Case 2: Withered Old Man

You all go to the golden dinner and wait for Harrison. A couple minute late, he comes in, figures out which table to sit at when he sees Margaret, and sits down.

"I'm surprised you called me so soon. I figured you would call when you had a problem or something bad happened. It's been only a few hours. I can't spare much time, so what is this meeting about?"

Ajay smiled and started the conversation, "Greetings Mr. Harrison, My friend here, Margaret, will definitely need your help in mastering and learning her skills of supernatural but we need to discuss something else. We are trying to do our job in protecting the average person who are unaware of the supernatural. You see, we have stumbled upon things that normal people ignore in order to keep their sanity intact. Each of us has past experience and we are doing the good fight here. My colleagues here tell me that you were defending them against the man/creature who attacked them? We have been on the lookout for that supernatural creature since it had started to attack people. What I have uncovered is that it is searching for something. Can I ask for your help regarding understanding this matter? Who or what is it, and what is it looking for?"

OOC: Okay, so that's a success. My 2 questions are what sort of creature is it and what was it going to do (mainly what is it searching for).

Ajay raised his eyebrows at the mention of the name nothic. His mind was hovering over that when he investigated the body. He smiled and added, "I would love that, but won't it be alright if perhaps we team up? We have specific skills we can offer if you are planning to take it down. I suggest, for our mutual benefit, why not tackle this creature together?"

"What if we just hang out in the background? Somewhere close but not too close. Seth here is great with a sniper. We will be your backup in case something happens..

Margaret gets a sinking suspicion that Harrison is hiding his motives. He seems to keep thinking that he needs to convince you guys to stop going after the nothic, but he doesn't think about why. She gets the sense it isn't malicious but he is keeping it a secret.

Harrison slides out of the booth, stands up, and says, "Thank you for the coffee. I can't make you do anything but I hope you leave this to me. If Ms. Magic without Training over there needs some training, I should be available in a day or two. If the nothic attacks you I might be able to rush over. As your guest I am assuming the coffee is on you. Have a pleasant day." he then leaves, one hand in his coat pocket and the other holding his to-go coffee, using his shoulder to open the door.

Ajay nodded cordially at the mention of the coffee expense. He then politely added, "I understand what you mean and I will request you to reconsider our offer, but it is totally up to you and we understand the dangers that you mentioned." As he watched Harrison leave, he looked back at Seth and Meg and said, "Well, now that we know it's a nothic, lets do in-depth research in Infirmary to find out about it's weakness. Harrison might want to take it alone but that should not stop us, if we beat him to it first. What do you think?"

As you start your discussions, Margaret starts to look pale. Ajay starts to notice this after a minute and asks if she is ok. She then passes out. Seth and Ajay rush her back to Ajay's haven, where he diagnoses her with Amature Mage Sickness, which is not fatal but often occurs in the body of those who are new to magic and do not take the proper training to get their body used to the flow of magic within them. They agree to take Margaret to PESD, both so doctors who are very used to this can help without PESD asking where Margaret is and thus find out about Ajay's haven, but also to see if anyone can help in the meantime. Ms. Callahan assigns Elizabeth Jacobs to the team, initially as a temporary replacement but potentially as a new addition.

Paranormal Entities Surveillance Division
Name: Elizabeth Jacobs
Date of Birth: 04/30/03
Citizen: United States of America
Language: English
Marital Status: Single
Listed As: Trial Operative
Code Name: Necromancer
Hair Color: White
Eye Color: Red
Height: 5'4''
Body Type: Lithe

BIO: Though initially unknown, Elizabeth Jacobs descended from a long bloodline known for a predilection towards sorcery. Research has uncovered family ties dating back to the witch trials in Salem at the least, if not further back into history. Unsurprisingly, this led to her initially appearing on PESD's radar as an antagonistic force. Elizabeth had a mostly normal childhood, unaware of her legacy. However, that all changed when she was in high school with the death of her older sister Samantha. Equally unaware of their family legacy, Samatha acted as something of the glue that bound the Jacobs family together. She was a star athlete and had been scouted by a prominent college. But it was that first year away for college that would bring about tragedy to the Jacobs family.

No one could be too sure of the exact details, but the accident got chalked up to the all too often excuse of drunk driving and college kids being college kids. Cruely, as fate would have it, Samantha died during the crash leaving the drunken frat members as the survivors. Unable to reconcile what had happened, the Jacobs family slowly began tearing itself apart as Elizabeth's parents went through the slow breakdown of their married life. Elizabeth herself retreated inwards, isolating herself from friends and family and desperately seeking some kind of truth that could give her comfort over what had occurred. But there was no answer that seemed to satisfy the sense of loss she felt. To her, the truth was that the entire situation had been unfair. Despair turned to obsession as Elizabeth Jacobs studied into the occult, ultimately learning of their family heritage and starting down the road of practicing magic.

In four short years, she had become an accomplished sorceress. But this time spent training had been at the cost of her education. The normally bright student had neglected her normal life, scraping by to graduation more from the teachers wishing to be rid of her gloomy presence rather than keeping her around any longer. Elizabeth delved deep into the art of necromancy, entropic forces, and other magical topics more commonly associated with the dark arts. After conjuring and consulting with several spirits, she had been set down the path to try to revive Samantha by any means necessary. But like all black magic it required a heavy cost. Under the pretense of departing to college, Elizabeth stalked the survivors of the car crash intent on tormenting each one through magical means. The goal, if it was to be believed, was to shred down the sanity of each individual until ultimately sacrificing the group in a ritual that would trade their souls for Samantha's.

