Act 2: Upheaval I - The Werewolf

"Konrad Granger." Konrad slides back into the snug skin of his winsome Myrzen etiquette and waits for Ana's reaction.

Anastazja shakes hands with everyone except Florolf, who hasn't left his spot on the chair. She then approaches the youngest member of the group.

"Amber Windscarf," the teenager says as she shakes Anastazja's hand.

The administrator's piercing gaze studies Amber.

"You're a bit young for monster hunting," she comments.

"I'm old enough," Amber replies.

Anastazja looks at the rest of the party and asks a silent question with her eyes; "Are you sure?"

Konrad gives a slow, confident nod to the elderly politician.

"For now, our job is to investigate." - Mihai replies, with a seriousness that's not directed entirely at Anastazja - "We'll act accordingly as we find out more."

Amber gives the stink eye to Mihai and crosses her arms. Impassive, the administrator returns to her desk.

"Now that we've come to an agreement," she tells the party, "how can I help you?"

"We need the records of the attacks since they started happening; see if we can establish a pattern. We'll also need to talk to your traveller. I'm not ruling out that the two incidents might be connected."

"The Lorinthian boy is staying at Space Hamster, an inn near the harbor," Zawistowski says. "His name is Davis Dreyfuss. Just tell his bodyguards you're the help I've promised, and they should let you see him. As for the ‘werewolf’..."

She searches for her words.

"I can also give you information about the victims, but I'd advise you not to search for a human culprit. Although the Defenders and I don't see eye to eye on most matters, we agree on one thing; this isn't a serial killer, but a beast. It seeks -- seemingly at random -- lone targets in the middle of the night and kills them before they can call for help. Its first two victims died in the Den, but the third was found behind a brothel in the Market district. As if it was testing us."

There's a pause. She's considering something.

"You also won't be the only one hunting for the monster," she adds. "The Szefowie will come out of the Arena tonight."

Mihai squints - "All of them?"

Deception 26
Is Anastazja unhappy with the Szefowie going out to hunt the werewolf?
Result: "she seems worried"

"I guess you don't approve," says Konrad to the administrator.

The black mage rubs his chin in thought. "You fear it's a trap to lure out the Szefowie right?"

"A trap?" she repeats. "This is an interesting thought. But no, what worries me is what will happen if one of the Szefowie dies."

She sighs.

"Which might very well happen."

Steve waits for Anastazja to answer Konrad and then asks, "What can you tell us about the first two deaths? Who were they? Were any body parts missing when the bodies were discovered?"

Zawistowski responds to Konrad with a blank expression. "It might be."

Once Steve has asked his questions, she picks three folders from her desk and presents them to the party members.

"Have a look for yourself."

Ludomir Pisarski, a 17 years old apprentice carpenter. He lived in a small house in the Den with his father, a single parent. The mother died in childbirth. There are no known siblings and he didn't keep contact with his extended family.

According to his father and his friends, he always followed the same route between his home and the smithy where he worked at. He would sometimes take a detour and join his friends at the local tavern.

He had just finished a late shift when he left his workplace. It was around 9:45 PM. He used the usual route and then walked in a small alley to get to the tavern where he had agreed to meet with his friends. The "werewolf" was prowling on the roofs, following him, and then jumped on him at the right moment.

It held the victim's head against the ground, muffling his screams for help.  With its claws, it then slowly pierced the boy's back and crushed the heart. In 10 seconds, Ludomir was dead. It then started to feed on the body.

A drunken patron of the tavern stepped outside to urinate and saw the werewolf. He ran away, screaming for help. The monster tore away the untouched left arm and then "disappeared" instantaneously with it.

The Defenders investigated Ludomir's family, his friends and his coworkers, but most of them had an alibi and/or had no reason to want to murder him.

Tymoteusz Tarka, a 31 years old Defender. He lived alone in an apartment in the Den and had no boyfriend — he was reportedly homosexual. His older brother lives in Iekcewaz — alibi confirmed — and a younger sister who's living in Odwaz; she is married to a dockworker and has two children. Both parents are dead.

He spent the night at a tavern and came back home at around 2:20 AM. After changing clothes, he went to his balcony to smoke his pipe. As he was sitting down, the werewolf jumped down on him and threw him back into his apartment. It then "played" with the victim, who tried to defend himself with his sword. He was pushed around until the werewolf decided to slit the Defender's throat. It then fed on the body until it heard footsteps coming from the stairs, after which it took a left arm and "disappeared" out of existence. The landlord knocked on the door and then used his master key to enter the room.

The Defenders investigated Tymoteusz's acquaintances and family, but found no potential suspect.

Violetta Drobny, a 22 years old prostitute. She lived in an apartment with two roommates, both women. She is originally from Bronick and moved to Odwaz one month ago. Her parents are still living there — alibi confirmed. After two interviews with the owner of the Sleeping Beauties, she was then hired to work the night shift. She had just begun to become friends with her coworkers before she was killed. The details of her death are known to the party already.

The Defenders investigated her clients, coworkers and roommates, but found no potential suspect.

Furthermore, the Defenders scanned the rooftops and back alleys of Odwaz to search for the werewolf's lair. They discovered that the monster always "appears" instantaneously, without the use of any magic, and never at the same place twice; which means that the Defenders can never trace it back to its lair if it has one. No traces of fur were found either, or even saliva in the wounds.

OOC:

Mihai considers for a moment - "Have the kidnappings stopped ever since the Werewolf showed up?"

"Davis Dreyfuss was almost kidnapped yesterday morning," Zawistowski replies. "Luckily, his bodyguards chased the thugs away."

"He's a VIP?"

"I suspect he's the bastard of a Lorinthian noble," the administrator says as she joins her hands together.

"...What's a VIP?" Amber asks with her Lofellian accent.

Florolf licks his right paw and starts to clean his ears.

"A VIP is a Very Important Person. We typically use that acronym during protection and bodyguard missions." He falls silent again before muttering "...and dates with Zelk."

"Oh, okay." Amber considers this new piece of knowledge.

Florolf perks up at the mention of Zelk before he goes back to his licking.

"Really?" Anastazja is skeptical, but she doesn't dismiss the idea. "If this is the same person, it might simplify a few things for you."

"Different topic, what's the layout of the Den? Wide streets, or are we talking a lot of alleyways?"

Zawistowski sighs and shakes her head. This subject seems to tire her.

"It's a mess," she says. "It has more narrow streets and alleyways than the rest of the city."

Amber is a little surprised by the woman's reaction.

Mihai seems to resonate with the sentiment - "Does each Szef have some kind of support party, or are they really going in there alone to be picked off?"