dials, or failed to read the manual properly. But sending a team to Atlanta to investigate said lab, as well as Tillinghast and Pretorius, seems like the best next step to getting some valuable information. After perhaps checking the rest of their makeshift warehouse for any questionable goods.
 
Make a public announcement to all in our area of influence, requesting that anyone with useful information or artifacts relating to the Charleston cultists, Magic, the Mist creatures or anything else they believe important, to come forward and inform us. Anything that is verified to be true or useful will be rewarded. (The Casting Call)

Roll 1d10 +3 (Savannah comms stat bonus)
I'll roll for this.

Edit: Well. Guess I know the answer to that question.
Nixeu threw 1 10-faced dice. Reason: Magic or Bullsh*t? Total: 1
1 1
 
Thank you for reminding me of re-roll tokens, because your reminder reminded me that Smithsguild gave me one a while back!

@Smithsguild I'd like to use that re-roll token now. This seems like just the kind of situation to use it, anyway.

By all means use it , but please be specific as to which roll you are applying it to, re-rolls are useable for ANY roll and not just your personal rolls.
 
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