It was this endeavor that put several PESD agents on her trail. Ultimately, the squad fell into conflict with Elizabeth, but working together, the group uncovered the truth. Like so many greedy spirits, those she had channeled to learn of this profane rite were simply manipulating her. Completing the ritual would do little to bring Samantha back and instead give these foul spirits a way to manifest into the world of the living. On the night of the ritual, PESD agents intervened, stopping the act and apprehending Jacobs. For the next few years, Elizabeth remained in the custody of PESD. While initially classified as a threat that would need to be contained, the intervening years have led to something of a rehabilitation for the young woman.

In the end, Elizabeth Jacobs was offered the opportunity to join the ranks of the PESD operating as an agent to use her magical talents to help others like her who had been exploited by malevolent forces. She is currently being moved into active duty on a trial basis. Pending a review of her performance in the field, final status as a full fledged agent will be determined accordingly.

====

It was odd. The light of the sun beaming down on her porcelain-like pale skin. The feel of the wind breezing past her long white hair. How long she resided under the lock and key of the PESD and their watchful eye? She couldn't be sure, but today was the day that would all change. Her fierce red eyes darted about taking in all the sights they could as if they starved for seeing anything other than the same four walls they had gazed upon the last few years. It was only on a trial basis, but Elizabeth Jacobs now found herself freed from confinement with the opportunity to earn a place once more within the world.

Her briefing had been rather rushed and lacked a lot of the relevant details. It seemed some incident had occurred that predicated the need for her particular talents in the field. But this unexpected crisis had led to opportunity. Elizabeth wasn't about to protest. This was finally the chance she had been waiting for. A chance to atone for all she had done. She was decked out in full goth style wearing a long flowing black dress that clung tightly to her lithe frame accentuated by a large silver cross necklace about her neck; her black platform boots making her appear slightly taller than she actually was.

"Greetings," Elizabeth called out to her new comrades with a hint of awkwardness in her soft voice, "Elizabeth Jacobs, at your service." She gave a nod of acknowledgement to Seth and Ajay.

"I understand you've got some kind of magical problem," she continued twisting her lips into a weak smile.

She wanted to seem professional, but at the same time it was hard to hide her own excitement. After the incident and her confinement by PESD, initially she never even considered what it might mean to have any measure of freedom again. She had done terrible things, hurt people, taken lives. It was funny to her how given some time even a wretch such as herself still desired a sense of freedom. She understood this chance had come at the cost of someone else. They hadn't given Elizabeth all the details, but it sounded like whoever she was replacing would be just fine after a little mandatory R&R. Another chance like this might not come around so easily, so regardless Elizabeth knew she had to make the best of it.

Ajay was thinking about what happened to Meg and wondering whether she will be alright. It seems magic is a fickle thing indeed. It has it's own price and exerts its own toll on the user. It would have been nice to research more about it. However, his deep thought was broken by the new voice that came. He turned to Elizabeth as she greeted them.

Ajay looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Greetings, Miss Jacobs. We indeed have a magical problem. I am told that you are a practitioner of the supernatural and arcane. Are you familiar with a creature named nothic?"

OOC: Where is this meeting taking place? PESD HQ or the Diner?

OOC: I am waiting for Kharis's response.

Seth looks at Ms. Jacobs, trying to assess her skills by observing her closely. Has she been trained? Will she be a valuable addition to the team? He was unable to tell. He would need more information to make his initial assessment. "Hello, Ms. Jacobs. Thank you for joining us on such short notice. Please do feel free to provide some input on our next steps." Seth says, still watching her closely.

"Nice to meet you both," Elizabeth answered politely, "This is my first time working in the field so I'm in your debt." Truth be told, this chance meant much more than just an opportunity to find a place as a full-fledged PESD agent. This was not only freedom but also a chance to find a purpose again. For Elizabeth, everything in her life had gone so wrong. It was only the mercy of the team that had handled her case that even spared her to one day have this opportunity. Thus, it seemed significant somehow that a rogue wizard was in the mix on her first case. While she had reviewed all the info that was provided to her, Elizabeth wasn't personally too familiar with either of her new teammates. Seth, at the least, she had heard of before. He was virtually an ace among PESD's agents based on the casual talk she had overhead since being incarcerated within the agency's care.

"I've reviewed the report on your investigation so far," she added crossing her arms and bowing her head for a moment in deep thought before continuing, "And while you can trust I've seen more than my fair share of supernatural beings already, I'm not particularly familiar with a Nothic. I'm happy to defer to your leadership, but it might be worthwhile consulting whatever libraries of information PESD has to see if we can turn up more information than you've already obtained before heading back out." That was the obvious step forward, perhaps. But something else was hanging in the back of her mind. Could it really be such a coincidence that she was brought in with this other mage in the picture?

"Though one other thing is bothering me," Elizabeth concluded, raising her head and meeting her comrades with an intense gaze, "This Harrison fellow... there's definitely more to his story you haven't uncovered. Maybe it's just a hunch, but something tells me whatever his deal is may be the linchpin to this entire case."

OOC: Who has the best Sharp? I have it at +2. Also, will the HQ give a bonus for the roll? If not, I think we should just go back to the Infirmary, because I can get a +1 there.