synopsychic | (no subject)

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So, two things.

Thing one: I found Raidou, and it turns out his overlay can't talk. Anyone know a form of sign language we can pass on so the poor guy can at least make himself heard? [So to speak.]

Thing two: Who all's got some Grid-fu at their disposal? We might be able to use that to find out something about our creepy nightly serenade, but I don't have any tricks that'd be halpful by themselves.

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It is on the south side of the island.

[ It is more of an effort walking than swimming, so he's not above jogging to keep up with her if need be. Presently they come to a previously disturbed patch of damp sand, seagulls circling above. He grabs a piece of driftwood and scrapes off the top layer of sand he'd thrown back onto the body to deter the gulls. The man and the two cannonballs weighing him down slowly emerges. ]

[Claudia pales somewhat when the corpse's face becomes visible, but that's less because she's faced with a corpse and more because she's helped identify this body once before. At least he's rather less than 47 years dead this time?]

Poor bastard, you can't catch a break in any universe, can you? [She sighs.] Dead ringer for someone who used to work for the same place as us, back home, so he's almost certainly with Helena's crew.

[ He is at first worried it was a mistake bringing her here, but then she explains. It is indeed shocking to see a familiar face (lowercase) on a Jaunt. He's not sure what "dead ringer" means exactly, but he gathers he looks like someone she and Helena knew. ]

I thought there was no pattern to Infiltrations, that we just became whatever person resonated with us.

['Knew' is a loose term for it, but she and Helena both definitely know who the original was.]

Maybe not a pattern as such, but if the people in the background of an overlay's life aren't other Travelers, they usually have some kind of relevant uncanny resemblance. Other than January and Nova Venezia, there's been some kind of direct stand-in for Joshua every time I've infiltrated.

That is even more of an unlikely stretch, finding people who fit not only the Traveler, but also the Traveler's friends and family...

[ He awkwardly remembers January City, where he and Malik had been her siblings instead. At least it is easier for Altaïr to disassociate, as he is an only child, and clearly remembers what Claudia told him she did to rescue her brother back home. ]

I have not disturbed the body, but if there is anything you wish to take a closer look at, I can help.

[ He predates modern antibiotics and many vaccines, so he's been wary of poking around in earnest at an unfamiliar corpse. ]

[Then he can probably guess the common link between January and Nova Venezia as outliers in Claudia's infiltrating experience. Granted, in space and frickin' Doki he wasn't actually around in person, and in Ninjaville he was a ghost, but.]

Where's the stab wound? That's probably the best place to start.

[ He brushes more sand away from the area of the sailor's head. ]

Back of the neck, very precise. As I am sure you remember, I am qualified enough to say that it was done with some skill.

Almost certainly Akuryu work - Chiyo never dealt with them directly, but of the Bando factions, one of them's the most likely to knife someone like this. Which means whoever did it almost certainly came in on Helena's boat.

She's not gonna be very happy about this.

[ He allows Claudia not to ask if it was him. Without knowing a time of death, he cannot give a proper alibi. He'd allowed himself to be seen by others in his time on the island, but sometimes he'd gone off to explore alone. ]

Yes, she will find out eventually. The other missing people... did not fare well either. You will not find them on the island. Their trails lead into the sea. Do not waste time looking or asking someone to look for the trails on land. You will not find those either.

[ He stares cagily at a smooth, blank stretch of sand several feet away. The certainty of his claims is bound to raise questions, but this is a very serious situation. It is too late for the dead, but it is not too late to find whoever did this. ]

[Well, yes, but as far as she knows, he's had no reason to interact with the Pulao crew at all, and Altair's not the sort to knife someone for the lolz.]

...You know that makes my next question how you found anything.

[ His reasons for murder are not always immediately apparent. Indeed, many confused the Assassins' true reasons for killing people. Once, he nearly had the entirety of both the Saracen and Crusader armies pitted against him for this. Half the time, the Assassins even encouraged false rumors to help shroud themselves. ]

Yes. I can hardly pass it off as intuition. But neither can I hide what happened from the rest of the Investigators. It is a matter of safety.

One body does not prove much, but I know the other victims were dragged across the sand. They clearly show that being near the water is not wise. The water is the killer's favored method of disposal. Even the shifting sands mean that I, too, will lose the trails.

[ The beach was perfectly smooth, of course. It almost seems as if he is making wild claims that contradict anything modern science or a good tracking dog might pick up. He fixes her with a beady look. ]

You must warn everyone not to go near the water or be alone, but I would rather you not mention me. Make up a story if you must. How I found the trails is one of my closely-guarded secrets.

...If the other victims had something completely different happen to them, we might be dealing with more than one killer here. And considering the terrifying mermaid disease ends in 'someone gets eaten' half the time, it might even be more than two. I'd expect whoever did this to get rid of the bodies in the same way, if they hit more than once.

[She may not be an expert on this stuff, but she knows a thing or two. granted, Naoto'd be better at it.]

Far as 'it's not safe to be near the water' goes, that's easy for you to say.

Perhaps it would be easier if you could see the trails as I do. The attacks happened on land. Then, bleeding, they went or were dragged into the sea. If something from the sea wanted to kill indiscriminately, the sea people would be the ones mysteriously missing. But all the victims were human. Other than avoiding Stricken, I think you are just a little safer than anyone walking on the beach.

I also gather that it is difficult for most sea people to walk on land, much less successfully attack and subdue several humans. Eren's Infiltrator is the only one I've seen display such agility. Otherwise, as far as fishing for humans goes, a long-range spear and rope might suffice, but that is a stretch...

So either something weirder than usual's happening here or a little land time doesn't bother someone on a rampage as much as it might otherwise. Or, hey, could be both. I just figure if a human did the dragging out to sea, they wouldn't have gotten far before breathing was an issue, and something would've been more likely to wash up by now.

I don't know if seeing it your way would help or not, but... you could always try livestreaming it.

No.

[ His response is so vehement, he has a hard time forming his next words. ]

I do not care if you have conversation protection, the Arcana use the Network. I take no chances. I would rather tell you where the trails are with words.

[ He settles like he's one of the seagulls he's been waving away since he first found the body. He glares at the distant sand again, but his voice levels out. ]

There is also the possibility of a small boat being used to take the bodies further out to sea. I am not ruling out that the metal spheres were used to weigh them down as well. But these are just guesses.

Edited (timey wimey things) 2017-01-20 11:24 (UTC)

--Okay, don't then. [Does he really think they don't already know whatever secret it is he's trying to keep hidden? Not that pointing that out will do a damn bit of good, but really now.

(She's also pretty sure they generally have better things to do than pry into every communication on the network.)]

I guess that's possible, but under the circumstances I don't know how likely it is.

Regardless, the trails are there. [ He fixes the sand with a stare. The world darkens before his eyes, but the trail nearby flares up an alarming red. He points to the start and traces with his finger towards the sea. ] I could mark them on a map if pressed. In simple terms, I see them with other eyes. You recall my overlay in January City? He had a sense of the things around him, gained by lack of proper light. But my own sense is not due to any impairment that I know of, unless you count a desire for more knowledge than is apparent.

That is my proof. I am not sure how to keep this from the others and still tell them that there have been multiple attacks, all but one ending with someone being dragged to sea. Professor Lyall has suggested I credit his sense of smell to maintain my secret, though the trail was too faint for that. Do you think it is a plausible story?

That or you could handwave it as being exceptionally good at tracking. [It wouldn't even be implausible for Altair's skill set, from what Claudia knows of it.] Or put the two together.

No, I think it is known that I am not an expert hunter such as Drizzt the ranger. I think I will leave it at finding the body when no one else could. That alone is 'exceptional.'

True.

At least we know for sure what happened to one of these people.

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